Nigerian telecoms suffered 118 network outages in December 2025

Nigerian Telecoms operator experienced 118 cases of network outages in December 2025. This is according to data made available by the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) Uptime portal. 

Various disruptions, including fibre cuts, power outages at telecoms towers, bush burning, and vandalism of telecoms infrastructure, compounded the network outage. Operators such as MTN, Airtel, GLO, T2mobile (formerly 9mobile), Spectranet, FibreOne, Layer3, and Tizeti were affected during the month.

Further breakdown shows that MTN Nigeria suffered the highest network outage nationwide, with 64 cases of disruptions in December 2025. T2Mobile, formerly 9mobile, experienced 18 cases of network outages while Spectranet, a Broadband Internet Service Provider (ISP), witnessed 15 cases of network disruptions during the month. 

Others are Layer3 (8), Airtel Nigeria (6), FibreOne (3), Tizeti (3), and Globacom (1). 

In terms of causes of the network outage, the industry data shows that power outages in tower sites contributed to 59 cases of the disruption during the month. This stems from cuts in diesel supply, epileptic power supply and backup system or issues with equipment needed to transmit and receive signals.

Another leading cause is Fibre Cuts, which contributed to 48 cases of network disruptions in December 2025. Others are Bush Burning (5), Vandalism (1), Equipment Failure (1) and Others (4). 

The data comes amid trends of fibre cuts as a leading case in vandalisation of telecoms infrastructure in Nigeria. In October, NCC revealed that the industry recorded 19,384 fibre optic cable cuts between January and August 2025.

During the same period, the telecoms industry recorded 3,241 cases of equipment theft, according to the NCC boss. Also, over 19,000 cases of denials of access to telecom sites were recorded, which resulted in prolonged shutdown. Another data by the commission in August showed that the industry recorded over 1,100 fibre cuts, 545 cases of access denial, and nearly 100 thefts

Vandalisation of telecoms infrastructures has caused repeatable financial loss to mobile network operators and disruption in internet connectivity nationwide. By extension, these vices are negatively impacting Nigerians’ daily activities and essential services, including banking, healthcare, education, and security.

Telecoms infrastructure, such as towers, fibre lines, base stations, and data centres, has been classified as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII). However, the operations are increasingly targeted by vandals, thieves, and uncooperative communities.

Also Read: MTN’s 5,478 fibre cuts in 2025 signal an urgency for Nigeria’s CNI enforcement.

Uptime portal: reinforcing accountability by telecoms operators

According to the NCC, data available on the uptime portal stems from reported cases of network outage by Nigerian telecoms operators. 

The platform, launched in May 2025, requires Nigerian telecom operators to log all major service disruptions. The portal is made accessible to the public on the official NCC website and aims to promote transparency and hold entities responsible for the sabotage of critical telecom infrastructure. 

In the compliance directives, the communications regulator directed telecoms operators to inform consumers about major service outages to their networks. The notification must include the cause of the disruption, the affected areas, and the estimated time of service restoration.

They are also required to inform consumers at least one week in advance if any outage, service upgrade or maintenance is planned. The move formed part of the NCC’s move to reinforce national security, enhance economic stability, and protect the everyday lives of Nigerians.

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