Tag: Nigerian Communications Commission

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has licensed two additional global satellite internet service providers (ISPs), BeetleSat-1 and Satelio IoT Services, as part of efforts to strengthen satellite internet connectivity and boost competition in Africa’s largest telecom market.

The seven-year licences, effective from February 28, 2026 to February 28, 2033, are designed to expand satellite broadband services and bring Nigeria in line with global best practices.

With more than 23 million Nigerians living in unserved or underserved areas and mobile broadband penetration standing at just 50.58per cent as of November 2025, the permits underscore the limitations of terrestrial networks in reaching rural and hard-to-access communities.

BeetleSat-1, operated by NSLComm, represents an international company with a corporate structure involving multiple countries. The company is building a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation of 264 satellites designed to provide high-throughput, low-latency satellite internet, cellular backhaul, and mobility services globally.

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In 2021, the company formed a strategic alliance with Spanish technology group Arquimea, which is now BeetleSat’s largest shareholder and main industrial partner. The NCC granted BeetleSat a Ka-Band frequency licence, renewable after the seven-year period expires.

Germany-based Satelio IoT Services was approved for its planned 491-satellite IoT system, though only one satellite is currently in orbit. The licence positions Satelio to develop Internet of Things connectivity solutions across Nigerian territory, supporting emerging applications in agriculture, logistics, and industrial monitoring.

The new permits position both operators to invest in ground infrastructure, local partnerships, and enterprise contracts, whilst giving Nigeria a wider market opportunity in space internet service delivery. The approval aligns with the NCC’s commercial satellite communications guidelines, a licensing framework designed to draw investment into the sector and advance Nigeria’s drive to open its market to next-generation non-geostationary satellite (NGSO) systems.

The licences come alongside the NCC’s recent approval of a landing permit to Amazon’s Kuiper Systems LLC for its Project Kuiper satellite constellation, authorising deployment of up to 3,236 non-geostationary low Earth orbit satellites using Ka-band frequencies for fixed satellite services, mobile satellite services, and earth stations in motion over the same seven-year period.

The new entrants join an increasingly competitive satellite broadband market. SpaceX’s Starlink, operating through Starlink Internet Service Nigeria Ltd, has already established itself as the country’s third-largest internet service provider, according to NCC subscriber statistics for Q2 2025. The company reached 66,523 subscribers, demonstrating significant resilience and rapid growth in Nigeria’s competitive ISP landscape since its market entry in 2023.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has provided further insights on the opening of two spectrum bands to deepen operations in the telecommunications industry and boost the digital economy.

Speaking with reporters shortly after the conclusion of the two days Consultative Forum with Stakeholders at the Digital Economy Complex, Mbora, Abuja, on the opening of the Spectrum Roadmap 2025 to 2030, the Commission’s Head of Spectrum Administration, Atiku Lawal said the infrastructures might be delivered before the end of this year.

He said with the deployment of the infrastructures, digital communications activities in the industry would take upward swing with the concomitant improvement on the nation’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP).

He emphasised that the current Stakeholders engagements are expected to bring about a robust roadmap for seamless experience, delivery of quality services, and expansion of networks through the use of satellite technology among others.

Lawal said: “What we are trying to do is to increase Spectrum resource capacities so that more investments and activities will come on board. If we attain high capacity, you have a better experience, and better quality of service.

“So we are opening the bands, not only to improve the quality of service but also to allow for innovations as we see because it is not only the connection. All of us are making some bank transactions, we are doing some businesses other than just calling our relatives, I believe.

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“So in order to make sure that Nigerians become more productive, do a lot of businesses, innovations, think about health and others.

“We have doctors in remote places and they should actually connect from that village to National Hospital if possible in Abuja to talk to a consultant without that consultant going into those remote villages.

“However, it cannot happen without the spectrum. So all these are what we are doing here. We come here in order to make sure we put more spectrum into the telecommunication sector of the industry.”

