The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, has highlighted the massive infrastructural bottlenecks impeding the country’s telecommunications sector.
In a revealing comparison, Toriola disclosed that the service provider grapples with more fibre-optic cable cuts in a single day across Nigeria than the entire Kingdom of Saudi Arabia records over a full year.
Speaking in an exclusive interview on TVC News’ Beyond the Headlines, Toriola explained that the severe operational climate directly impacts network quality and leads to frequent service disruptions for subscribers.
He pointed to two primary drivers behind the rapid fibre destruction: uncoordinated road expansion projects and targeted infrastructure vandalism.
“We have very frequent fibre cuts. We have more fibre cuts in a day than the whole Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had in a year in MTN,” Toriola stated. “This is due to uncontrolled road construction and vandalism. We have a fundamental infrastructure problem.”
Power deficits and soaring operational expenditures
Beyond the destruction of fibre-optic networks, the telecom chief underscored the immense financial strain of keeping base stations online.
Due to the chronic instability of Nigeria’s national power grid, MTN is forced to deploy and maintain backup diesel generators at every single base station nationwide.
The company also contends with recurring security concerns, including local extortion and site access denials by landlords, which severely slow down critical maintenance work.
These compounding factors occur at a time when the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has continuously mounted pressure on mobile network operators to improve service delivery amid widespread consumer complaints over dropped calls and fast data depletion.
Sustained investments despite economic pressure
Responding to public criticism, Toriola emphasised that MTN is actively pumping capital back into the network to combat exponential growth in data consumption.
Modern consumer habits—such as streaming high-definition content on larger screens—require massive bandwidth allocations.
To expand capacity, the company invested ₦390 billion in capital expenditure during the first quarter alone, an aggressive reinvestment strategy that outpaced its ₦359 billion profit after tax for the same period.
While the operator remains at the forefront of the country’s digital rollout—including early 5G deployment and fibre-to-the-home expansion—Toriola noted that structural changes, stronger legislative protection for critical national infrastructure, and realistic tariff structures are vital to stabilising the broader telecom landscape.
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