NCC partners CBN to address failed telecom transactions

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it is working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to resolve persistent issues of failed telecommunications transactions, particularly uncompleted airtime top-ups and recharge failures.

NCC’s Executive Vice Chairman, Aminu Maida, disclosed this during an interactive session with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday.

Maida explained that the commission, in collaboration with the CBN, has set up a joint task force to develop a standard operational framework aimed at improving dispute resolution and enhancing consumer experience.

“When you recharge and get debited but don’t receive the credit, that’s a failed transaction. To address this, the Director of Consumer Affairs in NCC and our counterparts in the CBN have set up a task force. A framework is currently under review to standardise operations around airtime top-up and recharges,” he said.

According to him, investigations revealed that the absence of a uniform standard was responsible for most failed transactions, as operators previously handled processes individually.

“It was literally up to every player in the ecosystem. That was why we had to bring all parties together,” he added.

Maida assured that the NCC remains committed to addressing quality-of-service challenges, noting that mobile network operators have begun installing newly delivered equipment to improve service delivery.

“We have revised our Quality-of-Service guidelines, so it’s no longer just about holding mobile network operators accountable. We have engaged them directly on their rollout plans, and they are expected to deliver measurable improvements. Nigerians will soon see the benefits,” he said.

On complaints about data depletion, Maida disclosed that independent audits conducted by Tier-1 firms such as PwC and KPMG found no evidence of deliberate exploitation by telecom operators. He said confusing tariff structures contributed to customer dissatisfaction, prompting the NCC to issue a guideline for tariff simplification and unified disclosure.

“What we did was issue a guideline for simplification and gave operators a template whereby everybody must disclose their tariffs in a unified format,” he said.

The NCC boss stressed that transparency and consumer information would remain central to the regulator’s efforts to enhance competitiveness and service quality.

Nigeria currently boasts 171 million active telecom subscribers, 141 million internet users (81.9% penetration), and 105 million broadband subscriptions, figures Maida said underscore the country’s growing digital adoption.

Also speaking, the NCC’s Director of Consumer Affairs Bureau, Freda Bruce-Bennett, urged subscribers to adopt better data management habits.

“Simple steps like monitoring app permissions, turning off auto-play for videos, and disabling background data for non-essential apps can make a big difference,” she advised.