Subscribers of MTN Nigeria in parts of Adamawa, Borno, and Kano states will experience a temporary service disruption this weekend as the telecom giant carries out scheduled network maintenance to fix a damaged fiber route.
In a notice issued by the company on Friday, MTN disclosed that the exercise, scheduled for Saturday, August 24, 2025, will affect 101 sites across 15 Local Government Areas (LGAs).
The maintenance will involve cutting over traffic to a newly installed fiber infrastructure along the AFCOT–Bawo Village route in Adamawa State.
Replacing damaged fibre
According to MTN, the two-hour maintenance, which will run from 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM, is necessary to permanently replace damaged fiber spans and improve overall network stability.
During this window, subscribers using 2G, 3G, and 4G services, as well as 10 enterprise customers, may experience temporary interruptions in connectivity.
“Due to the linear and unprotected nature of the route, services will be interrupted during the maintenance window. The work will be carried out during daylight hours for security reasons,” MTN stated.
- The affected areas include Girei, Song, Mubi North, Hong, Gombi, Fufore, Mubi South, Madagali, Michika, Maiha, Chibok, and Yola North LGAs in Adamawa; Askira/UBA and Shani LGAs in Borno; and Nasarawa LGA in Kano State.
- While regretting the inconvenience to customers, MTN assured that the upgrade is aimed at improving service quality and reliability in the affected regions.
The fibre cut menace
The service disruption brings to fore the menace of the perennial incidents of fibre cuts causing costing network operators billions of Naira in repairs.
Just recently, Airtel Director of Corporate Communications and CSR, Femi Adeniran, called for urgent actions to protect telecom infrastructure, noting that the company was recording an average of 43 fibre cuts daily.
According to him, fibre cuts, primarily caused by construction activities, vandalism, and a lack of coordination between stakeholders, have become an epidemic in the Nigerian telecom industry.
“These interruptions not only inconvenience consumers but also hinder businesses, delay government operations, and compromise public safety, particularly in emergencies,” he said.
“On average, operators report multiple incidents daily, disrupting services to millions of Nigerians. Airtel Nigeria alone records a daily average of 43 fibre cuts and in the last six months, a total of 7742,” he shared.
All operators affected nationwide
Just recently, Nairametrics reported that residents of three Nigerian states were facing network blackout as MTN and 9mobile suffer simultaneous fibre cuts in Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara.
According to the network status report released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) the fibre cuts on both networks occurred around 7.09 pm on Thursday, May 29, 2025.
- Earlier this month, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, expressed grave concern over the increasing damage to telecommunications infrastructure nationwide, revealing that MTN, Airtel, 9mobile, and other telecom operators now record an average of 1,100 fibre cuts every week.
- To address the crisis, he said the Commission has adopted a multi-pronged strategy involving technical enforcement, public sensitisation, and collaboration with national security agencies.
- Telecom infrastructure had been officially designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) by President Bola Tinubu under Section 3 of the Cybersecurity Act—placing a national security responsibility on operators, service providers, civil society, and citizens alike.
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