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The Federal Government is intensifying efforts to expand Nigeria’s broadband infrastructure, targeting 120,000km of fibre deployment by 2025 under the National Broadband Plan (NBP) 2020–2025. To this end, key stakeholders, including the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Pantami, and the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Professor Umar Danbatta, will lead discussions at the upcoming Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo) in Lagos.
The summit, themed Laying the Foundation for Ubiquitous Broadband for Nigeria’s Economic Breakthrough, will focus on the National Dig Once Policy, a strategy designed to reduce deployment costs and prevent duplication by facilitating the provision of buried conduits for seamless fibre installation.
According to the NBP, Nigeria aims to increase fibre-to-tower connectivity from 10% in 2020 to 40% by 2023 and 60% by 2025. Additionally, the plan seeks to expand the country’s non-overlapping fibre infrastructure from 40,000km in 2020 to 90,000km by 2023 and 120,000km by 2025. As of the end of 2021, the NCC reported a total of 74,947km of deployed fibre, including 47,128.7km on land and 27,818.3km submarine.
Once implemented, the policy will enhance broadband connectivity across Nigeria’s 774 local governments, ensuring public institutions like schools and hospitals, as well as private enterprises, have access to high-speed internet. By 2025, urban areas are expected to enjoy speeds of up to 25 Mbps, while rural areas will have 10 Mbps, with 95% of the country connected via fibre and satellite technology covering the remaining 5%.
Omobayo Azeez, Lead Executive of PIAFo and Editor of Business Metrics, emphasized the importance of collaboration. “We believe these targets and the possibility of a smart city can only come to fruition through collaborative efforts among federal, state, and local government authorities, alongside private sector players,” he said.
Endorsed by the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), and the Nigeria Internet Group (NIG), the forum, scheduled for October 18, 2022, aims to align stakeholders and eliminate potential opposition to the policy.
With the National Dig Once Policy, Nigeria is poised to transform its digital economy, paving the way for last-mile broadband infrastructure to reach every corner of the country.