He said Nigerians would begin to experience the impacts of the Spectrum bands faster than expected.

“I cannot give time, but from experience I can say before the end of this year you can see all these services are being used in the country,” he added.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has commenced consultative engagements with critical stakeholders to open up new spectrum bands in support of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for a trillion dollars digital economy.

The NCC’s engagements/presentations are on the development of the Spectrum Roadmap 2026–2030, the guidelines for opening the lower 6 gigahertz (GHz) band for Wi-Fi 6, and the guidelines for opening the 60 GHz license-exempt band for multi-gigabit wireless systems.

According to the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, the demands for spectrum is not only rising in the telecom industry, its availability had become imperative for Nigeria’s accelerated growth and economic expansion.

Addressing participants yesterday at the opening ceremony of the Consultative Forum at the Digital Economy Complex, Mbora, Abuja, Dr Maida said the Forum would create avenues for robust deliberations that would shape Nigeria’s digital future. Dr Maida was represented by the Head of Spectrum Administration, Atiku Lawal on the occasion.

Dr Maida said the frameworks contained in the presentations reflected the commitment of the NCC towards building a communications ecosystem that is inclusive, innovative, resilient, and future-ready. He therefore encouraged participants and stakeholders to make critical inputs and contributions that would align with the vision of the present leadership for a robust economy.

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He said: “At the heart of our sector lies an essential national resource: spectrum. Spectrum may be invisible, yet it is indispensable. It powers the connectivity behind our mobile phones, our broadband connections, our satellite services, emergency communications, financial platforms, and smart technologies.

“Behind every video call, every digital transaction, every online classroom, and every connected device in Nigeria, there is spectrum at work.

“But spectrum is also finite. Demand for it is rising rapidly, driven by data-intensive applications, cloud services, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and the expanding digital needs of our economy.

“These innovations require more spectrum, smarter planning, and more flexible regulatory approaches.”

The NCC boss said the Spectrum Roadmap 2026 to 2030 was developed to ensure faster speeds, wider coverage, better service quality, stronger innovation and greater inclusion, assuring that more investments would be attracted to the economy with the development.

He added that by opening the bands, the NCC was preparing the country “for the data demands of tomorrow—not just on mobile networks, but across homes, campuses, businesses, healthcare facilities, and public spaces.”

In his keynote, the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, of the NCC, Abraham Oshadami, said the management of spectrum requires transparency, prudence, and collaboration.

 “The way we plan, assign, and regulate spectrum will determine our nation’s ability to achieve our target, stimulate innovation, and strengthen global competitiveness,” Oshadami said.

Oshadami who was represented by Maigana Gidado, the Head of Fixed Networks and Converged Services at the NCC, noted that Nigeria would continue to make meaningful progress in mobile broadband penetration, 5G rollout, and improvement in quality of service following the new openings and opportunities in the telecommunications ecosystem.

Nigeria’s telecom subscribers spent a total of N123.46 billion on 20.577 billion short message service (SMS) or text messages.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), said the total number of national SMS both sent and received as at December 2024 was 20.577 billion in 2024, which translates to a drop of 10.43 per cent from the total SMS sent and received in 2023 which stood at 22.973 billion.

Thus, at N6 per SMS, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) including MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom, T2 and Smile Communication shared a total of N137.8 billion in 2023 as against N124 billion shared last year.

According to a document entitled: 2024 Subscriber/Network Performance Report authored by the Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis Department of the NCC, SMS sent out in 2024 declined by 9.39 per cent compared to year 2023 while incoming SMS also decreased by 11.41 per cent than that of year 2023.

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In year 2024, MTN recorded the highest count of SMS received and sent which stood at 6.966 billion and 7.229 billion respectively, smiling to the bank with N41.7 billion and N43.4 billion respectively.

