Residents of Tsumkwe and surrounding areas are frustrated following a loss of MTC signal that left the constituency in the dark for three days.

The challenge of MTC network failure is not new to the isolated settlement.

The mobile signal in the area would normally disappear in the afternoon and only return the next morning. MTC had previously attributed this challenge to an old generator at one of its towers.

The outage started on Thursday evening at approximately 19:30, plunging the settlement into a digital blackout.

Stable internet was only restored on Saturday morning around 10:00, although it was weak and unreliable.

Residents who spoke to NBC News have voiced anger over financial losses and are demanding accountability from MTC regarding prepaid services that expired during the period of inactivity.

“MTC must refund our wasted data and the seconds for our SuperAweh that expired due to their poor service,” stated one frustrated resident.

The community is calling for a permanent technician to be based in Tsumkwe to maintain and immediately attend to all towers in the constituency.

The challenge is not unique to Tsumkwe but extends beyond the immediate area.

Residents in Manghetti Dune and Gam also experienced the same issue.

As of Sunday afternoon, the network in the constituency remains weak, and communications can only be done via WhatsApp.

MTC spokesperson Erasmus Nekundi stated that the network outage was caused by a lightning strike at one of the towers, but it has now been attended to and resolved.

He said there is still some work that the team is conducting to restore full capacity.

Tangeni Nghimufevali