Telecom
Nigeria Records 40,000 Telecom Disruptions in 2025
Nigeria’s telecom sector suffered more than 40,000 cases of disruptions in the first eight months of 2025, dealing a heavy blow to broadband expansion and service delivery across the country.
Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), disclosed the figure at the Business Roundtable on Improving Investments in Broadband Connectivity and Safeguarding Critical National Infrastructure, held at the NCC Digital Economy Complex in Abuja.
According to him, the disruptions comprising 19,384 fibre cuts, 3,241 cases of equipment theft, and over 19,000 denials of access to telecom sites have resulted in prolonged outages, significant revenue losses, increased security costs, and delays in restoring services for millions of users.
“These incidents demonstrate why infrastructure protection must remain at the centre of our collective agenda. Without it, Nigeria risks stalling its broadband ambitions,” Maida said.
The EVC noted that broadband expansion is further slowed by fragmented and unpredictable Right of Way (RoW) policies across states, which create delays and cost uncertainties for operators
He added that inconsistent enforcement of infrastructure protection, weak coordination with road authorities, poor construction planning, energy supply volatility, multiple taxation, and bureaucratic permitting processes are compounding the sector’s challenges.
Despite these hurdles, Maida stressed the vital role of broadband in driving Nigeria’s economic growth.
As of August 2025, broadband penetration stood at 48.81 percent, with more than 140 million Nigerians connected to the internet.
said research indicates that a 10 percent rise in broadband penetration could add about 1.38 percent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“Broadband access transforms local markets into global ones, expands opportunities for our youth, and turns state economies into innovation-driven ecosystems. If countries like Rwanda and India have leveraged broadband to reposition their economies, Nigeria with its young and vibrant population can do even more if we provide reliable and affordable high-speed connectivity,” he said.
Maida reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to the National Broadband Plan (2020–2025), which targets 70 percent broadband penetration and the deployment of 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic backbone infrastructure by the end of 2025.
He highlighted several interventions already undertaken by the Commission to address the challenges confronting broadband infrastructure.
One of the most significant, he said, was the signing of the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) Order by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in June 2024.
The directive, which empowers law enforcement agencies to act decisively against vandalism and theft of telecom assets, has been operationalised by the NCC in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). This has led to the enforcement of security standards across sites as well as the prosecution of offenders, with ONSA dismantling major cartels behind equipment theft in recent years.
On Right of Way (RoW) charges, Maida noted that progress is being made through sustained advocacy with state governments.
Eleven states now waive RoW fees entirely, while 17 others have capped the rates at the agreed N145 per linear metre.
In the past two years alone, Adamawa, Bauchi, Enugu, Benue, and Zamfara joined the list of states eliminating RoW charges, creating a more enabling environment for operators to expand network infrastructure.
The NCC has also worked to strengthen investor confidence in the sector.
Earlier in 2025, the Commission approved cost-reflective but competitive tariff rates, a regulatory intervention that has already unlocked new commitments of over $1 billion in broadband investments by operators to extend coverage and capacity nationwide.
Beyond policy and regulatory measures, the Commission has embarked on broad public awareness initiatives designed to mobilise communities in safeguarding telecom facilities.
These campaigns, running across radio, television, social media, and local engagement programmes, aim to ensure citizens understand the importance of protecting infrastructure that underpins the country’s connectivity and economic growth.
Despite these efforts, Maida cautioned that the sector remains vulnerable without collective action. He urged state governors to adopt uniform RoW policies, protect infrastructure, and establish clear permitting procedures, warning that delays in policy alignment could leave Nigeria behind in the global digital race.
“In earlier times, a community without electricity or railways could still survive. But today, a community without digital connectivity is invisible, cut off from education, healthcare, markets, and opportunities. We must act decisively—state by state, community by community to ensure no one is left behind” he said.
AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software, driving digital transformation and sustainability, is setting a new standard for the industrial digital twin by converging all data onto CONNECT industrial intelligence platform.
Rob-McGreevy, Chief-Product Officer, AVEVA
Through enhancements to AVEVA Asset Information Management, AVEVA System Platform and AVEVA PI Data Infrastructure, AVEVA can enable the visualisation of engineering and operations data in one interface, offering organisations the ability to scale digital twin solutions more flexibly and reduce IT overhead.
The new enhancements, showcased at Schneider Electric’s Innovation Summit, will streamline the transfer of data to the CONNECT industrial intelligence platform in the cloud, improving data availability, reducing infrastructure costs, and enabling more precise, scalable analytics for digital twin applications.
Hosted from 22-23rd October the Innovation Summit featured a variety of speakers including Caspar Herzberg, CEO, AVEVA who discussed the role of software and industrial intelligence in accelerating the energy transition and CEO of Schneider Electric, Olivier Blum who shared his vision for the future of AI and energy transformation.
The event offered the opportunity to connect with industry trailblazers and energy technology luminaries for inspiring discussions on the energy transition, AI, and staying agile in fast-changing markets.
At this year’s Schneider Innovation summit, AVEVA showcased its solutions and vision for its industrial digital twin.
The new product enhancements will enable industrial organisations to create scalable, high-fidelity use cases that deliver real-time insight, improve asset reliability, accelerate decision-making, and support enterprise-wide transformation.
