THE Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida, has revealed that telephone service quality is expected to improve in about nine months time.

He said this based on the fact that about $1 billion equipment investments to boost services in Nigeria have started coming into the country since June. He said operators have started taking delivery of new equipment to boost their services in the country.

Speaking in an interactive session with journalists in Lagos, Friday, Maida emphasised the importance of quality of service to enthroning quality of experience.

Maida said the $1b investment is triggered by regulatory reforms, which have further opened the sector and encouraged network expansion and upgrades.

He said these investments will fund upgrades of existing base stations, construction of new sites, and expansion of fibre backbones across the country, starting from the North Central region.

Maida reiterated that while the 50 per cent increase in tariffs was approved in January 2025 and subsequently expected to impact telephone quality, “the challenge is still much, especially rising cases of fibre cuts, vandalism, theft of generators and batteries, they have impacted this drive.”

He added that there were issues of sites closures and multiple taxation, which have equally impacted services.

“Not sure of the three months of service improvements pledged by telcos based on the tariff adjustments but what we see is that service should improve in about six to nine months. There is already a $1 billion equipment investments. Operators have started taking in these orders since June. Telephone service quality will improve,” he stated.

Speaking on the rising cases of fibre cuts, Maida said it is a real menace on the sector and has impacted it badly.

Recall that at an earlier forum, Maida had revealed that operators recorded 1100 fibre cuts almost on a daily basis. He stressed that there were 545 access denials and 99 incidences of theft of varying degrees.

As such, he revealed at the journalists interactive session that the NCC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Works and Environment (both at Federal and State levels) for information flow on road constructions and others, especially from construction companies.

According to him, a new digital platform will allow ministries to notify operators ahead of planned works and receive feedback on possible service impact.

On the various investments for the sector, the NCC EVC warned that the benefits of the current investment wave will take months to translate fully into better quality of service, stressing that between six to nine months, there should be massive improvement in quality of service as the sector works on the necessary long-term sustainability.

He stressed the importance of the industry not slowing down, saying the industry needs to move fast. He said the world is already talking about 6G and Nigeria cannot afford to fall behind. “The capital commitments we’ve unlocked this year put us back in the race,” he stated.