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Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Pantami, has announced that the federal government is finalizing the National Dig Once Policy, which is expected to be unveiled by December 2022. The policy aims to facilitate the seamless deployment of fibre optic infrastructure across the country, a crucial step in bridging the digital divide and enhancing the digital economy.
The National Dig Once Policy seeks to promote the installation of ready-made buried fibre conduits, allowing for more efficient and cost-effective broadband deployment. This initiative is a key component of Nigeria’s Broadband Plan 2020-2025, which aims to achieve 70% broadband penetration by 2025.
Speaking at the Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo) on Dig Once and Fibre Strategy, Pantami, represented by Usman Aliyu from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), emphasized that the policy will reduce barriers to entry for Internet Service Providers and lower the costs of fibre infrastructure maintenance and broadband deployment.
Industry experts at the event, including Ashwani Mishra from Huawei Technologies, stressed the importance of collaboration with state governments and the need for effective mechanisms to support the policy’s adoption and the resolution of Right of Way (RoW) issues.
