‘Increased subsea cable to enhance W’Africa’s GDP’

Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida, has said that increased subsea cable capacity is expected to enhance regional GDP of Nigeria and other West African countries by up to $25 billion over the next decade.

He added that with global subsea investments exceeding $15 billion yearly, the economic impact was no doubt substantial despite the challenges in the sector, and Nigeria can provide the level of resilience required of any nation to host its contents within its continent.

Speaking against the backdrop of recent subsea cable cuts and global internet disruption, Maida, who was the guest speaker, also said that the lack of interconnection between operators meant the impact on connectivity was significant, despite redundant international links.

He disclosed this at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce (LCCI) 2024 Conference, themed, Building resilience: The Impact of Recent W’Africa Subsea Cable Cuts, organised by Science, Energy and Technology (SET) committee of the chamber.

He added that recent disruptions experienced on the back of the cut in undersea cable led to substantial economic losses, which disrupted businesses, government services, and communications across Africa.

LCCI President, Gabriel Idahosa, said Nigeria must invest more in providing locally hosted switching and transmission digital infrastructure to cater to transactions within the country. He said all activities today depend on technology and cannot be affected for a second as all communications will break down. He said recent fiber cuts revealed significant inefficiencies in our technology solutions, stressing the need for submarine cable providers to synergize by creating a network of support and redundancy. “Resilience is a continuous journey and we cannot say we are completely ready but Nigeria has a high level of resilience. We have seven undersea cables coming into Nigeria and we have excess data to support this resilience. During the last cable cut that happened in Cote d’Ivoire, we were able to restore internet within eight hours; this shows we are at a very high level. The basic infrastructure and capacity is there; we just need continuous investments and build upon what we already have,” he said.

At the panel held during the conference, CEO, Open Access Data Centres and Chairman, SET committee, LCCI, Ayotunde Coker, said Nigeria is well served from a subsea point of view, but added that the country is yet to attain full resilience. However, he said if a fiber cut happens today, Nigeria will be more prepared. He added that investments in digital infrastructure are strategic and capital-intensive and that the time frame for return on capital is long; urging that the country builds the right investment environment.

Another panelist, the Regional Business Head, MainOne, Abayomi Adebanjo, said West Africa must build more regional terrestrial networks that interconnect amongst each other. He said Africa is unfortunately not well connected yet and called for more regional collaboration.

President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Tony Emoekpere, said Nigeria’s current utilization of existing digital capacity is less than 10 percent. Harping on the dividends of the digital economy, he said the country must expand its digital capacity. He said connectivity in Nigeria is limited to just the major cities and is yet to get to many parts of the country. He said the internet providers have capacity but the infrastructure is just not there to enable the expansion. He called on the relevant agencies, government at all levels, and industry regulators to provide an enabling environment that will help them expand beyond the major cities.

The panel also featured ALTON Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, and Olaniyi Yusuf of Verraki Partners.