The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a stern directive to tower companies operating in the country: urgently improve service quality by the end of August or face regulatory sanctions. The move is aimed at tackling persistent issues like poor power supply, equipment breakdowns, and inadequate technical support — all of which have hurt internet and mobile service quality nationwide.
Tower companies, also known as TowerCos, form the backbone of Nigeria’s telecommunications ecosystem. They provide and maintain critical infrastructure like cell towers, rooftop sites, and backup power systems on which mobile operators such as MTN, Airtel, and Glo rely for service delivery.
Any failures at the tower level from power outages to delayed repairs directly impact network quality, leading to dropped calls, frozen data sessions, and poor customer experience. “When there’s no power, radios shut down. Power fluctuations force radios to restart, and that frustrates customers with interrupted calls and data,” explained an industry insider.
Aminu Maida, Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, delivered the directive during a high-level meeting in Abuja. The session, attended by major tower infrastructure providers including IHS Towers, American Tower Corporation (ATC), Pan-African Towers, and key stakeholders from mobile network operators, focused on eliminating infrastructure bottlenecks and enhancing the reliability of shared telecom assets.
The NCC’s directive follows its 2024 update to the Quality of Service (QoS) Regulations, which for the first time extended performance obligations to include TowerCos, not just mobile network operators. Under the revised framework, tower providers must meet new Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) or risk penalties.
“It’s been eleven months since those new regulations came into effect,” Maida said during the Abuja meeting. “That’s more than enough time for all parties to align with the performance standards expected of them.”
NCC sources say the regulator is adopting a stricter, transparency-focused enforcement strategy. This includes: The launch of a Major Incident Reporting Portal, which requires operators to publicly report significant network disruptions. Plans to publish performance dashboards on the NCC website, so consumers can monitor how tower and mobile operators perform against their KPIs.
Tower providers like IHS (managing 16,000–19,000 sites) and ATC (about 8,270 towers) dominate the Nigerian market. Smaller players like Pan-African Towers, with around 760–1,000 sites, also play a role in connectivity.
Some tower firms have blamed cash flow issues, citing delayed payments from mobile operators as a barrier to site maintenance and investment in backup systems. But the NCC says this will no longer be accepted as a valid excuse.
“Operators must fulfill both their technical and financial responsibilities,” Maida warned, emphasizing that internal disputes cannot justify service failures.
As the August deadline looms, all eyes will be on how Nigeria’s tower companies respond and whether this regulatory push finally delivers the improved connectivity millions of Nigerians deserve.
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