Telecom operators in Nigeria are now required to publicly disclose major network disruptions and compensate customers for prolonged outages. This directive came from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which says the move aims to boost service quality and protect consumers.
In a statement signed by the Acting Director of Public Affairs, Nnena Ukoha, the Commission mandated all telecom licensees—mobile networks, ISPs, and last-mile providers—to alert users during significant disruptions. These announcements must include the cause of the outage, the locations affected, and when services are expected to be restored.
For service interruptions that are pre-planned, telecom firms must give customers at least a week’s notice. When the issue is unexpected, media announcements are to be made immediately.
Telcos to Compensate After 24-Hour Blackouts
A key part of the new rule is customer compensation. The NCC now expects network providers to offer proportionate compensation—such as airtime validity extensions or data rollovers—when outages last longer than 24 hours. This aligns with the existing Consumer Code of Practice Regulations.
According to the NCC, a “major outage” covers any event affecting 5% or more of an operator’s subscribers, or service failures across five or more Local Government Areas. It also includes unplanned shutdowns of 100 or more sites, or 5% of an operator’s total sites, whichever is fewer. Prolonged service degradation in the country’s ten most active states by traffic volume also falls under this definition.
To improve transparency, the NCC now requires telcos to report such outages through its Major Outage Reporting Portal, which is accessible to the public via www.ncc.gov.ng. This portal will also highlight which entities are responsible when infrastructure is damaged.
The new directive is part of a broader push by the NCC to raise the bar in Nigeria’s telecom sector. By making network failures public and enforcing compensation, the Commission hopes to build a more transparent and accountable system.
“The directive is part of efforts to ensure that consumers receive quality service while also having access to information that directly impacts them,” the NCC said in its announcement.
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