NCC Inaugurates Nigeria IPv6 Council, Confirms Rollout of Airtime Refunds to Subscribers

Telecoms subscribers across Nigeria will begin to receive sanctioned compensation in form of airtime refunds from operators for poor quality service delivery any moment from now. This is in line with the directive of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, to Mobile Network Operators that failed to meet the key Performance Indicators in terms of Quality of Service. The NCC opted for the refund of airtime to subscribers in the place of fines that are usually imposed on Mobile Network Operators for service disruptions. The Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr AMINU MAIDA, confirmed the commencement of the airtime refunds during an interactive session with journalists in Lagos on the state of the telecommunication industry in Nigeria.  Dr MAIDA said the part of the objectives is to ensure that shortchanged subscribers get back some of their value lost to poor quality service by telecoms providers. Beyond that, MAIDA emphasized that the other goal is for telecoms operators to invest more in the upgrade of infrastructure towards mitigating such losses. He pledged the NCC’s commitment to ensuring that there is a level playing field for all stakeholders in the sector, which guarantees an investment-friendly climate for operators. He ruled out the idea of full price deregulation of the telecoms sector, stressing the need for the protection of subscribers from exploitation. Also speaking, the Director of Technical Standard and Network Integrity of the NCC, Engr EDOYEMI OGHOR, said the first phase of the airtime refund covers the period from November 2025 to January 2026. EDOYEMI OGHOR said the beneficiaries will be treated on local government basis, and the value of refund would be dependent on the volume of cost each subscriber expended on the telecoms operator that failed to meet their KPI.  Earlier before the media chat, held at the Marriot Hotel, Ikeja; the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr AMINU MAIDA, inaugurated the Nigeria IPv6 Council, with the mandate to promote the adoption of IPv6 in Nigeria. IPv6 is the acronym for Internet Protocol Version 6, which is the latest version of the Internet Protocol (IP), designed to address the limitations of IPv4, particularly the exhaustion of IP addresses. Dr MAIDA said the event as a landmark and defining moment, which shows that Nigeria was ready to lead, stressing that over the past twelve years of the establishment of the council, it has been instrumental in the adoption of IPv6 in the country. However, MAIDA maintained there was still more grounds to cover in driving Nigeria’s IPv6 adoption, stressing the need for coordinate efforts of all stakeholders to achieve success. The NCC-EVC outlined an eight-point agenda for the IPv6 Council, including establishing and reporting framework, drive capacity building by partnering with telecoms industry scholars, champion public sector-led networking, engage industry private sector stakeholders, drive public awareness and advocacy, as well as to maintain international collaborations.