With competition getting more intense within the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ecosystem, players within the sub-segment will need policy intervention to take services to the unserved and underserved areas of the country.
This was the view of the Head Regulatory & Public Relations, FibreOne, Kenny Joda, in a chat with The Guardian. Joda said policy intervention will not only ensure the expansion of services but also help to stabilise operators in the space.
While the sub-sector saw a 9.8 per cent growth in subscriptions between December 2024 and Q2 2025, he said this has largely been shaped by growing dependence on stable home broadband. He said hybrid work, online learning, e-commerce, and entertainment have made fixed broadband a necessity for households and SMEs.
He said there has been a major network expansion by leading ISPs. According to him, active players—including FibreOne—expanded fibre footprints, upgraded network resilience, and improved service delivery across multiple cities.
Observing that SMEs are increasingly moving operations online, driving the need for dependable connectivity, the FibreOne chief said significant upgrade projects, including network enhancements across all operational sectors, boosted user satisfaction and referrals.
While data showed that NCC registered 224 ISPs, only 133 were active as of Q2 2025. Joda said key industry pressures continue to affect operator sustainability.
“High cost of operations, including bandwidth, diesel, security, and maintenance, remains a heavy burden, especially for smaller operators. Despite fibre infrastructure being officially classified as Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) under the Federal Government’s Project BRIDGE for digital inclusion, enforcement still needs to improve.
“For underserved areas, deployment in these areas requires targeted support and continued policy intervention to ensure viability,” he stated.
Largely, he said, the industry faces a significant dearth of skilled technical personnel. He said this gap is what inspired FibreOne to establish the FibreOne Technical Academy (FOTA).
According to him, the most pressing challenge remains infrastructure vulnerability: “Specifically, fibre cuts, vandalism, and construction-related damages, which increase operational costs and disrupt customer experience. Security concerns around network assets in certain regions.”
Joda was, however, quick to say, “There are no major regulatory uncertainties at this time. The industry only needs regulatory bodies to continue the strong stakeholder engagements they have already started and introduce clear SLAs that reflect the realities of ISP operations.”
Rallying the Federal Government, Joda said a few actions will be impactful, including
enhanced enforcement of CNI protections, saying there is a need for stronger penalties for vandalism and deliberate fibre cuts.
He stressed the importance of deepening support for underserved communities, saying that through Project BRIDGE and targeted policies, last-mile expansion can be made sustainable.
The FibreOne boss said continued engagement with ISPs, state agencies, governments, and infrastructure providers to harmonise expectations will greatly help.
“Introduce ISP-specific service-level frameworks: Clear SLAs for protections, timelines, and coordination will improve planning and industry stability,” he stated.
