Experts push for Dig-Once Policy adoption to achieve 90,000km fibre target

STAKEHOLDERS across the telecommunications and digital economy sector have reached consensus that adoption of Dig-Once Policy in Nigeria is the secret to attaining the 90,000km of additional fibre deployment ambition of the federal government.

The stakeholders made the call recently in Lagos at the National Dig-Once Policy Forum, which marked the 8th Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo), where they urged federal and state authorities to adopt a coordinated framework for fibre deployment alongside road construction and other major public infrastructure.

The forum, themed “Accelerating Nigeria’s Digital Backbone: Dig-Once Policy, Project BRIDGE and Strategies for Effective Fibre Deployment”, focused on aligning infrastructure planning to improve broadband access, de-risk backbone infrastructure rollout and reduce network failures.

Dig-once policy implementation involves installing fibre ducts alongside roads, rail lines and other public infrastructure during construction or rehabilitation. It allows multiple operators to deploy cables through shared ducts, reducing repeated digging and the timeline and cost of delivering broadband to final users.

Convener of the forum, Omobayo Azeez, said the policy lowers deployment costs, reduces infrastructure damage, improves safety and shortens rollout timelines.

“At a time when Project BRIDGE is taking off, Dig-once stands out as the policy instrument that can significantly de-risk implementation and maximise long-term national value,” he said.

Project BRIDGE, a $2 billion federal government initiative backed by $500 million in World Bank funding, aims to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre nationwide to raise the digital economy backbone infrastructure from its current 35,000km to 125,000km of fibre by 2030.

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The stakeholders described fibre infrastructure deployment in Nigeria as fragmented, expensive, and poorly protected.

President, Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Tony Emoekpere, said the challenge is not policy design but execution.

“We have so many policies we don’t execute well. What Dig-Once offers is an opportunity to correct this,” he said, adding that even operators frequently damage one another’s cables during repeated digging, thus increasing repair costs and service disruptions.

Data presented by the Chief Executive Officer, Dimensions Data Limited, Gbenga Olabiyi, showed that road construction is responsible for 60 per cent of network outages due to fibre cuts. He drew attention to the gap between the infrastructure Nigeria has and what it can actually deliver if a coordinated framework is adopted.

“Nigeria currently has about 35,000 kilometres of fibre in the ground, yet only 16 per cent of Nigerians are connected to it. Broadband penetration stands at 45 per cent. Lagos alone has a penetration rate of over 70 per cent,” Mr Olabiyi said.

He emphasised that the failure to address the missing fibre link over the years has led to saturation of connectivity in urban centres, while the hinterlands are left either unconnected or poorly served.