BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY MEDIA FOR AFRICA

Nigeria unveils first A2P messaging licensing framework

By Samuel Olomu, Nigeria correspondent
Johannesburg, 09 Jul 2025
Dr. Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission.
Dr. Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced a mandatory licensing scheme for all firms engaging in Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging services, with the licence price set at $6.518 (N10 million) for a five-year term.

The recently announced framework is Nigeria's first formal regulatory structure for A2P messaging, and it includes automated communications like bank alerts, promotional SMS, OTPs, and service notifications.

The licence is now necessary for telecom operators, aggregators, and businesses that send A2P messages to consumers.

“Unregulated A2P messaging has created loopholes for grey routing, spam, revenue leakages, and unauthorized delivery paths used to deliver SMS,” the Commission stated. “This licensing regime is designed to close those gaps and enhance consumer protection.”

The NCC emphasised that the framework will only allow licensed businesses to engage in the A2P space.

The Commission also stated that international A2P SMS must be routed through NCC-approved channels, and these licenses must meet data protection, encryption, and reporting standards.

Also, the NCC emphasised that only organisations with a proven track record of secure and ethical operations will be eligible for licensing.

The Commission also intends to centralise international A2P message routing to ensure compliance and transparency, notably for foreign-based platforms that previously bypassed domestic networks.

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