Nigeria is taking decisive steps to address the destruction of broadband fiber cables, responding to persistent concerns raised by telecommunications companies and digital infrastructure operators in the country. According to sources familiar with the matter, the Works Ministry, tasked with overseeing federal road construction, is in the final stages of crafting regulations, as reported by Bloomberg on Thursday.
These regulations are anticipated to be enacted into law via an executive order by President Bola Tinubu.
While laws against vandalism already exist, authorities are aiming to ramp up oversight of construction firms. The forthcoming executive order is set to impose significant penalties on offenders, although precise details and the signing date remain undisclosed.
Temitope Ajayi, a senior presidential aide, emphasized the critical role of telecom assets in improving the economy across sectors, “Telecom assets are a critical backbone that supports the economy across sectors,” he said.
“New rules will provide “further assurance that the Nigerian government will protect their investments against vandals and criminal elements” he noted, stressing that the industry advocacy group, the Association of Telecommunications Companies’ has campaigned for this classification.
Despite the projected 20% contribution of the sector to country’s gross domestic product by the end of 2027, its digital infrastructure remains under serious threat.
There is an increase in the damage to fiber optic cables, usually as a result of sabotage by construction companies or thieves seeking to sell the cables on the black market. More recently, cable cuts serve as negotiation tactics to extort fiber operators. Internet service providers laying fiber cables are increasingly targeted by individuals who cut the cables and ambush ISP personnel dispatched to rectify the situation.
This initiative is poised to alleviate pressure on the telecoms sector, which grapples with mounting operating costs and sales pressures stemming from currency depreciation and a threefold surge in energy prices.
Repairs and revenue losses from damaged cables are estimated to have totaled nearly N27 billion ($23 million) last year alone, as reported by Bloomberg. MTN Nigeria, the continent’s largest wireless operator in Africa’s most populous nation, and Airtel Africa Plc bore the brunt of these costs, the documents indicate.
MTN endured over 6,000 cuts on its fiber cable last year, the documents reveal. The operator relocated 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) of vulnerable fiber cables between 2022 and 2023, at a cost exceeding N11 billion — sufficient to establish 870 kilometers of new fiber lines in underserved areas.
ATCON’s President, Tony Izuagbe Emoekpere, said that the President’s order is eagerly welcomed by the industry.
“When it comes to communication infrastructure, they are destroyed at will, so we are eagerly awaiting the president’s order,” he remarked. “It would be a great boost to the industry, and it will also encourage investment.”
Nigeria reportedly boasts over 79,000 kilometers of fiber optic cables laid across the country. However, despite their importance, these cables have been subject to vandalism and theft for over a decade. In 2023, the NCC reported over 50,000 cases of destruction of fiber optic cables and other telecommunication infrastructure. The Commission’s Q2 2023 report highlighted that fiber optic infrastructure vandalism accounted for over 30% of all reported network outage incidents. A regulator source informed journalists that telecommunication companies face an average of 1,600 cuts per month.
According to a report, Mobile Network Operators, InfraCos, and other Service Providers spent over N13 billion in 2022 alone fixing damages to fiber cuts and other telecommunication infrastructure. This amount rose to N14.6 billion in 2023. In the same report, operators in the telecommunications sector incurred revenue losses totaling N12 billion in both 2022 and 2023 due to customer compensation, site relocations, and fiber resilience costs.
Without a policy that designates and protects digital infrastructure as critical national infrastructure, these acts of sabotage have the potential to impede the country’s digital infrastructure goals and hinder the achievement of 70% broadband penetration by 2025.
