The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has called on road construction companies, contractors, engineers and other stakeholders to strengthen coordination and adopt preventive measures to protect fibre-optic cables during road construction, rehabilitation and other civil works across the country.
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, told the stakeholders’ workshop on the protection of fibre-optic cables held at the National Counter- Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Office of the National Security Adviser in Abuja, that the nation’s drive to expand physical infrastructure must not undermine the digital infrastructure connecting Nigerians to information, services, markets and opportunities.
According to him, communications infrastructure has become a critical national lifeline, underpinning banking, government services, education, healthcare, commerce, security and emergency communications.
He noted that damage to fibre infrastructure could disrupt essential services and impose significant costs on citizens and the wider economy.
“To a machine operator on a construction site, it may appear to be one buried cable. To the nation, it can mean failed calls, stalled payments, interrupted services and missed opportunities,” Maida said, highlighting the far-reaching impact of fibre cuts on individuals, businesses and public institutions.
“Our central message is simple: Nigeria must build the roads that connect our communities while protecting the fibre networks that connect our economy. We need both forms of infrastructure and we need them to work together,” he said.
The EVC disclosed that over 5,000 fibre-cut incidents were recorded in the first six months of the year because of road construction, excavation, and related civil works.
He recalled that in February 2024, fibre cuts, including those caused by road construction, resulted in an almost network-wide disruption for one telecommunications operator, affecting millions of users for several hours and placing additional pressure on other networks.
Maida said that the challenge was not about assigning blame, noting that no road contractor deliberately seeks to disconnect a community, just as telecommunications operators do not intend to obstruct road construction.
However, he stressed the need for a dependable system of early coordination among all stakeholders.
He noted that the Permanent Secretaries of the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy had inaugurated the Standing Committee on the Protection of Fibre Optic Cables to develop practical coordination mechanisms before, during and after road works.
He disclosed that the Committee’s membership had recently been expanded to include representatives of the Office of the National Security Adviser, in recognition of the security implications of protecting telecommunications infrastructure, which has been designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure.
He explained that the designation requires telecommunications infrastructure to be treated as national infrastructure and protected accordingly, with appropriate legal, regulatory and remedial consequences for damage.
Maida urged operators, contractors, government agencies, regulators and security agencies to play their respective roles in preventing fibre damage, stressing that coordination must become an integral part of the planning and execution of relevant projects.
“Nigeria must build the roads that connect our communities while protecting the fibre networks that connect our economy. We need both forms of infrastructure, and we need them to work together,” he said, urging the participants to use the workshop to develop practical measures that would make coordination standard practice rather than the exception.
GIK/APA