The Federal Ministry of Works (FMoW) and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy (FMoCIDE) have established a Joint Standing Committee on the Protection of fibre optic cables to address the persistent cuts and damage caused on them by road construction and rehabilitation activities.
The disruptions have had a significant negative impact on telecommunications services across the country.
The Joint Standing Committee on Protection of Fibre Optic Cables was inaugurated on Tuesday February 18th at the boardroom of the FMoW, by the Permanent Secretary, Engr. Olufunso Adebiyi, and his counterpart at the FMoCIDE, Engr Farouk Yusuf.
The Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, was also in attendance at the committee inauguration which has as its members key staff from the two ministries and the NCC.
The main assignment of the joint standing committee is to establish and maintain clear communication/co-ordination channels between the two ministries and the NCC in order to limit and prevent damage to telecommunications fibre optic cables during road construction or rehabilitation activities.
Engr. Adebiyi, while inaugurating the Committee, directed it to establish modalities to ensure the reduction of damage to deployed fibre optic cables resulting from road construction and maintenance activities, as well as vandalism which has caused severe incidences of service disruption across the country.
He said the committee will serve as a coordinating body for all issues pertaining to the protection of fibre optic cables, before, during and after the completion of road constructions or maintenance activities, and will meet on a regular basis to discuss identified problems, agree on industry-wide solutions, set standard engagement processes and procedures, as well as share monthly performance reports.
Engr. Adebiyi further stated that the committee will work with all Federal Controllers of Works (FCW) on protecting this sensitive infrastructure during the planning and implementation stages of projects across the roads in the country, while aligning with the telecom operators on all ongoing and future projects.
Engr. Farouk Yusuf, in his remarks, highlighted the significance of fibre optics cables to the country’s economy, stating that fibre networks are the backbone of Nigeria’s digital economy, enabling the seamless delivery of both fixed and mobile broadband services essential for nationwide connectivity, economic growth, and technological innovation.
The EVC/CEO of NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, said “This is a pivotal moment for the telecommunication industry and its customers. Fibre networks are the foundation of Nigeria’s broadband ecosystem, providing the essential high-capacity backhaul required to deliver ultra-fast 4G and 5G speeds, as these next-generation mobile technologies rely on fibre infrastructure to ensure low latency, high reliability, and seamless data transmission.
“Last year, we experienced over 50,000 fibre cut incidents across the country of which around 30,000 were attributed to federal and state road construction activities. In the extreme, some of these incidents have led to major network outages like the February 2024 nationwide MTN network outage.
“A key contributor to the increasing number of fibre cuts attributed to road construction activities is the lack of an efficient handshake mechanism between road construction companies and operators of the fibre infrastructure.
“Every time a fibre cut occurs, consumers experience service disruptions. The industry is forced to invest in costly redundancy measures, but if we can prevent these avoidable disruptions, operators can redirect resources towards network expansion and infrastructure improvement,” Dr Maida stated.