On 8 July 2025, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) released the *Nigerian International A2P Messaging Licensing Framework*, planning to introduce a dedicated licensing regime for international A2P messaging services entering Nigeria’s communications networks. The framework covers enterprise messages sent from application systems to end users, including SMS, MMS, transaction alerts, banking notifications and order updates. Its objectives are to improve transparency of international message traffic, strengthen consumer protection and foster orderly development of Nigeria’s A2P messaging market.
The document notes that driven by rapid growth in digital finance, e-commerce, internet services and enterprise notification use cases, international A2P messaging has become a key segment of Nigeria’s communications market. Under the existing model, however, international A2P traffic is handled separately by different operators. There are no unified standards for termination rates, traffic accounting, routing management and security monitoring, which leads to issues such as spam, fraudulent messages, grey routing and revenue leakage.
To address these challenges, the NCC intends to create an International A2P Aggregator Licence and deploy a centralised SMS firewall or unified gateway mechanism. Licensees must be registered in Nigeria, maintain connectivity with local mobile network operators, and implement systems for anti-spam, anti-fraud, data protection, security monitoring, Sender ID administration as well as user opt-in and opt-out mechanisms.
The framework further stipulates that A2P messages without valid Sender ID shall not be accepted or relayed, and service providers are prohibited from sending unsolicited bulk marketing SMS. According to the NCC, the new licensing system will build a more transparent, secure and regulatable international A2P messaging ecosystem and support sustainable, orderly growth of enterprise messaging services in Nigeria.
