Nigeria is in advanced discussions with Alphabet Inc.’s Google over the deployment of a new undersea cable aimed at strengthening the country’s digital resilience.
The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, disclosed this in an interview with Bloomberg.
Google had earlier announced plans to roll out four new infrastructure hubs in Africa to support its latest undersea fibre optic cable systems on the continent.
What the NITDA DG is saying
Inuwa described Nigeria’s heavy reliance on undersea cables that follow similar routes as a “single point of failure,” explaining that disruptions along these paths could severely affect internet access and digital services.
- He said the government is seeking to augment existing subsea links that connect Nigeria to Europe by adding new capacity and alternative routes to improve resilience.
- According to Bloomberg, a Google spokesperson confirmed that talks with Nigeria are at an advanced stage but declined to provide further details.
Broader push to strengthen digital infrastructure
Inuwa said Nigeria is also engaging other global technology companies as part of a wider strategy to expand its digital infrastructure.
Beyond improved connectivity, the country is seeking increased investment in cloud computing and high-performance computing capacity to support the adoption of advanced digital tools.
He added that such investments could help position Nigeria as a regional digital hub, improve internet access nationwide, and drive economic activity in Africa’s most populous country.
What you should know
Nigeria has experienced several internet outages linked to damage to subsea cables in recent years.
In March last year, several businesses were paralysed for days due to an internet outage caused by damage to international undersea cables supplying the country with connectivity.
- The damage that occurred near Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire affected major undersea cables connecting Nigeria, including the West Africa Cable System (WACS), the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE), MainOne, and SAT3.
- To avoid a repeat of that scenario, Nigeria had called for a coordinated and multilateral approach by the West African region to protect shared telecommunications infrastructure and diversify connectivity to ensure uninterrupted connections.
- Nigeria is a major hub for undersea cables, hosting at least eight major systems: MainOne, SAT-3/WASC, Glo-2, ACE, WACS, Equiano, 2Africa, and NCSCS, landing in areas like Lagos and Akwa Ibom.
- These cables, including Google’s Equiano and Meta’s 2Africa, bring massive data capacity, foster 4G/5G growth, and support new data centres, transforming Nigeria’s digital landscape.
