By Emmanuel Ogbodo
9mobile customers have been expressing their frustration over a network outage lasting more than three days, preventing them from making or receiving calls. The outage coincides with the announcement that LH Telecommunication Limited has acquired the struggling mobile network operator to revitalise it.
Subscribers report that the outage began on Saturday and continued through Tuesday, with no resolution in sight at the time of this report. The situation is aggravated by 9mobile’s silence on the matter.
Attempts by Nairametrics to contact the company’s spokesperson for a comment were unsuccessful, as her phone line was unreachable and there was no reply to a text message.
The outage overlapped with the implementation of SIM blocks on lines without verified National Identification Numbers (NIN) by all mobile operators. However, it became apparent that 9mobile’s issue was separate when the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) instructed telecom operators to unblock all lines on Monday.
A 9mobile subscriber, Mrs. Tina Ajayi, shared her frustration, saying: “I have not been able to make or receive calls, nor send messages since Saturday. Whenever I try, I get a message saying, ‘your phone is not registered on a network, so you can only make emergency calls.’ Initially, I thought my line was blocked, despite linking my NIN. It wasn’t until two of my neighbours experienced the same problem that I realised it was widespread. This is really frustrating.”
Some subscribers have taken to X, formerly Twitter, to voice their grievances. A user, @rchrd_mrtns, wrote: “It’s high time I port my 9mobile line. The issues are too much. No network for days now. Not even a single bar today.” Another user, @IzuIgwegbe, lamented: “9mobile has been down since Saturday night. No official statement, message, or email. What kind of unprofessionalism is this? Only in Nigeria would a business act like this. If you’re experiencing the same, let’s jointly sue them.”
@IfeRitsell discovered his line wasn’t faulty after visiting a 9mobile shop on Monday, where he learned of the network downtime. He posted: “Nigeria is such a wonderful country. I had to visit a 9mobile office to realise my line isn’t faulty, just that they’re having a network downtime. No communication to inform customers. Imagine life without the internet or options. God help us.”
On Nairaland, many 9mobile customers expressed their dissatisfaction with the network outage. One subscriber stated: “9mobile is definitely the worst network in Nigeria currently. I don’t understand how a mobile company can be without a network for days and not communicate with its customers. Very appalling.” Another subscriber added: “9mobile has had no signal for three days straight. Even though it’s been sold, there’s been no statement or apology. It seems like we, the customers, don’t matter. If only Nigerians realised the power of boycotting, these companies wouldn’t dare insult us like this.”
While this may be the longest network downtime 9mobile has experienced, it is one of many instances of service interruptions for the telco.
