Nigeria’s four major mobile network operators recorded 413,587 consumer complaints between January and June 2026, with service quality, billing, data depletion and failed transactions among the issues reported by subscribers. This was made known in the latest data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
According to the release, the complaints were recorded by Airtel Nigeria, MTN Nigeria, Globacom and T2mobile, formerly known as 9mobile, during the first six months of the year.
Airtel accounted for the largest share, with 228,992 complaints, followed by MTN with 124,405, Globacom with 56,810 and T2mobile with 3,885.
Despite the volume of complaints, the operators reported resolving 406,938 cases, or 98.38 percent of the total, according to the NCC data. Airtel recorded a resolution rate of 99.38 percent, Globacom 99.04 percent, MTN 96.57 percent and T2mobile 88.57 percent.
The NCC said the data provides insight into consumer complaint trends, service-quality problems, compliance with regulatory obligations and the responsiveness of telecommunications providers.
Data consumption emerged as a significant source of consumer complaints during the period. The four operators recorded 23,396 complaints related specifically to data depletion. MTN accounted for 12,212 of those complaints, followed by Airtel with 9,806, Globacom with 1,373 and T2mobile with five.
The issue has attracted increasing attention from Nigerian consumers, particularly following higher telecommunications costs after the industry implemented tariff adjustments approved by the NCC.
Telecom operators and the regulator have previously attributed rapid data consumption to factors including high-definition video streaming, automatic video playback, software updates, cloud backups and background application activity. MTN has also introduced tools such as daily data-usage reports and a data calculator to help subscribers monitor consumption.
The NCC’s complaint categories covered quality of service for voice and data, billing, data depletion, failed payment transactions, top-up issues, number portability, value-added services and SIM-related matters.
The regulator said the complaints were handled under the Quality of Service Business Rules, 2024 and the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations, 2024, which establish standards for complaint handling and resolution within Nigeria’s telecommunications industry.
The figures provide a snapshot of the interaction between Nigeria’s more than 190 million mobile connections and the country’s telecommunications providers, as operators face continued pressure to improve service quality while expanding network capacity.
The NCC’s publication of the complaint statistics is part of its broader consumer-protection and transparency framework, allowing subscribers, operators and other industry stakeholders to track the types of problems being reported and how providers respond to them.
