The Nigerian Communications Commission ( (NCC) and key sector players have initiated a joint effort to stop recurrent street drilling for internet cable installation by crafting a unified tariff blueprint for utilizing shared subterranean pathways under the central administration’s harmonized trenching directive.
Introduced during a recent assembly in Abuja centered on evaluating financial models for cooperative utility channels, this strategy aims to curb the expenses associated with high-speed internet deployment, foster joint resource usage, and speed up network expansion across the country.
The core objective of this centralized blueprint is to guarantee that protective network channels are embedded during the construction or renovation of transport links, allowing competing service providers to channel their data lines through pre-existing subterranean networks.
By utilizing this pre-installed underground infrastructure, telecommunications companies can efficiently expand their services while completely eliminating the need to repeatedly tear up public thoroughfares.
During the assembly, the Permanent Secretary for the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Nadungu Gagare, emphasized that this collective approach represents a vital intervention by the state to fortify digital foundations and upgrade web accessibility.
He remarked that this unified trenching strategy stands as a pivotal state measure designed to accelerate data network evolution, trim the financial burden of web amplification, prevent redundant street damage, and optimize national assets.
He further noted that the true value of the directive hinges on a tariff system that is transparent, commercially viable, impartial, and supportive of collective asset utilization, which will heighten financier trust while protecting public resources.
Providing historical context, Ayuba Shuaibu, the Director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis at the regulatory body, mentioned that external specialists were brought on board in 2023 to rectify the lack of a standardized fee structure for cooperative conduits, an omission that previously hindered the strategy’s progress.
Concluding the presentations, Akpevwe Egbelughe, representing Dimension Data Nigeria, highlighted that recurrent earthworks stand as a premier barrier to widespread high-speed internet availability, explaining that integrating protective channels directly into transport engineering projects allows service providers to effortlessly slide their data cables through existing networks without disrupting public pathways.