During the period under review, Glo recorded 519,687,402 sent SMS and 723,541,017 received SMS making a total of 1,243,228,419.00 SMS on the network, translating to revenue of N7,459,370,514 or N7.5billion; Airtel Nigeria posted 2,530,814,229 SMS sent and 2,413,229,096 SMS received translating to a total of 4,944,043,325.00 SMS and cashing out with N29,664,259,950 or N29.7billion.

T2 recorded 109,910,509 sent SMS and 1,326,394 received SMS bringing total to 1,715,835.00 and revenue of N10,295,010 or N10.3million while Smile Communication recorded 389,441 sent and 1,326,394 received SMS respectively amounting to a total of 1,715,835.00 SMS and revenue of N10,295,010 or N10.3million.

• Customers get cashback for failed airtime, data transactions

Telecom sector regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said mobile network operators (MNOs) and Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) have refunded subscribers over N10billion cash for failed airtime and data purchase.

Director of Consumer Affairs at the NCC, Mrs. Freda Bruce-Bennett who disclosed this said the framework jointly drawn by the Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has established a Central Monitoring Dashboard to be jointly hosted by the NCC and the CBN.

Head, Public Affairs at the NCC, Nnenna Ukoha, assured that the Commission has the data of all the failed transactions, adding that when the framework becomes up and running by March1, 2026, every subscriber affected by such failures would be refunded.

According to Mrs. Bruce-Bennett, failed top-ups rank among the top three consumer complaints, adding that the Commission is committed to addressing these priority issues.

“So far, pending the approval of management of both regulators on the framework, MNOs and banks have collectively made refunds of over N10 billion to customers for failed transactions,” she said.

She said the NCC and the CBN have drawn a framework to address consumer complaints arising from unsuccessful airtime and data transactions during network downtimes, system glitches, or human input errors.

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The framework, she said, is the outcome of several months of engagements involving the NCC, the CBN, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Value Added Service (VAS) providers, Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), and other relevant stakeholders. These engagements were prompted by a rising incidence of failed airtime and data purchases, where subscribers were debited without receiving value and experienced delays in resolution.

The Framework represents a unified position by both the telecom and financial sectors on addressing such complaints.

It identifies and tackles the root causes of failed airtime and data transactions, including instances where bank accounts are debited without successful delivery of services. It also prescribes an enforceable Service Level Agreement (SLA) for MNOs and DMBs, clearly outlining the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder in the transaction and resolution process.

Under the new framework, where a purchaser is debited but fails to receive value for airtime or data—whether the failure occurs at the bank level or with an NCC licensee—the purchaser is entitled to a refund within 30 seconds, except in circumstances where the transaction remains pending, of which the refund can take up to 24 hours.

The framework further mandates operators to notify consumers via short message service (SMS) of the success or failure of every transaction. It also addresses erroneous recharges to ported lines, incorrect airtime or data purchases, and instances where transactions are made to the wrong phone number.

According to her, the dashboard will enable both regulators to monitor failures, the responsible party, refunds, and track SLA breaches in real time.

She said: “Failed top-ups rank among the top three consumer complaints, and in line with our commitment to addressing these priority issues, we were determined to resolve it within the shortest possible time.

“We are grateful to all stakeholders—particularly the CBN and its leadership—for their tireless commitment to resolving this issue and arriving at this framework, and for ensuring that consumers of telecommunications services receive full value for their purchases.

Mrs. Bruce-Bennett further noted that implementation of the framework is expected to commence on March 1, 2026, once the two regulators have made final approvals, and technical integration by all MNOs, VAS providers and DMBs is concluded.

Among the entire six regions captured in a new report, the South West region posted the highest numbers both in the voice call and internet subscription segments of the Nigerian telecom market.

With a total number of 45,272,427 active voice subscription representing 28per  cent of the total number 164,505,060 of both prepaid and post-paid mobile subscribers and 185,475 subscribers indicating 65per cent of the total subscriptions, the region led the table last year, according to the latest stats compiled by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).       

