The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reiterated its directive for telecom service providers to compensate subscribers for poor services.
This was as it announced that the telecom operators will upgrade 12,000 base stations in 2026 for enhanced quality services.
The Executive Vice-Chairman of the commission, Dr Aminu Maida, who stated these at a breakfast meeting with the media on Thursday, April 23, 2026 in Lagos, said commission was closely monitoring network performance indicators that include data speed and latency to ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
The NCC EVC also said that the planned infrastructure expansion marked a major step in addressing persistent challenges in network quality and capacity across the country.
Maida said that while the industry made limited progress in 2025, with just over 300 base station upgrades recorded, the situation he noted contributed to service pressure amid rising data demand.
The NCC EVC said the sector has already recorded improved momentum in 2026, with about 2,800 base station upgrades completed within the first part of the year.
Maida further said that the upgrades include expansion of existing site capacity, deployment of new infrastructure and conversion of legacy 2G and 3G sites to 4G and 5G technologies.
In the words of Maida; “These upgrades cover additional spectrum for 4G sites and the conversion of older networks to more advanced technologies.
“The commission also supported operators through spectrum reallocation, which allowed better utilisation of previously underused frequency bands. Spectrum is the highways of telecommunications,” he stated.
Maida further said that increased availability directly improves network capacity and data performance, adding that recent spectrum trading in the sector has contributed to improved data speeds in parts of the country.
The EVC cautioned that improvements in service quality might not immediately translate to perceived user experience due to rapidly increasing data consumption, adding that digital platforms and changing user behaviour often led to higher demand, which could place renewed pressure on upgraded networks.
Maida said; “When service improves, usage increases. This often leads to congestion returning faster than expected if capacity is not continuously expanded”.
He also said that sustained investment in fibre infrastructure remained critical for achieving long-term, affordable and high-quality internet access, adding that fibre deployment was the most viable solution for delivering large-scale, unlimited connectivity to homes, schools and public spaces.
Maida is concern with the protection of consumer, saying that the NCC had introduced a compensation framework to address service shortfalls experienced by subscribers, and emphasised that affected users would receive airtime credits based on quality-of-service assessments conducted at the local government level.
According to Maida; “We have moved monitoring from the state level to the local government level to better reflect the real experience of subscribers.
“The compensation covers service performance between November 2025 and January 2026, with subsequent periods to be processed after validation. Subscribers would receive notifications once the rollout begins, following completion of verification processes,” he said.
Maida explained that the compensation is a regulatory penalty on operators and not a refund for failing to meet defined service quality benchmarks, adding that independent verification mechanisms were introduced to ensure transparency and accountability in the process.
