MTN Nigeria compensate subscribers with airtime, data due to October 9 outage

MTN Nigeria has compensated its subscribers with airtime and data due to the outage its consumers witnessed last Saturday. The Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, shared the information with subscribers on Sunday.

Toriola, via a video message posted on the company’s YouTube channel with its link sent to all subscribers of the network, apologised for the error.

In his message, Toriola said, “Last Saturday we had an outage that left our customers without 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 is why we are putting new measures in place to make sure we never experience anything like last Saturday again.”

He further explained the cause of the outage, saying, “Our technical teams have placed the cause of the problem to an error that shifted all over 4G customers to 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 suffered similar outages; I want to reassure you that last Saturday’s event is in no way connected to those outages. This incident was not sabotaged but a regrettable error.”

To compensate subscribers of the network, Toriola stated that the telecommunication company will refund its customers the airtime and data they purchased.

“While we work to strengthen our network to prevent any further disruption of this kind, we wanted to find a way to say sorry to you. 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 cannot give you back the time you lost on Saturday, we can give you back what you spent yesterday. Every customer on the MTN network has received a refund of the data and airtime they used between 12 noon and 7:00 pm yesterday. We hope that this should show how much we value you, our customer. You are truly our most important focus.

“We all have challenges — each and every one of us; personally or professionally. What matters is how we respond. With you by our side, we will continue to improve and grow,” he said.