From left: Director, Critical National Assets and Infrastructure Protection, Office of the National Security Advisers ONSA, Enebong Effiom; Executive Governor, Katsina State, Dikko Radda and Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Nigerian Communications Commission NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, during a business roundtable on broadband investment and critical national infrastructure protection hosted by the Commission in Abuja on Wednesday October 8, 2025.

The Nigerian Communications Commission NCC has expressed frustrations over the uncertain and arbitrary Right of Way RoW charges imposed on telecommunications operators and service providers by some states of the federation, which constitute significant barriers to broadband deployment in the country.

The Commission reports that despite several engagements with the Nigerian Governors Forum NGF, which led to a resolution to fix RoW rate at N145 per linear meter, 17 out of the 36 states of the federation have capped the rate at N145 per metre while only 11 states have agreed to reduce or waive the fee, thus constituting a drawback to broadband penetration.

It also listed challenges associated with theft and vandalisation of telecom assets and infrastructure, as records show that between January-August, 2025 alone, the country recorded 19, 384fibre cut incidents, 3,241 cases of equipment theft and over 19, 000 cases of denial of access to telecom sites.

Speaking at a one-day business roundtable on improving investments in broadband connectivity and safeguarding critical national infrastructure with the theme “Right of Way and Protection of Broadband Infrastructure – The Road to Success in Broadband Investment and Connectivity”, Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Commission, Dr Aminu Maida, noted that one of the most significant barriers to broadband deployment in Nigeria has been the high cost of RoW fees charged by some state governments, which has threatened projections by the Commission.

Available statistics show that as at the end of August 2025, Nigeria has achieved a broadband penetration rate of roughly 48.81 per cent with over 140 million people having internet access with a further projection to achieve 70 per cent broadband penetration by the end of 2025 and to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic backbone infrastructure across the country.

“One of the most significant barriers to broadband deployment in Nigeria has been the high cost of RoW fees charged by state governments, despite a resolution by the Nigerian Governors Forum fixing the rate at N145 per linear meter.

“Recognising this challenge, the Commission intensified advocacy with states to reduce or waive these fees to accelerate broadband rollout. Within the past two years, five additional states—Adamawa, Bauchi, Enugu, Benue, and Zamfara—have waived RoW fees entirely. This brings the total number of states offering zero RoW charges to eleven (11), while 17 states have capped it at N145 per metre. Our sustained engagement with state governments, including today’s gathering underscores our commitment to creating an enabling environment for broadband expansion.

“We are also promoting the “dig-once” coordination with public works to cut avoidable fibre damage and lower civil-works costs by sharing ducts and plans. Our goal is uniform, predictable RoW countrywide, paired with clear permitting SLAs.

“In line with our economic regulatory mandate, earlier this year, the Commission approved the application of tariff rates that are both cost-reflective and competitive within the telecommunications industry. This strategic regulatory intervention has significantly strengthened investor confidence in the Nigerian telecommunications sector. I can confirm to you that operators have made collective commitment to investing over $1 billion in additional rollout investments to expand broadband coverage and capacity nationwide. We will keep monitoring quality, so consumers see the benefit in better service.

“Under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the Honourable Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, Nigeria is pursuing the ambitious targets of the National Broadband Plan (2020–2025). This plan sets a clear path to achieve 70 per cent broadband penetration by the end of 2025 and to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic backbone infrastructure across the country”; Dr Maida said.

He also noted that the ICT/telecom sector in the country is already one of the leading contributors to Nigeria’s GDP, with statistics showing that a 10per cent increase in broadband penetration can drive approximately 1.38per cent GDP growth in developing economies.

“So you can imagine what a 20per cent, 30per cent and 40per cent increase in broadband penetration would do; there would be more billions in economic output, new jobs, new services, and innovation hubs across our states”, he argued.

The NCC-boss, who insisted that there is need for more investments in the sector, cited Rwanda, which has positioned itself as an African hub of digital services by investing heavily in backbone fibre and digital governance and India’s outsourcing and IT services industry, which is worth hundreds of billions of dollars (worth over $240 billion annually), enabled largely by early and consistent investment in digital infrastructure and human capacity.

It was gathered that the Commission has on its part, taken urgent steps to ensure the protection of telecom investments and infrastructure in the country by ensuring strict compliance with baseline standards for site security, maintenance, and access control and launching of a broad public awareness drive, including TV and radio jingles, social media campaigns, and community engagement initiatives, to mobilise citizens in protecting telecom infrastructure, among several others.

Our Correspondent reports that even with these efforts, there are still several cases of vandalisation of telecom infrastructure across the country, which constitutes a disincentive to fresh investments.

Maida said: “Despite these significant efforts, some challenges remain, infrastructure attacks and vandalism continue to pose a challenge. Between January and August 2025 alone, Nigeria recorded 19,384 fibre cut incidents, 3,241 cases of equipment theft, and over 19,000 cases of denials of access to telecom sites.

“Together, these disruptions have caused prolonged outages, revenue losses, increased security costs, and delayed service restoration. They demonstrate why infrastructure protection must be at the centre of our collective agenda.

“Another persistent challenge facing broadband expansion in Nigeria is the fragmented and unpredictable Right of Way (RoW) regimes across different states, which create delays and cost uncertainties for operators. This problem is compounded by inconsistent enforcement of critical infrastructure protection, weak coordination with road authorities, and the absence of clear construction planning protocols.

“Beyond these, the sector continues to contend with energy supply volatility, multiple taxation, and cumbersome permitting processes, all of which pose significant headwinds to progress.”

He therefore appealed to Governors, Ministers and other relevant stakeholders to join hands with the Commission, arguing that the global digital race is accelerating, while Artificial Intelligence is transforming industries; outsourcing is shifting to low-cost, high-connectivity environments, which make it urgent for the country to address these challenges.

“If our broadband backbone is weak, our youths will be marginalised, and our economy will likely not achieve its full potential. In earlier eras, a community without a railway or electricity could still subsist. In today’s world, a community without digital connectivity is invisible. It is cut off from education, markets, access to healthcare, social services, and opportunities.

“We must act decisively—state by state, community by community—to ensure no one is left behind. Every Governor and State represented in this room holds a strategic lever. Waiving RoW charges, protecting telecom infrastructure, and proactively supporting fibre deployment are decisions that can determine the prosperity or stagnation of your states”, the NCC-boss further warned.