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.

The Federal Government’s recent designation of telecommunications assets as critical national infrastructure is a landmark decision that underscores the strategic importance of connectivity in today’s Nigeria.

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.

Yet, this critical infrastructure faces relentless threats. Fibre cuts—primarily caused by construction activities, vandalism, and a lack of coordination between stakeholders—have become an epidemic. 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.

These interruptions not only inconvenience consumers but also hinder businesses, delay government operations, and compromise public safety, particularly in emergencies.

The dry season, while ideal for construction and public works, has exacerbated the problem. With an increase in road and building projects, the frequency of fibre cuts has spiked alarmingly.

This trend jeopardizes Nigeria’s broadband penetration goals and the collective efforts to harness technology for economic growth and social inclusion.

This is therefore a clarion call to all stakeholders—government agencies, security agencies, construction companies, telecom operators, the media and civil society—to collaborate urgently in safeguarding Nigeria’s telecommunications infrastructure.

Beyond policy declaration, there is a need to urgently move to practical actionable steps some of which are:

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. Adoption of Technology: Leveraging geospatial mapping and real-time monitoring tools will enable better identification of high-risk zones and faster response to incidents.

5. 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.

Nigeria’s digital economy is a critical pillar of our national development strategy. To achieve the ambitious targets of the National Broadband Plan 2020-2025 and unlock the full potential of critical initiatives of the Federal Government like the 3 Million Technical Talents (3MTT) which aims to train and find job placements for 3 million Nigerian youths (local and international) by 2027, the “Project 774” of the Federal Government of aimed at digitizing all the 774 local government offices across the country for efficiency, and private sector led developmental initiatives such as the Airtel-UNICEF Reimagine Education Project where Airtel Africa has committed $57m to connect children to digital learning across the 14 countries of its operations in Africa, with Nigeria taking the lead,  our telecommunications networks must be protected with the same rigor we reserve for our power grids, water systems, and transportation networks.

The time to act is now. Together, we can ensure that Nigeria’s telecommunications infrastructure remains resilient, reliable, and ready to power the future.

Failure to act will cost us more than just dropped calls—it will jeopardize our journey to a truly connected nation.

*Femi Adeniran is the director, Corporate Communications& CSR at Airtel Nigeria.

The federal government recently designated telecoms and ICT assets in the country as critical national infrastructure to guarantee their safety and protection through the passage of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, Etc,) Amendment Act 2024.

While addressing select journalists in Lagos on Tuesday, Oluwambe, a telecoms expert in the Internet Service Provider (ISP) space, said the effective implementation of the CNII provision should not just protect deployed assets but also guarantee seamless rollout of more backbone infrastructures for digital economy drive.

He said: “The passage of the CNII is commendable and with it, we hope to see a respite from incessant attacks on our infrastructure. Operators have suffered huge losses dealing with theft, vandalisation of telecoms and ICT facilities or arbitrary shutdown of our sites by state agencies.

“More importantly, I believe achieving reduced right of way charges and imposition of different taxes on operators in the course of rolling out services should also be a major consideration in implementing the CNII.

“If there is any bottleneck that should be removed to accelerate the rate of bridging digital access gaps in Nigeria, it should be RoW abolition at best or its reduction to a reasonable amount, at least.”

He added that inflated RoW charges that remain a major challenge in many states of the federation is inimical to investment appetite in the ISPs space, thus, creating a barrier against robust connectivity in the hinterlands and remote areas.

“The new CNII regime is expected to lead to safety of telecoms facilities and protection of operations of telecoms companies, given that the advocacy to have the Bill passed lasted more than a decade.

“Now that it has been passed, stakeholders must work in tandem with the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA), the body saddled with the implementation tasks, to make the passage count for something.

“As they do this, the industry must pay close attention to the issue of right of way charges imposed by state actors so that our state leaders can be made to see things differently.

“A city that is well connected is where businesses will move into and thrive; and what is made by the state from the charges of RoW will later come in as bigger revenues for the state as taxes from the successful businesses.”