Airtel Opens Its Network Map as Lawmakers Close In

Airtel Nigeria wants its customers to see where its network is, and to tell it where it is failing. On Friday, 30 October, the operator launched Open Network, a feature inside the MyAirtel app that shows coverage maps for 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G, the location of existing towers and the upgrades it has scheduled, Technext reports. Subscribers can report coverage gaps, dropped calls and slow data, and track each complaint with a service request number.

Airtel says the reports will guide where it upgrades towers, builds new 5G sites and spreads its spectrum, and help it find sites for new or replacement towers. Chief executive Dinesh Balsingh was careful about what the tool will not do: it will not repair faulty sites or fix every outage on its own, he said; it gives Airtel's engineers better information to find the real problem. "Every customer wants more than a mechanical connection," he said. To use it, subscribers need the latest version of the MyAirtel app.

The regulator's message

The launch had an unusual guest. Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, used his speech to set out what the regulator expects from every operator, according to Technext: restore services quickly during outages, take responsibility for them with clear information and responsive customer care, keep network information accurate and up to date, and plan for the growing demand for data.

He also pushed back on the industry's favourite defence, that it is spending heavily. Capital spending should produce "measurable results" for subscribers, he said, adding that "a nearby network site does not, on its own, guarantee a satisfactory or reliable connection." The NCC says it is adding independent, crowdsourced measurements of network experience to its own monitoring and publishing more performance data.

• MTN Nigeria spent ₦620.5 billion on capital expenditure in the first half of 2026, Technext reports.
• Airtel says it put ₦287.6 billion ($211 million) into 4G and 5G towers and related investment over the same period.
• Airtel Nigeria earned ₦1.37 trillion in revenue in the first half, or ₦3,771 per subscriber, according to Technext.

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The 4 November hearing

The pressure is not only coming from the regulator. The House of Representatives' ad hoc committee on telecom service quality, chaired by Olumide Osoba, has summoned the chief executives of MTN, Airtel, Globacom, Mafab Communications and other operators to appear on 4 November to explain dropped calls, slow internet, failed airtime and data purchases and weak coverage. The committee refused to let the operators send their industry body, ALTON, in their place, and has threatened arrest warrants for chief executives who stay away, Nairametrics reported. TheStak first reported the summons when the hearing was set for 28 October.