The report, under the Market Share of Active Voice Subscriptions (Mobile GSM Segment – December 2024) segment noted that the “Market share of mobile operators were analysed through the breakdown of each operator`s subscription; [MTN; AIRTEL; GLO and EMTS] each recorded 84,607,831; 56,619,381; 20,137,951 and 3,283,270 subscribers respectively. In that order MTN; AIRTEL; GLO and EMTS (trading now T2) had 51.39per cent; 34.39per cent; 12.23per cent and 1.99per cent share of the mobile GSM market respectively in the month of December 2024.

Prepared by the Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis Department of the Commission,  said in analysing the annual trend of the active voice subscription services in the country, for all market segments; the growth in voice subscription was ultimately driven by the mobile (GSM) market segment which accounted for 99.8per cent, while, Fixed Wired/Wireless and VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) market segments each accounted for 0.1per cent each of the entire market share in terms of technology deployment.

Analysis of the prepaid & postpaid mobile voice subscriptions during the year under review (2024) further showed that total prepaid mobile voice subscriptions decreased from 217,143,995 in December 2023 to 161,470,725 in December 2024 indicating a decline of 25.63per cent in prepaid mobile voice subscriptions.

 “Postpaid mobile voice subscriptions decreased from 7,457,744 in December 2023 to 3,034,335 as at December 2024 indicating a drop of 59.32per cent in postpaid mobile voice subscriptions as at year end 2024.  In summary, the above analysis indicates that about 98.16per cent of mobile subscribers are prepaid subscribers while only about 3.3per cent are postpaid,” the data showed.

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The Southwest’s 45,272,427 was followed by Northwest’s 32,003,370; Northcentral’s 29,436,490; Southsouth’s 23,183,403; Northeast’s 18,291, 541, and Southeast’s 16,739,368.

On Active Internet Subscribers per region, the regulator noted that upon analysing the ISP (internet service providers (ISP)segment, an illustration of the total distribution of internet subscribers per region as at December 2024 showed the total number of ISPs in the six geopolitical zones was 285,605.

 “The breakdown of the analysis is as follows:  South-West had the highest number of Internet subscribers in December 2024 with 185,475 subscribers indicating 65per cent of the total subscriptions; North-Central had the second highest with 48,754 subscribers (17per cent); South-South had 28,779 (10 per cent) subscribers; North-West had 12,381 (four per cent) subscribers; South-East had 6,671 three per cent) subscribers.  North-East had 3,545 (one per cent), which was the least subscription of all the regions,” the report noted.

As at December 2024 the total active internet subscriptions decreased to 138,983,537 from 163,603,459 subscriptions reported in December 2023. This indicates a 15.05per cent decline in total active internet subscriptions year on year.

MTN Nigeria in Dec 2023, had 70,659,889 which increased to 72,221,248 in Dec 2024 with a difference of 1,561,359 representing a 2.21 percentage change; Glo  had 43,998,101 in 2023; 17,076,430 in 2024 representing -61.19 per cent and a difference of 26,921,671; Airtel had 45,064,857 in Dec 2023 and 47,412,761in 2024, a difference of 2,347,904 and a 5.21 percentage; EMTS (T2) had 3,630,796 in 2023 and 2,064,533 in 2024 with a difference of 1,566,263 and marking -43.14 percentage change; SMILE had 246,199 and  208,565 for 2023 and 2024 respectively with a difference of 37,634 and a -15.29 per centage change; and NTEL’s 3,617.

Total subscription in 2023 was 163,603,459 and 138,983,537 in 2024 with a difference of 24,619,922 and a -15.05 percentage change.

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said the country has attained 79.65 percent teledensity and 48.81 per cent broadband penetration as of May 2025.

This was revealed during a stakeholders’ forum in Abuja where the Commission unveiled a draft licensing regime, the General Authorisation Framework, aimed at boosting innovation and accommodating new technologies within Nigeria’s telecoms sector.

Speaking at the forum, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, represented by the Executive Commissioner for Stakeholder Management, Rimini Makama, said the new framework was designed to respond to the fast-changing digital economy and support startups, new service models, and emerging technologies.

