The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has decried over 5,000 fibre optic cable cuts recorded across the country in the first half of 2026, warning that the development poses a threat to the reliability of telecommunications services and Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda.
In a press statement signed by the Director, Public Affairs Department, Nnenna Ukoha, the commission said it had 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.
The statement said the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the NCC, Dr Aminu Maida, made the call on Tuesday, 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, Abuja.
Maida stressed the need for physical infrastructure development to be matched with adequate protection of the digital infrastructure connecting Nigerians to information, services, markets and opportunities.
The NCC chief executive said telecommunications fibre infrastructure should become an integral part of the planning and execution of road construction and other relevant civil works.
He urged stakeholders at the workshop to develop practical measures that would make coordination among road contractors, engineers and telecommunications operators standard practice rather than the exception.
According to the commission, the workshop forms part of ongoing efforts by the NCC and other stakeholders to institutionalise coordination mechanisms that would safeguard telecommunications infrastructure, minimise service disruptions and support Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda.
The engagement is expected to culminate in a framework for the protection of telecommunications fibre-optic infrastructure during road construction and other excavation activities.
The NCC said stronger coordination among relevant stakeholders would help reduce damage to fibre networks and minimise disruptions to telecommunications services arising from construction and excavation activities.
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