Nigeria telcos are taking us for granted

Customers of two giant telecom operators in Nigeria, Globacom and Mobile Telecommunication Network, MTN, have lamented the current poor network in the capital city of Nigeria, Abuja, especially within the satellite axis of the nation’s capital.

It has been recently observed, especially with the recent heavy downpour in Abuja, that networks of both operators have become quite erratic, especially in the satellite towns of Kubwa, Dutsen- Alhaji, Sokale, Bwari, Ushafa village, Jigo, Kpambara, Dei-Dei and a host of another axis, making effective mobile communication almost impossible.

Some customers, while raising the alarm have blamed the constant rain on the networks, saying the network issue was normal, especially “when we get into a season like this.”

One of the mobile subscribers Mr Amos Tanko lamented at Phase 4 in Kubwa that, “It’s normal at this time to experience network problem. It’s a general problem. It’s due to the heavy rain and there is nothing the operators can do about it. In fact, we experience same with DSTV. In this part of our world, natural occurrences affect technologies.”

But Mr Francis Ndukwe who resides in Adefemi, Ushafa said the problem was far beyond just the rain. He said the telecommunication companies were not able to power their masts 24/7. ” The problem is not just the rain. It’s actually a problem of failure or inability to power the masts hosting these networks 24/7. It is disappointing that each time we experience bad weather, networks become terrible. You can’t make or receive calls. This is sad. This cannot happen in advanced countries. You don’t treat your customers this way. The payment we are making in the purchase of recharged cards is supposed to service these masts effectively. It’s sad, but we have resolved to live with it. Besides, the government is not checking. This is what NCC should constantly check,” he lamented.

According to Mrs Adefemi of Dei-Dei, ” We have reached a point in this country that we just need to tell ourselves the obvious truth that nothing is going to work. The more you complain, the messier things get. Why can’t they power their masts? ”Just go around most of these masts, you won’t even see anybody around to ask why there is no network. Can this happen even in South Africa or Ghana? MTN and DSTV are South African companies, go to their country for instance, everything is working just fine. How can making and receiving of calls be our problem in the 21st century? It’s sad. Please, I want to know those in charge of Glo masts in Pmagbe Layouts in Ushafa. The thing is terrible now. We hardly have network once it starts raining. Mostly, we don’t have network on our phones at night. Is that not a huge security risk? If something happens at night, what will one do?”

Dahiru Adamu said, ” I have noticed that most telecom operators depend on public power supply. Once the area is out of power, network goes off. I don’t think we need to depend on public power supply to run this, as we are still battling with epileptic power supply. Unfortunately, most of the solar panels and generators attached to these masts are bad. They don’t work most of the time. ”