Empirical Analysis of Blockchain Technology Applications for Telecommunications Billing Dispute Resolution in Nigeria

Billing disputes between subscribers and telecommunications operators represent a significant source of consumer dissatisfaction in Nigeria, and the opacity of conventional billing systems creates challenges for dispute verification that current resolution mechanisms handle ineffectively. Blockchain technology offers a distributed, tamper-evident ledger approach to billing record management that may reduce dispute incidence and accelerate resolution. This study empirically analyzes the potential and challenges of blockchain technology applications for telecommunications billing dispute resolution in Nigeria. An empirical study combining design and prototype implementation of a permissioned blockchain billing record system using the Hyperledger Fabric framework, performance benchmarking, and a structured survey of 68 NCC consumer affairs officers and billing dispute case managers was conducted. The prototype system was tested with transaction datasets representative of Nigerian subscriber billing events across three simulated network operators. Smart contract-based automated billing verification reduced dispute resolution time in simulation from an average of 11.3 days to 2.8 days. Throughput of 1,200 transactions per second was achieved on the prototype, sufficient for real-time billing event recording for networks of up to 500,000 subscribers. Consumer affairs officers rated blockchain-based billing evidence accessibility as significantly superior to current paper-based documentation processes. Primary implementation challenges identified include operator data sovereignty concerns, standardization of billing event data formats across operators, and regulatory authority for the shared ledger governance structure. Recommendations address NCC regulatory framework development for blockchain billing applications. Keywords: blockchain, billing dispute, telecommunications, Hyperledger Fabric, subscriber management.