Airtel Nigeria has launched an Open Network initiative that may enable subscribers to view community infrastructure round their places, monitor the standing of community websites and report service quality issues instantly via the MyAirtel app.
The initiative goals to enhance transparency, strengthen buyer engagement, and assist the telecommunications operator determine community issues extra precisely by gathering location-specific suggestions from subscribers.
Airtel Nigeria’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dinesh Balsingh, introduced the initiative on Friday in Lagos, describing it as a technology-driven method to enhancing the corporate’s understanding of buyer experiences and directing community investments to areas with the best wants.
Airtel prospects to see community standing
He mentioned the characteristic would give prospects higher visibility into the community and supply a digital channel via which they will share details about their service experiences.
According to Balsingh, the initiative recognises the rising dependence of Nigerians on cellular connectivity for enterprise transactions, training, communication and different on a regular basis actions.
- “Open Network is designed to give customers greater visibility into the network and a visual channel through which they can share data about their experience. We want to listen better, understand problems more precisely and direct our efforts to meet the greatest needs,” he mentioned.
He defined that the platform would offer extra detailed details about the place prospects expertise service challenges, serving to Airtel’s technical groups examine complaints and determine applicable interventions.
How the Airtel Open Network platform works
The Open Network characteristic is accessible via the MyAirtel app, the place subscribers can view community websites inside their places and determine their operational standing.
After opening the app, prospects can entry the characteristic via the Quick Actions part on the house display screen. The platform could request permission to entry their location to show close by community infrastructure.
The interface makes use of a colour-coded system to distinguish between totally different classes of community websites.
Red signifies lively community websites at the moment serving places, whereas blue represents lively websites present process upgrades. Black identifies deliberate community websites which are but to change into operational.
- Customers can choose particular person websites to view further info, together with website identification numbers, community expertise, reminiscent of 4G or 5G, and the standing of ongoing upgrades.
- For websites present process upgrades, the platform supplies info on the character of the work, together with capability enlargement or migration to 5G, in addition to the progress made.
- The platform additionally permits subscribers to change between map and satellite tv for pc views to determine community infrastructure round their places.
- Beyond viewing community info, prospects can report service issues via the suggestions part, which directs them to Airtel Assist.
Subscribers can choose the kind of problem they’re experiencing, together with poor voice name quality, gradual web speeds, lack of web entry and video buffering.
They are additionally required to present particulars such because the affected cellphone quantity, whether or not the issue happens indoors or open air, how lengthy it has endured and whether or not it occurs at particular instances or repeatedly.
Airtel mentioned its technical groups would assess the submitted suggestions and use the knowledge to enhance community efficiency.
NCC seeks transparency and accountability from Airtel
Speaking on the launch, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida, welcomed the initiative, describing it as in step with the regulator’s rising emphasis on transparency and client empowerment within the telecommunications trade.
Maida mentioned Nigerians deserved dependable connectivity due to their growing dependence on telecommunications companies for enterprise, training and communication.
He famous that whereas operators incessantly announce investments in new community websites and extra capability, subscribers are extra involved about when such investments would translate into improved companies of their respective places.
According to him, higher entry to community info may assist bridge the hole between operators’ infrastructure investments and prospects’ expectations.
- “Transparency should help consumers understand the service available to them, report problems and see what actions follow,” he mentioned.
The NCC boss, nevertheless, cautioned that the presence of a community website shut to a subscriber’s location doesn’t routinely assure dependable connectivity or improved web speeds.
He defined that community efficiency is also affected by congestion, transmission constraints and different technical components.
What you must know
Airtel’s Open Network launch comes amid continued issues about telecommunications service quality in Nigeria, with operators below stress to enhance community efficiency as demand for cellular voice and information companies will increase.
Just final week, the House of Representatives directed chief govt officers of telecommunications corporations in Nigeria to seem earlier than it to clarify the persistent decline in service quality, warning that those that fail to comply may face arrest.
The summons adopted earlier issues over poor community quality, regardless of infrastructure investments and regulatory measures aimed toward enhancing service supply and defending subscribers.
Nairametrics reported that telecommunications operators had invested greater than N2.5 trillion in community infrastructure in 2025 to improve community quality. However, persistent fibre cuts and gear vandalism throughout the nation proceed to pose challenges.
