The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in collaboration with the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), will on October 1, 2026, launch the Zero-Rated Data Access to Approved Educational Platforms and Content Initiative.
The programme is part of the Commission’s efforts to promote modern, universal, efficient, reliable, affordable and accessible communications services across Nigeria.
Under the initiative’s Operator-Sponsored Model, eligible learners will receive up to 100 megabytes (MB) of free data daily to access designated educational platforms.
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A learner who receives the full 100MB daily allowance could therefore access about 700MB of educational content each week, approximately 3GB each month and up to 36.5GB over a year.
The initiative is aimed at reducing the cost of internet access for digital learning and enabling eligible learners to use approved platforms for studying, research, online courses and other academic activities.
NCC: Initiative to Support Digital Skills and Human Capital Development
Speaking ahead of the October 1 rollout, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said the initiative forms part of broader government efforts to equip Nigerians with digital skills and knowledge while advancing human capital development.
Maida said the programme aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision of building a $1 trillion economy, noting that achieving such an objective would require sustained investment in education, skills acquisition and access to learning opportunities.
He said the significance of the initiative should be considered beyond the daily 100MB allocation, particularly when the benefit is measured over time and across the millions of learners expected to use the service.
“One hundred megabytes of data might sound a little, but when you look at it over a month and over a year, and cumulatively over the millions of learners and students that are going to access it, it’s really a significant investment by the industry towards the future of this country,” he said.
According to Maida, increased connectivity would also help reduce disparities in access to educational resources by connecting students with teachers, learning materials and knowledge resources regardless of their location.
He described the programme as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future and the telecommunications industry, saying it could contribute to the development of a more productive workforce capable of driving innovation, economic growth and national development.
“If the economy becomes more productive through these people who access these educational platforms, they are the future innovators in Nigeria, they are the ones who are going to come up with ideas and become leaders of tomorrow. So, making them more productive is going to create more opportunities for the sector to grow. It’s not about short-term thinking. It’s about securing the future of Nigerians,” he said.
ALTON: Industry Commits Nearly ₦200 Billion to Pilot
The Chairman of ALTON, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, said the telecommunications and wider technology industry had demonstrated significant commitment to the Zero-Rated Access initiative through financial and in-kind contributions valued at almost ₦200 billion for the initial pilot involving 5,000 learners.
According to Adebayo, the figure takes into account the daily 100MB connectivity allocation, network resources, devices, terminals and other support provided by industry stakeholders.
He said the contribution demonstrates the industry’s commitment to supporting the Federal Government’s education and digital inclusion agenda.
Adebayo explained that telecommunications operators are absorbing the cost of providing the connectivity and network capacity required to give learners daily access to approved educational platforms.
He added that the commitment represents a substantial deployment of network resources over the duration of the programme in support of a national development objective.
The ALTON chairman said the initiative has attracted a whole-of-industry response involving telecommunications operators, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), TowerCos and other technology stakeholders.
He said the value of the commitment should not be measured only by the amount of data being provided but also by its potential to enable Nigerian learners to access educational resources, prepare for examinations, conduct research, acquire digital skills and participate in the emerging digital economy.
According to Adebayo, the industry is not simply asking the Federal Government to introduce policies and programmes but is also committing substantial resources towards achieving the national objective.
“This is a partnership in the truest sense: Government provides the policy and educational framework; the regulator provides coordination and oversight; telecommunications operators provide connectivity and network resources; while OEMs, TowerCos and other technology partners contribute devices, terminals and other critical resources,” he said.
ALTON Calls for Wider Support
Adebayo, who said the initiative is designed to remove accessibility barriers for learners, called on other stakeholders to contribute to the national effort.
He stressed that the success of digital education would require more than connectivity, noting the importance of devices, appropriate educational content, reliable infrastructure, digital literacy and sustained investment.
“The telecommunications industry has demonstrated its willingness to lead by example,” he said, describing the initiative as an expression of confidence in Nigeria’s young people and the country’s future.
Adebayo said ALTON and its members remain committed to working with the government, NCC, Federal Ministry of Education and other stakeholders to ensure that the investment produces measurable and lasting educational outcomes.
“Investing in education is investing in Nigeria’s future and the telecommunications industry is putting its resources behind that future,” Adebayo said.
