Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has lauded the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for suspending the enforcement of its Digital, Electronic, Online or Non‑Traditional Consumer Lending (DEON) regulations against telecom operators, describing the move as a major boost for regulatory certainty and investor confidence in the sector. The development, announced on Monday, 1 June 2026, came after weeks of disruption that left an estimated 40 million Nigerian subscribers without access to airtime and data credit services, which ALTON described as “economic infrastructure” rather than mere financial products. Speaking through a statement issued on Monday, ALTON Chairman Gbenga Adebayo said the FCCPC’s decision demonstrated institutional maturity and acknowledged the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as the primary regulator of the telecommunications industry. “We commend the FCCPC for taking this decision in the interests of Nigerian consumers and the telecommunications industry,” Adebayo said. “Suspending the DEON regulations as they apply to telecom services recognises that the established regulatory architecture, with the NCC as the sector’s primary regulator, is the appropriate framework for governing these products. That recognition matters enormously for industry stability and investor confidence.”
The controversy erupted in early April 2026, when MTN, Airtel, Glo, and T2mobile abruptly suspended their airtime credit offerings following an FCCPC directive that required immediate compliance with the DEON framework. The commission had classified airtime credit as a form of consumer lending, bringing it under regulations originally designed to curb predatory practices by digital loan applications. This classification triggered a sharp jurisdictional dispute between the FCCPC and the NCC, which oversees telecommunications services under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003. The impasse persisted despite two separate Federal High Court orders — an interim injunction issued in Lagos on 15 April 2026 restraining the FCCPC from enforcing DEON against members of the Wireless Application Service Providers’ Association of Nigeria (WASPAN), and a separate order in Abuja on 24 April 2026 restraining MTN and Airtel from interfering with licensed value-added service (VAS) providers’ access to the platform. The FCCPC’s application to discharge the Lagos injunction was refused on 28 April 2026. The standoff effectively froze the airtime credit market, estimated to be worth between N300 billion and N400 billion annually.
The FCCPC, however, eventually bowed to the court’s directive. In a statement released on 22 May 2026, the commission announced the suspension of both the implementation and enforcement of the DEON Regulations 2025, while simultaneously instructing its legal team to challenge the competence of the suit and seek a reversal of the interim order. “As a law‑abiding institution, the commission, in deference and in obedience to the rule of law, hereby suspends the implementation and the enforcement of the DEON REGULATIONS 2025,” the FCCPC stated. The suspension paved the way for telecom operators to gradually restore services. Airtel Nigeria became the first major operator to fully restore its airtime credit offering, followed shortly by Globacom. As of the time of ALTON’s commendation, MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest operator with over 95 million subscribers, had not yet restored its airtime credit service. Adebayo expressed optimism that all operators would soon follow suit, noting that “the regulatory environment is now clear, and we are confident that full restoration is imminent.”
Adebayo used the opportunity to underscore the importance of airtime credit to millions of Nigerians, particularly those in lower-income communities who rely on the facility to stay connected. “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. Removing that infrastructure, even temporarily, had consequences that went far beyond the telecom sector.” The chairman also called for stronger collaboration between the FCCPC and the NCC to prevent future regulatory clashes. “The lesson is that Nigeria’s regulatory agencies need formal coordination protocols for services at the intersection of telecommunications and financial products,” Adebayo said. “The FCCPC’s consumer protection mandate and the NCC’s telecom regulatory mandate can coexist without either displacing the other. We are ready to participate in that conversation and urge both agencies to begin it without delay.”
The resumption of airtime credit services has brought relief to millions of prepaid subscribers who depend on small airtime advances for daily communication, mobile money transactions, and access to essential digital services. During the weeks of suspension, many low‑income users were forced to rely on more expensive alternatives, exacerbating the financial strain already imposed by record inflation and high energy costs. Small business owners who use airtime credit to manage customer communications and process mobile payments also reported significant disruptions. Analysts noted that the dispute highlighted the broader challenge of regulating services that straddle the boundary between telecommunications and financial services, a grey area that is becoming increasingly common as digital ecosystems converge.
The FCCPC, for its part, has maintained that its original intent was to protect consumers from exploitative lending practices, hidden charges, privacy violations, and abusive debt recovery methods. The commission had previously defended the DEON Regulations as necessary to address abuses by digital lenders, many of which operate outside the purview of traditional banking regulation. However, the telecom industry argued that airtime credit is fundamentally different from cash loans and should be treated as a value‑added service rather than a lending product. The court’s intervention and the FCCPC’s subsequent suspension appear to have vindicated the industry’s position, at least for now. However, the legal battle is far from over, as the FCCPC has indicated that it will continue to contest the court’s order. The outcome of that challenge could once again reshape the regulatory landscape for airtime lending.
As the industry gradually returns to normalcy, ALTON’s commendation serves as both a pat on the back for the FCCPC and a warning about the dangers of regulatory overreach. The episode has also intensified calls for a formal memorandum of understanding between the FCCPC and the NCC to clearly delineate their respective jurisdictions over services that span both sectors. Until such a framework is established, the risk of another regulatory clash remains. For now, however, the immediate crisis has passed, and millions of Nigerians can once again borrow airtime and data when they need it most. The lesson for regulators, as Adebayo put it, is that not every credit product is a loan, and not every loan should be treated as a threat.
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