The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a new directive requiring telecom operators to promptly notify consumers about major network outages. The notification must include the cause of the disruption, affected areas, and the estimated time for service restoration.
Under the new rules, operators are also expected to inform customers at least one week in advance of any planned outages. This move aims to improve transparency, speed up problem resolution, and enhance the overall experience for telecom users across Nigeria.
The directive, signed by the NCC’s Acting Head of Public Affairs, Mrs. Nnenna Ukoha, also mandates telecom companies and internet service providers to offer appropriate compensation—such as service extensions—if outages last longer than 24 hours, in line with consumer protection regulations.
The NCC defines major outages as any network failure affecting at least five percent of a provider’s subscribers or five local government areas, or disruptions that isolate 100 or more network sites for over 30 minutes. It also includes outages degrading service quality in the top 10 highest-traffic states.
To strengthen oversight, the Commission has launched a Major Outage Reporting Portal accessible to the public via the NCC website. This platform allows consumers to track ongoing outages and reveals the parties responsible for disruptions, fostering greater accountability.
Edoyemi Ogor, NCC’s Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity, explained that the portal was trialed with operators before the directive’s release.
He emphasized the importance of transparency and holding saboteurs accountable, aligning with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Executive Order designating telecom infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure, vital to national security and economic stability.
