8 Days After Launch, Students Still Can’t Access FG’s Free 100MB Data

Eight days after the Federal Government launched its free 100 megabytes daily data initiative for students, learners across public secondary and tertiary institutions are still unable to access the promised benefit.
Some students who spoke in an interview with LEADERSHIP said they are still yet to receive clear information on how to activate or use the service.

The initiative, which was launched on October 1, 2026 by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in collaboration with the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and the Federal

Ministry of Education is to expand students’ access to digital educational resources.
However, checks by LEADERSHIP and accounts from students suggest that the implementation has yet to become visible to many of its intended beneficiaries.

Some students who spoke with LEADERSHIP said they had checked their phones and data balances repeatedly since the commencement date but had neither received a 100MB bundle nor understood how the benefit would be activated.

A student of Kaduna Polytechnic, Happiness Christopher, said she needed clearer information from the government on how the initiative works and how eligible learners could access the benefit.

“We need the government to explain clearly how students are supposed to access this free 100MB. Many of us have heard about the programme, but we do not know whether we are expected to register somewhere, use a particular network, download an application or simply access an approved educational website.

“If the government has launched the programme for students, there should be proper information and guidance so that the students who are supposed to benefit can actually access it. We cannot benefit from something we do not know how to activate,” she said.

Also, a law student at Moses Adasu University, Aer Kunya, said she was not even aware of the initiative.

“I am not even aware of the free 100MB data, and none of my friends has benefited from it,” she said.
But the NCC had explained that the programme is not a conventional data bundle that would simply appear as 100MB in every eligible student’s account.

The programme is officially known as the Zero-Rated Data Access to Approved Educational Platforms and Content Initiative.

Under the operator-sponsored model, eligible learners can receive up to 100MB of free data daily when accessing designated educational websites and platforms.

At the maximum allocation, the initiative could provide 100MB daily, about 700MB weekly, roughly 3GB monthly and up to 36.5GB annually. However, the most important feature of the scheme is that the data is zero-rated.
This means that students are not necessarily being given 100MB that they can spend freely on the internet.

Rather, the free access is attached to educational platforms and content approved under the programme.
Data consumed while accessing qualifying platforms is sponsored or zero-rated within the programme’s daily allowance and is therefore not supposed to be deducted from a student’s ordinary paid data balance.

The NCC said participating platforms would include Learning Management Systems, digital libraries, educational repositories, teacher-development platforms and technical and vocational education and training platforms.

The commission and the Federal Ministry of Education are responsible for approving and whitelisting participating platforms.

Consequently, students cannot simply use the initiative for unrestricted browsing, entertainment or social media, while activities on platforms such as WhatsApp, TikTok, Instagram or general websites would not automatically qualify simply because a student is using them for educational purposes.

The arrangement is intended to ensure that the government-sponsored connectivity is directed towards learning and educational content.

The NCC has also explained that the 100MB limit was introduced partly as a sustainability measure.

The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said the initiative would be monitored and reviewed as implementation progresses.

The commission is expected to assess actual usage before determining how the programme could be expanded or adjusted.

The scheme also places an expectation on participating educational platforms to optimise their websites and services so that students can consume educational content without rapidly exhausting the daily allowance.

For students, however, the distinction between a conventional data bundle and zero-rated access may not be immediately obvious.

A student who expects to receive a visible 100MB addition to their existing data balance may therefore assume that the scheme has not commenced if such a balance does not appear.

NCC and industry estimates indicate that providing the service to about five million students could cost approximately N15 billion monthly, or N180 billion annually.

However, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has criticised the initiative, arguing that the allocation is inadequate in the face of the realities of digital learning.

NANS Public Relations Officer, Comrade Obidah David, said the association considered the policy a misplaced priority in its present form.

“While we acknowledge the intention to support students’ access to digital resources, the provision of 100MB of data is grossly inadequate in today’s digital learning environment,” he said.

According to NANS, the increasing cost of data and the volume of data consumed by modern educational services mean that 100MB could barely support meaningful academic research or online learning.

The students’ body argued that the government should move beyond what it described as a short-term intervention and develop a sustainable framework for digital access.

“Students need affordable, reliable and meaningful access to the internet, not a token data allocation that does little to address the underlying challenges of digital education,” NANS said.