Nigeria’s House of Representatives has directed the chief executive officers of MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom (Glo) and other telecommunications operators to appear before lawmakers over persistent poor network services across the country, warning that failure to comply could result in arrest warrants.
The directive was issued on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, during a public hearing of the House Ad Hoc Committee investigating declining telecommunications service quality and customer experience, following the adoption of motions moved by lawmakers Sunday Umeha and Afam Ogene.
The operators, including MAFAB Communications, are expected to appear before the committee at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja on October 28 at 2 p.m., alongside relevant documents explaining their network performance and measures being taken to address service disruptions.
The committee’s chairman, Olumide Osoba, said the investigation became necessary because unreliable telecommunications services were increasingly affecting economic activities, including point-of-sale (POS) transactions that depend on stable connectivity.
He also criticised the failure of some operators to honour previous invitations, accusing them of repeatedly sending junior officials rather than their chief executives to answer questions about service delivery.
MTN’s repeated network outages raise concerns
The lawmakers’ directive comes amid a series of network disruptions reported by MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecommunications operator, despite generating ₦2.99 trillion in revenue and ₦1.09 trillion in pre-tax profit during the first six months of 2026.
On October 8, MTN announced a major network outage affecting parts of Lagos, Oyo, Rivers and Delta states, as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), leaving subscribers struggling to access telecommunications services.
The disruption lasted several hours, with customers in Lagos and Oyo reporting difficulties accessing the network before MTN confirmed the restoration of services the following day.
However, the restoration did not mark the end of the interruptions. Five days later, on October 13, MTN disclosed another network outage affecting parts of Taraba State, followed by a similar announcement on October 16 concerning service disruptions in parts of Oyo State.
The outages subsequently extended to northern Nigeria, with the operator reporting disruptions in Kano and Kaduna states on October 18, before another outage affected parts of Niger State on October 19.
These subsequent incidents, reported in MTN’s network notices, illustrate the recurring connectivity challenges facing subscribers across different parts of the country.
The disruptions have also raised questions about network capacity as demand for mobile internet continues to grow. In the first half of 2026, MTN’s active data subscribers increased by 9.3% to 55.7 million, while average monthly data consumption rose by approximately 15% to 14.8GB per user, placing additional demands on its infrastructure.
Beyond capacity pressures, physical damage to telecommunications infrastructure remains another major challenge, with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recording more than 5,000 fibre-optic cable cuts in the first six months of 2026, largely linked to road construction, excavation and related civil works.
How regulators are pushing for compensation over poor network services
As complaints about unreliable telecommunications services persist, the NCC has introduced measures requiring operators to compensate subscribers affected by prolonged or repeated network failures.
In April 2026, the regulator began implementing a compensation framework under which mobile network operators that fail to meet prescribed quality-of-service standards must provide airtime credits to eligible subscribers.
The framework covers disruptions affecting voice calls, mobile data and SMS services, with compensation determined by customers’ usage and the operators’ performance in affected local government areas.
Subscribers are not required to submit individual applications, as operators must identify eligible customers and provide compensation following regulatory verification of service failures.
However, not every network interruption automatically qualifies for compensation. The NCC assesses whether operators have breached prescribed service standards, while incidents involving fibre cuts, vandalism and other exceptional circumstances are subject to further review.
The regulatory intervention follows concerns raised in October 2025, when the NCC attributed poor telecommunications services in Lagos, Abuja and other major cities partly to inadequate network capacity in densely populated areas, calling for greater investment in 5G deployment and upgrades to existing 4G infrastructure.
Despite these concerns, telecommunications operators and tower companies invested a combined ₦2.5 trillion in network infrastructure in 2025, supporting the addition and upgrade of more than 2,800 telecommunications sites nationwide.
With network investments continuing alongside recurring service disruptions, the October 28 hearing will put telecom executives under renewed scrutiny over whether infrastructure expansion is translating into more reliable connectivity for Nigerian consumers.
