The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a new directive mandating telecom operators to notify consumers of any major service disruptions, including the cause of the outage, affected areas, and an estimated time for restoration.
In a statement signed by Nnenna Ukoha, acting head of public affairs, the NCC said telecom companies must also inform customers at least one week in advance if the outage is planned.
The new policy, titled ‘Directive on Reportage of Major Network Outages by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs)’, also requires service providers to compensate consumers if any disruption exceeds 24 hours. This may come in the form of validity extensions or other proportional measures, in line with the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations.
The commission emphasized that this directive applies not only to MNOs but also to internet service providers and other last-mile service providers.
“In furtherance of this, the Commission has further directed that all Major Outages are to be reported by operators through the Commission’s Major Outage Reporting Portal, which is accessible to the public through the Commission’s website, www.ncc.gov.ng,” the statement read.
It added that the portal will publicly disclose the identity of the entity responsible for the disruption, reinforcing a drive for industry accountability.
Edoyemi Ogor, director of technical standards and network integrity at the NCC, said the Commission had previously trialled the portal with telecom companies 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,” Ogor stated.
He further noted that the approach would “ensure that culprits are held responsible for sabotage to telecommunications infrastructure.”
According to Ogor, the directive is in line with the Executive Order signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which designates telecom infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII).
The Commission emphasized the importance of protecting telecommunications assets, describing them as vital to national security, economic growth, and daily life in Nigeria.
