For millions of Nigerians, the quality of service (QoS) delivered by mobile network operators remains an everyday frustration. Dropped calls, delayed SMS messages, buffering video streams, and unreliable data connectivity have become a near-normal part of life across the country.In this episode of Telecoms Clinic@ITREALMS by REMMY NWEKE, he unpacks citizens’ right to know who accesses their identity data, linking Nigeria’s FOI Act with data protection and digital accountability.
Yet behind these inconveniences lie questions of accountability, transparency, and regulatory will, questions that the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act is uniquely positioned to help answer.
At the heart of Nigeria’s digital revolution stands an uncomfortable paradox: while mobile penetration continues to soar beyond 210 million active lines, the actual quality of those connections often leaves much to be desired. Consumers pay increasingly higher tariffs for services that frequently underperform, and yet there is limited public access to the data that could expose why these gaps persist.
At the heart of Nigeria’s digital revolution stands an uncomfortable paradox: while mobile penetration continues to soar beyond 210 million active lines, the actual quality of those connections often leaves much to be desired. Consumers pay increasingly higher tariffs for services that frequently underperform, and yet there is limited public access to the data that could expose why these gaps persist.
It is this information gap, between what operators promise, what regulators publish, and what citizens experience, that makes the FOI framework a potential game changer for digital fairness.
From call drops to rights drops:
In theory, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) sets and monitors quality benchmarks for all licensed operators. These benchmarks cover parameters such as call setup success rate, call completion rate, data throughput, latency, and network availability.
In practice, however, only fragments of these reports are made public and even those are often delayed or aggregated in a way that masks underperformance by specific operators or regions.
Consumers, meanwhile, continue to pay for unreliable services without recourse to verified data about where and why service quality is failing. The gap between regulatory reporting and citizen access is where the FOI Act steps in.
Consumers, meanwhile, continue to pay for unreliable services without recourse to verified data about where and why service quality is failing. The gap between regulatory reporting and citizen access is where the FOI Act steps in.
The Act empowers Nigerians to request specific performance data from public institutions like the NCC, the Ministry of Communications, and even government-owned infrastructure providers such as Galaxy Backbone.
Through a properly crafted FOI request, civil society groups or media organizations can compel these institutions to release detailed performance audits, network investment records, and compliance reports from operators.
The irony is that despite this legal empowerment, few consumer associations have actively used FOI to challenge poor service delivery. Many simply petition the regulator for redress or rely on public complaints channels, unaware that they can go further—demanding evidence of enforcement, transparency on penalties imposed, and even details of spectrum usage linked to service obligations.
The irony is that despite this legal empowerment, few consumer associations have actively used FOI to challenge poor service delivery. Many simply petition the regulator for redress or rely on public complaints channels, unaware that they can go further—demanding evidence of enforcement, transparency on penalties imposed, and even details of spectrum usage linked to service obligations.
Data as a democratic tool:
The battle for better connectivity is not just technical—it is democratic. Connectivity quality is now a fundamental enabler of education, business, health, and governance. When the quality of digital access is poor, citizens are effectively disenfranchised from full participation in modern society. That makes QoS transparency a public good, not merely a corporate issue.
The battle for better connectivity is not just technical—it is democratic. Connectivity quality is now a fundamental enabler of education, business, health, and governance. When the quality of digital access is poor, citizens are effectively disenfranchised from full participation in modern society. That makes QoS transparency a public good, not merely a corporate issue.
The NCC already collects this data from operators, it simply needs to be made open, detailed, and accessible, in line with FOI principles.
The FOI Act gives Nigerians the right to request this very information. It obliges regulators and ministries to respond within seven days or provide legal justification for refusal. Therefore, journalists, researchers, and digital rights advocates can, and should use FOI to push for quarterly QoS reports, coverage maps, and details of infrastructure-sharing agreements that affect service availability.
The FOI Act gives Nigerians the right to request this very information. It obliges regulators and ministries to respond within seven days or provide legal justification for refusal. Therefore, journalists, researchers, and digital rights advocates can, and should use FOI to push for quarterly QoS reports, coverage maps, and details of infrastructure-sharing agreements that affect service availability.
