Telephone services may remain poor in 2026 following increased fibre cut disruptions. Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that more states have continued to fall victims of fibre cut menace. Recently, fibre cuts were reported on facilities of some of the operators.

NCC data showed that the operator suffered cuts in states like Adamawa, Bauchi, FCT, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, and Niger. The data also showed that the operator witnessed damage to its infrastructure in Cross River state.

This is as MTN recorded a surge in network disruptions in 2025, suffering 9,218 fibre cuts as of December 31. This is in addition to 211 base station sites affected by theft and vandalism.

The firm said the impact of these incidents disrupted mobile and data services to its millions of customers. According to the NCC, of the 177 million active telephone users as of November 2025, MTN has 91 million users and 51% market share.

Recall that as of October 2025, NCC informed of about 40,000 disruptions to telecom service, including fibre cuts, theft and access denial. According to MTN, 5,478 fibre cuts occurred within just the first seven months of 2025, with 760 incidents recorded in July alone, underscoring the intensity of the challenge.

Some of the incidents had wide-ranging consequences, knocking out connectivity across multiple states simultaneously and affecting voice calls, data services, digital payments and enterprise operations. MTN described the situation as a national infrastructure problem, rather than an isolated corporate issue, given the economy’s deep dependence on mobile networks.

On a post on LinkedIn, yesterday, MTN Chief Executive Officer, Dr Karl Olutokun Toriola, said: “These gaps were shaped by real operational challenges such as fibre cuts, theft, and vandalism. Their impact is felt directly by customers and reflected in what they tell us.” The disruptions were reflected in customer feedback volumes, as MTN handled an unprecedented number of complaints during the year.

The operator said it resolved 1,624,263 customer complaints in 2025, spanning call centres, social media platforms, emails and physical service centres nationwide. While the challenge persisted, MTN acknowledged that performance improvements remain a work in progress. “We are not where we want to be yet. We see you. We hear you. We exist because of you. And we will get better,” Toriola stated.

As the company enters its 25th year of operations in Nigeria, Toriola said MTN is doubling down on customer-centricity, treating every piece of feedback as a guide for improvement, while also stepping up engagement with government agencies.

The CEO renewed calls for stronger regulatory and legal protections for telecommunications infrastructure, urging policymakers to classify fibre cables, base stations and other critical assets as national infrastructure and criminalise vandalism to deter repeat attacks. For MTN Nigeria, the challenge ahead lies in balancing continued network expansion with protecting existing infrastructure in an environment where connectivity has become essential to daily life and increasingly vulnerable to disruption.