The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a clear directive to telecommunications operators across the country, setting a high bar for service delivery and corporate conduct in 2026. The telecom regulator, led by its Executive Vice Chairman, Dr Aminu Maida, stated it will hold operators strictly accountable for significant improvements in the consumer experience.
NCC's Directives to Telecom Operators
In a formal document titled '2026: Delivering Better Quality of Experience to the Nigerian Consumer', the NCC outlined specific expectations. Operators are mandated to make deliberate investments in network expansion, capacity, and resilience. A key focus is on reducing avoidable service outages and strengthening plans for responding to incidents.
The commission also demands transparent communication with consumers during any service disruptions. Furthermore, operators must simplify their tariff structures and ensure pricing clarity aligns with regulatory guidance. The NCC emphasized that customer care and complaint handling require urgent upgrades, with complaints to be treated as critical feedback for improvement.
Dr Maida summarized the expectations concisely: "Put simply, stronger networks, clearer communication, better customer care, stricter compliance."
The Regulatory Action Plan for 2026
On its part, the NCC has committed to a series of actions to enforce these standards. The commission will prioritize quality of service (QoS) and network resilience by deepening its monitoring activities and strengthening major incident reporting and escalation procedures. Practical measures to improve network availability and performance, especially in high-traffic areas and known black spots, will be driven aggressively.
Consumer protection is another major pillar. The NCC vows to reinforce tariff transparency, billing accuracy, and customer care standards, while also protecting users from misleading practices. The public can expect more consistent communication from the regulator during major service incidents.
To ensure a healthy market, the NCC will promote fair competition, prevent anti-competitive conduct, and support consumer-benefiting innovation. A significant move will be the operationalization of the revised Corporate Governance Code for the communications sector, aimed at strengthening board accountability and making governance a key performance driver.
Enforcement and Sector-Wide Collaboration
The regulator warned that it will enforce compliance with all obligations, particularly on service quality and governance. Appropriate regulatory consequences will be applied for persistent or material non-compliance in a fair and transparent manner.
Beyond policing operators, the NCC outlined broader sector initiatives. These include regular publication of industry performance data and continued collaboration with security agencies like the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to protect Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) from vandalism and theft.
The commission also highlighted plans to tackle power resilience challenges and to foster stronger partnerships with sub-national governments through bodies like the Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF). This collaboration is deemed crucial for addressing Right-of-Way (RoW) challenges, easing deployment bottlenecks, and enabling faster network rollout at state and local levels.
The comprehensive plan, dated 7 January 2026, signals a year of intensified regulatory focus where the Nigerian telecom consumer's experience is placed at the forefront of the industry's agenda.
