By Jennete Ugo Anya
Nigeria’s telecommunications sector is undergoing one of its largest infrastructure expansion cycles in recent years as regulators and operators respond to growing public concerns over service quality, network congestion, unstable internet connectivity, and recurring service disruptions across parts of the country.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in a detailed industry update signed by the Head of Public Affairs, Nnena Ukoha, acknowledged widespread consumer frustration over dropped calls, slow internet speeds, unstable data services, and outages affecting business operations, education, financial transactions, and daily communication activities.
According to the commission, telecommunications services have become central to economic and social activities in Nigeria, making reliable service delivery a regulatory expectation rather than a commercial preference.
“The Commission recognises the frustration experienced by consumers when calls drop, internet speeds slow down, data services become unstable, or service disruptions affect daily activities,” the statement noted. “Consumers are therefore entitled to reliable service and must receive value for the services they pay for.”
The statement provided a detailed account of the regulatory, operational, and investment measures currently being implemented across the industry to improve Quality of Service, an issue that has remained one of the most persistent concerns within Nigeria’s telecommunications market.
Over the past two years, the commission said that it had intensified oversight of Mobile Network Operators, Internet Service Providers, and Tower Companies through data-driven monitoring systems and expanded engagement with public institutions responsible for infrastructure, security, and access management.
The intervention comes against the backdrop of rapid growth in Nigeria’s digital economy, rising smartphone penetration, increased streaming activity, expanding fintech usage, remote work adoption, and escalating demand for high-capacity data services.
According to the NCC, the telecommunications sector experienced a prolonged period of under-investment before the current infrastructure expansion cycle. To address those gaps, operators significantly increased capital deployment into network infrastructure in 2025.
The commission disclosed that Mobile Network Operators invested more than N2.13 trillion in network infrastructure and upgrades during 2025, while Tower Companies committed an additional N373.8 billion to support industry-wide infrastructure expansion.
Those investments supported the deployment and upgrade of more than 2,800 telecommunications sites nationwide, targeting coverage deficiencies and network congestion in several urban and underserved locations.
The NCC explained that the interventions included deployment of additional 4G and 5G capacity layers, fibre backhaul expansion to strengthen transmission resilience, targeted rollout in high-demand locations, infrastructure expansion into underserved communities, and large-scale replacement of ageing network equipment.
While acknowledging the scale of investment entering the sector, the commission maintained that infrastructure spending alone would not be sufficient unless consumers experienced measurable improvement in service delivery.
The expansion programme has continued into 2026 as operators respond to accelerating data consumption and increasing demand for digital connectivity across the economy.
According to the commission, operators have already committed to adding or upgrading more than 12,000 telecommunications sites during the year, with close to 3,000 sites already completed. The NCC further disclosed that more than 730 additional 5G sites had been deployed across 27 states in 2026 alone.
Alongside physical infrastructure expansion, the commission said it had also undertaken spectrum management interventions under its Spectrum Trading Guidelines. These measures included reallocating underutilised radio spectrum among major Mobile Network Operators and rearranging spectrum blocks to improve frequency contiguity and operational efficiency.
According to the NCC, those interventions are intended to improve network capacity, optimise spectrum utilisation, and strengthen service performance across the industry.
The commission’s own Quality of Service and Quality of Experience assessments reportedly indicate gradual improvement in several performance indicators nationwide. Using crowdsourced and field-based analytics, the NCC said national median download speeds increased from 16.5Mbps in January 2024 to 20Mbps currently, while 4G penetration rose from 45 percent to 54 percent within the same period.
Power availability at telecommunications sites also improved from a national average of 99.3 percent in January 2025 to 99.7 percent currently, according to the commission’s data.
However, the regulator acknowledged that service quality challenges remain significant in several parts of the country, particularly in areas where subscribers continue to report poor call quality, unstable connectivity, congestion, and slow data speeds.
“However, the commission is equally clear that the pace and consistency of improvement must increase,” the statement said.
Beyond investment and infrastructure deployment, the commission identified external operational risks that continue to affect network stability nationwide. These include vandalism of telecommunications infrastructure, theft of network equipment, denial of access to maintenance teams, fibre cuts linked to road construction activities, and broader power-related disruptions.
The NCC disclosed that more than 27,000 avoidable fibre-cut incidents were recorded nationwide in 2025 alone, with many linked to construction activities and infrastructure vandalism. According to the commission, each incident directly affects network performance, service availability, and consumer experience.
To address those disruptions, the commission said it is working with the Office of the National Security Adviser and other stakeholders to operationalise the Presidential Order on Critical National Information Infrastructure.
The commission stated that collaborative security operations had already disrupted syndicates involved in theft and resale of telecommunications equipment, while engagement with federal and state ministries responsible for road construction was expected to reduce avoidable fibre damage during infrastructure projects.
As part of efforts to improve transparency, the NCC also directed operators to provide consumers with timely notifications whenever major outages occur and to restore affected services within defined timelines. The commission added that major incidents are now logged on its public network outage reporting portal.
The statement further highlighted the commission’s enforcement measures under the updated Quality of Service Regulations 2024, which became operational after a transition period granted to operators and Tower Companies to procure and install equipment needed to improve service quality nationwide.
According to the NCC, enforcement commenced in November 2025 and includes consumer compensation measures for poor service delivery, alongside additional investment obligations imposed on Tower Companies where performance deficiencies are identified.
“This enforcement will continue, and where operators fail to deliver measurable improvements, the Commission will take appropriate regulatory action, including escalation where necessary,” the statement added.
The commission also acknowledged support from the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, the National Assembly, and the Office of the National Security Adviser in implementing regulatory reforms and infrastructure protection initiatives.
At the same time, the NCC maintained that improving telecommunications service quality would require broader cooperation involving governments at all levels, host communities, infrastructure agencies, operators, and security institutions.
“We therefore call on all stakeholders, across federal, state, and local governments, as well as host communities, to support efforts aimed at protecting telecommunications infrastructure, facilitating timely access for maintenance, and creating an enabling environment for sustained investment in the sector,” the commission stated.
