NCC Mandates TELCOs To Refund Subscribers Airtime For Bad Service

Under a more robust regulatory enforcement framework across the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has now ordered telecom companies (MTN, Airtel, Glo, and T2, formerly 9mobile) to provide airtime in the form of credits automatically to customers who experience poor or bad network quality across the country, irrespective of where they are.

The action is a part of revitalized and rejuvenated efforts to safeguard consumers, also to enhance service delivery, and to hold operators responsible for ongoing network performance issues nationwide.

During a media breakfast meeting on Thursday, Dr. Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice Chairman, issued the directive to the TELCO companies.

Maida had claimed that the regulation was implemented in response to operators’ inability to achieve basic quality of service requirements in many places.

He emphasized that operators must take full responsibility for the poor service delivery by saying that it is not a refund from the regulator but a compliance obligation placed on service providers.

The NCC chief further clarified that the structure allows the commission to identify specific locations and times of low quality or bad service because it depends on thorough monitoring at the local government level.

Also, this move also shows a shift from government administrative fines to a consumer-centric model where aggrieved users receive restitution directly, while the NCC also requires tower companies to reinvest any fines into infrastructure upgrades, like addressing fibre cuts and vandalism, to tackle the root causes of poor service.

According to him, this detailed approach enables authorities to concentrate on quantifiable, location-specific service deficiencies impacting customers rather than just broad complaints.

He claims that the payout primarily addresses service outages from the TELCOs end that were reported by various network operators between November 2025 and January 2026. 

He continued by saying that the airtime credits with notifications outlining the cause and value of the compensation will be given to eligible subscribers.

Notifications, he claimed, would increase openness and assist people in comprehending the reasons behind the application of compensation to their accounts.

Maida pointed out that in order to collect real-time, location-specific service performance data, the commission has greatly improved its monitoring systems.