By Martin Ekpeke
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has successfully compelled telecom operators to commit over $1 billion in additional investments to enhance broadband coverage and capacity nationwide, according to the Commission’s Executive Vice Chairman, Dr. Aminu Maida.
Dr. Maida made the announcement yesterday during a business roundtable in Abuja, which focused on improving investments in broadband connectivity and safeguarding critical national infrastructure, attributing the massive investment to strategic regulatory intervention that has significantly strengthened investor confidence in the sector.
The key driver behind the operators’ commitment, Dr. Maida revealed, was the NCC’s decision earlier this year to approve cost-reflective and competitive tariff rates. “This strategic regulatory intervention has significantly strengthened investor confidence in the Nigerian telecommunications sector. I can confirm to you that operators have made a collective commitment to investing over $1 billion in additional rollout investments to expand broadband coverage and capacity nationwide,” Dr. Maida stated.
He assured consumers that the NCC would vigilantly monitor quality to ensure the public benefits from better service delivery as these investments roll out.
Beyond financial regulation, the NCC has made significant strides in addressing the high cost of Right of Way (RoW) fees charged by state governments, which he described as a major physical barrier to expansion.
Dr. Maida highlighted that despite a resolution by the Nigerian Governors Forum fixing the rate at per linear meter, many states maintained exorbitant charges, even as the NCC’s intensive advocacy has yielded results:
- Five additional states—Adamawa, Bauchi, Enugu, Benue, and Zamfara—have recently waived RoW fees entirely.
- This brings the total number of states offering zero RoW charges to eleven (11).
- An additional states have capped the fee at the benchmark per metre.
The regulator is also championing a “dig-once” coordination initiative with public works to encourage sharing ducts and plans, aiming for a uniform, predictable RoW countrywide with clear permitting SLAs to lower civil-works costs.
According to Dr. Maida, further interventions are underway to sustain expansion as the NCC has commissioned a wholesale Fibre Study designed to open up existing and future backbone infrastructure on comparable, transparent terms. This move is expected to simplify interconnection for backbone owners and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), accelerating both last-mile expansion and faster backhaul.
In the area of accountability, the Commission is expanding its performance disclosures, including outage reporting, QoS/QoE maps, and compliance dashboards. “What gets measured gets managed; what is published gets improved,” Dr. Maida affirmed.
Despite these successes, Dr. Maida cautioned that significant challenges remain.
Infrastructure attacks and vandalism pose a critical threat. Between January and August alone, the country recorded fibre cut incidents, cases of equipment theft, and over cases of denials of access to telecom sites. These disruptions cause prolonged outages and revenue losses, underscoring the urgent need for infrastructure protection.
Another hurdle is the fragmented and unpredictable RoW regimes across different states, compounded by weak coordination with road authorities and a lack of clear construction planning protocols. Dr. Maida also noted that energy supply volatility, multiple taxation, and cumbersome permitting processes continue to present headwinds to the sector’s progress.