The largest telecom operator in Nigeria, MTN, has invested N11.1 billion in repairing and relocating 2,502km of fiber-optic cables over a two-year period, as per the GSMA Nigeria Digital Economy report.
The report highlights that if these funds were used for expansion instead of maintenance, MTN could have laid an additional 870km of new fiber, considering its 77 million subscribers.
The costs incurred by MTN show that N4.4 billion was spent in 2022 to repair 1,069km of fiber, followed by an additional N6.7 billion in 2023 to fix 1,433km.
Fiber damages were attributed to various factors such as construction activities, road projects, and acts of vandalism.
The continuous impact of fiber cuts has been a hindrance to network expansion, with resources being diverted from extending coverage to underserved areas for repair purposes.
The GSMA report emphasizes that vandalism and damages have been causing significant losses to the telecom sector, affecting service availability and consumer complaints.
Fiber-optic cables are crucial for enhancing connectivity by bringing network capacity closer to users, with Nigeria having deployed 78,676km of fiber-optic cable as of 2023, primarily concentrated in urban regions.
To combat cable damage, telcos have implemented strategies like incorporating additional protection in cable infrastructure during design and planning stages and increasing maintenance budgets, which have raised overall telecom infrastructure costs in Nigeria.
In efforts to protect critical national information infrastructure, the federal government released an official gazette in August 2024, making it an offense to damage critical telecom infrastructure, including fiber optic cables, telco towers, and data centers.
Legal protection for telecom infrastructure is seen as a potential solution to mitigate damage and reduce financial strain on operators, although the legislation is still pending approval.
Industry experts caution that without timely policy interventions, the escalating costs of maintaining fiber networks could impede Nigeria’s broadband expansion, impacting businesses and consumers reliant on dependable connectivity.