By 
By Dayo Fadairo
Regulator calls for stronger coordination between road contractors, telecom operators and government agencies as fibre damage threatens connectivity, digital services and Nigeria’s economy.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has called on road construction companies, contractors, engineers and other stakeholders to strengthen coordination and adopt preventive measures to protect fibre-optic cables during road construction, rehabilitation and excavation activities across the country.
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The telecommunications regulator disclosed that more than 5,000 fibre-cut incidents were recorded in the first six months of 2026, with road construction, excavation and other civil works identified as major causes.
The NCC said repeated damage to fibre infrastructure threatens the reliability of Nigeria’s telecommunications networks and could disrupt critical services supporting banking, healthcare, education, government, commerce, security and emergency communications.
NCC Wants Fibre Protection Built Into Road Projects
The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, made the call at a stakeholders’ workshop on the protection of fibre-optic cables held at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Office of the National Security Adviser, Abuja.
Maida said Nigeria’s push to expand physical infrastructure must be coordinated with efforts to protect the digital infrastructure that increasingly connects citizens to economic opportunities and essential services.
According to him, communications infrastructure has become a critical national lifeline, making the protection of fibre networks a matter of national economic importance.
“To a machine operator on a construction site, it may appear to be one buried cable. To the nation, it can mean failed calls, stalled payments, interrupted services and missed opportunities,” Maida said.
He stressed that Nigeria needs both physical and digital infrastructure to support sustainable development.
“Nigeria must build the roads that connect our communities while protecting the fibre networks that connect our economy. We need both forms of infrastructure, and we need them to work together,” he said.
Over 5,000 Fibre Cuts Recorded in Six Months
The NCC said more than 5,000 fibre cuts occurred between January and June 2026 as a result of road construction, excavation and related civil works.
The regulator warned that the consequences extend beyond telecommunications companies, as damaged fibre cables can affect businesses, financial transactions, public services and individual consumers.
Maida recalled that fibre cuts in February 2024, including those attributed to road construction activities, contributed to an almost network-wide disruption for one telecommunications operator, affecting millions of users for several hours and placing additional pressure on other networks.
The incident demonstrated the vulnerability of Nigeria’s increasingly interconnected digital economy to damage affecting critical telecommunications infrastructure.
NCC: Fibre Damage Is a Coordination Problem
The NCC chief executive said the issue should not be viewed primarily as a contest between telecommunications operators and construction companies.
He noted that road contractors generally do not intend to disconnect communities, just as telecommunications companies do not seek to obstruct infrastructure development.
Instead, he argued that the recurring incidents point to the need for early and dependable coordination among contractors, telecom operators, government agencies, regulators and security authorities.
“Our central message is simple: Nigeria must build the roads that connect our communities while protecting the fibre networks that connect our economy,” Maida reiterated.
He urged stakeholders to make coordination an integral part of project planning and execution rather than an intervention introduced only after infrastructure has been damaged.
Standing Committee Established to Protect Fibre Infrastructure
The NCC disclosed that the Permanent Secretaries of the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy have inaugurated a Standing Committee on the Protection of Fibre Optic Cables.
The committee is expected to develop practical mechanisms for coordinating activities before, during and after road construction and other civil works.
Its mandate reflects growing recognition that the protection of digital infrastructure must be incorporated into the planning of major physical infrastructure projects.
Maida also disclosed that representatives of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) have recently been included in the committee.
Telecom Infrastructure Classified as Critical National Information Infrastructure
The involvement of the national security authorities reflects the strategic importance of telecommunications infrastructure.
According to Maida, telecommunications infrastructure has been designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII), requiring it to be treated as national infrastructure and protected accordingly.
The designation carries significant implications for how fibre networks and other telecommunications assets are planned, maintained and protected.
It also reinforces the need for appropriate legal, regulatory and remedial measures where critical infrastructure is damaged.
MTN Reported More Than 9,000 Fibre Cuts in 2025
The NCC’s latest warning comes amid continuing evidence of the scale of the fibre-damage problem facing Nigerian telecommunications operators.
In February, MTN Nigeria disclosed that it recorded 9,218 fibre cuts in 2025, contributing to network disruptions across different parts of the country.
The figures underline the growing operational challenge created by the rapid expansion of road, drainage, excavation and other infrastructure projects across Nigeria.
As operators deploy more fibre to support broadband, 4G, 5G, cloud services and other digital applications, accidental damage to underground infrastructure could increasingly have wider economic consequences.
NCC and NSCDC Previously Warned Contractors
The NCC and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) also issued warnings in February to construction companies, government contractors and other stakeholders over the increasing damage to fibre-optic cables during road construction and civil works.
The agencies described fibre-optic networks as critical national assets supporting Nigeria’s digital economy.
The renewed intervention suggests that awareness campaigns and warnings alone may not be sufficient, with stronger project-level coordination and preventive procedures increasingly necessary.
Protecting Fibre Critical to Nigeria’s Digital Economy
Nigeria’s digital economy increasingly depends on extensive fibre infrastructure.
Fibre-optic networks provide the backbone for broadband connectivity and support telecommunications, financial services, cloud computing, digital government, e-commerce, education and other technology-enabled services.
As Nigeria accelerates digital transformation, the reliability of this infrastructure becomes increasingly important.
A single damaged fibre route can potentially disrupt connectivity for large numbers of users, particularly where alternative routes are limited.
This makes fibre resilience, redundancy and proactive protection important considerations in national infrastructure planning.
NCC Seeks Framework for Road Construction and Fibre Protection
The Abuja workshop is expected to contribute to the development of a framework for protecting telecommunications fibre infrastructure during road construction and other excavation activities.
The NCC said the framework should help institutionalise coordination, minimise network disruptions and ensure that infrastructure development proceeds without unnecessarily damaging existing digital assets.
Stakeholders are expected to focus on practical measures that can make fibre protection a standard requirement throughout the lifecycle of road and civil engineering projects.
The objective, according to the NCC, is to move from reactive responses after fibre cuts occur towards preventive infrastructure management.
Nigeria Must Protect Both Physical and Digital Infrastructure
The growing number of fibre cuts presents a broader infrastructure-planning challenge for Nigeria.
Roads, bridges and other physical infrastructure are essential to economic development, but so are the invisible digital networks that facilitate financial transactions, communication, commerce and public services.
As Nigeria pursues an increasingly digital economy, the NCC’s message is that the two infrastructure ecosystems can no longer be planned independently.
Protecting fibre-optic cables during construction is therefore not simply an issue for telecom operators. It is becoming a national infrastructure and economic resilience priority.
