Lagos, Dec. 6, 2023 – Nigeria will require between $1.5 billion to $2 billion to complete the deployment of fibre optic cables across the country.
Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, said this on Tuesday during a television interview.
He said fibre optic cable had been laid across 35 kilometres of the country, but remained just half way to cover the whole length of 95,000 kilometres.
Tijjani said his ministry was working with the Nigeria Communication Commission NCC) to complete the deployment of fibre optics as a priority to improve the quality of communication services in the country.
He said the federal government could complete the entire project within the next four years if adequate funding could be secured from private sources.
The minister expressed optimism that government would be able to secure the necessary funds within six to 12 months.
“In the next four years, we are going to do everything to increase the kilometres of fibre optic cables in Nigeria. We are about 35, 000 kilometres away, and we need to go to 95,000 kilometres, almost halfway there.
“It’s going to cost roughly $1.5 to $2 billion to wire the whole of Nigeria to reach that 95, 000 kilometres.
“We hope we can accelerate in the next six to 12 months, secure that funding that private companies can tap into—it’s not government money—and hopefully work with serious companies that can lay fibre over the next two to three years.
“We’re hoping that before the first four years of this administration, a significant portion of that 95, 000 kilometres will be covered,” he said.
On 5G services, the minister said the federal government was also working to improve the infrastructure for the 5G network across the country,
“The infrastructure that drives 5G is not something that is across the nation. We do in some places.
“So, if you subscribe to 5G and you move into locations where the infrastructure cannot support it, of course, the quality will drop. 5G exists in Nigeria and there are telcos with the licence,” the minister said. (GBN)
