The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reiterated its push to promote efficient broadband infrastructure rollout in Nigeria through the coordinated implementation of its Dig-Once Policy, as it works with stakeholders to finalise a pricing structure for shared underground ducts.
The Commission gave this update at its second Stakeholders’ Consultative Forum on developing a pricing mechanism and cost-based structure for sharing ducts built under the Dig-Once Policy, held on July 8, 2026, at the NCC Annex Office in Mbora, Abuja.
The forum drew representatives from federal and state government agencies, telecom operators, infrastructure companies, industry associations, and development partners, who reviewed interim findings of an ongoing study and made recommendations toward a transparent, cost-based framework for duct sharing.
Ayuba Shuaibu, NCC’s director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, said the engagement reflects the Commission’s commitment to an open and inclusive regulatory process that balances the interests of infrastructure providers, network operators, public institutions, and consumers.
According to Shuaibu, the proposed framework is designed to encourage infrastructure sharing, improve asset utilisation, cut the cost of broadband deployment, and support the expansion of telecoms infrastructure nationwide.
He noted that the Dig-Once Policy, which mandates the installation of telecom ducts during road construction and rehabilitation, is meant to spare future fibre rollouts from repeated road excavation.
He added that stakeholder input from the consultation would feed into the final study report, with a goal of ensuring the resulting framework is commercially sustainable and workable for industry players.
Delivering the keynote address, Olugbenga Olabiyi, managing director of Dimension Data Limited and consultant on the study, described passive infrastructure, ducts, conduits, manholes, and related facilities, as among the most capital-intensive components of broadband deployment globally.
He said infrastructure sharing has proven an effective way to lower deployment costs and speed up broadband expansion elsewhere, and that Nigeria’s Dig-Once Policy offers a similar opportunity to cut down on duplicate road excavation.
Olabiyi cautioned, however, that the initiative’s success depends on a predictable and equitable access framework.
Without clear rules, he warned, owners of shared infrastructure could impose excessive pricing or restrictive terms that create barriers to entry, undermining the very investment the policy is meant to encourage.
He described the NCC’s cost-based pricing initiative as a step that should give confidence to mobile network operators, ISPs, fibre operators, and other ecosystem players.
The consultation builds on earlier stakeholder engagements on the study and forms part of NCC’s broader regulatory push to expand broadband access and advance Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda.
