NCC Orders MTN, Airtel, Others to Compensate Subscribers After Major Network Disruptions Hit 9 States
Telecom services crashed across nine Nigerian states as fiber cuts and power outages triggered major disruptions in calls, internet access, and USSD transactions.
Airtel, MTN, Glo, and 9Mobile customers endured hours-long blackouts, prompting NCC to mandate compensation for service lapses.
Telecommunication services across Nigeria experienced widespread disruptions in the first week of June 2025, as fiber cuts and power outages crippled operations in at least nine states. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) confirmed the development via its live incident portal and has now directed affected telecom operators, including MTN, Airtel, Glo, and 9Mobile, to compensate customers for prolonged service interruptions.
The affected states include Rivers, Katsina, Lagos, Enugu, Benue, Anambra, Imo, Abia, and Akwa Ibom, where subscribers struggled with failed voice calls, SMS delivery failures, slow internet, and disrupted USSD services.
Airtel worst hit by fiber cuts
Airtel Nigeria bore the brunt of the disruptions, experiencing three separate fiber cuts within a span of five days, according to the NCC report. Data services in important areas like Port Harcourt, Degema, and Obio-Akpor were disrupted by the first incident, which happened in Rivers State.. The outage lasted two hours. A second breakdown happened the next day in the same area, lasting over an hour.
On June 5, there was another incident that caused Airtel services to be interrupted for more than an hour in Ideato North, Owerri Municipal, and Owerri West, specifically in Anambra and Imo states..
9Mobile and Glo are also affected
9Mobile was not spared. Two fiber outages were reported by the telco. One of the incidents occurred on June 1 in Katsina State, disrupting services across 11 local government areas, including Funtua and Daura. The second occurred on June 2 in Lagos, where areas like Surulere, Apapa, and Lagos Island were impacted for over four hours, the longest disruption of the week.
In contrast, Globacom reported a fiber outage on June 5 that affected services in Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Abia, and Imo. Service interruptions in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and Enugu State were also attributed to vandals. Glo identified Enugu East, Enugu North, and Enugu South as the areas most affected by the disruption.
MTN records power and fiber disruptions
On June 2, MTN Nigeria reported a fiber outage that impacted areas of the states of Benue and Enugu. Isi Uzo, Nsukka, and Udi were among the local governments that experienced a brief outage. Additionally, MTN experienced a power outage on June 3 in parts of Borno and Gombe States, disrupting service in Maiduguri, Biu, Dukku, and Yamaltu/Deba.
Rivers and Enugu among worst-hit states
A closer analysis shows that Rivers State bore the brunt of the disruptions, especially with multiple outages involving Airtel infrastructure. Enugu, Lagos, and Katsina also experienced back-to-back issues from different operators, compounding the frustrations of subscribers.
NCC orders compensation
In a bid to uphold service standards and customer protection, the NCC has directed all network providers involved to compensate subscribers for outages lasting beyond 24 hours. The commission stated that its newly launched real-time monitoring portal is aimed at improving transparency and ensuring rapid response to network failures.
This move follows growing complaints from Nigerians who were unable to access mobile services despite having active data and airtime. Many had taken to social media to express their frustration, especially during a similar outage in early May.
As the NCC continues to monitor service quality nationwide, it has reminded telecom firms that customers must be reimbursed for any avoidable failure to deliver reliable service.