MTN Nigeria has announced that subscribers in parts of Adamawa, Borno, and Kano states will face temporary service disruptions this weekend due to scheduled network maintenance on a damaged fiber route.

In a notice issued Friday, the company said the exercise will take place on Saturday, August 24, 2025, affecting 101 sites across 15 Local Government Areas.

The work will involve migrating traffic to a newly installed fiber line along the AFCOT–Bawo Village route in Adamawa State.

MTN said the two-hour maintenance, scheduled from 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM, is required to permanently replace damaged fiber spans and enhance overall network stability.

During this period, subscribers on 2G, 3G, and 4G networks, along with 10 enterprise customers, may experience brief connectivity disruptions.

“Due to the linear and unprotected nature of the route, services will be interrupted during the maintenance window. The work will be carried out during daylight hours for security reasons,” MTN stated.

The affected locations include Girei, Song, Mubi North, Hong, Gombi, Fufore, Mubi South, Madagali, Michika, Maiha, Chibok, and Yola North LGAs in Adamawa; Askira/UBA and Shani LGAs in Borno; and Nasarawa LGA in Kano State.

While apologizing for the inconvenience, MTN said the upgrade is intended to boost service quality and reliability across the impacted areas.

The disruption also highlights the recurring challenge of fiber cuts, which continue to cost telecom operators billions of naira in repairs. Recently, Airtel’s Director of Corporate Communications and CSR, Femi Adeniran, urged urgent protection of telecom infrastructure, revealing the company suffers an average of 43 fiber cuts daily.

He noted that fiber cuts—mostly resulting from construction works, vandalism, and poor stakeholder coordination—have reached epidemic levels in Nigeria’s telecom industry.

“These interruptions not only inconvenience consumers but also hinder businesses, delay government operations, and compromise public safety, particularly in emergencies,” he said.

“On average, operators report multiple incidents daily, disrupting services to millions of Nigerians.  Airtel Nigeria alone records a daily average of 43 fibre cuts and in the last six months, a total of 7742,” he shared.