NCC Urges African Regulators to Strengthen Collaboration for Smarter Digital Governance

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)  has called for closer collaboration among African telecommunications and communications regulators to strengthen the use of data, evidence and market intelligence in shaping more effective and responsive regulatory frameworks across the continent.

Speaking at the Heads of Regulators Roundtable during the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) Conference of Plenipotentiaries (CPL-26) in Abuja, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, said communications regulation has become increasingly critical to driving economic growth, digital transformation and national development across Africa.

Maida noted that although regulators operate under different legal and market environments, they continue to face common challenges, including broadband infrastructure development, cybersecurity, affordability, satellite services, network resilience and the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence technologies. He stressed that greater collaboration would enable regulators to share experiences and adopt proven approaches to addressing complex policy and regulatory issues.

According to the NCC, the roundtable’s theme, “Building Africa’s Network Intelligence Ecosystem for Evidence-Based Regulation,” reflects the growing importance of leveraging data and market intelligence to support informed regulatory decisions. Maida said African regulators should adopt more deliberate and systematic knowledge-sharing mechanisms that allow authorities across the continent to learn from one another and strengthen regulatory outcomes.

While chairing the roundtable, NCC Executive Commissioner for Stakeholder Management, Rimini Makama, highlighted the increasing complexity of communications ecosystems, driven by developments such as broadband expansion, satellite services, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and digital public infrastructure. She said these trends require regulators to move beyond traditional regulatory approaches.

Makama observed that regulators across Africa now have access to growing volumes of technical, market and consumer data, but emphasized that the key challenge lies in converting that information into actionable intelligence capable of supporting better regulatory decisions.

The NCC said the Heads of Regulators Roundtable forms part of ongoing efforts by African communications regulators to promote evidence-based regulation, strengthen regional cooperation and build more resilient, innovative and consumer-focused communications ecosystems across the continent.