Nigerian telecommunications companies collectively experienced 577 network outages during the first three months of 2026, leading to significant drops and disruptions in service quality for subscribers. Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) uptime portal, a real-time tracking system for network downtime, revealed that these incidents impacted 11 telecom operators, including Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

A detailed breakdown of the outages showed that MTN Nigeria, the country's leading telco, recorded the highest number of disruptions with 234 cases. Following closely was Backbone Connectivity Network (BCN), an internet service provider, with 166 cases. Together, MTN and BCN accounted for approximately 70% of all reported outages in the first quarter of 2026. Other operators with notable figures included T2mobile (formerly 9mobile) with 63 cases, Airtel Nigeria with 42, and Layer3 with 33. ISPs such as IPNX (17), FibreOne (8), Tizeti (5), Suburban (4), Smile (4), and Starlink (1) registered fewer, but still significant, incidents.

Analysis of the causes behind these widespread disruptions highlighted fibre cuts as the predominant factor, accounting for 361 cases across the industry during the period. Power outages at base stations were another major contributor, with 144 incidents. Additionally, the industry faced 20 equipment failures, 12 instances of bush burning, and 9 cases of telecom infrastructure vandalism. Other causes included low optical power (3), a service outage (1), equipment theft (1), fallen cables (1), and 25 unspecified causes. Despite the high frequency of outages, most repairs were completed within a day, indicating a degree of responsiveness from operators.

Examining the monthly trends within the first quarter, January 2026 recorded the highest number of disruptions, with 238 outages, marking a substantial 101.7% increase from the 118 cases reported in December 2025. In January, BCN experienced the most disruptions with 188 cases, followed by MTN with 75, and T2mobile with 23. Fibre cuts were responsible for 67.6% (161) of January's outages, while power outages contributed 18.5% (44).

February saw a reduction in network outages by 20.5% from January's figure, totaling 189 cases. During this month, MTN Nigeria suffered the highest number of outages with 87 cases, followed by T2mobile with 24, and Airtel Nigeria and Layer3 each with 12 cases. Fibre-optic cable cuts remained the leading cause, with 75 cases, while power outages accounted for 52 incidents.

In March, network outages further decreased by 20.6% to 150 cases. MTN continued to lead with 72 outages, though this represented a 17.2% reduction from its February record. BCN, after experiencing no outages in February, recorded 48 cases in March, a significant drop from its January peak. Airtel also saw an increase to 22 cases, an 83% rise from February, while T2mobile improved, dropping to 16 cases of disruptions.

While fibre cuts affect all Nigerian telcos, certain causes are more pronounced for specific operators. MNOs like MTN, Airtel, and 9mobile suffered more from power outages than ISPs combined, and their extensive subscriber base led to a higher record of fibre cuts. Conversely, a large portion of BCN's network disruption was also attributed to fibre cuts, despite it being an ISP.

In response to these persistent challenges, regulatory bodies and security agencies have initiated efforts to curtail network outages. The NCC recently launched a