Nigeria recorded over 50,000 incidents of fiber optic cuts in 2024, with nearly 30,000 linked to federal and state road construction projects, according to the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida.
Dr. Maida disclosed this at the inauguration of a Joint Standing Committee on the Protection of Fiber Optic Cables, a collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Works (FMoW) and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy (FMoCIDE). The committee was set up to tackle the persistent issue of fiber optic damages caused by construction activities, which have significantly disrupted telecommunications services across the country.
“These disruptions have, in extreme cases, resulted in major network outages, such as the nationwide MTN outage in February 2024,” Maida stated.
Fiber networks are the backbone of Nigeria’s broadband infrastructure, essential for high-speed 4G and 5G connectivity. Dr. Maida noted that the growing number of fiber cuts is partly due to a lack of coordination between road construction companies and telecom operators.
“A key contributor to the increasing number of fiber cuts is the absence of an efficient handshake mechanism between road construction firms and operators of fiber infrastructure,” he said.
The NCC believes the committee’s work will help minimize these incidents, reducing network outages, cutting down unnecessary repair costs, and lessening the need for redundant fiber routes to serve as backup in the event of service disruptions.
Engr. Yusuf, a key official at the inauguration, emphasized the crucial role fiber networks play in Nigeria’s digital economy, stating that they enable both fixed and mobile broadband services, which are essential for national connectivity, economic development, and technological advancement.
The committee’s mandate includes creating strategies to prevent fiber damage during construction projects and ensuring that telecommunications services remain uninterrupted as Nigeria expands its infrastructure. The initiative marks a step toward protecting critical digital infrastructure and ensuring a more stable and efficient telecom network across the country.
