How MTN Nigeria Compensated Customers for Service Downtime

On October 9, 2021, MTN subscribers in many parts of the country experienced a service outage on the network.

For some hours, some subscribers were unable to complete transactions through the MTN network.

While the situation was resolved in about five hours, MTN has apologised and compensated customers for the inconvenience.

In addition to extending time-bound subscriptions for customers who were affected by the outage, the telecom giant has gone further to refund every customer for the data and airtime they used between 12pm and 7pm on Saturday, 16th October 2021.

Here’s the transcript of the CEO’s message to all MTN customers:

Y’ello,   

My name is Olutokun Toriola. I’m the CEO of MTN. Last Saturday, we had an outage that left our customers without a connection for several hours.

On behalf of the entire MTN team, I want to start with a heartfelt apology. We are truly sorry for the disruption this caused for so many in our MTN family.   

We know that millions of people rely on us to stay connected to their loved ones, to manage their businesses, to coordinate their lives. We take that responsibility, and privilege, very seriously. That’s why we are putting new measures in place to make sure we never experience anything like last Saturday again.   

Our technical teams have traced the cause of the problem to an error that shifted all our 4G customers onto the 3G band.

This overloaded the 3G band, causing a domino effect that impacted the whole network. Our engineers were able to resolve the problem. I know that recently other technology companies have suffered outages. I want to reassure you that last Saturday’s event is in no way connected to those. This wasn’t sabotage, it was a regrettable error.   

While we work to strengthen our network to prevent further disruptions of any kind, we wanted to find a way to say sorry. Something more than extending the validity of all time-bound plans by 24 hours, which we did as soon as service was restored.   

So, while we can’t give you back the time you lost last Saturday, we can give you back what you spent yesterday.

Every customer on the MTN network has received a refund for the data and airtime that they used between 12 noon and 7 pm yesterday (Saturday). We hope it shows how much we value our customers. You truly are our most important focus.   

We all have challenges, each and everyone of us – young or old, personally or professionally. What matters is how we respond. With you by our side, we will continue to improve and grow.   

Thank you for all your support.  

Thank you for walking with us over the last 20 years. We look forward to the next 20 and more with you.    

We move!