When transparency drives competition:
Transparency is also a catalyst for competition. When consumers and analysts have access to data on dropped calls, downtime, or regional coverage gaps, they can make informed choices about which operator truly delivers value. This in turn pressures underperforming networks to improve or risk losing customers. FOI-driven transparency thus becomes a self-correcting market mechanism, one that aligns commercial incentives with public accountability.
Globally, countries that have embraced open telecom performance reporting, such as India and South Korea, have seen measurable improvements in network quality. In India, for instance, the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) publishes operator-specific QoS data down to the city level, prompting operators to invest more heavily in problem zones. Nigeria can emulate this model if citizens and the media begin to demand disclosure through FOI mechanisms.
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The Nigerian Communications Commission sits at the center of this ecosystem. It has both the authority and responsibility to ensure that operators meet their service obligations. Yet, the NCC’s credibility depends on how transparent it is about the performance of those it regulates.
While the Commission periodically releases general QoS updates, these reports are often limited in scope, covering broad regional averages instead of granular, operator-specific insights. Moreover, enforcement actions for QoS breaches are rarely disclosed in full.
By invoking FOI, stakeholders can press the Commission to publish enforcement records, penalties, and follow-up compliance measures. For example, when the NCC fines an operator for QoS violations, the details of that sanction, amount, rationale, and subsequent improvements, should be publicly available.
By invoking FOI, stakeholders can press the Commission to publish enforcement records, penalties, and follow-up compliance measures. For example, when the NCC fines an operator for QoS violations, the details of that sanction, amount, rationale, and subsequent improvements, should be publicly available.
This is not merely about punishment; it’s about accountability and progress tracking.
Citizen empowerment through knowledge:
When citizens know how to ask the right questions, governance changes. A simple FOI request could seek details such as:
The number of QoS violations recorded by the NCC in the past five years; The amount of fines collected from operators and how they were utilized; The list of states with the poorest and best service records; Details of fiber optic deployments supported by the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF).
Once such information is made public, civil society can compare outcomes with official promises. The result is not confrontation but collaboration; where government, industry, and citizens work from a shared base of verified data to improve connectivity for all.
Cost of silence:
Every time poor service persists without transparency, the digital divide widens. Small businesses lose transactions. Students miss virtual classes. Doctors can not access telemedicine platforms.
Citizens lose trust in digital governance. And ultimately, Nigeria’s quest for a fully digital economy stalls.
The FOI Act is designed precisely to prevent this kind of silence; to ensure that the right to information leads to the right to development.
Unfortunately, bureaucratic inertia and low public awareness have limited its use in the telecom sector. Too often, operators cite “commercial confidentiality” to shield basic service data from scrutiny, even when the information has direct implications for consumer welfare.
This excuse loses legitimacy once public funds, spectrum licenses, or national resources are involved.
Fairness, connectivity, and future:
The call for fairer connectivity is not just about faster downloads or fewer dropped calls, it’s about justice in a digital age. Access to quality communication is now intertwined with access to opportunity.
In the context of Nigeria’s economic realities, where connectivity can determine who thrives and who lags behind, demanding transparency becomes a moral imperative.
Looking ahead, the FOI Act can evolve into a cornerstone of Nigeria’s digital accountability framework. As 5G rollout deepens, and as more public institutions migrate to e-government platforms, citizens must not only enjoy connectivity but understand its governance.
Looking ahead, the FOI Act can evolve into a cornerstone of Nigeria’s digital accountability framework. As 5G rollout deepens, and as more public institutions migrate to e-government platforms, citizens must not only enjoy connectivity but understand its governance.
The right to know how telecom infrastructure is deployed, who pays for it, and how it performs must become part of Nigeria’s civic culture.
When eventually, the Freedom of Information Act meets the quest for Quality of Service, the result is a more transparent, equitable, and responsive digital ecosystem. It’s an ecosystem where citizens are not just passive consumers but informed participants, where “call drops” no longer mean rights dropped.
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When eventually, the Freedom of Information Act meets the quest for Quality of Service, the result is a more transparent, equitable, and responsive digital ecosystem. It’s an ecosystem where citizens are not just passive consumers but informed participants, where “call drops” no longer mean rights dropped.
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