Nigeria’s telecommunications operators invested more than N2.1 trillion in network expansion and modernisation in 2025, but the industry continues to battle widespread infrastructure damage that is disrupting services and threatening the country’s digital transformation ambitions.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) uptime portal showed that telecom operators recorded 245 major network outages in May 2026 alone, affecting voice and data services across various parts of the country.
The outages impacted operators including MTN, Airtel, T2 Mobile (formerly 9mobile), BCN, FibreOne, Layer3, IPNX and Tizeti, exposing the growing gap between record infrastructure investments and the realities of operating telecommunications networks in Nigeria.
According to NCC records, fibre cuts were responsible for 183 of the 245 incidents reported during the month, accounting for about 75 percent of all outages. This means nearly eight out of every 10 major disruptions recorded in May were caused by damaged fibre optic cables.
Read also: MTN Nigeria suffers 9,218 fibre cuts in 2025 as vandalism, theft cripple network
