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Nigeria’s digital future is being laid underground. The fiber optic networks powering the nation’s broadband, enterprise services, and smart initiatives represent a critical, yet often unseen, foundation. In this exclusive interview with Nana Theresa Timothy of ITEdgeNews.Africa, Eruayekomeme Mudiaga Anthony, Regional Manager for Fiber Deployments at ZTE, pulls back the curtain. He shares his professional journey, details the on-the-ground realities of deploying fiber across Nigeria, and explains why the expertise of fiber engineers is indispensable to the country’s connected future.
Tell us about yourself
My name is Eruayekomeme Mudiaga Anthony. I’m from Delta State, and I currently work in Abuja. I started my professional journey in Huawei, where I spent several years working on fibre-related projects. Before leaving Huawei, I was the Director for Quality Assurance for Fibber Deployment in Nigeria, a role that gave me nationwide exposure to fibre infrastructure projects and standards.
After Huawei, I moved to ZTE, where I now serve as the Regional Manager for Fibre Deployments for the Abuja region. My responsibility covers planning, execution, quality assurance, and troubleshooting of fibre infrastructure within the region. In the telecommunications industry, many people know me not just as Anthony, but by my industry name.
From your experience, what is one major challenge you face working in the fibre segment of the telecommunications industry?
In telecommunications, we broadly have two types of networks: wireless and wired. The wired network is what we call fibre optic infrastructure, and today it is mostly deployed as FTTH (Fibre to the Home).
Compared to wireless networks, fibre deployment comes with more complex challenges. These challenges start right from the project kick-off stage down to the final delivery stage. One of the most common issues we face includes fibre cuts, fibre theft, and sometimes non-compliance from customers, especially during home connections.
For example, some customers may not allow proper routing of cables within their premises, which later affects service quality. These challenges are not always technical in nature, but they significantly affect network performance.
Are these challenges unavoidable, or can they be reduced with proper processes?
Most of these challenges are actually avoidable. Before fibre is deployed on any network, there is a standard process that must be followed. One very important process is what we call OTDR testing—Optical Time Domain Reflectometer testing.
OTDR tests help us verify the integrity of the fibre before deployment. Whether it is a 96-core cable, 48-core, or 12-core fibre, it must be tested to confirm there are no faults, breaks, or abnormal losses. Unfortunately, in many cases, this testing is either skipped or not properly done.
When a fiber that hasn’t been properly tested starts carrying traffic, issues begin to surface. The most common of these issues is what we call losses.
Can you explain what fibre losses are and how engineers resolve them?
Loss is one of the biggest challenges in fibre networks. Loss simply means that the signal strength is reduced along the fibre path. As fibre experts, when we notice losses, our job is to locate and correct them.
This is where troubleshooting comes in. Using OTDR tools, engineers can identify the exact point where the loss is occurring. In many cases, the solution involves splicing, which is the process of joining two fibre cores together using a splicing machine.
Splicing must be done with precision because even a small error can increase loss. Once the faulty point is corrected, service quality improves significantly. This is why proper testing and skilled manpower are critical in fibre deployment.
With all these challenges, would you say fibre deployment is a difficult field?
Honestly, fibre is not as difficult as people think, if you understand the technology. Some years back, FTTH was rebranded in different forms, such as what some people referred to as “90,” but fundamentally, it is still fibre to the home.
If you understand how the technology works, troubleshooting becomes straightforward. You simply deploy maintenance engineers to check where the losses are coming from and resolve them. So, I would not say fibre has too many challenges. The real challenge is lack of proper understanding and adherence to standards.
How important are fibre engineers to the telecom ecosystem?
Fibre engineers are extremely important, even more critical in many cases. In telecommunications, wireless networks rely heavily on fibre. Those BTS sites and antennas you see everywhere still depend on fibre at the backend to deliver broadband services.
While wireless engineers focus on antennas and radio equipment, fibre engineers handle what we call area and duct installations, which are mostly underground. Fibre engineers provide the backbone that enables high-speed internet for users within a cell site or service area.
Their impact in delivering wideband services to customers cannot be overstated. Without fibre engineers, wireless networks cannot function efficiently. In fact, fibre engineers are consulted almost every day because their expertise drives how fibre technology is deployed and maintained.
