The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has called on the federal government to involve local companies in the implementation of its ambitious 90,000-kilometer fibre optic project. The President of the Association, Mr. Tony Emoekpere, made the call during an interview with Nairametrics.
“We’ve heard the government talk about the national fibre-optic project, through which they plan to deploy 90,000 kilometers,” Emoekpere said. “We are looking forward to its actualization this year and urge the government to involve local companies to support local content.”
Emoekpere highlighted that including local firms would deepen local content in the telecom industry and help reduce costs. “We need to start looking at ways to lower some of the costs of telecom services. The more we localize things like equipment manufacturing, the better for the industry,” he added.
He also expressed optimism about a potential review of telecom tariffs, noting that such a move could address existing challenges and make the sector more attractive for investment. Emoekpere believes that with the right policies, including a tariff review, the telecom sector has significant growth potential in the coming year.
The project, announced by the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, in May, is supported by the World Bank and partially funded by government loans. The initiative aims to extend Nigeria’s fibre optic network to 125,000 kilometers, improving internet penetration to over 70% and reducing internet costs by more than 60%.
Dr. Tijani also noted that the project is expected to include at least 50% of the 33 million Nigerians currently without internet access. This could potentially contribute up to 1.5% to GDP growth per capita, raising Nigeria’s GDP from $472.6 billion in 2022 to $502 billion over the next four years.
