By 
By Osasome C.O
Subscriber Frustration Mounts Over MTN FibreX Performance
Subscribers across Nigeria are voicing growing frustration over the performance of MTN Nigeria’s FibreX broadband service, with complaints peaking in late 2025 and early 2026 amid persistent network disruptions.
RELATED: NCC warns telcos over poor quality of service as network failures disrupt businesses, consumers
Users report slow browsing speeds, repeated downtimes, and poor customer support, a sharp contrast to the service’s promise of high-speed fibre-to-the-home connectivity of up to 1Gbps.
“For the past three days, the MTN FibreX network has been absolutely terrible—unstable connection, frequent downtimes, and speeds nowhere near what was promised,” said Nnamdi Nwabuisi, Managing Director of Nikenga.com, in a post on LinkedIn.
He described the service as “oversold,” stressing that businesses signed up for reliability, not “random blackouts every few hours.”
Businesses Bear the Brunt of Network Instability
Subscribers say the lack of communication during outages has worsened the situation. According to users, service interruptions are often attributed to “maintenance” or “emergency” work, but customers receive no prior notice, no real-time updates, and no clear timelines for resolution.
Ejiofor Emmanuel, another FibreX user, said his service had been unstable for over a week. “Constant drops. Random ‘no internet’ moments in the middle of work. Speeds fluctuating like NEPA voltage,” he said, adding that the silence from the provider makes the disruption more damaging for businesses that depend on reliable connectivity for remote work, software deployment, and client engagements.
Fibre Cuts and Vandalism Cripple Network Infrastructure
MTN Nigeria has acknowledged that the scale of infrastructure damage in 2025 significantly affected service delivery nationwide. The company reported 9,218 fibre cuts in 2025, averaging more than 25 incidents per day, alongside 211 network sites impacted by theft and vandalism as of November 30, 2025.
According to MTN, 5,478 fibre cuts occurred within just the first seven months of the year, with 760 incidents recorded in July alone. Some of these incidents knocked out connectivity across multiple states simultaneously, disrupting voice calls, data services, digital payments, and enterprise operations.
The operator has repeatedly described the challenge as a national infrastructure crisis, driven by road construction activities, cable theft, and deliberate vandalism.
Calls for Stronger Regulatory Oversight
Some subscribers argue that vandalism alone does not fully explain the quality-of-service challenges and have called on the regulator to take a firmer stance.
Aderemi Adekeye urged the Nigerian Communications Commission to strengthen oversight. He criticised what he described as weak enforcement of quality standards, noting that Nigeria took nearly a decade after the launch of 4G LTE to introduce meaningful performance metrics.
“When operators are allowed to look past customers, expectations inevitably collapse,” he said.
MTN Responds, Processes Over 1.6 Million Complaints
Reacting to the concerns, Karl Toriola, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, acknowledged the disruptions and accepted responsibility for network performance.
“There is progress to be proud of. And we clearly still have work to do,” Toriola said in a LinkedIn post.
He added that while MTN is not yet where it wants to be, its commitment to putting customers at the centre of operations remains unchanged.
MTN disclosed that it recorded and resolved 1,624,263 customer complaints in 2025 across multiple service channels. Despite the operational challenges, the company said it reached 85 million subscribers by September 2025.
Government Moves to Protect Fibre Infrastructure
The disclosures come amid renewed government efforts to safeguard telecom infrastructure. In February 2025, the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy established a joint standing committee on the protection of fibre optic cables nationwide.
The initiative aims to reduce infrastructure damage, improve network resilience, and support Nigeria’s increasingly digital economy.
Outlook: Reliability Now the Defining Test for Fibre Broadband
While some FibreX subscribers report stable experiences in certain locations, the broader trend highlights deep concerns around reliability, transparency, and support.
Analysts say that without stronger infrastructure protection, clearer communication during outages, and stricter regulatory enforcement, premium fibre broadband offerings may continue to fall short of customer expectations.
