Speaking at the International Submarine Cable Resilience Summit 2026 in Porto, Portugal, on the urgent need for stronger infrastructure safeguards, Aliyu Yusuf Aboki, executive secretary of WATRA, said resilience must now be treated as an economic priority rather than a technical afterthought.

According to him, the 2024 undersea cable disruptions, which caused internet traffic in some countries to fall by more than 50 percent, exposed how vulnerable the region remains to shocks affecting critical connectivity systems.

“West Africa’s digital economy is growing rapidly, powered by mobile broadband, fintech, e-commerce, and a new generation of entrepreneurs. But much of that growth depends on infrastructure that remains invisible until it fails,” Aboki said.

Repair Costs Rising, Recovery Slower

WATRA noted that repairing submarine cable faults in West Africa is inherently expensive due to the limited availability of specialised vessels stationed on the continent.

A single cable repair operation is typically estimated at $1.5 million to $2 million, with mobilisation of repair ships from distant hubs such as Cape Town accounting for a significant share of the cost.

In more severe incidents involving multiple cable faults, costs can escalate to as much as $8 million, while restoration timelines often lag global benchmarks.

“When specialised vessels must travel long distances before repair work can begin, downtime becomes longer and more expensive. That delay has real economic consequences,” Aboki added.

Beyond Infrastructure: Impact on Livelihoods

WATRA stressed that resilience is not only about cables and networks—it is about protecting jobs, incomes, and business continuity across the region.

According to the Assembly, uninterrupted connectivity allows millions of Africans to participate in the digital economy daily, from small merchants accepting mobile payments to startups running online operations.

“It is what allows a young entrepreneur in Lagos selling furniture on Instagram to continue receiving orders. It is what enables a grocery distributor relying on digital payments to keep business moving even when systems are under pressure,” Aboki said.

At a broader level, banks processing millions of transactions, logistics firms coordinating regional trade, and telecom operators delivering data services all rely on stable connectivity.

When disruptions occur, the costs are immediate such as lost revenue, delayed trade, failed transactions, lower consumer confidence, and reduced productivity.

Need for Policy and Investment Reform

WATRA said the 2024 disruptions should serve as a wake-up call for governments, regulators, investors, and infrastructure operators across the sub-region.

The Assembly called for resilience to be embedded into infrastructure planning, redundant network design, emergency response systems, regional cooperation frameworks, and sustainable financing models.

“For West Africa, resilience is not optional. It is foundational. Without it, economic growth remains exposed to avoidable shocks,” Aboki stated.

A Real-Time Economy with Little Margin for Error

Unlike mature markets with multiple redundancies and institutional safety nets, much of West Africa’s digital economy operates in real time, with limited buffers against disruption.

For many SMEs, traders, fintech users, and informal businesses, even short outages can translate directly into lost income.

WATRA concluded that strengthening digital resilience will be essential to unlocking the next phase of West Africa’s economic transformation and ensuring that connectivity remains a reliable engine of inclusion, innovation, and trade.

* The West African Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA) is the regional body of telecom regulators in West Africa, promoting harmonised policy, collaboration, and digital market development across member states.

Addressing an audience of global regulators, financiers, and infrastructure operators, Aboki argued that the reliability of submarine cables is now the primary determinant of economic stability for West Africa’s $800 billion GDP landscape.

The Economics of Downtime

Reflecting on the catastrophic cable disruptions of March 2024, which saw internet traffic in some nations drop by over 50%, Aboki emphasized that the regional digital economy, valued between $100 billion and $150 billion, is currently built on a fragile foundation.

“Resilience is no longer a technical concern; it is an economic one,” stated Aliyu Aboki. “For West Africa, this conversation is not theoretical. It is immediate and consequential. We have seen that capacity is not resilience. You can have all the bandwidth in the world, but if your routing patterns allow a single incident to sever multiple systems, your economy remains at risk.”

Protecting Livelihoods, Not Just Links

Aboki’s address shifted the focus from hardware to human impact, noting that for many Nigerians and West Africans, digital connectivity is the difference between a meal and an empty plate.

“What is often overlooked is that resilience is about livelihoods,” Aboki remarked. “It is what allows a 24-year-old graduate running a furniture business on Instagram in Lagos to continue fulfilling orders without interruption. It enables the small-scale grocery distributor in Surulere to keep transactions flowing when networks are under strain. In our region, disruptions translate directly into lost income with limited buffers.”

The High Cost of Repair and Recovery

The Executive Secretary highlighted the staggering financial burden of maintaining these systems. With typical repairs costing between $1.5 million and $2 million, and escalating to $8 million in complex cases, Aboki noted that Africa is disproportionately affected by the lack of localized repair vessels and harmonized administrative procedures.

“The 2024 disruptions were a stress test that exposed a structural mismatch,” Aboki explained. “Submarine networks are regional, yet governance remains largely national. Delays in customs, port access, and inter-agency coordination extend repair timelines and increase the cost of capital. We must treat submarine cable resilience as a regional public good.”

The WATRA Roadmap for 2026

Under Aboki’s leadership, WATRA is pushing for a unified regulatory framework across its 16 member states to ensure that the digital economy can withstand future shocks.

The proposed interventions include:

• Streamlined Permitting: Predetermined landing processes to fast-track repair operations.
• Emergency Protocols: Pre-agreed regional coordination for specialized repair vessels.
• Investment Design: Prioritizing “true route diversity” to avoid correlated risks where multiple cables share the same physical path.

