Getting to two years or more of claims of launching of 4G LTE in Nigeria, experiences of Nigerians that have migrated to 4G LTE seem too discouraging and very far removed from the claims imbedded in 4G advertisements by four leading Nigerian telecoms networks and some Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
A report released Friday by Business Hilights Intelligence Unit (BHIU), an independent investigative bureau of the Business Hilights Publications group, showed that “Not up to 10 per cent of Nigerians who have hooked up to 4g LTE enjoy their internet experience.”
“Due to regulatory weaknesses and inconsistencies on the side of the regulators, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on one hand and the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) on the other, Nigerians who were disappointed by their experience on 4G availability and access cannot complain or seek any form of redress based on their inabilities to do with 4G, what networks promised in their running promo adverts till date.
“Checks and experience comparisms over a period of three months on Nigerians that are on 4G showed total deviations from all the seamlessness displayed on 4G promos and adverts, still yet both the NCC or the CPC cannot find it regulatorily wise to approach the networks and query them on why the real life experiences of subscribers on 4G are at variance with what they show Nigerian consumers’ in adverts?
Even before the new report by BHIU, recall that few weeks ago, a report by Network monitoring outfit, OpenSignal show that dearth of infrastructure and congestion are frustrating the Fourth Generation (4G) services user experience in many countries including Nigeria.
Otherwise, there is high incidence of 4G subscribers’ dis-satisfaction due to observed increasing slow speed performance at crucial times.
OpenSignal carried out the study in 77 countries including Nigeria in 2018.
According to the survey, Nigeria ranked 75 out of 77 of the countries surveyed in terms of 4G speed and user experience. The 4G is the fourth generation of wireless mobile telecommunications technology, succeeding 3G. Potential and current applications include amended mobile web access, IP telephony, gaming services, high-definition mobile TV, video conferencing, and 3D television.
The report revealed that “The 4G networks enjoyed today are light years from the 3G that kicked off the mobile data revolution at the turn of the millennium, but the networks have their faults. The biggest among them are inconsistency and congestion.
Business Hilights recalls that in 2016, leading network operators lead by MTN, Glo and Etisalat (now 9Mobile) and mid 2017, Airtel had rolled out 4G services in Nigeria in quick succession with the hope to give subscribers a new experience entirely.
However, the 4G experiences of Nigerians have been laced with anger, frustrations and complaints of poor quality of service due to observed slow connections and jumping drop calls.
