File photo: MTN Nigeria
MTN Nigeria said on Thursday it will comply with a directive from the telecom regulator ordering compensation for subscribers affected by service shortfalls while pledging fresh investments to improve network quality across Africa’s largest mobile market.
The move follows an order from the Nigerian Communications Commission, which instructed mobile operators to compensate customers in areas where quality-of-service benchmarks were not met during the months of November, December, and January.
In a statement, the country’s biggest operator said the decision reinforces the regulator’s focus on consumer protection and places “customers at the centre of regulatory decision-making”.
“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.
“All consumers within the affected areas where service shortfalls were recorded will receive compensation for the operating periods of November, December, and January, in accordance with the applicable framework,” it added.
While the company confirmed it would implement the compensation process, it stressed that its longer-term priority was improving service quality and reducing disruptions on its network.
The telco said it would accelerate capital expenditure aimed at strengthening infrastructure, including upgrades to network equipment, improved resilience against outages, and closer collaboration with tower infrastructure partners.
“We will continue to drive an aggressive capital expenditure rollout,” the company said, outlining plans for “accelerated infrastructure upgrades” to support rising voice and data demand in the country.
It also pledged to fortify infrastructure against environmental and third-party disruptions and deepen coordination with tower companies to improve uptime and service reliability.
The company acknowledged that parts of its operations are affected by broader ecosystem challenges, including infrastructure constraints and external disruptions, but said it remains committed to working with regulators and stakeholders to address them.
MTN has faced increasing regulatory scrutiny in recent years over quality-of-service concerns, even as demand for mobile data continues to surge.
The NCC has intensified enforcement actions across the telecom sector as Nigeria pushes to improve digital connectivity and service reliability amid rapid growth in internet usage.
