Nigeria’s telecommunications sector experienced an unprecedented surge in network outages in May 2025, with 9mobile and MTN Nigeria bearing the brunt of service disruptions caused primarily by fibre cuts and power failures.
From January 1 to May 19, 9mobile reported 31 major outages across several states, while MTN Nigeria recorded 25 incidents, according to data from Uptime, a network monitoring platform. Approximately 70% of these outages were linked to fibre cuts resulting from roadworks or vandalism, severely affecting millions of subscribers nationwide.
These outages led to complete shutdowns of critical services such as voice calls, SMS, mobile data, and USSD for hours at a time. Notably, 9mobile suffered the longest service restoration times, including an eight-hour power outage in Lagos on May 14 that impacted multiple local government areas.
MTN Nigeria, despite a high number of outages, generally restored services faster. The company is investing heavily in infrastructure improvements, pledging ₦800 billion for network upgrades in 2025, with ₦200 billion already spent in the first quarter. Part of this effort includes deploying motorcycles to help engineers navigate urban traffic and conduct daily fibre inspections to detect issues early.
However, MTN also faced regulatory challenges. In April, the Kogi State government sealed 16 MTN sites, disrupting access to 155 additional connected sites. The standoff lasted nearly 23 days before resolution in early May.
9mobile’s performance remains a concern as its subscriber base dwindled to 2.96 million in March 2025 from over 20 million in 2015. Frequent and prolonged outages continue to damage customer trust and hinder recovery efforts.
The rising frequency and duration of outages highlight Nigeria’s infrastructure gaps, power instability, and regulatory hurdles. As connectivity becomes vital for banking, education, and emergency services, the reliability of telecom networks is crucial for the country’s digital economy.
Ugonwa Nwoye, MTN Nigeria’s Chief Customer and Experience Officer, said the investments aim to “translate this into better customer experience, reduced congestion, faster internet speeds, and wider network reach.”
With over 140 million Nigerians relying on mobile networks, the pressure is on operators and regulators to strengthen infrastructure and ensure more resilient service delivery.
