FG has mandated Telcos to notify subscribers of service outages.
NewsOnline Nigeria reports that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has rolled out a new directive requiring all telecom service providers to notify consumers ahead of any significant service disruptions.
In a statement released by Mrs. Nnenna Ukoha, Acting Head of Public Affairs at the NCC, the regulatory body emphasized that telecom operators must now provide detailed information about the cause of the outage, affected locations, and estimated time of service restoration.
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For any planned maintenance or service interruption, consumers must receive at least one week’s notice.
New Policy to Improve Transparency and Consumer Protection
The new regulation, titled “Directive on Reportage of Major Network Outages by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs),” is aimed at enhancing user experience, boosting accountability, and ensuring timely resolution of network issues across Nigeria’s telecom industry.
According to the NCC, all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and last-mile service providers must also offer appropriate compensation; such as extended data or validity periods—if a service outage exceeds 24 hours. This measure is in line with Nigeria’s Consumer Code of Practice Regulations.
Three Key Categories of Major Network Outages Defined
To standardize reporting, the NCC categorized major network disruptions into three key types:
Widespread Service Impact: Any incident—such as fibre cuts, theft, vandalism, or natural disasters—affecting at least 5% of a telecom provider’s subscribers or spanning five or more Local Government Areas (LGAs).
Site-Based Disruption: The unplanned outage or total disconnection of 100 or more network sites or 5% of the provider’s total infrastructure, lasting 30 minutes or more.
Degraded Service Quality: Any persistent service issue that affects network performance in the top 10 highest-traffic states, as periodically defined by the NCC.
Launch of Real-Time Major Outage Reporting Portal
To further promote transparency, the NCC has unveiled a Major Outage Reporting Portal on its official website: www.ncc.gov.ng. The portal allows users to access real-time updates on service outages, including the root cause and parties responsible for the disruption.
Engr. Edoyemi Ogor, Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity at the Commission, revealed that the outage reporting system had undergone a successful pilot phase before the nationwide rollout.
“This directive reinforces transparency and ensures that consumers are informed in real time. It also supports accountability by tracking and exposing saboteurs of telecom infrastructure,” Ogor stated.
Safeguarding National Telecom Infrastructure
The new measure aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Executive Order, which designates telecom infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII). This classification highlights the strategic importance of telecom services to national security, economic development, and the daily lives of citizens.
Ogor added that this initiative is part of the Commission’s broader efforts to protect Nigeria’s digital backbone and foster trust between consumers and service providers.
