Fibre Cuts Cause Telecom Outages Across Nine Nigerian States

In the first week of June 2025, telecommunications services in nine Nigerian states were significantly disrupted due to multiple fibre optic cable cuts and other infrastructure issues, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) live incident portal.

Major operators like Airtel, MTN, 9Mobile, and Globacom experienced outages in states including Rivers, Lagos, Katsina, Enugu, Anambra, Benue, Imo, Abia, and Akwa Ibom. Seven out of nine reported incidents were caused by fibre cuts, affecting voice calls, SMS, USSD, and mobile data services.

Airtel was the hardest hit with three fibre disruptions in Rivers and Anambra states lasting up to nearly three hours. 9Mobile recorded outages in Katsina and Lagos, while MTN faced fibre cuts and a power outage affecting parts of Benue, Enugu, Borno, and Gombe. Globacom also suffered a fibre cut in multiple southeastern states.

Besides accidental damage from roadworks, some disruptions were linked to vandalism, as seen in Enugu and the Federal Capital Territory. The NCC’s portal aims to improve transparency on outages, but frequent disruptions reveal ongoing infrastructure vulnerabilities.

Industry sources estimate that fibre cuts cost Nigeria’s telecom sector nearly N27 billion ($23 million) in 2023. Operators are calling for stronger regulations, better coordination with construction firms, and classification of telecom infrastructure as critical national assets to protect against sabotage and accidental damage.

The Federal Government has set up a Joint Standing Committee to safeguard fibre optic cables and introduced new rules requiring operators to notify consumers of major outages and provide compensation if disruptions last over 24 hours.