$3.05billion Spent On “Fibre Optic Cables” Yet Internet Connection Is Poor In Nigeria

An article in the Guardian reports investments in submarine fibre optic cables sub-sector of Nigeria’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector has been projected to hit $3.05 billion this month yet internet access in the country remains very poor.

According to the article, Nigeria has four major international submarine cables, which are on her shores;

• These include MainOne’s 14, 000km, $250 million cable; Globacom’s 640 Gbit/s 14,000km, whose estimate is put at about $800 million, while 14,000km MTN WACS cost over $600 million. NITEL SAT3 also cost about $600 million. The Guardian checks put together, strengthens Nigeria’s undersea cable infrastructure, putting it at about $3.05 billion within the last 12 years.
•  Nigeria has acquired a fibre optic telecommunications infrastructure measuring about 41,000 kilometres.
• About 11,000km of the fibre optic network was laid between 2010 and 2013; and 4,000 of this capacity is terrestrial cable along power transmission line.
• Approximately 30,000km of fibre were laid as at 2010.