Fibre Cuts, Power Failures Undermine N2.13trn Telecom Investments

Nigeria’s telecommunications industry is grappling with persistent fibre cuts, power failures and network disruptions despite more than N2.13 trillion invested by mobile network operators in infrastructure and upgrades in 2025, as data consumption surged to 11.94 million terabytes (TB) in the first eight months of 2026.

The growing disconnect between investment and service quality threatens businesses, electronic payments and other digital services, with subscribers continuing to experience dropped calls, unstable internet connections and rapid data depletion amid rising demand for connectivity.

Figures published by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that data consumption reached 11,937,875.85 TB between January and August 2026, representing approximately 90 per cent of the total recorded in the whole of 2025.

In August alone, Nigerians consumed 1,756,404.82 TB of data, up 52.4 per cent from 1,152,347.24 TB recorded in August 2025. The figure also represented a 5.68 per cent increase from the 1,662,021.45 TB consumed in July 2026.

The sustained increase reflects Nigerians’ growing dependence on digital platforms, video streaming, social media, electronic payments and other internet-based services. However, persistent infrastructure failures are raising concerns about whether network capacity, reliability and resilience are keeping pace with demand.

The NCC said mobile network operators invested more than N2.13 trillion in infrastructure and upgrades in 2025, while telecommunications tower companies invested an additional N373.8 billion. The spending supported the addition and upgrade of more than 2,800 telecommunications sites nationwide.

The regulator also disclosed that operators had committed to deploying more than 12,000 additional coverage and capacity sites in 2026, with over 5,000 completed by the time of its May board meeting.

However, fibre-optic cable damage, power failures, equipment theft and insecurity continue to disrupt services, raising operating costs and potentially diverting resources from network expansion to repairs and maintenance.

Industry analysis of NCC data showed that 577 major network outages were recorded across 11 licensed operators in the first quarter of 2026. Fibre cuts accounted for 361 of the outages, while power failures were responsible for 144.

In May alone, 245 major outages were reported, including 183 linked to fibre cuts and 32 attributed to power failures.

The disruptions can affect mobile internet access, voice calls, electronic payments and business operations, while insecurity may delay repair teams attempting to restore damaged infrastructure.

The scale of fibre damage has also raised concerns about the vulnerability of telecommunications infrastructure to construction activities, vandalism and other forms of physical interference.

Industry data reported in July showed that 155,397 fibre-cut incidents were recorded in April and May 2026, compared with 5,934 in the first quarter. More than 54,000 of the reported incidents were attributed to vandalism.

Separately, the NCC disclosed in August that more than 5,000 fibre-cut incidents associated with road construction, excavation and related civil works occurred during the first half of the year.

Although the figures cover different reporting periods and incident categories, they underscore the persistent threat to fibre-optic networks, which carry traffic between base stations, data centres and other critical telecommunications facilities.

At a stakeholders’ workshop on fibre-optic protection, NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Dr Aminu Maida, warned that damage to telecommunications infrastructure had far-reaching consequences for citizens, businesses and the wider economy.

“To a machine operator on a construction site, it may appear to be one buried cable. To the nation, it can mean failed calls, stalled payments, interrupted services and missed opportunities,” Maida said.

He stressed the need for road construction and telecommunications deployment to complement each other rather than create avoidable disruptions.

“Nigeria must build the roads that connect our communities while protecting the fibre networks that connect our economy. We need both forms of infrastructure, and we need them to work together,” he said.

The NCC has repeatedly urged road construction companies, contractors, engineers, government agencies and telecommunications operators to coordinate their activities before excavation and other civil works begin.

The commission has also called for preventive measures and stronger inter-agency coordination to protect fibre-optic cables, which form part of the telecommunications infrastructure designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure by the Federal Government.

Damage to these networks can disrupt banking, education, healthcare, commerce, security and other public services, making infrastructure protection an increasingly important issue as Nigeria’s digital economy expands.

Beyond physical infrastructure damage, subscribers continue to report service-quality challenges despite the investment commitments made by operators.

