The Nigerian Communications Commission has called for deeper collaboration among African telecommunications and communications regulators to strengthen the use of data, evidence and market intelligence in driving more effective and responsive regulation across the continent.
Speaking at the Heads of Regulators Roundtable during the African Telecommunications Union Conference of Plenipotentiaries CPL-26 in Abuja, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said communications regulation has become central to economic growth, digital transformation and national development in Africa.
Dr Maida described the conference theme, “Building Africa’s Network Intelligence Ecosystem For Evidence-Based Regulation,” as timely and relevant to the future of regulation on the continent.
“It gives us an opportunity to consider how better use of data, evidence and market intelligence can strengthen regulatory decisions, and how African regulators can learn more systematically from one another,” he said.
According to the NCC chief executive, although regulators operate under different market conditions and legal frameworks, they face similar challenges. He listed infrastructure development, cybersecurity, affordability, satellite services, network resilience and the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence technologies as common priorities.
Dr Maida noted that exchanges among regulators often reveal shared experiences and lessons that can help institutions address complex policy and regulatory issues more effectively. He stressed the need to make such knowledge sharing more deliberate, systematic and beneficial to regulatory authorities across Africa.
“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 added.
Chairing the roundtable, the NCC Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Mrs Rimini Makama, said developments such as broadband expansion, satellite services, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and digital public infrastructure are making communications ecosystems increasingly complex.
She stated that this complexity requires regulators to move beyond traditional regulatory approaches.
Mrs Makama also observed that regulators across Africa now have access to growing volumes of technical, market and consumer data.
She emphasised that the real challenge lies in translating this information into actionable intelligence that can support better regulatory outcomes.
The Heads of Regulators Roundtable is part of ongoing efforts by African communications regulators to promote evidence-based regulation, enhance regional cooperation and build more resilient, innovative and consumer-focused communications ecosystems across the continent.
The event was attended by heads of regulatory authorities from across Africa and held under the auspices of the African Telecommunications Union.
