•Scarcity of internet modems hit network
•Customers threaten to port numbers
Subscribers to Etisalat are finding it difficult to make or receive calls, in what seems to be a database crash of one of Nigeria’s top telecommunication networks.
They get a text message telling them to register their lines, but to ignore it if they have already done so.
Some customers told TheNiche they were surprised to receive the message because they had registered their numbers at the point of purchase.
“They not only sent that SMS to me, they went ahead to bar my line, which I have used since Etisalat came into the country,” one subscriber who identified himself simply as Ifedayo complained.
The crowd of subscribers was huge at Etisalat Experience Centres on Allen Avenue, Ikeja and Ogba, Lagos, when TheNiche visited.
A woman who identified herself simply as Emilia expressed concern that the hiccup could wreck plans for her wedding on Saturday, August 15.
“I am completely exasperated. All the contacts for my big day is inside this [SIM] card and I woke up this morning to discover I couldn’t make or receive calls from it,” she said.
Joyce, another subscriber, discovered she could not make or receive calls after she recharged her line with N1,000.
“This morning, I told my second son to go get me an Etisalat card because I wanted to call my gynaecologist, only to discover that after loading the card I was denied making calls on my line.
“The whole thing is a charade. I am going to port this number after rectifying and retrieving it,” she said.
Anthony, who spoke to TheNiche at the Ogba Experience Centre, added: “I only suspected something was wrong when I put on my data on my phone using Etisalat line and found it could not access the internet. I tried this for several minutes and got fed up.
“My suspicion was confirmed when I got a call from another line from my brother asking me why my line was barred. I said no. He said I should try calling it with another line.”
An Etisalat customer care employee, who did not want his name in print because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, explained that “our database may have crashed. As I am talking with you now, there is no official position as to what happened.
“All we know is that we started seeing subscribers trooping into our office asking questions. Some are worked up.”
Asked whether Etisalat staff are also affected, he said: “I think our numbers are housed in a different database, hence most staff of Etisalat are insulated from the crash.
“The reason being that apart from the numbers serving as personal numbers, we also use them to attend to subscribers who call from outside requesting one form of service or another.
“So, they cannot afford to house our numbers with regular subscribers.”
Manpower shortage was also noticed. One employee attended to about 100 customers at the Allen Avenue centre.
Our investigation also revealed another challenge.
Etisalat internet modems have been in short supply in the past one month. A subscriber said he only got one to buy from a dealer after a tortuous search.
Etisalat Media Officer, Chineze Amanfo, denied the scarcity of modems, saying she would find out and get back to TheNiche.
But at press time, she did not do so, and also did not answer calls made to her telephone number.
