The Federal Government says it is set to commence the deployment of a 90,000-kilometre fibre optic cable network across Nigeria in the coming weeks, marking one of the country’s most ambitious digital infrastructure projects.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, disclosed this after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where he briefed the President on key projects being implemented by the ministry.
Tijani said the telecommunications sector has recorded significant progress under the Tinubu administration, attributing the growth to reforms such as the designation of digital infrastructure as critical national infrastructure, telecoms tariff adjustments, and tax harmonisation.
According to the minister, the government has completed the resource mobilisation and contractual processes for the nationwide fibre project, paving the way for physical deployment.
“We’re now at the point where, in a few weeks’ time, we should start laying the fibre. Nigerians will begin to see deployment activities across the country. This project is going to transform Nigeria for good,” he said.
He explained that the initiative would extend fibre optic infrastructure to every state, geopolitical zone, local government area, and ward, significantly improving internet connectivity nationwide.
“Every state, every geopolitical zone, every local government and every ward in this country will be covered with fibre optic cables, which will transform the quality of connectivity,” Tijani added.
The minister also revealed that the government plans to begin deploying about 3,700 telecommunications towers from October to improve mobile network coverage in underserved communities.
He said the project, which has received presidential approval, is expected to provide reliable connectivity to more than 20 million Nigerians who currently lack adequate network access.
“Before the end of the year, we’ll also begin deploying close to 3,700 towers. It has taken considerable effort to put the project together and secure the required funding, but we are now at the stage where deployment should begin around October,” he said.
Tijani further announced that Nigeria will introduce a new alphanumeric postcode system on October 1, assigning a unique address to every property in the country.
According to him, the new system will improve the delivery of public services by providing unique property identification, while also enhancing logistics, boosting e-commerce, strengthening emergency response, and improving overall service delivery across the country.
