MTN, the biggest mobile network in Africa, had informed its customers in advance that a “network freeze” would be necessary and would take effect on February 24, 2023.
Following the MTN notification, many Nigerians have gone into panic mode with less than 48 hours until the eagerly awaited presidential polls. Because many people mistook this for an “outage or shutdown,” there has been some misinformation spread throughout the nation as a result of this news.
Nonetheless, the telecom behemoth has assured the public that a “Network Freeze” does not entail a “shutdown in network service,” thus there is no need for a commotion.
“We don’t execute improvements on their network during key times to reduce the likelihood of an outage,” claims MTN. According to the explanation, network freezing involves “keeping the network as is” and is a “standard practice in telecom.”
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) responded to this by stating that “there would not be a telecoms shutdown for the elections.” Despite fears that network services would be stopped due to the elections, it has assured Nigerians that this will not happen.
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NCC regulates Nigeria’s telecoms
The NCC is the independent regulatory organization for the Nigerian telecommunications sector. Its mission is to ensure that everyone has affordable, high-quality access to telecommunications services and to safeguard consumer rights.
“The attention of the Nigerian Communications Commission has been drawn to fraudulent and misleading information circulating on some social media platforms, alleging there is a planned shutdown of all telecom networks and relevant ICT units, including online transfer facilities of the banks, effective February 23, 2023,” the NCC stated.
All bank customers, members of the Nigerian public, and users of telecom services are urged to disregard any messages that imply intentional service interruption or network shutdown in the Nigerian telecom network.
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MTN network freeze: when?
The network freeze will be implemented in two phases, with the first beginning on February 24, and ending on March 1, and the second beginning on March 10 and ending on March 15.
Any core upgrades or maintenance that would result in a network outage is suspended during a network freeze, which is different from a network shutdown. The only changes that are permitted on the network during a network freeze are those that are urgent. The network is guaranteed to be reliable and accessible during this time, according to this assurance.
In order to enlighten Nigerian residents on the electoral process and address misinformation regarding the impending elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) recently launched an AI chatbot. Voters must comprehend the voting process in order to fulfill their civic obligations. You may instantly download all of the election day preparation materials on your phone due to INEC’s virtual assistant.