Nigeria’s telecom operators will face tougher expectations in 2026, as the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) moves to tighten accountability across the sector while pushing for deeper investment and better service delivery. In its 2026 newsletter, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the NCC makes it clear that while operators remain the “engine of investment and innovation” in the industry, the era of growth without commensurate improvements in consumer experience is over.
The message to operators is direct: the Commission will continue to work with the industry, but it will also hold players firmly accountable for service quality. At the centre of the NCC’s expectations for 2026 are stronger networks, clearer communication with customers, improved customer care, and stricter compliance with regulatory obligations. For regulators, the test of the sector’s success is no longer headline subscriber numbers alone, but whether Nigerians can consistently feel the impact of connectivity in their daily lives.
According to the EVC, operators are expected to invest deliberately in network expansion, capacity, and resilience in the year ahead. This expectation is shaped by the surge in data demand across the country, driven by streaming, digital payments, remote work, education, and emerging technologies. While coverage has expanded in recent years, the Commission notes that pressure on existing infrastructure has grown, making sustained investment in backhaul, redundancy, and network hardening unavoidable.
Reducing avoidable outages is another key priority. The NCC says operators must strengthen their incident response plans and improve how quickly networks recover when disruptions occur. Beyond technical fixes, the Commission is also placing greater emphasis on how operators communicate during service disruptions. Customers, the EVC stressed, deserve timely and transparent information about what went wrong, what is being done to fix it, and when services are likely to be restored.
Tariff transparency is also firmly on the Commission’s 2026 agenda. The NCC expects operators to simplify their tariff structures and improve pricing clarity in line with existing regulatory guidance. Complex and opaque pricing, the regulator argues, undermines consumer trust and makes it harder for users to understand the value of the services they are paying for.
Customer care is another area where the Commission wants to see visible improvement. Operators are expected to upgrade their complaint-handling processes and treat consumer complaints not as irritants, but as critical feedback for improving service delivery. This aligns with the NCC’s broader push to strengthen consumer protection and restore confidence in the telecoms market.
Beyond customer-facing issues, the regulator is also turning its attention to the integrity and sustainability of the wider telecoms ecosystem. Operators are expected to meet their obligations to critical suppliers in a timely manner, ensuring that infrastructure providers and other partners remain financially viable. According to the Commission, weak links in the value chain ultimately affect service quality and investment across the sector.
Corporate governance will also come under closer scrutiny in 2026. The NCC says operators must comply fully with the industry’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, alongside all other regulatory obligations. Strong governance, the Commission believes, is essential for long-term investment, risk management, and accountability to consumers and shareholders alike.