NCC, MTN Address Consumer Concerns Over Poor Network Service

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) revealed that over 75 million telecom subscribers received airtime and service compensations in 2026, alongside 7,000 targeted network interventions deployed across the country to resolve persistent service disruptions.

Speaking at the 95th Telecom Consumers Parliament in Lagos, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, stressed that while financial remedies offer temporary relief, the regulator’s primary goal remains eliminating chronic infrastructure failures.

“Compensation matters, but it cannot make up for losses of small jobs or an important conversation that was taking place,” Maida stated, adding that public coverage maps using crowdsourced performance data are now live on the NCC portal to help citizens evaluate provider reliability in their immediate locations.

Civil society groups at the parliament insisted that official statistics must reflect the daily realities of consumers, particularly those on legacy networks.

Delivering a keynote address on consumer rights, Professor Chiso Ndukwu-Okafor, Executive Director of the Consumer Advocacy and Empowerment Foundation (CADEF), cautioned against misinterpreting coverage figures.

“36% of subscriptions are 2G. We need to be careful how we read these statistics,” Ndukwu-Okafor argued, emphasizing that rural communities continue to face network dead zones while being excluded from app-based complaint channels. She called for structural reforms in complaint tracking, declaring, “If you begin to think of trust, not as a phrase, but as an infrastructure, then what you will do is create a strategy in building that trust.”

Responding on behalf of network operators, MTN Nigeria reiterated its ongoing network investments while addressing subscriber frustrations over rapid data depletion.

Speaking during the panel sessions, Winifred Umerah, General Manager of Customer Strategy Management and Insights at MTN Nigeria, noted that while data calibration differs from traditional voice or SMS due to active background consumption, operator transparency has vastly improved.

She revealed that MTN has introduced real-time data monitoring tools, allowing subscribers to track top data-consuming apps on their smartphones and compare app metrics against network logs to hold service providers directly accountable.

Addressing technical service diagnostic capabilities, Umerah clarified that operator visibility now extends beyond general coverage to distinguish actual handset limitations from base station output.

“Access does not translate to satisfactory usage,” Umerah explained. “When you call to lay complaints from your number, we are able to check: is it an experience that we caused, or as a result of your phone or device, or as a result of the transmission station?”

Reaffirming the operator’s commitment to subscriber satisfaction, she noted that MTN would continue to invest heavily in accessibility tools to ensure every customer benefits from modern, high-speed digital connectivity.

Closing the session, the NCC urged subscribers to remain vigilant against localized infrastructure vandalism, which regularly disrupts connectivity across distant communities, while demanding that service providers strictly honour customer resolution commitments.

“These everyday experiences should guide our discussions today because people want their phones to work, their charges to make sense, and someone to take responsibility when things go wrong,” Maida stated.

The regulator reiterated that subscribers with unresolved billing or network grievances should obtain a formal reference number from their provider before escalating complaints to the NCC through its toll-free helpline 622 or official online portals.