The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) appeared to be facing a delicate balancing act as it prepares to transition from a theoretical framework to an actionable implementation roadmap for its nationwide centralised fibre duct policy, the ‘Dig Once Policy’.

At a hybrid stakeholder engagement forum in Abuja, a sharp divide emerged between federal regulatory ambitions, subnational fiscal realities, and the chaotic ground-level hurdles that threaten Nigeria’s broadband penetration goals.

While the regulatory body aimed to institute a uniform, cost-based structure to streamline the rollout of digital infrastructure, representatives from state agencies and private operators warned that the policy risks failure unless it addresses deep-seated issues, ranging from revenue-hungry state executives to the menace of systemic extortions by non-state actors.

In his keynote, Managing Director, Dimension Data Ltd, Olugbenga Olabiyi, said despite the significant growth recorded in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector, broadband deployment continues to face structural and economic challenges.

He identified the high cost of civil engineering works required for fibre deployment as one of the major barriers affecting broadband expansion.

“The construction of ducts, sub-ducts, conduits, manholes, poles and associated infrastructure typically constitutes the largest portion of broadband deployment expenditure,” Olabiyi stated.

In his opening address, NCC Director, Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, Ayuba Shuaibu, said the Commission engaged Silicon Base Limited in 2023 to undertake this important study in recognition of a key gap in the evolving framework for the Dig-Once Policy.

He said while the policy itself is still in draft form, its successful implementation will depend heavily on the establishment of a clear, transparent, and economically sound approach to pricing and access for shared duct infrastructure.

Shuaibu said the Dig-Once initiative is fundamentally aimed at reducing the cost and complexity of network deployment by promoting coordinated civil works and the shared use of underground duct infrastructure.

However, he said without a well-defined pricing mechanism, the objectives of efficiency, fairness and investment protection may not be fully realised.

According to him, “This study, therefore, seeks to provide a structured and cost-based framework that ensures equitable access while supporting sustainable infrastructure development across the sector.”

The session began with an overview of a consultancy study on a proposed pricing mechanism to encourage effective deployment of telecom infrastructure across Nigeria.

The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) lauded the initiative, particularly its emphasis on establishing a robust governance structure.

“One thing is to develop a policy; the other one is the implementation,” an NGF member remarked, stressing that an actionable implementation plan must accompany the framework.

The NGF emphasised that the forum remains a committed partner of the NCC and is actively working to ensure that lingering disputes over Right-of-Way (RoW) fees do not stall the deployment. The forum noted that discussions are moving away from merely identifying the need for centralised ducts to negotiating actual pricing metrics that satisfy both operators and regulators. However, the NGF also called for strict enforcement and clear consequences for stakeholders who violate the established rules.

The bureaucratic optimism was met with a swift reality check from subnational administrators. The Director-General of the Niger State IT and Digital Economy Agency, Suleiman Isa, delivered a blunt critique of the study, questioning if stakeholders were “putting the cart before the horse.”

Isa pointed out that while the National Economic Council (NEC) approved a harmonised N145 per linear meter RoW fee nearly eight years ago, actual adoption by states remains notoriously low.

Further, he highlighted major infrastructural blind spots, questioning whether massive ongoing federal road projects, such as the Sokoto-Badagry Expressway and the Lagos-Calabar Expressway, have any structural provisions for fibre ducts at all.

Isa warned that a massive chasm exists between official policy on paper and ground realities.

“Niger State acts as a critical transit corridor connecting the Northwest and Southwest zones. Despite fibre cables passing through, the state saw zero termination points to benefit local communities, prompting initial moves to jack up RoW fees to N1,500 to force operators to the table,” he stated.

Isa revealed instances where the state offered a nil RoW invoice to incentivise a major telecom company, only for third-party consultants sent by the operator to beg the state to inflate the invoice so they could skim off administrative margins.

According to him, the new governor’s first question to an ICT director is often, “How many billions can you bring in from the telcos? Subnational governments heavily rely on RoW as a primary internally generated revenue (IGR) driver, making them highly resistant to price caps,” he stated.

To remedy this, Isa suggested discarding regional Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) models in favour of a state-by-state investment model to give subnationals a sense of equity and ownership.

He argued that publishing a cost-based structure right now might backfire, as cash-strapped states will only see “Naira and Kobo” and resist the framework entirely.

The critique of state-level bottlenecks was echoed by Dr Oracle Wala, an online participant, who warned that a lack of vertical coordination between national and subnational governments has historically led to policy paralysis.

For private sector operators, however, the biggest threats are not just found in executive state chambers, but on the streets. Representing Medallion in Lagos, Oti Okechukwu raised alarms over the severe operational hazards posed by localised extortions.

According to Okechukwu, fibre maintenance teams face aggressive harassment from “area boys” every 200 to 300 meters. He said a routine fibre cut repair that should take 20 minutes often stretches into an all-day ordeal because local gangs demand anywhere from N150,000 to N200,000 before allowing engineers to work.

He appealed to the Lagos State Government to intervene, noting that these security challenges severely damage network uptime and increase operational costs.

Defending the current phase of the policy, industry stakeholders like Mr Adebayo from Silicon noted that the NCC is intentionally leading the charge to compensate for the weak regulatory environments found in many states.

He reminded the audience that the policy is still a draft and that introducing the cost element now is vital for long-term planning.

In closing, online participant Johnson Oyewo urged states to view the NCC’s proposed framework not as an infringement on their constitutional powers over land planning, but as expert economic guidance.

“If we don’t understand the economics of this, it will become very difficult for states, because states will just find themselves as bottlenecks in the process,” Oyewo warned.