MTN Nigeria Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) subscribers experienced a service outage over the weekend lasting more than 12 hours.
Between Friday and Saturday, MTN BIS subscribers were unable to access data and messaging services while the outage lasted.
Some MTN subscribers, who spoke to HumanIPO, expressed their dissatisfaction with the network operator and said services were regularly lost without being informed by MTN why or for how long it would last.
“For more than six hours, I’ve been refreshing my internet browser and restarting my phone thinking something was wrong with my device only to learn from my friends in other parts of the city that they are experiencing similar service disruption,” Ayo told HumanIPO in Ibadan, South Western Nigeria.
Chris, who is based in Owerri, Imo state, South Eastern Nigeria, told HumanIPO BlackBerry users in the city were also affected by the service disruption.
“At first I thought it was only Owerri residents that were affected, only to go online where I found out the entire nation was affected. This is sad, sadder that the network didn’t even bother to notify us,” he said.
“Many Nigerians work online, so imagine the impact the outage would have on their business during the period. I believe the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) should introduce stricter measures to ensure that the various networks don’t take their subscribers for granted.”
On popular Nigerian social sites such as Nairaland, commenters predicted the network would lose more subscribers if it continues to take them for granted.
However, after BlackBerry services were restored, MTN Nigeria rewarded affected subscribers with a three-day extension of their BlackBerry subscription.
