MTN Nigeria announced on Thursday that it will provide compensation to subscribers affected by service shortfalls during November, December, and January. This action is in compliance with a directive from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the country's telecom regulator.
The NCC instructed mobile operators to compensate customers in areas where quality-of-service benchmarks were not met during the specified months. MTN stated that this directive underscores the regulator's commitment to consumer protection, placing customers at the forefront of regulatory decisions.
“At MTN Nigeria, our customers are the lifeblood of our business. We exist to connect Nigerians to the digital world, and we believe that every subscriber deserves a reliable, high-quality network experience,” the company said in a statement.
All eligible consumers in affected areas will receive compensation in accordance with the applicable framework. While the company confirmed the compensation process, its primary focus remains on enhancing service quality and minimizing network disruptions.
MTN plans to accelerate its capital expenditure to strengthen its infrastructure. This includes upgrades to network equipment, improvements in network resilience against outages, and closer collaboration with tower infrastructure partners. The company aims to support the rising demand for voice and data services across Nigeria.
The telco also pledged to fortify its infrastructure against environmental and third-party disruptions. Furthermore, it will deepen coordination with tower companies to improve service uptime and reliability. MTN acknowledged broader ecosystem challenges, such as infrastructure constraints and external disruptions, and affirmed its commitment to working with regulators and stakeholders to address them.
The NCC has been increasing its enforcement actions within the telecom sector as Nigeria strives to enhance digital connectivity and service reliability amidst rapid growth in internet usage. MTN has faced heightened regulatory scrutiny in recent years concerning quality-of-service issues, even as demand for mobile data continues to surge.
