NCC Urges Road Contractors to Protect Fibre-Optic Cables, Cites Over 5,000 Cuts in Six Months

NCC Urges Road Contractors to Protect Fibre-Optic Cables, Cites Over 5,000 Cuts in Six Months

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 other civil works across the country.

The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, made the call on August 11, 2026, 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, in Abuja.

Maida stressed that Nigeria’s drive to expand physical infrastructure must not undermine the digital infrastructure connecting Nigerians to information, services, markets and opportunities.

According to him, communications infrastructure has become a critical national lifeline, supporting banking, government services, education, healthcare, commerce, security and emergency communications.

He noted that damage to fibre infrastructure could disrupt essential services and impose significant costs on citizens, businesses and the wider economy.

“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, highlighting the far-reaching consequences of fibre cuts on individuals, businesses and public institutions.

“Our central message is simple: 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.

The NCC EVC disclosed that more than 5,000 fibre-cut incidents were recorded in the first six months of 2026 as a result of road construction, excavation and related civil works.

He recalled that in February 2024, fibre cuts, including those caused by road construction, resulted in an almost network-wide disruption for one telecommunications operator, affecting millions of users for several hours and placing additional pressure on other networks.

Maida stressed that the challenge was not about assigning blame, noting that road contractors do not deliberately seek to disconnect communities, just as telecommunications operators do not intend to obstruct road construction.

He, however, emphasised the need for a dependable system of early coordination among all stakeholders.

The EVC noted that the Permanent Secretaries of the Federal Ministry of Works and the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy had inaugurated the Standing Committee on the Protection of Fibre Optic Cables to develop practical coordination mechanisms before, during and after road construction works.

He further disclosed that the committee’s membership had recently been expanded to include representatives of the Office of the National Security Adviser, in recognition of the security implications of protecting telecommunications infrastructure, which has been designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure.

He explained that the designation requires telecommunications infrastructure to be treated as national infrastructure and protected accordingly, with appropriate legal, regulatory and remedial measures for damage.

The NCC chief executive urged telecommunications operators, contractors, government agencies, regulators and security agencies to play their respective roles in preventing fibre damage.

He stressed that coordination must become an integral part of the planning and execution of road construction and other projects involving excavation.

“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 reiterated.

Maida urged participants at the workshop to develop practical measures that would make coordination standard practice rather than the exception.

The workshop forms part of ongoing efforts by the NCC and other stakeholders to institutionalise coordination mechanisms for safeguarding telecommunications infrastructure, minimising service disruptions and supporting Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda.

The workshop is expected to culminate in the development of a framework for protecting telecommunications fibre-optic infrastructure during road construction and other excavation activities across the country.