The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has commended the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for suspending the enforcement of the Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-traditional Consumer Lending (DEON) regulations as they apply to telecommunications operators.
ALTON described the decision as a significant step toward regulatory clarity and improved investor confidence in the sector.
The development has coincided with the gradual restoration of airtime and data credit services across telecom networks in Nigeria, following weeks of disruption that affected millions of subscribers nationwide.
Two major operators, Airtel Nigeria and Globacom, have fully restored airtime credit services, providing relief to an estimated 40 million users who rely on the facility for daily communication and business activities.
However, MTN Nigeria has yet to fully resume airtime credit services as of the time of filing this report.
Speaking on the development, ALTON Chairman Gbenga Adebayo said the FCCPC’s decision reflects regulatory maturity and recognition of the role of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as the primary regulator of the telecommunications sector.
Adebayo said the suspension of the DEON framework as it applies to telecom services is essential for maintaining industry stability.
He stated: “We commend the FCCPC for taking this decision in the interests of Nigerian consumers and the telecommunications industry.”
He added that recognising the NCC as the primary regulator ensures consistency within the established telecommunications regulatory framework.
According to him, airtime credit services should be understood not as conventional financial products but as critical economic infrastructure.
“What this episode demonstrated is that airtime credit is not a financial product in the way regulators initially characterised it,” he said. “It is economic infrastructure that approximately 40 million people use regularly, with the vast majority of them at the base of the economy.”
Adebayo noted that the temporary disruption underscored how essential airtime credit is for low-income users and small businesses that depend on uninterrupted connectivity.
The dispute began in April when major operators suspended airtime credit services following FCCPC directives that brought them under the DEON regulatory framework, originally designed for digital lending platforms.
The move created tension between the FCCPC and the NCC, which regulates telecommunications under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, raising concerns about overlapping regulatory mandates.
Adebayo expressed optimism that full service restoration across all operators would soon be completed.
He said regulatory clarity had now been achieved, adding that there was no longer ambiguity around the framework governing airtime credit services.
He also called for stronger coordination between regulatory agencies to avoid future conflicts affecting critical digital infrastructure.
“The FCCPC’s consumer protection mandate and the NCC’s telecom regulatory mandate can coexist without either displacing the other,” he said. “We are ready to participate in that conversation and urge both agencies to begin it without delay.”
Industry stakeholders say the resolution is expected to restore stability to Nigeria’s telecommunications sector and reinforce confidence among investors, operators, and consumers.
