Poor Internet service lingers as NCC denies new tariff

• Tasks telcos on price transparency
Poor Internet service, which started on August 1 has entered a fourth day.

Epileptic telephony services across the country left subscribers unable to download and upload easily .

However, Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, denied there was any deliberate move to restrict #EndBadGovernance protesters by blocking access to the Internet.

Tijani said: “There was no instruction to tamper with the network; absolutely no instruction from my office,” he said.

Also, a senior telecoms official, who spoke on condition of anonymity yesterday, said repairs of the damaged fibre cable were ongoing and service would soon be optimal.

According to him, the congestion being experienced could be because voice and data load have been localised as almost everybody is at home.

He said: “Some are watching Netflix, others doing one thing or the other on social media. Some are even working from home. So, some local areas could be congested. In some areas like Ikoyi and Victoria Island, where there are offices, services could be 100 per cent available because people are not at work.

“But in areas that do not hold service at this time (morning yesterday) and suddenly there is traffic towards that side and no preparation to divert traffic…could be an issue technically. If you try to make any long-distance calls (international calls), you may not feel any congestion. The call will go through. It is largely the local calls that are experiencing hitches.

“But we are on top of the situation. Services will get better soonest.”

A coalition, led by the Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) condemned Internet disruptions in Nigeria amid the protests.

This was contained in a statement at the weekend, which drew the attention of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) to the development.

The coalition said the disruption constituted an unacceptable breach of established norms and standards under regional and international human rights instruments to which Nigeria is a party, and it must be halted forthwith.

It noted that a joint reading of investigative reports by the Foundation for Investigative Journalism, Peoples Gazette, and individual measurements by netizens, revealed a throttling of Internet speed nationwide, aimed at slowing down information dissemination.

ALSO, NCC denied approving tariff hikes for telecoms operators in the country.

Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, on X, said: “Like the others, this is fake news! The Commission has neither approved any telecom tariff plans nor hike as this report claims.”