A Foundation for the Future

Closing his address, Aboki reminded stakeholders that the momentum of West Africa’s fintech, e-commerce, and digital entrepreneurship sectors depends entirely on infrastructure that remains invisible until it fails.

“For West Africa’s digital economy, resilience is not optional. It is foundational. If we embed it into our policy and financing frameworks today, we build a more robust foundation for a growth that leaves no one behind.”

This body, established by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in collaboration with the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC), aims to bolster the resilience of submarine telecommunication cables that form the backbone of global digital connectivity.

Submarine cables, which carry the majority of the world’s Internet traffic, enable essential global services, including commerce, financial transactions, government operations, digital health, and education. Enhancing their resilience is critical for ensuring continuity in a digitally connected world.

Mr. Aliyu Aboki’s inclusion in the high-level International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience comes at a critical time when disruptions to digital connectivity in West Africa have highlighted the urgent need to safeguard vital telecommunications infrastructure.

As the Executive Secretary of WATRA, Mr. Aboki brings a wealth of experience and a distinctive regional perspective to the Advisory Body’s mission.

His appointment provides an opportunity for the region to contribute meaningfully to shaping global best practices for the deployment, maintenance, and protection of submarine cables, ensuring a stable and resilient digital ecosystem for millions across the continent.

Speaking on his appointment, Mr. Aboki stated:

“The recent disruptions to telecommunications services across West Africa, caused by damage to vital submarine cables, underscore the fragility of our digital infrastructure. These incidents, which affected countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and Liberia, resulted in significant connectivity issues and highlighted the urgent need for enhanced resilience in our submarine cable systems.

As Executive Secretary of WATRA, I have witnessed firsthand the critical role that secure and reliable digital connectivity plays in driving economic development, supporting government operations, and enabling access to essential services across the region. This appointment to the International Advisory Body on Submarine Cable Resilience presents an opportunity to strengthen global collaboration and bring the perspectives of West Africa to the forefront of discussions on protecting these crucial infrastructures.

It is vital that we work together with other experts and stakeholders to develop strategies that ensure submarine cables are more resilient to disruptions, safeguarding the continuity of services that are fundamental to the global digital economy.”

The Advisory Body brings together 40 global leaders, including Ministers, Heads of Regulatory Authorities, industry executives, and experts.

Co-chaired by Dr. Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, and Prof. Sandra Maximiano, Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Communications Authority of Portugal (ANACOM), the group will work to develop strategies that enhance the security and resilience of submarine cable infrastructure worldwide.

WATRA’s participation in this global effort reaffirms its leadership role in driving policies that prioritize digital connectivity, economic growth, and sustainable development.

By representing the region’s interests, Mr. Aboki will ensure that West Africa continues to play a vital role in shaping the future of telecommunications.

Founded in 2002, WATRA is a consultative and collaborative body of Telecommunications Regulators in the West African sub region.

The body aids and advances development of telecommunications in the sub region and ultimately in Africa.

WATRA also collaborates and cooperates with other regional and international organizations towards the ​​attainment of its mission to ensure the rapid development of telecommunications in the sub region.

Aliyu Aboki, the executive secretary of WATRA, at a recent media session said the partnership could be deepened through collaborative regulations and infrastructure development as they remain key drivers to bridging the digital divide and unlocking economic growth in the West African region.

“WATRA serves as a platform for collective action,” Aboki remarked. “By harmonizing telecoms policies and frameworks across member states, we can create a more unified and efficient regulatory environment that fosters investment and innovation.”

WATRA’s recent successes in driving positive change within the region were a key focus of the media session.

According to Aboki, the assembly’s initiatives have contributed to a significant increase in mobile penetration and internet subscriptions within the region.

He pointed out that WATRA  facilitated knowledge sharing and problem-solving among member countries, leading to more efficient regulatory practices.

He added that WATRA’s focus on digitizing its own processes serves as a model for member states, promoting innovation and efficiency within the regulatory landscape.

In response to a question about spectrum costs, a key factor influencing service affordability, Aboki acknowledged the challenge.

He emphasized WATRA’s advocacy for “best practices in spectrum pricing” to ensure wider access and encourage investment. Additionally, he pointed out that WATRA promotes infrastructure sharing among telecom operators, a strategy that can significantly reduce infrastructure rollout costs.

“We ensure that countries with more advanced telecoms infrastructure, share their experiences and methodologies with countries that have less telecoms infrastructure. From time to time, we bring different regulators together to discuss issues that will enhance regulations in their regions. For example, some countries do not have policies on co-location of telecoms infrastructure and WATRA was able to help build the capacities of some of the regulators in such a way that it will attract investors to invest in their telecoms infrastructure rollout,” he said.

On what WATRA is doing to address roaming charges across West Africa , the Executive Secretary explained that the roaming regulation was established in 2017, but it has not been fully implemented across regions for different reasons.

He said one of the reasons is the different roaming charges imposed by various regulators across the regions. “Another challenge is the disparity in tariff charges.

Some countries with large number of subscribers like Nigeria charge lower tariff rate, while countries with smaller number of subscribers charge higher tariff rate. What we need in West Africa is a uniform tariff rate for roaming charges. We are working towards bilateral agreement between countries to achieve it”, he stated.

Aboki argued that WATRA’s focus on regional collaboration, infrastructure development, and spectrum cost reduction positions the organization as a key driver of digital transformation in West Africa.

By fostering a more integrated and efficient telecoms landscape, WATRA can unlock the region’s vast digital potential and empower its citizens through improved access to information and communication technologies.