The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says telecom operators will upgrade 12,000 base stations in 2026 and begin compensating subscribers for poor service.
The Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, made the announcement during a breakfast meeting with the media on Thursday in Lagos.
Maida said the planned infrastructure expansion is a major step in addressing persistent network quality and capacity challenges across the country.
He noted that the industry made limited progress in 2025, with just over 300 base station upgrades, contributing to service pressure amid rising data demand.
According to him, the sector has already recorded improved momentum in 2026, with about 2,800 base station upgrades completed early in the year.
The upgrades include expanding existing site capacity, deploying new infrastructure, and converting legacy 2G and 3G sites to 4G and 5G technologies.
“These upgrades cover additional spectrum for 4G sites and the conversion of older networks to advanced technologies,” he said.
Maida added that the commission has supported operators through spectrum reallocation, allowing better use of underutilized frequency bands. He described spectrum as the “highways” of telecommunications, noting that increased availability directly improves network capacity and data performance.
He explained that recent spectrum trading has contributed to improved data speeds in some areas.
However, Maida cautioned that improvements in service quality might not immediately match user perception due to rapidly growing data consumption.
“When service improves, usage increases. This often leads to congestion returning faster than expected if capacity is not continuously expanded,” he said.
He stressed that sustained investment in fibre infrastructure remains critical for achieving long-term, affordable, and high-quality internet access, calling fibre deployment the most viable solution for large-scale connectivity to homes, schools, and public spaces.
Maida added that the commission is closely monitoring network performance indicators such as data speed and latency to ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
On consumer protection, he said the NCC has introduced a compensation framework to address service shortfalls experienced by subscribers.
Affected users will receive airtime credits based on quality-of-service assessments conducted at the local government level.
“We have moved monitoring from the state level to the local government level to better reflect the real experience of subscribers,” he said.
The compensation covers service performance between November 2025 and January 2026, with subsequent periods processed after validation.
Subscribers will receive notifications once the rollout begins, following completion of verification processes.
Maida emphasized that the compensation is a regulatory penalty on operators for failing to meet defined service quality benchmarks, not a refund.
He added that independent verification mechanisms have been introduced to ensure transparency and accountability.
Maida concluded that the combined approach of infrastructure expansion and consumer compensation aims to improve service delivery and restore confidence in the telecom sector.