By eliminating data silos and enabling seamless collaboration across engineering, operations and IT, this will ensure AVEVA customers can drive better performance, carbon efficiency, and actionable industrial intelligence across the asset lifecycle.
“AVEVA’s technology is being used to aggregate, contextualize and validate asset information following industry data standard rules to provide a trusted digital twin.
“The technology will unify trusted asset information, such as equipment specifications, maintenance records, and engineering documentation, with real-time operational data from sensors, control systems, and industrial processes.
“This convergence happens within the CONNECT platform, built on Microsoft Azure, where contextualized data from AVEVA Asset Information Management and the AVEVA™ PI System™ portfolio is visualised together to unlock more value through AI-powered dashboards and analytics. We’re excited to bring this new software deliverable to the market,” comments Rob McGreevy, chief product officer, AVEVA.
For AVEVA Asset Information Management, the new enhancements will bring together trusted asset contexts, accessible through the CONNECT visualisation offering a single flexible and unified UI to visualise trusted engineering, asset and maintenance data. From P&IDs, drawings, and documents to real-time sensor readings, process events, and historical performance metrics, teams can view and analyse all relevant data in one place.
Meanwhile, AVEVA PI Data Infrastructure, is an ever-advancing modern and flexible foundation for rapidly connecting, contextualising and acting on industrial insights from operations data.
Its sophisticated data management capabilities continue to drive value across enterprises and new enhancements ensure enhanced hybrid connectivity, visualisation and analytics for AVEVA’s industrial digital twin.
“Our collaboration with AVEVA continues to evolve,” said Dayan Rodriguez, Corporate VP for Manufacturing, Microsoft. “By expanding the capabilities of the AVEVA portfolio and of the CONNECT platform on Microsoft Azure, AVEVA is unlocking new possibilities for industrial digital twin—bringing together trusted asset information and real-time operational data to deliver AI-powered insights, seamless visualisation, and enterprise-wide scalability.”
After days of online conversations and speculation, MTN Nigeria has officially unveiled its much-anticipated Festive campaign, YelloTide, a nationwide celebration aimed at spreading joy, kindness, and connection across the country.
The campaign officially kicks off this week, following a three-day teaser that had Nigerians across social media guessing what MTN had up its sleeve. Now, the wait is over.
According to the brand, the initiative will unfold in three major phases designed to light up the festive season with colour, community engagements, and giving spirit.
Activities begin with Y’ello Santa, a three-day activation held from Thursday, November 13 to Saturday, November 15, 2025, in six key cities: Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, Enugu, Kano, and Ibadan. Each stop will feature surprise appearances, and special giveaways, turning everyday spaces into pockets of celebration.
Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria, said: “This season, we want to bring the smiles back. We want people to remember what it feels like to come together, celebrate each other, and share happiness. From city centres to small communities, we’re taking the celebration to where Nigerians are.”
The campaign will run through the festive period into early 2026, combining physical activations, digital engagement via the MTN portal – yellotide.mtn.ng, and heartfelt community moments.
With millions of Nigerians already interacting online and city-wide celebrations set to begin, MTN’s festive campaign is shaping up to be one of the most unifying and memorable projects of the season.
The race is down to three as the Glo Innov8 National STEM Competition for Girls approaches its grand finale. The competition, organized by the Glo Foundation, Globacom’s corporate social responsibility arm, will take place at the Mike Adenuga Centre (Alliance Française), Ikoyi, Lagos.
From over 200 schools that entered nationwide, 20 were initially shortlisted, and 10 went on to compete for a place in the finals. The three schools that made it to the last stage are Ephraim High School, Isolo Campus, Lagos; Regina Pacis International School, Onitsha, Anambra State; and Peakfield Academy, Jos, Plateau State.
Hundreds of students across several states, including Plateau, Kano, Lagos, Rivers, Edo, Borno, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Oyo, Anambra, FCT, Delta, Kaduna, and Adamawa submitted entries after the Glo Foundation’s nationwide call for participation.
The initiative, designed as a STEM-driven challenge, was launched to mark this year’s International Day of the Girl Child — celebrating creativity, innovation, and inclusion among young women in science and technology.
According to the Glo Foundation, “The competition is aimed at inspiring young girls to Compete, Innovate, and Win — while strengthening their confidence and expanding their knowledge in STEM subjects.”
The winning school will take home ₦2,000,000 cash prize, with each of its two student representatives receiving a brand-new laptop and the Teacher/Mentor/STEM Coordinator earning ₦200,000. Runners-up will also receive valuable consolation prizes.
The three judges of the virtual stage expressed delight at the quality of presentations from the top 20 schools. Tosin Olabode praised the participants’ creativity, saying, “I was particularly impressed by the prototype presentations — some schools clearly did their homework.”
Another judge, Amina Gabriel, highlighted the diversity of ideas, noting, “The schools presented innovative solutions addressing issues in agriculture, security, waste management, and firefighting. The prototypes ranged from apps to robots, making the competition truly engaging. I’m grateful to Glo Foundation for giving me the chance to support young girls in STEM.”
On her part, Sharon Ibejih added that “this competition has showcased a highly competitive next generation of women leaders in STEM. It’s a brilliant platform to nurture problem-solving and innovative thinking among students.”
As the final stage approaches, anticipation is high for what promises to be a memorable showcase of brilliant young Nigerian girls and a testament to Globacom’s commitment to empowering the next generation of innovators.
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