NCC Requires Telecoms to Compensate for 24-Hour+ Outages

Telecom companies and mobile network operators in Nigeria are required by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to alert customers via media outlets of any significant outage on their networks.

“The notification must include the cause of the disruption, the affected areas, and the estimated time of service restoration,” the commission stated in a statement signed by Nnenna Ukoha, acting head of public affairs, revealed this in a statement on Sunday.

“All Nigerian MNOs are required to notify their customers of the cause or causes of the service interruption, the area or areas affected by the service interruption/outage, and the time that would be required to restore service,” the NCC states.

Additionally, if the outage is scheduled, operators must notify customers at least one week in advance.

The “Directive on Reportage of Major Network Outages by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs)” document, which also requires operators to provide proportionate compensation, like an extension of validity, if any outage lasts longer than 24 hours, contains the development. The commission’s efforts to guarantee prompt outage resolution, improve telecom customers’ experiences, and educate customers, as may be applicable and in accordance with the provisions of the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations.

The Commission periodically specifies three categories of major outages, which include: “any network operational condition such as fibre cut due to construction/access issues/theft & vandalism and force majeure that impacts five percent or more of the affected operator’s subscriber base or five or more local government areas (LGAs); having an occasion of unplanned outage of, or complete isolation of network resources in 100 or more sites or five percent of the total number of sites (whichever is less) or one cluster that lasts for 30 minutes or more; and finally, any type of outage that can degrade network quality in the top 10 states based on traffic volume.

According to the NCC, the compensation must be given in accordance with the regulations of the Consumer Code of Practice.

The commission further stated that internet service providers, mobile network operators, and other businesses providing last-mile services are covered by the directive.

“In support of this, the Commission has additionally instructed that operators report all major outages via the Commission’s Major Outage Reporting Portal, which is publicly available via the Commission’s website, www.ncc.gov.ng,” the statement read.

“The portal also reveals the identity of the offender who caused the disruption.”

Before releasing the directive, the commission tested the reporting procedure and portal with operators for a few months, according to Edoyemi Ogor, director of technical standards and network integrity.

“We are establishing a culture of accountability and transparency by giving customers and telecommunications industry stakeholders timely and transparent information on network outages,” he stated.

This strategy also guarantees that those who attack telecommunications infrastructure will be held accountable.

This also fits with our larger goal of ensuring that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Executive Order, which classifies telecoms infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII), is implemented effectively. Given their importance to economic stability, national security, and Nigerians’ daily lives, it emphasizes the necessity of protecting these resources, Ogor stated.

According to the NCC, it emphasizes how important the assets are to economic stability, national security, and Nigerians’ daily lives.