Telecoms Operators Blame Poor Network On Lagos, Edo Protests

Telecom operators are appealing to the protesting youths in Lagos and Edo states to allow their workers reach the transceiver base stations for servicing.

The President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, Teniola Olusola, in a telephone conversation with our correspondent on Wednesday said the inability of workers to service such sites had led to loss of communication, which was likely to deteriorate further.

Specifically, he said hub sites in Lekki Phase one would be affected as workers were being turned back in the area.

According to him, base stations that are working optimally are important to the emergency services during the period of unrest.

He said, “I use this opportunity to crave the indulgence of the media to reach out to the youths and those going around destroying properties. There are reports that staff of telecoms operators are not allowed to service sites.

“We currently have a number sites that are at critical levels. This means that if they are not serviced, they will not be able to operate anymore.”

Teniola called on Nigerians to disabuse their minds from the notion that telecoms operators were deliberately denying Nigerians communication services.

He added, “We do not want the youths or the public to feel that we as members of ATCON are deliberately shutting down our sites. That is not the case.

“We need the cooperation of citizens during the curfew and uncertain times to support our work to be able to carry out their work and ensure that network they are using to communicate to their loved ones and for emergency services are kept up and running during this difficult period.”

MTN had apologised to subscribers in the early hours of Wednesday for poor connectivity in certain areas, saying it was caused by loss of supporting power supply to a hub site.

MTN said, “We are truly sorry for any difficulty you may have connecting to the networks in parts of Lekki, Oniru and Victoria Island at this time.

“This is due to the loss of auxiliary power supply at a hub site in the area.”

It added that its engineers were working to resolve the challenges as quickly as possible, although they were constrained by the prevailing circumstance which limited access.