By STELLAMARIS ASHINZE and FUNMILOLA GBOTEKU

Broadbased Communications on Friday said that the persistent issue of fibre cuts in Lagos State had resulted in an estimated ?5 billion loss to telecom operators in 2024 alone.

The Senior Manager, Broadbased Communications, Mr Jude Ighomena, made this known at the 7th edition of the Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo) in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of this year?s PIAFo is: ?Strengthening Protection on Critical Information Infrastructure Through Proactive Implementation and Strategic Coordination.?

Ighomena said that in 2024, telecoms operators in Lagos recorded over 2,500 fibre cuts causing significant disruptions to telecom services.

He said that the high risk zones for fibre cuts include Ikeja, Lekki, and Victoria Island, where road expansions and private developments frequently damaged buried fibre cables.

According to him, Mainland and Alimosho Local Government Areas in Lagos have also become notable for fibre cable theft and vandalism.

?These recurring incidents are attributed to poor planning, lack of coordination and overlapping regulatory mandates.

?The lack of a centralised regulatory framework results in government agencies, construction firms and telcos operating independently, leading to repeated damages without accountability.

?The impact of fibre cuts on telecoms services is multifaceted, resulting in economic losses, service disruptions, consumer frustration and security concerns,?? he said.

Ighomena advocated for stronger policies, stricter enforcement and effective redress mechanisms to address the issue.

According to him, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has guidelines in place to recognise telecoms infrastructure as critical and grant operators the right to report and seek redress for damages.

He, however, said that more needed to be done to protect telecom infrastructure and ensure service reliability.

?The time to act is now! Continuous disruptions threaten financial stability, business operations and public trust,? Ighomena said.

Meanwhile, in a panel discussion, stakeholders at the forum called for collective efforts by the government, regulators and private sector stakeholders.

They called for a collaboration to establish a Fibre Protection Framework, implement realtime monitoring, enforce strict penalties and push for legal compensation mechanisms.

The Chief Executive Officer, Cedarview Communications Ltd., Mr Wale Owoeye, said that the use cases of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) was growing hugely.

Owoeye said that Telemedicine, E-governance, ease of doing business, human lifestyle, entertainment, security, safety, access control, aviation, all leverage on the Infrastructure.

He said that It was important to ensure that all reach a stage whereby the CNI are well protected, adding that a lot of work was needed in the industry to fast track and ensure enforcement and prosecution.

Mr Segun Okuneye, Divisional CEO, IxPN, said that what had worked in these scenarios was self-regulation.

?Regulations can send directions and roadmaps, but the operators themselves, must all come together to self-regulate and self-align with each other,? he said.

The Chief Executive Officer, Swift Telephone Network, Mr Wole Adetuyi, called on the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) to be more proactive in disseminating information on data protection.

Adetuyi said that as long as hackers did not relent, so also NDPC should not relent in ensuring safety and security of information sharing.

The Chief Administration and Human Resource Officer, LASIMRA, Dr Motunrayo Abimbola, called for education and creating awareness of the need to protect Critical National Infrastructure.

Abimbola noted that sometimes, there are deliberate and neat fibre cable cuts noticed by the regulators which are not associated with regular damages.

She said that these are a challenge because the cable cuts are done to get information and should be discontinued.

Abimbola called for sensitisation of residents on the implications of being caught in the act of cutting cables.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Convener, PIAFo, Mr Omobayo Azeez, said that there was the need for stakeholders to work together to protect Nigeria?s digital economy.

Azeez said that the recent passage of the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) Order by President Bola Tinubu was a significant milestone in strengthening Nigeria?s digital economy.

He, however, stressed that the implementation of the order required a concerted effort from all stakeholders to prevent incessant fibre cuts, nationwide service outages and financial losses.

The convener commended telecommunications operators, associations, regulators, and ICT journalists for their role in championing the passage of the CNII Order.

He also expressed gratitude to sponsors and partners for their support, saying that their contributions were invaluable to the mission of PIAFo.

NAN reports that the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has the task of implementing the CNII Order. (NAN)

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