Ministries set up joint committee to tackle fibre cuts

The federal ministries of Works (FMoW) and Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy (FMoCIDE) have established a Joint Standing Committee on the Protection of Fibre Optic Cables to address the persistent issue of fibre optic cuts and damages caused by road construction and rehabilitation activities. These disruptions have had a significant negative impact on telecommunications services across Nigeria.

The Joint Standing Committee on Protection of Fibre Optic Cables was inaugurated on February 18 at the FMoW, by the Permanent Secretary, Olufunso Adebiyi, and his counterpart at the FMoCIDE, Farouk Yusuf, with the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida, in attendance.

The Committee is composed of key staff from the two ministries and the NCC.

The main assignment of the joint committee is to establish and maintain clear communication/coordination channels between the two ministries and the NCC to limit and prevent damage to telecommunications fibre optic cables during road construction or rehabilitation activities.

Adebiyi, an engineer, 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.

According to a statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs, NCC, Reuben Mouka, Adebiyi said the committee would serve as a coordinating body for all issues about the protection of fibre optic cables, before, during and after the completion of road construction or maintenance activities.

It will meet regularly to discuss identified problems, agree on industry-wide solutions, set standard engagement processes and procedures, as well as share monthly performance reports, he added.

“They are also expected to develop an instant communication mechanism to facilitate prompt communication and dissemination of information amongst all stakeholders,” Mouka said.

He assured that going forward, the Ministry will ensure that the placement of fibre cables will be considered in the planning, design and construction of the country’s road networks, and would include providing for ducts during construction.

Adebiyi also said the committee would work closely with all Federal Controllers of Works (FCW) to give attention to the task of 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.

On his part, 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.

He noted that the Committee’s work is crucial to ensuring that telecommunication services are not hampered by the work of construction companies.

NCC EVC, Maida, emphasised the significance of the Committee’s mandate, noting that it has the potential to significantly reduce service disruptions across Nigeria’s telecommunications industry.

“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.

“I am optimistic that the work of this Committee will lead to a significant reduction in fibre cuts attributed to road construction which would then reduce network outages, avoid unnecessary expenditure on repair works and reduce the need to put redundant routes in place to serve as alternatives whenever there are outages due to fibre cuts,” he stated.