Telecommunication company, Airtel Nigeria, has called for urgent actions to protect telecom infrastructure as vandalism continues to surge leading to a record of an average of 43 fibre cuts daily on the Airtel network alone.
The company’s Director of Corporate Communications and CSR, Femi Adeniran, who made the call, said the telco had suffered a total of 7,742 fibre cuts in the last six months.
According to him, fibre cuts—primarily caused by construction activities, vandalism, and a lack of coordination between stakeholders—have become an epidemic in the Nigerian telecom industry.
“These interruptions not only inconvenience consumers but also hinder businesses, delay government operations, and compromise public safety, particularly in emergencies,” he said.
Telecom as critical infrastructure
Emphasizing the critical roles of telecommunications in the economy, Adeniran said telecommunications infrastructure is not just about phone calls or browsing the internet; it powers vital sectors like education, healthcare, banking, and public safety.
In a world increasingly defined by digital transformation, the integrity of our telecom networks is as critical as our roads, bridges, and airports.
“Imagine waking up one morning to find no internet, no mobile network, and no access to emergency services—all because a single fibre cable was carelessly severed during routine construction.
“This is not just a hypothetical scenario; it’s a reality that plays out daily across Nigeria, threatening the backbone of our digital economy and undermining national security.
“On average, operators report multiple incidents daily, disrupting services to millions of Nigerians. Airtel Nigeria alone records a daily average of 43 fibre cuts and in the last six months, a total of 7742,” he shared.
Call for actions
Adeniran called on all stakeholders including government agencies, security agencies, construction companies, telecom operators, the media and civil society, to collaborate urgently in safeguarding Nigeria’s telecommunications infrastructure.
While the federal government had recently designated telecommunications assets as critical national infrastructure, the Airtel Director noted that beyond policy declaration, there is a need to urgently move to practical actionable steps some of which include:
- Stronger Enforcement and Coordination: Security Agencies and Regulatory bodies, must enforce stricter penalties for fibre damage while creating platforms for seamless coordination between construction companies and telecom operators.
- Regulating and Monitoring the Operations of Construction Companies: Construction companies to be regulated and monitored to ensure they accord similar status to telecom assets as they do to assets of other utility companies.
- Right-of-Way (RoW) Simplification: Streamlining the RoW process will ensure operators can bury cables securely and proactively plan for infrastructure protection in partnership with local governments.
- Adoption of Technology: Leveraging geospatial mapping and real-time monitoring tools will enable better identification of high-risk zones and faster response to incidents.
- Increased interest and Support from the Nigerian Media: Media stakeholders should support Public and private sector actors to drive targeted campaigns and public enlightenment on the importance of telecom infrastructure and the dire consequences of fibre cuts.
What you should know
In August this year, President Bola Tinubu released an official gazette designating telecom infrastructure as critical national information infrastructure and making it a criminal offence for anyone to wilfully destroy such infrastructure in the country.
According to the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, the gazette, ‘Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure Order, 2024’, is a significant step that would strengthen and protect investments in the ICT sector.
- However, that was not the first time such a declaration would be made. In June 2020, the immediate past Minister of Communications, Dr. Isa Panatami announced a similar action by former President Muhammadu Buhari.
- According to Pantami, Buhari approved and also directed that necessary physical protective measures be put in place to safeguard telecommunications infrastructure deployed across the country.
- That pronouncement failed to have any impact as vandalism of the infrastructure has remained a daily occurrence across the country to date.
