The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a new directive compelling all telecom service providers in the country to inform consumers about any major service outages on their networks.
In a statement by its Acting Head of Public Affairs, Mrs. Nnenna Ukoha, the NCC stated that the notification must include the cause of the outage, affected areas, and the estimated time for service restoration.
The directive also mandates that consumers be notified at least one week in advance for any planned service disruptions.
This new regulation, titled “Directive on Reportage of Major Network Outages by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs),” aims to improve the quality of experience for telecom users, ensure accountability, and promote timely resolution of network issues.
The NCC emphasized that Mobile Network Operators, Internet Service Providers, and others offering last-mile services must also provide proportionate compensation—such as extended validity periods—if an outage lasts longer than 24 hours. This must be in accordance with the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations.
Three categories of major outages have been identified in the directive:
1. Widespread Service Impact – Any event (e.g., fibre cut, theft, vandalism, force majeure) that affects five per cent or more of an operator’s subscriber base or spans at least five Local Government Areas (LGAs).
2. Site-Based Disruption – The unplanned outage or total isolation of 100 or more network sites or five per cent of total sites (whichever is lower), or one cluster of sites, lasting for 30 minutes or more.
3. Degraded Service Quality – Any disruption that impacts network quality in the top 10 states with the highest traffic volumes, as defined periodically by the Commission.
To enhance public awareness and oversight, the NCC said it has launched a Major Outage Reporting Portal, available via its official website www.ncc.gov.ng. The portal not only provides real-time updates on outages but also identifies parties responsible for the disruptions.
Speaking on the new directive and the portal, the Commission’s Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Engr. Edoyemi Ogor, said: “The Commission has trialled the reporting process and portal with operators for some months now before issuing the directive.
“By providing consumers and stakeholders in the telecommunications industry with timely and transparent information on network outages, we are entrenching a culture of accountability and transparency. This approach also ensures that culprits are held responsible for sabotage to telecommunications infrastructure.
“This also aligns with our broader commitment to the effective implementation of the Executive Order signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which designates telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII). It reinforces the need to safeguard these assets, given their centrality to national security, economic stability, and the everyday lives of Nigerians.”
