By With just 265,000 Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) subscribers, expanding high-speed broadband infrastructure is essential to Nigeria’s ambition of building a $1 trillion economy.
lamenting low FTTH subscription in then country, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida expressed dismay that despite broadband penetration reaching 55.67%, the FTTH is still low.
Speaking virtually at the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) Critical Conversation Forum on FTTH in Lagos, Maida, said that Nigeria recorded 154.72 million internet subscriptions as of April 2026, while monthly internet consumption has risen to about 1.4 million terabytes, driven by remote work, digital learning, cloud computing and artificial intelligence applications.
However, he said fixed broadband remains largely underdeveloped.
“The gap between broadband penetration and fixed broadband subscriptions presents both a challenge and a major opportunity for economic growth,” he said.
Maida identified Right-of-Way bottlenecks, multiple permit requirements, vandalism, poor deployment standards and weak coordination among stakeholders as key obstacles slowing fibre rollout nationwide.
He said 13 states have waived Right-of-Way charges, while 16 others have adopted the National Economic Council’s recommended rate of N145 (about $0.09) per linear metre, urging the remaining states to remove barriers to infrastructure deployment.
Maida also said operators recorded more than 27,685 fibre cuts, 27,000 access denials and 4,210 theft incidents in 2025, describing attacks on telecommunications infrastructure as a major threat to service reliability.
He said the Federal Government’s Project BRIDGE, which targets the deployment of about 90,000km of fibre-optic cable across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas, must be complemented by last-mile FTTH connections to homes, schools, hospitals and businesses.
President of the Assiociation Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Tony Emoekpere, called for stronger infrastructure sharing, improved deployment standards and greater industry collaboration to reduce costs, eliminate duplication and accelerate universal broadband access across the country.
ITweb
