Four days after the voice and data disruption that affected countries along the West African coast, including Nigeria, the country’s telecommunications regulatory body, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced that voice and data communication services within the country have been restored.
A statement signed by the Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Reuben Muoka read in part: “Following the disruption on March 14, 2024, which affected data and voice services due to cuts in undersea fibre optics along the coasts of Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal, we are pleased to announce that services have now been restored to approximately 90% of their peak utilization capacities.”
The Commission assured that all operators who were impacted by the cuts have taken recovery capacity from submarine cables which were not impacted by the cuts, and have thus recovered approximately 90% of their peak utilisation capacities.
This came as a respite after days of epileptic data and voice services being experienced by telecom consumers in the country. Most affected were online banking services, which warranted banks to send out messages to customers apologising for the downtime. Internet access was also non-functional for most users.
The NCC, in its statement, further noted that Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) have assured that data and voice services would operate optimally pending full repairs of the undersea cables as they have managed to activate alternative connectivity to bring back the situation to normalcy.
The Commission however appreciated telecom consumers for their patience and understanding during the downtime caused by the undersea fibre cuts.
