The Nigerian Communications Commission NCC, has said its earlier directive to telecom service providers to upgrade 12, 000 base stations before end of 2026 stands. This is in line with efforts to strengthen quality of service.

Speaking at a breakfast meeting with the Media, Thursday, Executive Vice-Chairman/CEO of the Commission, Dr Aminu Maida, disclosed that the NCC was closely monitoring network performance indicators that include data speed and latency to ensure compliance with regulatory standards.

He also said that the planned infrastructure expansion marked a major step in addressing persistent challenges in network quality and capacity across the country.

“While the industry made limited progress in 2025, with just over 300 base station upgrades recorded, the situation contributed to service pressure amid rising data demand.

“The telecomm sector has already recorded improved momentum in 2026, with about 2,800 base station upgrades completed within the first part of the year.

“The upgrades will include expansion of existing site capacity, deployment of new infrastructure and conversion of legacy 2G and 3G sites to 4G and 5G technologies.

“These upgrades also cover additional spectrum for 4G sites and the conversion of older networks to more advanced technologies.

“The NCC also supported operators through spectrum reallocation, which allowed better utilisation of previously underused frequency bands. Spectrum is the highways of telecommunications,” Dr. Maida said.

The NCC-boss further disclosed that increased availability directly improves network capacity and data performance, adding that recent spectrum trading in the sector has contributed to improved data speeds in parts of the country.

He however cautioned that improvements in service quality might not immediately translate to perceived user experience due to rapidly increasing data consumption, adding that digital platforms and changing user behaviour often led to higher demand, which could place renewed pressure on upgraded networks.

“When service improves, usage increases. This often leads to congestion returning faster than expected if capacity is not continuously expanded.

“Sustained investment in fibre infrastructure remained critical for achieving long-term, affordable and high-quality internet access, adding that fibre deployment was the most viable solution for delivering large-scale, unlimited connectivity to homes, schools and public spaces.

“The NCC is concerned with the protection of consumer, this was why we had to introduce a compensation framework to address service shortfalls experienced by subscribers, and affected users would receive airtime credits based on quality-of-service assessments conducted at the local government level.

“We have moved monitoring from the state level to the local government level to better reflect the real experience of subscribers.

“The compensation covers service performance between November 2025 and January 2026, with subsequent periods to be processed after validation. Subscribers would receive notifications once the rollout begins, following completion of verification processes,” he said.

It is also a regulatory penalty on operators and not a refund for failing to meet defined service quality benchmarks. As part of measures to ensure transparency and accountability in the process, independent verification mechanisms were also introduced.”, the NCC-boss said emphatically.