With an August deadline looming, tower operators face mounting pressure to resolve operational weaknesses or face penalties, including fines and potential license suspensions. Meanwhile, Nigerian consumers stand to benefit from greater transparency, better compensation for disruptions, and improved overall network quality.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a strong directive to tower infrastructure providers, including IHS Towers, American Tower Corporation (ATC), and Pan-African Towers, as well as other key stakeholders in Nigeria’s telecom ecosystem, demanding urgent improvements to service quality by the end of August or risk regulatory sanctions.

The order was delivered by NCC Executive Vice Chairman Dr. Aminu Maida on Thursday, July 3, during a high-level meeting in Abuja. The meeting focused on identifying persistent bottlenecks in infrastructure delivery that have undermined internet and voice service quality nationwide. According to industry insiders present at the session, discussions centered on poor power supply, equipment failures, and insufficient technical support as critical contributors to degraded network performance.

Tower companies, or TowerCos, form the backbone of Nigeria’s telecom industry. They provide and manage essential physical infrastructure — including cell towers and rooftop sites — on which mobile network operators (MNOs) like MTN, Airtel, and Glo deploy their equipment.

These infrastructure providers are also responsible for ensuring reliable power supply and safeguarding sites from theft and vandalism. Any lapse at this level directly impacts call quality, data speeds, and overall network reliability.

Given their extensive footprint, these companies have been tasked with resolving issues related to downtime, slow maintenance, and poor power management that have plagued network reliability in recent months.

In a related move to improve consumer protection and service quality, the NCC recently issued the “Directive on Reportage of Major Network Outages by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).”

Under this directive, telecom licensees — including mobile operators, internet service providers, and last-mile providers — are required to notify consumers through media channels whenever there is a major service outage. Operators must clearly state the cause, affected areas, and estimated restoration time. For planned outages, consumers must be informed at least one week in advance.

Additionally, operators are required to offer proportional compensation, such as validity extensions, for outages that last longer than 24 hours, in line with the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations.

The combination of stricter infrastructure performance enforcement and the new outage reporting directive reflects the NCC’s commitment to improving service reliability and consumer trust.

Hikmatu Bilali