NCC to Review National Telecom Policy 26 Years After, Cites Evolving Market

The Nigerian Communications Commission has begun a major overhaul of the country’s long-standing telecommunications policy, nearly 26 years after it was first approved. The move comes as the regulator admits that the National Telecommunications Policy 2000 no longer reflects the realities of today’s fast-moving digital landscape.

NCC confirmed the review on Monday while releasing a broad consultation paper that invites the public, operators and industry players to comment on the proposed changes. The Commission explained that the goal is to realign Nigeria’s telecom policy with new developments in digital services, internet governance, satellite communication and universal broadband access.

Although the policy once helped open Nigeria’s telecom market to competition, it is now considered outdated. In its consultation paper, the Commission recalled that the 2000 framework replaced the even older 1998 policy and introduced full market liberalisation, wider stakeholder engagement and a unified regulatory structure driven by the NCC. The shift ended decades of state dominance under NITEL, which the Commission noted was “characterised by obsolete equipment, poor service quality and low teledensity.”

The Policy That Changed Everything

The policy’s introduction facilitated the licensing of GSM operators in 2001 and 2002. This decision transformed the country’s telecom landscape almost instantaneously, with mobile subscriptions exceeding fixed-line users by a large margin. It also established the groundwork for the Nigerian Communications Act of 2003, which provided a legal framework for a future robustly growing sector of the economy in terms of GDP contribution and foreign investment.

NCC said the policy helped unlock digital financial services, e-commerce and the broader digital economy. However, just as the 1998 framework became obsolete, the Commission believes the current policy can no longer guide the sector through modern challenges such as platform-based services, broadband-dependent applications and the rise of non-terrestrial networks.

What the NCC Wants to Change

As part of the review, the Commission is proposing updates across multiple chapters. Chapter Seven on Internet governance will be expanded to address online safety, content moderation standards, platform responsibility and the need to deepen internet exchange protocols in Nigeria. The section on satellite communication will also receive a full refresh to support spectrum harmonisation and strengthen cooperation between terrestrial and non-terrestrial systems.

The Commission added that Chapter Ten on financing will undergo revision to better reflect the fiscal and monetary realities impacting telecom operators today. Stakeholders are also being asked to submit recommendations on how to resolve long-standing problems such as multiple taxation and overlapping regulatory mandates.

Beyond reworking existing sections, NCC is planning a new chapter that will focus on broadband goals, the protection of national communication infrastructure, and the harmonisation of right-of-way charges across all levels of government. A one-stop permitting system for infrastructure deployment is also being proposed to speed up rollout nationwide.

The Commission has called for public comments before finalising the new policy, which is expected to shape Nigeria’s digital direction for the next decade.