Lagos to eliminate multiple RoW charges with fibre project
By Omobayo Azeez
The Lagos State government has promised to remove multiple Right of Way (RoW) approvals for mobile network operators (MNOs).
Western Telecoms and Engineering, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) in charge of the unified fibre duct infrastructure and connectivity project in Lagos State, disclosed this in statement.
The company also stated that as the project commences, the infrastructure would be laid across all the local government areas (LGAs) and local community development areas in the state.
The statement entitled ‘Smart City: Lagos State begins fibre duct infrastructure project’ added that the project would enable planning of fibre routes in line with the developmental and social needs of the state.
In the course of executing the project, it said it would consider demography and geographical elements.
According to the company, the fibre duct connectivity will afford broadband service providers to lease infrastructure from duct infrastructure owners under the state government open access driven plan.
This will allow the state to control the design of the fibre duct and other fibre routes with input from telcos, infracos and towercos for commercial viability, Western Telecoms said.
It said the fibre duct connectivity allowed the neutrality of players and avoid conflict of interest.
The company said the project was also being supported by key telecommunications industry players both locally and internationally and outsourced to an independent civil engineering asset management company.
It said, “Lagos fibre duct infrastructure project is the bedrock of Lagos Smart City initiatives in driving e-traffic, e-transport, e-health, e-education and e-governance, which is linked to the six pillars of development (THEMES) of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration.
“It also allows the MNO’s with fibre coverage in Lagos State to have multiple fibre duct on the same routes. The current system of multiple RoW approvals along the same routes is inefficient and does not conform to global best practices.”
The company noted that Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) had insisted that RoW approvals were beyond its power and had mandated all licensees to seek such approvals from the state or relevant federal government agencies.