
The West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC) is investing about $10 million to provide fibre to home internet connectivity in Nigeria.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani disclosed this on Wednesday, after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the company in Abuja.
He explained that with the investment in fibre to home, offices and institutions, Nigeria would have option of better, faster and affordable internet for digital connectivity.
“We know the role of digital technology in driving productivity across all key sectors. And being aware of this, our intention is not really to have a situation where the cost of providing these services will continue to go up.
“Telecommunications service providers will continue to invest, but at the same time, at a rate; they have to ensure that their businesses are sustainable, not at a rate that will become challenging for our people. So that balance is what we’ve been able to figure. But we also recognise that if our goal is meaningful connectivity, that there’s more than one way to meaningful connectivity.”
“We’re encouraging investment in the different parts of the value chain or the supply chain that actually get connectivity to people. And one of those areas that Nigerians have not truly benefited from is things like fiber to home. We mostly rely on connectivity on our mobile, on the go. But there’s immense opportunity to also stay connected while you’re home.”
Bosun said the WIOCC has been working on home connectivity in Lagos and a few other states, stating the government is willing to work with them to be able to deliver their goals across the entire country.
“It’s going to put Nigeria into a position where the people have got access to world-class and high-speed broadband internet, not just in the major cities, but in the rural and the unconnected locations.
“We also want to see how they can support more small businesses to be able to deal with other services across the country,” the Minister added.
He said the recent approval for tariffs hike for telecom services providers, though difficult for the government, aligns the administration’s goal of building $1 trillion economy.
“I think both the president and myself and the entire government, we appreciate that our goal of building a $1 trillion economy would need to ensure that connectivity is at the heart of that, because productivity is key for you to truly be able to build an economy that is strong,” he said.
Earlier, the Group Chief Business Development Officer of WIOCC, Darren Bedford, said the company has a target of three million homes in the first phase of the project with an initial investment capital of $10 million.
“We’ve set our ambitions at a reasonable target and during the course of the rollout for those three million homes, we’ve done a realistic initial plan that we think is achievable and as we improve how we roll out and develop internet across Nigeria, that will increase over time and we’ll be able to connect more people.
“At the moment, we’re doing an initial investment of 10 million dollars and this will grow over time, as we raise and invest more capital into Nigeria,” he said.