Nigeria has begun reviewing its 26-year-old telecommunications policy, proposing 15 major changes that could affect everything from mobile tariffs and internet competition to network quality and online safety for millions of subscribers. The review is expected to go live before the end of the year.
At a policy review workshop in Lagos on Wednesday, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said the proposed National Telecommunications Policy 2026 is intended to address the everyday problems subscribers continue to face, including rising data costs, persistent network outages, weak connectivity, and growing exposure to online fraud and digital scams.
Subscribers are facing worsening network disruptions as damage to telecom infrastructure continues across the country. Nigeria recorded 19,384 fibre-optic cable cuts in 2025, contributing to frequent service outages and unstable connectivity nationwide.
The proposed reforms include restructuring telecom governance institutions, updating the Nigerian Communications Act, strengthening competition rules, promoting infrastructure sharing and national roaming, improving spectrum efficiency for 5G and future technologies, and introducing more transparent tariff regulation. The policy also seeks to integrate satellite broadband, support AI and IoT innovation, encourage local telecom manufacturing, and establish a Digital Innovation Fund for startups and research.
The new framework places strong emphasis on consumer protection, affordability, and network reliability through measures focused on online safety, digital literacy, cybersecurity, and broader internet access. Telecom infrastructure, such as fibre-optic cables and towers, would receive stronger legal protection as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII), while a one-stop permitting system and harmonised Right of Way fees are expected to reduce multiple taxation and lower broadband deployment costs nationwide.
The NCC has achieved only about 25% of its planned 2026 site upgrade targets, leaving the existing 4G infrastructure overstretched. With Nigerians consuming over 4 billion gigabytes of data in Q1 2026 alone, networks are increasingly experiencing congestion and speed throttling, particularly during peak usage periods.
“When the National Telecommunications Policy 2000 was introduced, Nigeria’s telecommunications sector was at a very different stage of development,” NCC Executive Vice Chairman Aminu Maida said at the event. “The market has outgrown the assumptions of that period.”
According to him, the sector has now entered what he described as “the era of advanced regulatory frontiers,” where regulators must contend with technologies such as artificial intelligence, 5G, satellite broadband, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud infrastructure, and critical national information infrastructure.
“This is no longer a narrow telecommunications conversation,” Maida said. “Telecommunications is no longer just one sector within the economy; it is productivity infrastructure for the entire economy.”
One of the most visible changes proposed in the review is a stronger focus on consumer protection and online safety. Unlike the 2000 policy, which largely focused on getting Nigerians connected, the revised framework introduces new directions around digital trust, cybersecurity, and the regulation of online platforms and services.
For subscribers, this could translate into stronger measures against online scams, fraudulent digital platforms, harmful content, and other internet-related risks that currently operate with limited oversight.
The policy review also comes as telecom operators grapple with worsening infrastructure and operational challenges that directly affect service quality. 5,934 fibre cuts were recorded in the first quarter of 2026 alone, vandalism, more than 50 taxes and levies imposed across the sector, persistent right-of-way bottlenecks, and rising energy costs, with diesel prices increasing from ₦1,770 to ₦1,850 per litre.
“Fibre cuts, vandalism, high energy costs, multiple taxation, permitting delays, and persistent gaps between urban and rural connectivity are national development issues,” Maida said.
As part of the proposed reforms, the NCC signalled plans to simplify infrastructure deployment through harmonised Right of Way (RoW) fees and streamlined permitting processes across federal, state, and local governments.
Telecom operators have long argued that multiple taxation and inconsistent permitting systems significantly increase the cost of deploying fibre infrastructure, costs that are often passed on to subscribers through higher data and call prices.
The revised framework also seeks to give stronger protection to telecom infrastructure designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII). For consumers, this could help reduce network blackouts caused by fibre cuts and vandalism, which continue to disrupt connectivity across the country.
Another major shift is the move from simply providing “universal access” to ensuring what regulators describe as “meaningful connectivity.”.
The policy review further introduces a stronger emphasis on digital literacy and inclusion, with regulators seeking to ensure that more Nigerians can effectively participate in the digital economy. This could lead to more government-backed digital training initiatives, smartphone affordability programmes, and targeted support for underserved communities.
The NCC said the new framework would address the growing convergence between telecom networks and other sectors, including financial services, data protection, cloud infrastructure, and digital identity systems.
Regulators are expected to work more closely with agencies such as the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), and state governments.
“This new policy should not be too prescriptive on technology because technology changes so quickly,” Former NCC Executive Vice Chairman and current MTN Nigeria chairman, Ernest Ndukwe, said. “Good regulation is essential, but regulation must also remain adaptable.”
The NCC said consultations on the proposed National Telecommunications Policy 2026 would continue as regulators seek to create a framework capable of supporting broadband expansion, AI infrastructure, consumer protection, cybersecurity, and long-term investment sustainability.
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