• Tuesday, March 19, 2024
businessday logo

BusinessDay

MTN Nigeria compensates subscribers for network downtime

MTN Nigeria’s Q1 PBT up 39.4% to N143.6bn

Nigeria’s mobile telecommunications operator, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has announced compensation for its subscribers to make up for the network disruptions experienced last weekend.

Beyond extending time-bound subscriptions for its customers and as a way to further compensate its customers, the telecom giant said that customers on the MTN network have received a refund for the data and airtime that they used between 12noon and 7pm on Saturday, 16th October 2021.

Read also: Here’s why network downtime happens

“On behalf of the entire MTN team, I want to start with a heartfelt apology. We are truly sorry for the disruption this caused for so many in our MTN family. We know that millions of people rely on us to stay connected to their loved ones, to manage their businesses, to coordinate their lives. We take that responsibility, and privilege, very seriously. That’s why we are putting new measures in place to make sure we never experience anything like last Saturday again,” said Olutokun Toriola, the chief executive officer, MTN Nigeria, in his apology to subscribers for the inconvenience caused by the outage.

On the cause of the outage, Toriola stated that it was due to an error that shifted all 4G customers onto the 3G band and impacted the whole network, adding that the technical teams were able to rectify the problem. Accordingly, he disclosed that the error overloaded the 3G band, causing a domino effect that impacted the whole network.

“Our engineers were able to resolve the problem. I know that recently other technology companies have suffered outages. I want to reassure you that last Saturday’s event is in no way connected to those. This wasn’t sabotaged, it was a regrettable error,” he said.

Recall that on Saturday, 9 October 2021, MTN users witnessed hours of network disruption caused by an outage that left subscribers without a connection. To this end, the communications company has assured subscribers of better days ahead.

“While we can’t give you back the time you lost last Saturday, we can give you back what you spent yesterday. Every customer on the MTN network has received a refund for the data and airtime that they used between 10 am and 3 pm yesterday. We hope it shows how much we value our customers. You truly are our most important focus. We all have challenges, each and every one of us – young or old, personally or professionally. What matters is how we respond. With you by our side, we will continue to improve and grow. Thank you for all your support. Thank you for walking with us over the last 20 years. We look forward to the next 20 and more with you, ’’ Toriola stated.