In one year alone, Nigerian telcos lost N35.4b, putting pressure on costs
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Telecommunication operators in Nigeria are counting their losses in frequent fibre optic cable cuts that cost them at least $23 million (N35.4 billion) in 2023 alone, part of the reasons why they want to raise tariffs which will be passed on to customers locked into a market where sellers are forced to charge identical rates to survive.
Fibre optic cable disruptions also cause internet outages, impacting service quality, according to the telcos.
In February, millions of MTN subscribers could not make calls or access the internet for about four hours because of multiple fibre outages.
The cuts are increasingly common, disrupting internet access, speed, and reliability as well as dropping telephone calls.
Airtel recently sought urgent actions to protect telecom infrastructure as vandalism surges, leading to a record average 43 fibre cuts daily on its network alone.
Airtel Director of Corporate Communications and CSR, Femi Adeniran, disclosed the firm suffered 7,742 fibre cuts in the last six months, per Daily Trust reporting.
He said fibre cuts – primarily caused by construction activities, vandalism, and a lack of coordination among stakeholders – have become an epidemic in the Nigerian telecom industry.
Fibre optic cables are vital to connectivity because they bring network capacity closer to subscribers.
As of 2023, Nigeria deployed 78,676 kilometres of fibre optic cable, concentrated mostly in urban areas like Lagos (7,864.60km), Edo (4,892.71km), FCT (4,472.03km), Ogun (4,189.18km), and Niger (3,681.66km).
Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy Minister, Bosun Tijani, in a recent submission to the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), emphasised the importance of uninterrupted infrastructure network, including fibre cables, towers and data centres, to optimal service quality.
“Depending on the root of the impact, it can lead to prolonged outages. It also disrupts smooth operations,” ALTON Chairman Gbenga Adebayo explained.
These cuts are expensive to fix.
Bloomberg reports that damaged cables cost Nigerian telcos N27 billion ($23 million) in repairs and lost revenues in 2023, with MTN and Airtel bearing the brunt of the costs.
“In 2023 alone, MTN Nigeria reported suffering more than 6,000 cuts on its fibre cable. The operator relocated 2,500 kilometres of vulnerable fibre cables between 2022 and 2023 at a cost exceeding N11bn – enough to build 870 kilometres of new fibre lines in areas without coverage,” the report said.
Telcos have been imploring the federal government to designate telecom infrastructure as a critical national asset to help redress the persistent attacks on it across the country.
Industry key stakeholders have also asked Abuja to protect national telecom infrastructure from cyber threats, theft, and vandalism, to ensure economic growth.
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