In 2026, Nigeria’s telecommunications sector can no longer hide behind growth statistics and subscriber numbers. The sector has matured. Expectations are higher. Patience is thinner. And the questions Nigerians are asking are no longer about access alone, but about value, quality and fairness.
After the tariff hikes, controversies over Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) and service quality debates of 2025, the year ahead represents a moment of truth. These are the seven defining issues that will determine whether telecoms deepens its role as an economic enabler or becomes a source of widening frustration.
Tariffs must finally justify themselves
The argument for higher tariffs has been made and accepted, reluctantly. In 2026, the debate shifts from why prices went up to what Nigerians got in return.
If call drops persist, data speeds remain inconsistent, and outages continue unabated, public resistance will harden. Regulators must insist that pricing approvals are tied to visible network improvements. Anything less risks undermining the social license of the industry.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will undoubtedly face growing pressure to link pricing approvals strictly to measurable quality-of-service improvements. Failure to close the gap between cost and experience could fuel further public backlash. Fortunately, the NCC has begun to bare its fangs. In December, it urged operators to shape up or be prepared for sanctions.
Data availability and affordability is strategic
Data is life. Airtel got it right. Data has become infrastructure. Everything, from fintech and education to governance and commerce, Nigeria’s digital economy runs on connectivity. Yet affordability remains fragile.
In 2026, the sector must confront a critical dilemma: how to sustain operator revenues without pricing millions of Nigerians out of the digital space. Pricing people out of data access weakens productivity, innovation and inclusion. There would be growing pressure for creative pricing models that balance sustainability with scale.
There should also be targeted interventions, such as special student data plans, zero-rated educational platforms, or public-private broadband initiatives, aimed at preserving inclusion while maintaining commercial viability.
Mobile Virtual Network Operators may have a significant role to play here.
USSD as a test of inclusion, not just billing
USSD services will remain under intense scrutiny in 2026. The USSD billing reform may have solved one problem, transparency, but it exposed another: affordability at the bottom of the pyramid.
In a country where millions still rely on basic phones, USSD remains the backbone of financial inclusion. If cumulative session charges become punitive, Nigeria risks excluding the very people digital finance was meant to empower.
The year ahead may thus see renewed negotiations between telcos, banks and regulators to strike a better balance, possibly through capped charges, bundled services, or partial subsidies, to ensure financial inclusion is not undermined. Reports indicate that the Central Bank of Nigeria and the NCC are already in talks to introduce an improved version of the service.
Infrastructure protection will separate talk from action
Nigeria cannot build a digital economy on fragile, vulnerable infrastructure. Every fibre cut, vandalised base station or power disruption weakens the system. These challenges not only degrade user experience but also inflate operating costs and slow network expansion.
2026 must be the year telecom assets are treated unequivocally as critical national infrastructure, actively protected, prioritised and defended. Without this shift, service quality debates will remain cyclical and unresolved.
Improved collaboration between operators, security agencies and state governments could significantly enhance network reliability and investor confidence.
Regulatory costs are the silent inflation driver
Much of what subscribers pay is driven not just by operator inefficiency, but by systemic regulatory fragmentation, right-of-way charges, multiple levies and inconsistent state policies.
If Nigeria is serious about affordable broadband, 2026 must bring meaningful progress in harmonising these costs. Any meaningful progress in this area could lower deployment costs, accelerate fibre rollout and eventually reflect in consumer pricing.
Otherwise, operators will keep passing inefficiencies down the value chain to consumers.
5G must prove its economic value
The novelty phase of 5G is over. 2026 will test whether it moves beyond urban showcases into broader economic relevance. The question now is: what problem does 5G solve for Nigeria?
Beyond faster downloads, 5G must support industry, healthcare, logistics, agriculture and smart infrastructure. If it remains an urban, premium-user product, its impact will be marginal. Purpose, not speed, will define success.
Trust will become the ultimate currency
Perhaps the most important issue of all in 2026 is trust.
Unexplained data depletion, opaque billing, poor customer service and regulatory silence have strained the relationship between telcos and subscribers. Growth without trust is fragile.
Rebuilding confidence will require transparency, accountability and genuine consumer engagement. Regulators must be seen to act decisively, and operators must communicate honestly. Without trust, even the best technology will struggle for acceptance.
The truth is that Nigeria’s telecom sector enters 2026 with enormous power and equally enormous responsibility.
But it is no longer about expansion alone. It is about alignment: aligning prices with performance, innovation with inclusion, and profitability with public interest.
If the industry gets this right, telecoms will remain the backbone of Nigeria’s digital future. If it gets it wrong, resistance, regulatory, political and public, will only grow louder.
2026 will tell us which path Nigeria’s telecom sector chooses.
Eromosele, a corporate communications expert and sustainability advocate, wrote via: elviseroms@gmail.com