NCC figures showed that the four major mobile network operators recorded 413,587 complaints in the first half of 2026, covering network quality, billing, data depletion, failed transactions and other service-related issues.

Airtel accounted for 228,992 complaints, followed by MTN with 124,405, Globacom with 56,810 and T2mobile, formerly 9mobile, with 3,885.

The regulator reported that 406,938 complaints, representing 98.38 per cent of the total, had been resolved.

However, the volume of complaints highlights the challenge of translating infrastructure investment into consistently reliable services for subscribers.

Data depletion was also a significant source of dissatisfaction, with the four operators recording 23,396 complaints relating to depleted data bundles between January and June. MTN accounted for 12,212 cases, Airtel 9,806, Globacom 1,373 and T2mobile five.

The complaints have coincided with growing data consumption and higher connectivity costs following the tariff adjustment approved by the regulator in 2025, increasing pressure on subscribers to obtain value for money.

The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has similarly warned that vandalism, fibre cuts, equipment theft, insecurity and regulatory bottlenecks continue to affect service delivery despite increased investment.

ALTON Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, has described telecommunications operators as “the infrastructure of infrastructures”, emphasising that connectivity underpins financial services, transportation, security and commerce.

He has also cited an average of about 40 fibre cuts daily along the Lagos-Kano route, illustrating the difficulties operators face in maintaining transmission networks.

The theft of batteries and generators, alongside security risks, further increases operating costs and can delay service restoration.

For telecommunications operators, sustaining network performance involves more than installing additional base stations. It also requires extending fibre routes, replacing damaged equipment, improving backup power systems, maintaining existing sites and strengthening network resilience.

ALTON has called for stronger government and community action to protect telecommunications infrastructure, alongside measures to reduce right-of-way delays and multiple taxation. Repeated fibre cuts and security challenges, the association has argued, increase repair costs and divert resources that could otherwise support network expansion.

Meanwhile, at the Nigeria Digital Connectivity Investment Forum held in September, the NCC called on investors, infrastructure providers, development finance institutions and other stakeholders to support broadband expansion and network modernisation.

Maida said growing demand for cloud services, digital platforms and artificial intelligence applications would require substantial investment in robust and resilient telecommunications infrastructure.

“The investment challenge before us is not merely one of expanding coverage. It is also about ensuring that those already connected enjoy better service quality, improved user experiences, and infrastructure capable of supporting future technologies,” he said.

The commission also called for an enabling investment environment, regulatory certainty and stronger collaboration among government, operators and infrastructure providers to address connectivity gaps.

ALTON has separately indicated that operators planned to invest about ₦1.8 trillion in network expansion in 2026, following investment of more than ₦2.3 trillion in the previous year.

The scale of these commitments underscores the capital-intensive nature of telecommunications infrastructure, which requires continuous spending on network capacity, transmission facilities, power supply and equipment replacement.

However, the benefits of increased investment may remain constrained if operators continue to face repeated infrastructure damage, unreliable power supply and delays in restoring disrupted services.

In a move to improve accountability, the NCC introduced a compensation framework that took effect in April 2026, providing for automatic airtime credits to eligible subscribers in locations where operators fail to meet specified quality-of-service standards.

The framework covers qualifying failures affecting voice, data and SMS services, with incidents involving vandalism, fibre cuts and other exceptional circumstances subject to regulatory assessment.

The compensation mechanism is intended to provide relief to affected subscribers, but it does not remove the underlying need to prevent network disruptions and improve service reliability.

With data consumption already approaching nine-tenths of the previous year’s total in just eight months, the pressure on telecommunications infrastructure is expected to remain significant.

For Nigeria’s digital economy to benefit fully from rising connectivity demand and billions of naira in network investments, operators and government agencies must address fibre vandalism, improve power reliability, strengthen infrastructure protection and ensure that new network capacity translates into better service delivery.

Ultimately, the challenge is no longer just expanding access to telecommunications services, but ensuring that the infrastructure supporting Nigeria’s increasingly digital economy remains reliable, resilient and capable of meeting the growing demand for data.