Preamble:A data-driven look by Remmy Nweke, WeekendDigits@ITREALMS, at how NCC’s quarterly network reports reshape transparency, rebuild public trust, strengthen accountability, and steadily improve Nigerians’ everyday digital experience nationwide for consumers.
In a sector, where dropped calls, slow data and patchy coverage often dominate public conversation, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, chose a different narrative anchor: data, transparency and measurable progress.
From the tone set by Engr. Abraham Oshadami, Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, to the framing guidance offered by Mrs. Nnenna Ukoha, Head of the Public Affairs Department, the message was clear: Nigeria’s telecom regulator wants the story of the sector to be evidence-led, balanced and grounded in context.
Transparency as regulatory strategy:
Welcoming journalists and stakeholders, Engr. Oshadami underscored the media’s role as more than passive observers. To the NCC, he said, the press are strategic partners in shaping public understanding of how Nigeria’s telecommunications networks are actually performing.
“Transparency has become a guiding principle that underpins our regulatory approach,” he noted, explaining that open access to information strengthens the industry, builds public trust, and reinforces accountability among operators.
This philosophy, he said, informed the Commission’s partnership with Ookla, which resulted in nationwide Network Coverage Maps; a consumer-facing tool that allows Nigerians to objectively compare network quality across locations and service providers.
It also birthed the Quarterly Network Performance Reports, first published in October 2025 with the Q3 edition, and now continued with the newly released Q4 2025 report.
“These reports are designed to offer consistent, data-driven insights into how networks are performing across the country,” Oshadami explained.
Beyond the policy language, the data itself carried cautious optimism. According to the Executive Commissioner, presentations from the Q4 report showed measurable improvements in network performance, particularly in the Quality of Experience delivered to consumers.
While he acknowledged that challenges remain, Oshadami emphasized that the trends suggest collective efforts; regulatory oversight, operator investments and public scrutiny, are beginning to yield results.
The objective of the media engagement, he said, was straightforward: to share key insights, highlight performance trends that matter to consumers, and provide clarity for stakeholders who rely on accurate sector intelligence.
Media as interpreters, not just messengers:
If Oshadami spoke to why the data matters, Mrs. Nnenna Ukoha focused on how it should be communicated.
Also, welcoming journalists to the session, she described their work, informing the public, shaping narratives and guiding national conversations; as “critical to the health and sustainability of the telecommunications sector.”
She reminded the audience that the NCC’s commitment to accountability and transparency is inseparable from its responsibility to ensure that industry data is properly understood, well-interpreted and correctly communicated.
“And in this effort,” she said, “you, our media partners, are indispensable.”
Context over sensationalism:
Ukoha urged what she described as constructive framing in telecom reporting. This, she clarified, does not mean ignoring persistent challenges such as service gaps or infrastructure deficits.
Rather, it means presenting issues in context, highlighting progress alongside problems, acknowledging solutions being deployed, recognizing investments and innovations, and reflecting improvements in quality of service and experience.
“Our quarterly performance reports provide rich material,” she said, pointing to their usefulness for daily news stories, feature writing, data-driven investigations, background analysis for interviews, and newsroom monitoring dashboards.
Shaping trust, investment and policy:
At the heart of both remarks was a shared recognition of the media’s influence. Reporting on telecom performance, the NCC noted, does more than inform consumers; it shapes investor confidence, consumer trust, and even policy direction.
How Nigerians understand the networks powering their calls, payments, work and entertainment is inseparable from how those networks are reported.
As the Q4 2025 Industry Network Performance Reports were presented, the Commission framed the engagement as a collaborative exercise, one that welcomes scrutiny, questions and recommendations.
Beyond the numbers:
In closing, both Oshadami and Ukoha returned to the same theme: partnership. Progress in Nigeria’s telecom sector, they suggested, is not just about faster speeds or wider coverage, but about a shared commitment to accountability, accuracy and informed public discourse.
For the NCC, the quarterly reports are more than scorecards; they are tools for reform. For the media, they are raw material for stories that can hold operators accountable while also documenting genuine improvement.
And for Nigerian consumers, they may well mark a slow but deliberate shift from anecdotal frustration to evidence-based understanding of the networks they rely on every day.
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