MTN Nigeria has clarified that airtime credits being issued to subscribers are compensation for poor network quality and are not payments for complaints over unexplained mobile data depletion.
The clarification comes as the telecom operator faces more than 12,000 complaints relating to alleged data depletion between January and June 2026, according to industry data obtained by BusinessDay.
MTN has begun crediting eligible customers affected by network quality deficiencies recorded between February and April 2026, following directives from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC).
Subscribers began receiving notifications of the compensation on Sunday, with the amounts varying widely. Screenshots shared by customers showed credits ranging from N20 to N1,436.
The relatively small payments received by some subscribers have prompted questions about how compensation is calculated, who qualifies and whether the exercise addresses the broader consumer complaints facing Nigeria’s telecommunications industry..
MTN, however, said the airtime credit was unrelated to the subscriber’s data depletion complaint.
“The SMS notification relates to a Quality of Service compensation programme for service disruptions recorded between February and April 2026. The N20 airtime credit was the approved compensation applied to eligible lines and should not be interpreted as compensation for any specific airtime or data depletion claim,” the company said.
NCC Compensation Framework
Under the NCC’s compensation framework, subscribers are not automatically entitled to compensation simply because they experienced poor network service.
Eligibility is linked to subscribers located in Local Government Areas identified as having experienced qualifying service failures or poor network quality during the affected period. The compensation is also calculated based on a subscriber’s normal spending pattern rather than as a fixed amount paid uniformly to every affected customer.
MTN’s latest payment is its second compensation exercise under the framework. In May, the operator credited subscribers affected by poor network quality between November 2025 and January 2026.
