NCC AND ONSA ROLL OUT NEW PROTECTION GUIDELINES FOR FIBER INFRASTRUCTURE.(PHOTO).

 NCC and ONSA Roll Out New Protection Guidelines for Fiber Infrastructure.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) have prepared a standard operating guidelines to safeguard Nigeria’s telecommunications fiber optic network.

Unregulated daily construction activities, including road construction and building projects, cause frequent network disruptions due to negligence. NCC Executive Vice Chairman Dr. Aminu Maida revealed that Nigeria suffered over 5,000 fiber optic cable cuts in the first half of the year alone. To build a resilient digital economy, protecting this vital sub-surface infrastructure is now a shared national priority.

                  CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE COALITION

  ┌────────────────┐       ┌────────────────┐       ┌────────────────┐

  │      NCC       │ ───►  │      ONSA      │ ───►  │     NSCDC      │

  │ (Regulates/    │       │ (National      │       │ (Enforces Law/ │

  │  Tech Policy)  │       │  Security)     │       │  Guards Assets)│

  └────────────────┘       └────────────────┘       └────────────────┘

A major bottleneck to expanding the national internet backbone remains the lingering Right of Way (RoW)challenge. Telecom operators consistently encounter high administrative fees and prolonged approval delays from state governments to lay cables.  Although, the NCC continues to partner governments at the sub national levels to eradicate this challenge. These bureaucratic bottlenecks , so far, slow down rural broadband expansion, 4G/5G deployment, and the Federal Government's Project 774 connectivity initiative. Furthermore, a lack of unified geographic mapping means construction firms often excavate pathways without knowing where existing fiber lines lie.

To tackle these problems, key infrastructure experts delivered strategic blueprints during a one-day workshop in Abuja. Rafiu Olarinre Adeladan (Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Works) addressed construction alignment, while Air Vice Marshal Enebong  Effiom  (Director of Critical National Assets and Infrastructure Protection, ONSA) focused on national security risks. Engr. Edoyemi Ogoh (Director of Technical Standards, NCC) and the Deputy Commandant General (DCG) of National Assets and Infrastructure , NSCDC Dr Benito Eze outlined dangers of these negligence to national digital productivity and strict technical monitoring protocols.

Under the new regulatory era, damaging telecom assets is a criminal offense drawing legal penalties. The NCC, ONSA,NSCDC , Federal Ministry of Works, State Counterparts and Stakeholders will jointly monitor construction corridors to enforce compliance and stop vandalism. The goal is to synchronize public works so that building roads to physically connect citizens goes hand-in-hand with protecting the fiber lines that keep them digitally connected.