Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has welcomed the decision by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to suspend enforcement of the controversial Digital, Electronic, Online, or Non-traditional Consumer Lending (DEON) regulations against mobile network operators (MNOs) in the country.

Reacting to the suspension of enforcement of the controversial regulation, the telecoms operators described the development as a critical step towards restoring confidence in Nigeria’s regulatory environment.

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Already, Airtel and Glo mobile operators have since resumed the airtime and data borrowing offers to their subscribers.

Commenting on the development in a statement, Mr Gbenga Adebayo, the ALTON Chairman, said that the FCCPC’s decision reflects the kind of institutional discipline that the sector and the broader investment community had been looking for.

“We commend the FCCPC for taking this decision in the interests of Nigerian consumers and the telecommunications industry.

“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,” Adebayo said.

The airtime credit market, estimated at N300 to N400 billion annually, was effectively frozen in early April when MTN, Airtel, Glo, and T2mobile suspended their offerings after an FCCPC enforcement directive required immediate compliance with the DEON framework.

The FCCPC had classified airtime credit as consumer lending, bringing it within the scope of regulations originally designed to curb predatory practices by digital loan applications.

The classification triggered a jurisdictional dispute with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) which regulates telecommunications services under the Nigerian Communications Act 2003.

Two Federal High Court orders thereafter followed, including; an interim injunction obtained at a court in Lagos on 15 April, restraining the FCCPC from enforcing DEON against WASPAN members, and a separate order in Abuja on 24 April, restraining MTN and Airtel from interfering with licensed VAS providers’ access to the platform.

The FCCPC’s application to discharge the Lagos injunction was refused on 28 April.

Airtel’s decision to move first on restoration has drawn particular attention within the industry. The operator restored services shortly after the regulatory path cleared, a move several analysts have described as a signal of confidence in the legal and commercial environment. Globacom followed within days.

MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest operator by subscriber count with over 95 million subscribers, has yet to restore its airtime credit services (as at press time).

Adebayo said ALTON expects full restoration across all networks to follow swiftly.

“The regulatory environment is now clear, and we are confident that full restoration is imminent. The courts have spoken. The FCCPC has acted responsibly, and two of the four major operators have already restored services. There is no ambiguity left, and we expect every operator to act with the urgency their subscribers deserve.

”Looking ahead, the lesson is that Nigeria’s regulatory agencies need formal coordination protocols for services at the intersection of telecommunications and financial products.

“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,” Adebayo stated.