The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged telecommunications regulators across Africa to strengthen collaboration and build a shared “network intelligence ecosystem” that supports smarter, evidence-based regulation. The call came during a Heads of Regulators Roundtable held on the sidelines of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Abuja.
Dr. Aminu Maida, Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, told the gathering that African regulators face many of the same challenges despite differences in market size, legal frameworks, and national priorities. He argued that closer, more systematic cooperation would allow institutions to share experiences, avoid reinventing solutions, and respond more effectively to the rapid evolution of the digital economy.
The roundtable’s theme “Building Africa’s Network Intelligence Ecosystem for Evidence-Based Regulation” reflected a growing recognition that traditional approaches are no longer sufficient. Broadband expansion, satellite services, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and digital public infrastructure are making communications ecosystems more complex. Regulators, Maida said, must rely more heavily on data, market intelligence, and peer learning to make better decisions.
“Very often, the challenge one regulator is trying to solve has already been encountered, in one form or another, by a colleague elsewhere on the continent,” he noted. The NCC chief stressed the need to make knowledge-sharing deliberate and structured rather than occasional or informal.
Rimini Makama, NCC’s Executive Commissioner for Stakeholder Management, who chaired the session, reinforced the message. She observed that the sector’s transformation demands regulators move beyond simply collecting data to turning information into transparent, consumer-focused decisions. Old regulatory models, she said, were designed for a simpler era and are increasingly inadequate.
Issues such as infrastructure resilience, investment attraction, cybersecurity, spectrum management, affordability, and the governance of emerging technologies cut across borders. No single African regulator can address these effectively in isolation. Stronger continental coordination is also seen as essential for Africa to speak with a more coherent voice in global forums, including preparations for the International Telecommunication Union’s upcoming Plenipotentiary Conference.
The NCC position reflects a wider push within African regulatory circles to institutionalise cooperation. Proposals discussed included more regular technical exchanges, shared platforms for regulatory data and insights, and joint approaches to common problems. The goal is not uniform regulation across the continent, but smarter, more informed decision-making that draws on collective experience.
For consumers and operators, the practical impact of better regulatory collaboration could include more consistent quality-of-service standards, clearer rules for new technologies, and policies that encourage investment while protecting users. For governments, it supports the broader digital transformation agendas many African countries are pursuing.
The Abuja roundtable forms part of ongoing efforts by the ATU and national regulators to modernise oversight of Africa’s communications sector. As connectivity expands and digital services become more central to economic life, the ability of regulators to learn from one another and act on solid evidence will play a critical role in shaping outcomes.
Maida and his counterparts signalled that the conversation is only beginning. The real test will be whether African regulators can translate calls for collaboration into sustained mechanisms that improve how the continent governs its digital future.
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