Nigeria’s fixed broadband infrastructure remains significantly underdeveloped despite rapid growth in internet usage, with only about 265,000 active Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) connections nationwide, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission.
The commission said the figure falls below the African average and highlights the massive infrastructure investment required to support Nigeria’s expanding digital economy and long-term economic ambitions.
Speaking at the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria Critical Conversation Forum on FTTH in Lagos, Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman of the NCC, said accelerating broadband expansion is essential if Nigeria is to achieve its ambition of becoming a one trillion-dollar economy.
He noted that reliable internet connectivity has become indispensable across virtually every sector, including education, healthcare, commerce, financial services, governance and innovation, making robust broadband infrastructure a critical driver of economic growth.
Although Nigeria has made progress in broadband adoption, Maida said the country continues to lag in fixed broadband deployment.
According to him, internet subscriptions reached 154.72 million in April 2026, while broadband penetration rose to 55.67 percent from 48.81 percent recorded a year earlier. He added that monthly data consumption has climbed to about 1.4 million terabytes as more Nigerians embrace remote work, online learning, cloud computing and AI-powered applications.
Despite these gains, he described the country’s fixed broadband footprint as inadequate.
“Fixed broadband remains underdeveloped, with only about 265,000 FTTH subscriptions, presenting significant opportunities for expansion and economic growth,” he said.
Maida observed that the disparity between Nigeria’s growing broadband penetration and its limited fixed broadband subscriber base reflects both a major infrastructure gap and a substantial opportunity for investment.
He attributed the slow rollout of fibre infrastructure to persistent Right-of-Way bottlenecks, multiple approval processes, vandalism, inconsistent deployment standards and poor coordination among stakeholders.
To ease deployment challenges, he disclosed that 13 states have eliminated Right-of-Way charges, while another 16 have adopted the National Economic Council’s recommended rate of N145 per linear metre. He urged the remaining states to remove unnecessary barriers that continue to discourage investment in broadband infrastructure.
According to Maida, the long-term economic value generated by digital infrastructure far outweighs revenues earned from Right-of-Way charges. He added that the NCC has introduced an Ease of Doing Business Portal to support investors by providing state-by-state information on regulatory requirements, approvals and applicable legislation.
He also advocated integrating telecommunications infrastructure into urban planning, arguing that fibre networks should be treated as essential public infrastructure alongside roads, electricity and water systems to reduce deployment costs and improve efficiency.
Beyond regulatory constraints, Maida expressed concern over the growing threat posed by vandalism and attacks on telecommunications infrastructure.
He revealed that operators recorded more than 27,685 fibre cuts, about 27,000 incidents of access denial and 4,210 cases of theft in 2025, disruptions that affected telecommunications services across the country and imposed significant financial costs on operators and consumers alike.
The EVC stressed that safeguarding telecommunications infrastructure would require stronger collaboration among federal and state governments, security agencies, lawmakers, operators and host communities, particularly following the classification of telecommunications assets as critical national infrastructure.
He pointed to the Federal Government’s Project BRIDGE initiative, which aims to deploy approximately 90,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable across Nigeria’s 774 local government areas, as a major step toward expanding broadband access nationwide.
However, he cautioned that extending the national fibre backbone alone would not be sufficient unless it is complemented by last-mile FTTH connections capable of delivering high-speed internet directly to homes, schools, hospitals, businesses and other institutions.
Maida therefore urged governments, property developers and urban planners to embed telecommunications infrastructure into the design of new residential estates, commercial developments and public facilities from the planning stage.
He also called for stricter enforcement of technical and safety standards across fibre deployment projects, warning that poor installation practices and the use of substandard materials could undermine service quality, increase maintenance costs and shorten the lifespan of critical infrastructure.
“Our priority is not simply that fibre is deployed quickly, but that it is built to last and capable of supporting Nigeria’s digital ambitions for decades to come,” he said.
