The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has praised the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for suspending enforcement of the Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-traditional Consumer Lending (DEON) regulations against telecom operators. ALTON described this decision as a vital move to restore confidence in Nigeria's regulatory framework.
This development coincides with the return of airtime and data credit services across several mobile networks. Airtel Nigeria has fully reinstated airtime credit for its subscribers, and Globacom has also resumed its services in recent days. The restoration ends weeks of disruption that affected approximately 40 million active users, mostly prepaid subscribers from lower-income brackets who depend on small airtime and data advances daily.
ALTON Chairman Commends FCCPC
Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of ALTON, stated that the FCCPC's decision demonstrates the institutional discipline that the telecommunications sector and the broader investment community have been seeking. He emphasized that suspending the DEON regulations as applied to telecom services acknowledges that the existing regulatory framework, with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as the primary sector regulator, is the appropriate mechanism for governing these products. Adebayo noted that this recognition is crucial for industry stability and investor confidence.
Adebayo highlighted that the disruption revealed how deeply airtime credit is embedded in the daily economic activities of millions of Nigerians. He argued that airtime credit is not merely a financial product but serves as economic infrastructure used regularly by about 40 million people, most of whom are at the base of the economy. Removing this infrastructure, even temporarily, had far-reaching consequences beyond the telecom sector.
Impact on the Airtime Credit Market
The airtime credit market, estimated to be worth between N300 billion and N400 billion annually, was effectively frozen in early April when MTN, Airtel, Glo, and T2mobile suspended their offerings following an FCCPC enforcement directive requiring immediate compliance with the DEON framework. The FCCPC had classified airtime credit as consumer lending, bringing it under regulations originally designed to curb predatory practices by digital loan applications. This classification led to a jurisdictional dispute with the NCC, which regulates telecommunications services under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.
Two Federal High Court orders followed: an interim injunction in Lagos on April 15 restraining the FCCPC from enforcing DEON against WASPAN members, and a separate order in Abuja on April 24 restraining MTN and Airtel from interfering with licensed VAS providers' access to the platform. The FCCPC's application to discharge the Lagos injunction was refused on April 28.
Airtel Leads Restoration Efforts
Airtel's decision to be the first operator to restore services has drawn attention within the industry. The operator resumed services shortly after the regulatory path cleared, a move analysts describe as a signal of confidence in the legal and commercial environment. Globacom, Nigeria's largest local telco, followed within days. However, MTN Nigeria, the country's largest operator by subscriber count with over 95 million subscribers, had not restored its airtime credit services at the time of this report. Industry sources indicate that there are no regulatory or legal barriers to restoration, and MTN's subscribers, who represent the largest bloc of airtime credit users, remain the most significant group waiting for service to resume.
ALTON Calls for Full Restoration
Adebayo stated that ALTON expects full restoration across all networks to happen quickly. He noted that the regulatory environment is now clear, and the association is confident that full restoration is imminent. With the courts having spoken and the FCCPC acting responsibly, two of the four major operators have already restored services. Adebayo urged every operator to act with the urgency their subscribers deserve.
Call for Regulatory Coordination
Looking ahead, Adebayo called for structured dialogue between the FCCPC and the NCC to prevent similar issues in the future. He emphasized that Nigeria's regulatory agencies need formal coordination protocols for services at the intersection of telecommunications and financial products. The FCCPC's consumer protection mandate and the NCC's telecom regulatory mandate can coexist without displacing each other. ALTON is ready to participate in that conversation and urges both agencies to begin it without delay.
