Emma Okonji
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in collaboration with Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), yesterday, rolled out the Zero-Rated Data Access to Approved Educational Platforms and Content Initiative.
The programme supports NCC’s mandate to promote modern, universal, efficient, reliable, affordable, and accessible communications services across Nigeria.
Under the initiative’s Operator-Sponsored Model, eligible users will receive up to 100 megabytes of free daily data allowance to access designated educational platforms. This means a learner receiving the full 100MB allowance would have access to about 700MB of educational data each week, roughly 3GB every month, and up to 36.5GB annually.
The initiative is designed to reduce the cost of data for digital learning, enabling eligible learners to use approved platforms for studying, research, online courses, and other academic activities.
NCC revealed the initiative in a statement it issued yesterday, jointly signed by its Director, Public Affairs, Nnenna Ukoha, and Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo.
Speaking on the October 1, 2026 rollout of the initiative, Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, said the initiative, which provides learners with free access to approved educational platforms, formed part of broader government efforts to equip Nigerians with digital skills, knowledge, and advanced human capital development.
Maida stated that the programme aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s vision of building a $1 trillion economy, which depended significantly on investing in people through education, skills acquisition, and access to learning opportunities.
He said the significance of the initiative should be viewed beyond the daily 100MB allocation, particularly when considered over time and across the millions of learners expected to benefit from it.
He stated, “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.”
Maida added that increased connectivity would help bridge disparities in access to educational resources across different parts of the country by connecting students to teachers, learning materials, and knowledge resources, irrespective of location.
For his part, Adebayo, said the telecommunications and wider technology industry had demonstrated significant commitment to the Zero-Rated Access initiative through financial and in-kind contributions amounting to almost N200 billion for the initial pilot involving 5,000 learners.
According to Adebayo, the aggregate value considers the daily 100MB connectivity allocation, network resources, devices, terminals, and other supporting contributions provided by industry stakeholders, which he says is a demonstration of the industry’s commitment to supporting the federal government’s education and digital inclusion agenda.
Adebayo explained that telecommunications operators were absorbing the cost of providing the connectivity and network capacity required to deliver daily access to approved educational platforms. He added that this represented a substantial commitment of network resources over the duration of the programme and was being undertaken in support of a national development objective.