NCC mandates telecom operators to notify consumers of service outages

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a new directive requiring all telecom licensees in Nigeria to promptly inform consumers of major service outages on their networks.

According to the mandate, operators must disclose the cause of the service interruption, the areas affected, and the estimated time for restoration through media channels. The Commission emphasized that such transparency is vital to keeping consumers informed and managing expectations during disruptions.

In cases of planned service outages, telecom companies are now obligated to notify consumers at least one week in advance.

This development, contained in the “Directive on Reportage of Major Network Outages by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), is part of the Commission’s drive to ensure timely resolution of outages, enhance the quality of experience for telecom consumers, and keep consumers informed.

According to the Directive, Mobile Network Operators, Internet Service Providers, and other operators that provide last-mile services will also provide proportional compensation, including extension of validity, as may be applicable and in line with the provisions of the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations, where any major network outage continues for more than 24 hours.

It identifies three types of major outages to include: Any network operational condition such as fiber 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 1 cluster that lasts for 30 minutes or more; and lastly, any form of outage that can degrade network quality in the top 10 states based on traffic volume as specified by the Commission from time to time.

In furtherance of this, the Commission has directed that operators report all Major Outages through the Commission’s Major Outage Reporting Portal , which is accessible to the public through the Commission’s website. The portal additionally discloses the identity of the culprit responsible for the disruption.

Commenting on the Directive and the Major Outage Reporting Portal, the Director of Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Engr. Edoyemi Ogor stated, “The Commission has trialed the reporting process and portal with operators for some months before issuing the directive.

“By providing consumer and stakeholders in the telecommunications industry with timely and transparent information on network outages, we are entrenching a culture of accountability and transparency. This approach also ensures that culprits are held responsible for sabotaging telecommunications infrastructure.

“This also aligns with our broader commitment to the effective implementation of the Executive Order signed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, which designates telecommunications infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII). It reinforces the need to safeguard these assets, given their centrality to national security, economic stability, and the everyday lives of Nigerians,” Engr Edoyemi Ogor said.