NCC Confirms Telcos to Upgrade 12,000 Base Stations in 2026 to Boost Network Quality

NCC Confirms Telcos to Upgrade 12,000 Base Stations in 2026 to Boost Network Quality

Lagos, Nigeria — The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced that mobile network operators in the country will upgrade about 12,000 base stations in 2026 as part of efforts to tackle persistent network quality and capacity challenges across the telecoms sector.

The Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Aminu Maida, disclosed this at a media breakfast meeting held on April 23 in Lagos. He said the directive followed the failure of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to meet the Commission’s minimum Quality of Service (QoS) standards in several parts of the country.

According to Maida, the planned upgrades are aimed at improving service delivery and addressing congestion driven by increasing demand for data services. He noted that the telecoms industry recorded only modest progress in 2025, with just over 300 base stations upgraded nationwide—an outcome that contributed to service bottlenecks amid rising consumer usage.

He, however, indicated that momentum has picked up in 2026, with approximately 2,800 base stations already upgraded in the early part of the year. The ongoing improvements, he explained, include expanding the capacity of existing sites, deploying new infrastructure, and upgrading legacy 2G and 3G networks to more advanced 4G and 5G technologies.

Maida described radio spectrum as the “highways” of telecommunications, stressing that improved spectrum allocation and trading have begun to enhance data speeds in some locations. Despite these gains, he cautioned that improved infrastructure may not immediately translate into better user experience due to the rapid growth in data consumption.

“When service improves, usage increases. This often leads to congestion returning faster than expected if capacity is not continuously expanded,” he said.

The NCC boss also underscored the importance of sustained investment in fibre infrastructure to deliver affordable and high-quality internet access across Nigeria. He assured stakeholders that the Commission would continue to monitor key performance indicators such as data speed and latency to ensure compliance with regulatory standards.

Reaffirming the Commission’s commitment to consumer protection, Maida stressed that persistent poor service quality would no longer be tolerated under the current regulatory framework.