Digital Divide: FG Fast-Tracks $2bn National Fibre Network

The federal government has reduced the implementation timeline for its $2 billion national fibre infrastructure project from five years to three years, as it seeks to accelerate broadband expansion and bridge Nigeria’s persistent digital connectivity gap.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, disclosed the revised timeline at Semafor’s The Next 3 Billion event in New York, saying the 90,000-kilometre fibre deployment under Project BRIDGE is now expected to be completed within three years.

Project BRIDGE, formally known as Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth, is designed to expand Nigeria’s existing national fibre backbone from about 30,000 kilometres to approximately 120,000 kilometres, covering all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory and extending connectivity to more than 770 local government areas.

The project is being implemented through a public-private partnership involving a Special Purpose Vehicle, with the federal government expected to hold between 25 and 49 per cent of the SPV. In contrast, private investors will hold the balance. The Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy has estimated the project cost at $2 billion.

So far, $800 million in sovereign financing has been secured from development finance institutions, comprising $500 million from the World Bank, $200 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and $100 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). Private investors are expected to provide the remaining financing required for the project.

The AfDB said its $200 million facility will support the deployment of open-access fibre infrastructure, connecting local governments, schools, healthcare facilities, agro-industrial zones, rural communities and commercial centres to high-speed broadband.

The project is also expected to establish cross-border digital links with Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Chad, strengthening Nigeria’s position as a regional digital connectivity hub.

However, the acceleration of the project comes against a backdrop of persistent challenges affecting Nigeria’s existing fibre infrastructure. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) disclosed last month that more than 5,000 fibre-cut incidents were recorded in the first six months of 2026 as a result of road construction, excavation and other civil works.

The NCC said the incidents were disrupting telecommunications services, increasing operators’ costs and exposing businesses and critical public services to avoidable interruptions.

NCC executive vice chairman, Dr Aminu Maida, stressed the need for better coordination between road contractors, government agencies and telecom operators to prevent damage to fibre infrastructure.

“To a machine operator on a construction site, it may appear to be one buried cable. To the nation, it can mean failed calls, stalled payments, interrupted services and missed opportunities,” Maida said.

The commission has consequently established a Standing Committee on the Protection of Fibre Optic Cables involving the Federal Ministries of Works and Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, with the Office of the National Security Adviser and other stakeholders also involved because of the critical nature of telecommunications infrastructure.

The protection of newly deployed infrastructure could therefore become as important as the speed of the rollout. With the government seeking to lay an additional 90,000 kilometres of fibre within three years, repeated damage from road construction, excavation and vandalism could increase deployment costs and undermine the intended expansion.

The federal government is also planning the deployment of 3,700 telecommunications towers, with the minister indicating that the tower programme is expected to be completed within two years. The two infrastructure programmes are intended to address different layers of Nigeria’s connectivity challenge, with fibre providing high-capacity backbone infrastructure while towers extend mobile coverage to underserved locations.

The federal government has maintained that the objective is not merely to increase the amount of fibre in the ground but to achieve what it describes as “meaningful connectivity” capable of supporting digital services, businesses and economic activity.

For Nigerians, the impact of Project BRIDGE will ultimately depend on how effectively the national backbone translates into affordable, reliable connections for households, businesses, schools, and public institutions. The fibre network will provide the wholesale infrastructure, while telecom operators and internet service providers will still be required to extend services through last-mile networks.

Consequently, the three-year target therefore puts greater pressure on the government and private-sector partners to resolve issues around right-of-way, infrastructure protection, financing, coordination and access to existing fibre infrastructure if the accelerated schedule is to translate into wider broadband availability.