Nigeria is initiating a move to criminalise the destruction of broadband fiber cables in response to ongoing grievances from major telecommunications companies.
It is reported that the Works Ministry, responsible for overseeing federal road constructors, is in the final stages of drafting regulations, according to Bloomberg.
It is expected that these regulations will be signed into law as an executive order by President Bola Tinubu.
“Telecom assets are a critical backbone that supports the economy across sectors,” said a senior presidential aide, Temitope Ajayi, who pointed out that for years the Association of Telecommunications Companies had been requesting a classification.
The Nigerian Communications Commission estimates that the sector will make up more than a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product by the end of 2027, compared with 13.5 per cent in the third quarter of last year.
This measure will help to ease pressure on the telecoms sector, which is facing increased operating costs and sales pressures as a result of the depreciation of the naira and triple-fold energy price increases.
According to documents obtained by Bloomberg, the sector is estimated to have incurred a cost of almost N27 billion ($23 million) last year alone on repairs and revenue losses caused by damaged cables. MTN Nigeria, the biggest wireless operator in Nigeria, and Airtel Africa Plc bore the brunt of the costs, the documents show.
MTN had more than 6,000 cuts on its fiber cable last year, the documents show. On Feb. 28, a cut in its network in three different locations by a road construction firm, an oil servicing company, and someone burning rubbish in a manhole meant customers experienced more than five hours of data and voice outages.
The operator relocated 2,500 kilometers of vulnerable fiber cables between 2022 and 2023, at a cost of more than N11bn, that’s enough to build 870 kilometers of new fiber lines in new locations.
The head of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, Tony Izuagbe Emoekpere said a presidential order would be welcomed to address the issue.
He said, “When it comes to communication infrastructure, they are destroyed at will, so we are eagerly awaiting the president’s order.
“It would be a great boost to the industry, and it will also encourage investment.”