“We are at a turning point where the nature of innovation demands a regulatory approach that is enabling and forward-looking,” Maida said.

The draft introduces three instruments: Proof-of-Concept for piloting ideas, Regulatory Sandbox for controlled testing, and Interim Service Authorisation for services that fall outside existing license categories.

Director of Licensing and Authorisation at NCC, Mr. Usman Mamman, said the framework was informed by research and global benchmarking from countries such as the UK and Singapore.

“This new approach will support experimentation and responsible deployment while safeguarding market integrity,” Mamman noted, urging stakeholders to contribute feedback before finalisation. During the forum, Head of Telecoms Law and Regulations at the NCC, Dr. Mohammed Yusuf, also presented stakeholder input from groups such as the Industry Consumer Advisory Forum (ICAF) and MTN Nigeria.

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ICAF called for clearer consumer protection measures, redress mechanisms, and limits on the scope of authorisations, while MTN raised concerns about overlap between temporary and permanent licences, calling for more specific guidelines. Yusuf assured participants that the final framework will reflect stakeholder concerns and align with national digital policies. The Commission emphasised that the General Authorisation Framework remains a draft and is open to public.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has collaborated with the Association for Progressive Communications and other institutional stakeholders towards addressing challenges confronting rural network connectivity in Nigeria. 

The collaboration resulted in a two-day workshop hosted in Abuja between June 3 and 4, 2025, to explore policy framework for enabling community networks towards bridging the digital divide and accelerating socio-economic development in Nigeria’s underserved and unserved communities.

A statement endorsed by Ag. Head, Public Affairs at the NCC, Mrs. Nnenna Ukoha, said the forum brought together regulators, community leaders, technical experts and potential foreign investors, among others, to examine policy and regulatory barriers, explore innovative funding mechanisms, ensure sustainable renewable solutions and strengthen collaboration with stakeholders.

Addressing participants at the workshop, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, said the workshop is important to bridging the digital divide in Nigeria and foster inclusive social economic development.

 “This workshop is an opportunity for all of us to harness the expertise, insights, and experiences of diverse stakeholders present here which includes the regulators, community leaders, technical experts and potential foreign providers to address the critical challenges such as affordable devices, access, licensing, spectrum allocation, infrastructure development, sustainability and institutional monitoring,” said Maida, who was represented by the Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, NCC at the event, Abraham Oshadami.

Maida said the workshop demonstrates the Commission’s commitment to advancing digital inclusion, particularly in underserved and unserved areas. “At NCC, we recognise the transformative potential of community center networks in achieving this important goal,” he said.

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The EVC said NCC was committed to “this journey and views this workshop as a catalyst for meaningful change,” stating that the expertise, perspectives and commitments will shape the future where every Nigerian, regardless of his or her status, will have meaningful access to opportunities from digital connectivity.

In her remarks, Co-manager of the Association for Progressive Communications’ Local Network (LocNet) initiative, Kathleen Diga, noted that the collaboration was to tackle identified hindrances to digital inclusion.

She said: “This is a space where we can be open and exchange ideas of possibilities, opportunities that will remain in realising values of a diversified ecosystem.

 “I believe this workshop presents a moment in time that we can explore the bottom-up approach in local communities, small social enterprises, corporative among others, which have the ability to fill some of the digital gaps that remain unfilled.”

She added that emphasising the need to recognise that community centre connectivity exists and they are grow throughout the global south, which, she said, are a “strategic response to digital exclusion.”

The workshop featured presentations from the NCC, the Association for Progressive Communications and other institutional stakeholders such as the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) all geared towards exploring a joint policy framework to address rural digital divide.

The Association is a 35-year-old international network member-based organisation encouraging digital inclusion in the unserved communities, particularly with communities in the global south and the workshop, through its LocNet initiative aimed at crafting an enabling inclusive regulatory framework for community networks in Nigeria.