By John Akos
Telecommunications subscribers across the country have expressed exceptional frustration over the persistent poor quality services offered by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), despite the recent 50 percent tariff hike approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The Commission had stated after the federal government approved 50 per cent tariff hike that the decision was in response to market realities and rising operational costs, which would remain within existing tariff bands and be assessed on a case-by-case basis and bring about improved services.
In spite of the hike, telecom consumers have continued to express worry that the opposite has persisted.
Reports across Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Enugu, Port Harcourt , Uyo, Jos, Maiduguri, Zamfara, highlight widespread dissatisfaction, with users complaining of persistent drop calls, slow internet speeds, failed connections, undelivered SMS, data rollover issues, erratic service and even the stealing of their credit.
They noted that major MNOs including MTN Nigeria, Globacom, Airtel, and 9mobil, have hugely disappointed, and falls short in all key performance indicators.
There is the general agreement by telcom users that, “all the telecom companies are now the same, dispensing terribly poor service everywhere.”
In Abuja, Ibrahim Umar stated: “I have data, but I can’t access the internet. It’s draining and frustrating. I’ve been receiving server errors since morning. It takes a whole day to download one video. It’s unbearable.”
Peter Jatau was disappointed over delayed data activation.
“I’m disappointed, worried and frustrated. The data doesn’t reflect immediately, and even when it does, the network is so poor I can’t use it properly.”
In Kaduna and Jos, customers express disappointment that the regulatory agencies have failed to address the issues.
In Enugu, Aba, Onitsha, Jos and Jalingo, telecom users insist they face the first form of challenges since the inception of GSM technology, stressing that “although the NCC is aware that the telecom operators don’t apply quality equipments, they have refused to bring them to order, probably due to compromise or ineptitude or the usual Nigerian factor.
“Come and see what we face here in Enugu. There are some days all the service providers will knock off their services for a while day.
“Often, voices are muffled. Getting the destination lines appear impossible and they fleece our credit and when we report, we don’t get attended to.
“It is obvious that the South-East zone is again marginalized in this respect due the Nigerian government’s policy of pushing the zone down and neglecting it,” Peter Azubuogwu, stated in Enugu.
The poor service delivery, experts say, poses serious risks to Nigeria’s digital and economic growth. Key sectors such as e-commerce, education, banking, health, and media have been severely affected by unstable internet connectivity and rising data costs.
Critics argue that the situation undermines the Central Bank of Nigeria’s financial inclusion agenda and the broader digital economy vision.
The subscribers urge the NCC to revisit its guidelines for tariff approvals and enforce strict sanctions against operators who fail to meet the required service standards.
Foluso Oladimeji in Abuja called on the Commission to address the challenges facing operators such as infrastructure deficits and insecurity, especially in rural areas that hinder better service delivery.
“There is this bad tendencies among regulatory agencies in Nigeria to just approve any hike based on promises from the operators who should have invested and installed requite technical infrastructure before tariff hike can be approved.
“But, here in Nigeria, it is the consumers who bring their money for the operators to either take away or procure poor infrastructure, at best. That’s a wrong approach. People who claim to be investors in Nigeria rely solely on the money of the customers to either pocket or use to purchase inferior items needed for their services.
“There is this continuous unholy alliance between the so-called investors, who, in actual fact, are rip-off men, who always cheat their customers without any reprieve at the end of the day,” he stated.
