FG to begin 90,000km fibre optic rollout in coming weeks, says Tijani

The federal government says it will begin the rollout of its planned 90,000-kilometre fibre optic network within the next few weeks as part of efforts to improve broadband access and strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, disclosed this on Tuesday after briefing President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

According to the minister, the government has completed resource mobilisation and contractual arrangements for the nationwide 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. People will begin seeing us across the country deploying the infrastructure. This is going to transform Nigeria for good,” Tijani said.

He explained that the project would extend fibre optic infrastructure to every state, geopolitical zone, local government area and ward across the country, improving the quality of internet connectivity nationwide.

Tijani said recent reforms introduced by the Tinubu administration have contributed to growth in the telecommunications sector. He listed the designation of digital infrastructure as critical national infrastructure, telecom tariff adjustments and tax harmonisation among the measures driving the sector’s expansion.

The minister also announced 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 start deploying close to 3,700 towers. It’s taken significant effort to put this project together and raise the required capital, but we are now at a point where deployment should commence around October,” he said.

Tijani further disclosed that Nigeria will introduce a new alphanumeric postcode system on October 1, assigning a unique address to every property in the country.

He said the new addressing system would improve logistics, support e-commerce, strengthen emergency response services and enhance public service delivery.

According to the minister, the alphanumeric postcode system will give every property a unique address, a development he said would significantly improve service delivery across the country.