The Nigerian Communications Commission has reported measurable progress in resolving one of the most persistent obstacles to Nigeria’s broadband expansion, with thirteen states now fully waiving Right of Way charges and sixteen others adopting the National Economic Council’s recommended rate of N145 per linear metre.
The disclosure was made by Dr. Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman and chief executive officer of the NCC, in a keynote address at the ATCON High-Level Industry Forum on Fibre to the Home (FTTH) in Nigeria, held in Lagos.
Maida identified Right of Way approvals as one of the most significant barriers to fibre rollout across the country, citing excessive charges, unpredictable approval timelines, and multiple overlapping permitting requirements as factors that continue to increase deployment costs and slow national progress.
“We must improve the deployment environment. Right of Way approvals remain one of the most significant factors affecting fibre rollout. Excessive charges, unpredictable approval timelines and multiple permitting requirements increase deployment costs and slow national progress,” Maida said.
He called on state governments to reconsider how they weigh the value of digital infrastructure against short-term revenue collection.
“State Governments must increasingly recognise that the long-term economic value of digital infrastructure far outweighs the short-term revenue from RoW charges,” he said.
Although, the EVC didn’t mention the States that have waived RoW charges, Techeconomy gathered that,
- Adamawa
- Anambra
- Bauchi
- Benue
- Enugu
- Kaduna
- Katsina
- Kebbi
- Nasarawa
- Niger
- Zamfara are among the States.
Also, states that have reduced their RoW charges to N145 per linear metre include Abia, Borno, Ebonyi, Edo and Sokoto.
The numbers behind the progress
According to Maida, thirteen states have completely waived RoW charges for fibre deployment, while sixteen additional states have adopted the N145 per linear metre rate recommended by the National Economic Council.
Combined, that places 29 of Nigeria’s 36 states in either full alignment or substantial compliance with the federal government’s preferred RoW framework, leaving seven states yet to adopt either position.
Maida said the Commission would continue engaging the remaining states with the goal of achieving full national alignment and, eventually, removing what he described as unnecessary barriers to broadband deployment altogether.
The NEC-recommended N145 per linear metre rate has, since its introduction, been positioned as a standardising benchmark intended to replace the patchwork of charges that previously varied dramatically from state to state, a variance that operators have long cited as a major cost and planning obstacle to expanding fibre infrastructure nationally.
A new transparency tool
To support continued progress and give investors clearer visibility into the RoW landscape, Maida announced that the Commission has launched its Ease of Doing Business Portal.
The portal is designed to provide state-by-state information covering RoW charges, approval processes, relevant legislation, infrastructure deployment data, and key contact points for investors and operators seeking to deploy fibre in any given state.
The portal represents a structural response to a problem that has historically been opaque: operators planning multi-state fibre rollouts have often lacked a single, reliable source of information on what each state charge, how long approvals take, and which officials to engage friction that has added cost and delay to national infrastructure projects.
Beyond Right of Way: planning, standards, and durability
Maida’s address extended beyond the RoW question to two further priorities he said were critical to Nigeria’s fibre future.
The first was integrating broadband readiness directly into urban and community planning.
“Connectivity should not be treated as an afterthought, considered only after roads have been paved and buildings completed,” Maida said. “Just as new developments make provision for electricity, water and drainage, they should also make provision for telecommunications infrastructure.”
He argued that planning for fibre from the outset of any development reduces deployment cost, accelerates service activation, and prevents the kind of disruptive retrofitting that currently characterises much of Nigeria’s urban fibre rollout.
The second priority was deployment quality. Maida was direct in stating that volume alone is not the Commission’s objective.
“Nigeria does not only need more fibre; it needs fibre that is properly designed, properly installed, properly documented and properly protected,” he said, warning that poor materials, weak installation practices, inadequate restoration after civil works, and poor asset record-keeping all contribute to higher failure rates, more frequent service disruptions, and higher long-term maintenance costs.
He confirmed that the NCC would continue to insist on compliance with approved technical, safety, and deployment standards across the entire fibre value chain.
“Our priority is not simply that fibre is deployed quickly, but that it is built to last and capable of supporting Nigeria’s digital ambitions for decades to come,” he said.
Why this matters
The RoW progress disclosed by Maida arrives at a moment when Nigeria’s fibre infrastructure is under significant strain from a separate but related challenge: the persistent and costly problem of fibre cuts, vandalism, and infrastructure damage that has plagued operators throughout 2025 and into 2026.
While RoW reform addresses the cost and speed of deploying new fibre, it does not directly resolve the parallel crisis of protecting fibre once it is in the ground, a distinction Maida’s broader remarks on deployment standards and asset protection appear to acknowledge.
Taken together, the RoW alignment progress, the new transparency portal, and the renewed emphasis on planning integration and technical standards represent a multi-pronged approach from the NCC to address the structural barriers that have historically slowed Nigeria’s fibre-to-the-home ambitions, even as the operational challenge of keeping deployed fibre intact and functional remains a live and largely unresolved concern across the industry.
