Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to provide compensation to subscribers whose network quality of service experience is below specified targets within specific locations.

The Commission’s position is that subscribers should not be made to bear the full burden of service disruptions where operators fail to meet prescribed standards of service delivery.

Under this directive, erring operators will compensate affected users directly for breaches of Quality of Service (QoS) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

The Guardian checks showed that while MNOs have connected over 320 million telephone lines in the last two and a half decades since the telecommunications revolution started in Nigeria, there were, however, 182 million active telephone users in the country, which currently boasts of 84 per cent telephone density.

The NCC directive may benefit the about 182 million active telephone users in the country, who have longed for Quality of Experience.

NCC, in a statement yesterday signed by its Head, Public Affairs Department, Nnenna Ukoha, said MNOs shall be required to pay these compensations for instances of poor quality of service recorded within specified time frames.

The compensation will be provided in the form of airtime credits, calculated based on subscribers’ average spending patterns and their presence within Local Government Areas where service failures occur.

The directive is rooted in the Commission’s broader regulatory philosophy that places the consumer at the centre of Nigeria’s telecommunications ecosystem.
Telecommunications services today underpin economic activity, social interaction, and access to digital opportunities. When service quality is poor, the consequences affect productivity, commercial activities, and even public confidence in our communications system.

Further to this directive by the Commission to MNOs on compensation to consumers, the Commission is also mandating Tower Companies, which own the critical infrastructure for Quality of Service delivery, such as masts, to invest in infrastructure with measurable outcomes using sums that it has fined these companies, in addition to other financial fines the Commission will deem appropriate.