The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed telecom licensees in Nigeria to inform consumers of major service outages on their networks through media channels.
The directive requires operators to state the cause(s) of the service interruption, the area(s) affected, and the estimated time to restore service. Consumers must also be informed one week in advance of planned service outages.
Operators will provide proportional compensation, including extension of validity, if a major network outage continues for more than 24 hours. This is in line with the provisions of the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations.
The NCC has launched a Major Outage Reporting Portal, accessible to the public through its website, where operators will report major outages. The portal will also disclose the identity of culprits responsible for disruptions.
The directive identifies three types of major outages, including:
1. Network operational conditions impacting 5% or more of an operator’s subscriber base or 5 or more Local Government Areas (LGAs).
2. Unplanned outages or complete isolation of network resources in 100 or more sites or 5% of the total number of sites.
3. Outages degrading network quality in the top 10 states based on traffic volume.
The Director, Technical Standards and Network Integrity, Edoyemi Ogor, stated that the directive aligns with the Commission’s commitment to transparency and accountability.
The NCC aims to ensure that culprits are held responsible for sabotage to telecommunications infrastructure, safeguarding national security, economic stability, and the lives of Nigerians.
The NCC has trialled the reporting process and portal with operators before issuing the directive.
The Commission will enforce the directive to ensure that operators comply with the requirements, providing timely and transparent information on network outages to consumers and stakeholders.
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