Abolaji Adebayo 
In a definitive clarification of its regulatory mandate, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has stated it does not possess the authority to fix prices within the telecommunications sector.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Dr Aminu Maida, articulated this position while providing a comprehensive overview of the nation’s telecoms policy landscape, the rationale behind recent tariff adjustments, and the Commission’s strategic focus on service quality and transparency.
Maida explained that the NCC’s role as an economic regulator is firmly grounded in the Nigerian Communications Act (2003). He emphasised that the Act did not confer upon the NCC or the Federal Government the power to set prices in a deregulated market.
According to him, “instead, the Commission’s function is to foster a competitive environment where operators can earn fair returns while consumers have access to high-quality and affordable services. “The law requires the NCC to approve tariffs primarily to prevent anticompetitive practices, such as collusion to inflate prices or cross-subsidization to undercut rivals unfairly.
“The Commission conducts regular cost studies to establish price floors and ceilings, within which operators are free to compete.” This clarification comes against the backdrop of recent tariff hikes by mobile network operators. Maida provided context, noting that while consumer prices for many essential goods and services, including transport and food, have risen significantly, some by over 100 per cent, telecoms tariffs remained largely flat for nearly a decade without inflationary adjustments.
“During this period, operators faced a steep increase in input costs, particularly the diesel required to power approximately 40,000 sites nationwide and the cost of imported equipment affected by foreign exchange volatility. This erosion of margins made the sector less attractive for investment, leading to a decline in capital expenditure and threatening network quality.
“The NCC faced a dilemma: allow continued investment decline or permit costoriented tariff adjustments to restore investor confidence. The chosen path, according to Dr. Maida, was the only lawful option to ensure the sector’s sustainability, and it has already resulted in verified investment commitments of over $1 billion from operators for network expansion in 2024 alone,” he noted.
Beyond tariffs, Maida detailed a multipronged strategy to enhance network reliability, saying a key focus has been extending regulatory oversight beyond Mobile Network Operators to cover the entire service-delivery chain, especially Co-Location Service Providers like IHS and ATC, who provide critical power and hosting services.
He stated: “The NCC has updated its Quality of Service (QoS) instrument to include these providers, with key performance indicators focused on power availability and the Mean Time to Repair faults. Service quality is now measured at the more granular Local Government Area level, and all KPI data is published on the NCC website for public accountability.”
Addressing the persistent issue of infrastructure disruption, the NCC is leveraging the President’s Executive Order on Critical National Information Infrastructure, which designates telecoms infrastructure as critical and makes intentional damage a criminal offence.
The Commission is collaborating closely with the Office of the National Security Adviser, running multi-lingual awareness campaigns on the impact of vandalism, and establishing memoranda with public works authorities to prevent avoidable fibre cuts during road construction.
A shared digital platform is being developed with the Federal Ministry of Works and priority states to ensure better coordination and timely notification for operators to relocate cables during projects. Looking to the future, Maida identified the expansion of fibre optic networks as pivotal to achieving affordable, high-speed data for all Nigerians.
He highlighted the government’s 90,000 km national fibre project and a forthcoming NCC Wholesale Fibre Study, due by mid2026, which aims to open up existing and future backbone fibre networks on fair and transparent terms. This, he stated, would encourage the growth of more Internet Service Providers beyond Lagos and Abuja, increasing competition and delivering last-mile connectivity to homes and businesses.
