National Dig Once policy seen boosting Nigeria’s broadband infrastructure
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The Nigerian government has reiterated its commitment towards unveiling the proposed National Dig Once policy before the end of 2022 to accelerate broadband infrastructure roll-out across the country.
Isa Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, made the disclosure in Lagos at the just concluded fourth edition of Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo) on Dig Once Policy and Fibre Strategy in Nigeria with the theme “Laying the Foundation for Ubiquitous Broadband for Nigeria’s Economic Breakthrough”.
Pantami stated at the event organised by Business Metrics Nigeria that the policy will facilitate seamless deployment of fibre optic as a backbone broadband infrastructure across the country to bridge digital divide and boost digital economy.
Dig-once policies, according to technology experts, provide ready-made, buried conduits which enable future providers to install fiber more easily and cheaply by threading it through existing conduits.
The minister, represented by Usman Aliyu, secretary of Broadband Implementation Steering Committee (BISC) and head, Wireless Network at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), said the policy is recognized in the Nigeria Broadband Plan 2020-2025 as a critical element to attain 70 percent broadband penetration by 2025.
According to him, the policy, which seeks to promote installation of ready-made buried fibre conduit for seamless fibre deployment in the country, had received necessary inputs coming from robust engagements with relevant stakeholders for effective realisation of its essence.
He highlighted some of the objectives of the policy to include provisioning of shared infrastructure for existing internet service providers and entrants; promotion of installation of ready-made buried fibre conduit for broadband deployment; and reduction of the barriers to entry for Internet Service Providers.
He also identified other objectives to include promoting coordination of and reducing the number of excavations and disruptions caused by fibre installation works; lowering the cost of broadband internet service deployment; promoting joint installation of infrastructures in a single phase to avoid unnecessary future digging as well as encouraging infrastructure, and promoting a unified and affordable pricing regime across the federation for Right of Ways.
The minister assured that there would be lower cost of repair and maintenance of installed fiber infrastructure and lower cost of broadband internet service deployment once the policy becomes operational in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Ashwani Mishra, ICT director at Huawei Technologies, recommended ways Nigeria can achieve fibre infrastructure targets by 2025 as stipulated in the NBP 2020-2025.
Mishra, while delivering a paper on how fibre infrastructure rollout ecosystem development would reach 60 percent Fibre to Site at 120,000km by 2025, enjoined the Dig Once Implementation Council (DOIC), as a special purpose vehicle, to clarify the fibre strategy, boundary and scope of work of each stakeholders and publish quarterly progress reports.
He also encouraged Nigeria to put in place a mechanism to clarify the cooperation between the DOIC and Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to help drive the policy adoption to state level and, as such, redefine the issue of Right of Way (RoW).
Other recommendations made by Mishra include stimulating demand by making provision of ICT infrastructure a standard requirement for new buildings to drive extension of fibre everywhere in the country; making duct a standard specification for road reconstruction and new buildings, uniform RoW charges and establishment of service level agreements for (SLA) for each department or ministry involved in the process of approval.
Earlier in his remarks, Omobayo Azeez, convener and lead executive of PIAFo, emphasised that fibre is critical to achieving the 70 percent broadband penetration Nigeria is currently targeting.
Azeez emphasised the need for all stakeholders, especially state and local governments, to embrace and domesticate the policy in their respective states.
“According to the National Broadband Plan, we are targeting a network of 90,000km and 120,000km of non-overlapping fibre infrastructure by 2023 and 2025, respectively, from just 40,000km in 2020,” Azeez said.
“As of the end of 2021, data by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) indicated that total fibre optics so far deployed in Nigeria stood at 74,947km, including 47,128.7km on-land and 27,818.3km submarine.
“This indicates that we still have a long way to go to attain pervasive broadband infrastructure that will deliver high-speed internet to power our digital economy dream. However, dedicated efforts on Dig Once Policy will help us to get there faster and with moderated cost implication,” he said.
He explained that the fourth edition of PIAFo Summit was designed as a dialogue point to engender clear policy direction and ultimately stimulate successful implementation of Dig Once Policy and fibre roll-out in Nigeria to further empower the economy.
The stakeholders’ forum on Dig Once Policy and Fibre Strategy Implementation in Nigeria was endorsed and supported by the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Limited, NgCom Networks Limited, IHS Towers Nigeria, FibreOne Broadband Limited, Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), and the NCC.