Nigeria

MTN Group’s takeover of tower operator IHS Towers has secured conditional clearance from Nigeria’s competition regulator FCCPC. As a passive tower infrastructure provider, IHS does not handle SMS signalling or A2P business logic, yet tower quality directly governs A2P SMS delivery rate, latency and failure probability. Post‑closing, MTN will cut third‑party tower rental outlay, enabling upgrades to A2P risk‑control systems and better delivery performance for remote‑area subscribers. Regulators mandate up to 30 % equity stake in IHS Nigeria be offered to local investors and non‑discriminatory tower access for competitors including Airtel. Higher tower rents may lift rival operators’ network costs and push up A2P termination rates. Cross‑border A2P players may see improved stability on MTN direct connections, while MTN’s stronger bargaining power raises risks of tighter commercial terms, quotas and risk policies. Traffic may shift toward MTN, boosting its market share. NCC’s A2P licensing regime remains unchanged; aggregators still require official licences for cross‑border SMS operations.

In July 2026, the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN) filed an appeal at the Federal Court of Appeal against the lower‑court ruling that upheld FCCPC’s DEON digital‑lending regulations. The DEON regime imposes heavy‑duty compliance obligations including registration, statutory fees, record‑keeping, prior‑approval, annual reporting and audit requirements, with heavy fines for violations. WASPAN argues its members already hold NCC telecom licences; additional FCCPC registration and approval under DEON creates conflicting overlapping jurisdiction. It specifically contests Clause 7, arguing it effectively grants FCCPC telecom‑licensing power and risks disrupting legitimate industry operations.

In June 2026, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) initiated its first full‑scale Mobile Termination Rate (MTR) review since 2018. The scope goes beyond conventional voice interconnection to include pricing frameworks for A2P SMS and USSD. Driven by naira depreciation, inflation, rising energy costs and shifting business landscape, the existing tariff regime no longer reflects market realities. KPMG has been contracted for a four‑month study adopting the LRIC+ cost methodology, benchmarking against South Africa, Kenya and other peer markets, to build a cost‑driven transparent evidence‑based regulatory pricing framework.

On 11 June 2026, Federal High Court of Abuja delivered judgment in Abdulmalik Muhd v. Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), prohibiting financial institutions from dispatching unsolicited marketing SMS to non‑customers, effective 30 June 2026 with NGN 250 000 damages awarded against GTCO. A second case ordered Stanbic IBTC to pay NGN 15 million for marketing to ex‑customers post‑account closure. Both rulings apply the NDPA and constitutional right‑to‑privacy, mandating explicit consent and customer‑non‑customer segregation for A2P SMS marketing.

In March 2026, the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN) issued the 2026 edition of the Code of Conduct for VAS Service Providers, establishing systematic compliance‑operating rules for A2P SMS and voice service providers. Four core obligations are defined: Sender ID registration, DND list scrubbing, user opt‑out mechanism and prohibition against illicit content. Breaching members face suspension of membership and carrier channel shutdown under a dual framework of industry self‑regulation plus operator enforcement, fulfilling NCC’s regulatory expectations for the VAS sub‑sector.

The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) stated that the tariff adjustments and settlement of outstanding USSD service arrears spearheaded by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) constitute vital measures to lift the domestic telecom sector out of prolonged financial strain and restore its capacity for network investment. The association argued that over more than a decade, communication tariffs failed to reflect rising costs for fuel, foreign exchange, equipment maintenance and network rollout. Meanwhile, protracted disputes over accumulated USSD fees between banks and operators once created systemic risks to digital financial services.

In February 2025, Nigeria’s Data Protection Commission (NDPC) imposed a USD 32.8 million fine on Meta Platforms Inc., alongside eight corrective orders. Stemming from a multi‑agency joint investigation, Meta also received heavy penalties from FCCPC and ARCON with total fines exceeding USD 290 million. Meta later filed judicial challenges and threatened to discontinue Facebook and Instagram services in the country. The dispute was finally settled out‑of‑court via a confidential settlement agreement dated 30 October 2025.

Issued in March 2025 by Nigeria’s Data Protection Commission (NDPC), the GAID 2025 serves as implementing rules for the 2023 Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA), taking effect on 19 September 2025. It brings direct‑marketing activities including marketing A2P SMS and automated voice outbound calls under personal‑data‑processing oversight, mandating explicit, voluntary and specific user consent. Data subjects may opt‑out anytime and service providers must cease delivery immediately upon request. Foreign entities targeting Nigerian data subjects are also covered. Together with the ARCON Act and FCCPA, it forms Nigeria’s full regulatory framework for advertising and data protection.

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 Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has approved 9mobile to launch nationwide roaming services over MTN’s network. Starting from June 2025, 9mobile subscribers can access voice calls, SMS and mobile data via MTN’s infrastructure in areas with poor or no native 9mobile coverage. The partnership enables 9mobile to improve user experience at lower cost and aligns with the regulator’s policy to boost infrastructure sharing and efficient spectrum utilisation.

In early 2025, Nigerian telecom operator Airtel Nigeria pioneered an AI‑driven "Spam SMS Alert" service designed to proactively identify and block suspicious text messages.

On 26‑03‑2025, MTN Group and Airtel Africa inked network‑infrastructure‑sharing deals for Nigeria and Uganda. Together they hold over 85 % of Nigeria’s telecom market. By sharing base stations and fibre assets, they cut capital & operating expenditure, offset forex losses from Naira depreciation and boost rural coverage, while improving cross‑network delivery performance for A2P SMS. Commercial and brand‑level competition remains intact. The operators are evaluating rolling out the model to Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Zambia, signalling a shift toward co‑opetition across African telecom.

According to Nigeria’s SMS pricing guideline, the standard retail rate for local SMS rose generally from ₦4 to around ₦6 per message in 2025. Pricing for bulk corporate SMS and international SMS API services varies significantly depending on sending volume, carrier networks, route quality and service providers. Enterprises sending verification codes, transaction alerts, logistics notifications and marketing messages need to factor local tariffs, gateway fees, compliance requirements and actual delivery rates into their SMS budgets.

On 25 November 2024, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) released the revised *Nigerian Communications Sector Tariff Simplification Guidelines*. Operators are mandated to cut complicated, non-comparable tariff plans and bundles, and clearly disclose charging terms for voice, data, SMS, bonus allocations and supplementary services. The guidelines apply to mobile network operators offering retail services to end users, aiming to boost tariff transparency, safeguard consumers’ right to information and foster fair competition.