NCC Moves to Curb Rising Spectrum Costs with New Telecoms Investment Framework

​The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is developing an Incentive-Based Spectrum Investment Framework (IBSIF) to encourage telecommunications operators to channel capital into network expansion in exchange for spectrum-related incentives.
​The initiative comes as spectrum acquisition costs have surged threefold to fourfold since 2016, straining operators’ capacity to meet Nigeria’s rapidly growing broadband demand.
​Speaking during a media briefing on the proposed policy, Umar Abdullahi, Special Adviser (Technical) to the NCC Executive Vice-Chairman and member of the IBSIF committee, said the framework will tie spectrum value directly to measurable infrastructure investments.
​Abdullahi revealed that Nigeria’s monthly data consumption has more than tripled, jumping from roughly 517,670 terabytes in January 2023 to 1.73 million terabytes in September 2026. He projected that demand will accelerate further alongside the expansion of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, digital government services, banking, and streaming.
​“Yesterday’s challenge was about connecting people. Now it’s about powering the country. It’s about services and industry,” Abdullahi said.
​Bridging the 5G and Capacity Gap
​Despite operators investing over $1 billion in capital expenditure last year to deploy nearly 3,000 new sites—and adding about 8,000 sites so far this year toward a 12,000-site target—Abdullahi noted that service quality complaints persist because surging demand immediately absorbs new capacity.
​He pointed out that high spectrum fees divert funds that operators could otherwise use to upgrade networks.
​“The spectrum costs have gone up about three to four times from 2016 to now. When you compare that with the revenues, it is even more glaring,” he stated.
​According to the commission, while 4G population coverage stands at roughly 82 per cent, 5G coverage lags at between 13 and 14 per cent. Abdullahi noted that Nigeria—being a mobile-first market reliant on smartphones and MiFi devices rather than fixed broadband—has significant room to catch up with peers like India and Brazil, which launched 5G around the same period.
​“Mobile is the primary means by which most people communicate,” he added.
​Target Areas and Accountability
​Under the proposed IBSIF, operator commitments will undergo strict technical and financial verification, with network performance tracked through objective metrics, including crowdsourced quality-of-experience data.
​Key focus areas for the framework include:
​Underserved Communities: Expanding coverage into peri-urban, peri-rural, and semi-rural areas, while the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) continues to handle commercially unviable zones.
​Broader Infrastructure: Encouraging investments in towers, fibre-optic cables, and related network facilities.
​Social Sectors: Supporting connectivity in education and healthcare, drawing lessons from Brazil’s 5G model, which mandated school and hospital connectivity obligations.
​Next Steps and Broader Reforms
​Lawrence Abang, Chairman of the IBSIF committee and Head of Dispute and Litigation at the NCC, said the initiative aims to accelerate broadband penetration in both underserved and congested markets. He added that the commission will release a consultation paper to engage industry stakeholders before finalising the framework for phased implementation.
​The IBSIF forms part of wider Federal Government and NCC efforts to lower deployment bottlenecks, complementing ongoing campaigns that have already convinced 13 states to waive Right-of-Way (RoW) charges for fibre deployment.
​While fibre remains essential for long-term broadband scaling, Abdullahi emphasised that the new spectrum framework offers an immediate pathway to expand coverage, ease network congestion, and improve overall service quality.