The Minister of
Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Tijani Bosun, has revealed
that his ministry has secured two significant approvals that will revolutionize
Nigeria's digital landscape. The first approval is the launch of a Special
Purpose Vehicle (SPV) aimed at delivering an additional 90,000km of fibre optic
cable, complementing the existing connectivity infrastructure and strengthening
the national backbone for universal internet access across Nigeria.
This ambitious project, modeled
after successful Public-Private Partnership setups like NIBSS and NLNG, will
increase Nigeria's fibre optic coverage from 35,000km to 125,000km, making it
Africa's third-longest terrestrial fibre optic backbone, after Egypt and South
Africa.
This extensive coverage
will optimize the benefits of the eight submarine cables already landed in Nigeria,
driving up data capacity usage from the current 10% to unprecedented levels.
The impact of this
project will be far-reaching, with immediate benefits including:
- Increasing internet
penetration in Nigeria to over 70%
- Potential reduction of
internet access costs by over 60%
- Inclusion of at least
50% of the 33 million Nigerians currently excluded from internet access
- Contributing up to 1.5%
of GDP growth per capita, raising GDP from $472.6 billion (2022) to $502 billion
over the next four years
This development Dr.
Bosun believes Nigeria's commitment to digital excellence and its determination
to bridge the connectivity gap, ensuring that a larger section of society can
reap the benefits of internet connectivity. By connecting over 200,000
educational, healthcare, and social institutions across Nigeria, this project
will have a profound impact on the country's economic and social development.
By: Nana Appiah Acquaye
