Study of Traffic Engineering Challenges in Nigerian Metropolitan Telecommunications Networks

Effective traffic engineering in metropolitan telecommunications networks is essential for ensuring efficient use of network resources, maintaining quality of service under variable demand, and preventing congestion that degrades user experience. This study examines the traffic engineering challenges facing metropolitan telecommunications networks in Nigeria, with a focus on network configurations and operational practices in Lagos and Port Harcourt. A qualitative case study methodology was employed, with semi-structured interviews conducted with twenty-one network operations engineers at three major telecommunications operators and two enterprise network service providers. Technical documentation including traffic utilization reports and capacity planning records were reviewed where operators granted access. Key traffic engineering challenges identified include inadequate capacity dimensioning relative to the explosive growth in video streaming and OTT application traffic, insufficient implementation of traffic shaping and policing mechanisms at peering points, overreliance on reactive rather than predictive capacity management approaches, and limited deployment of software-defined networking solutions that enable dynamic traffic rebalancing. The study also identifies that traffic asymmetry caused by disproportionate download-to-upload ratios from mobile video consumption creates uplink capacity misallocations in network designs configured for earlier traffic profiles. Recommendations include adoption of machine learning-based traffic prediction models, accelerated SDN deployment at metropolitan core nodes, and NCC encouragement of industry-standard traffic measurement reporting. Keywords: traffic engineering, metropolitan network, congestion, SDN, Nigeria.