FG investing $2bn on 90,000km of submarine cables to strengthen internet connectivity — Minister

The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, has announced that the country is investing $2 billion on 90,000 kilometres of submarine cable as a move to strengthen internet connectivity and enhance its target of achieving a $1 trillion economy.

Tijani, while addressing journalists at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) International Submarine Cable Resilience Summit, stated that 90 per cent of the traffic that we get on the internet is based on the quality of the subsea cables.

He explained that the country is not just investing in improving internet connectivity but also protecting digital services by making them resilient, hence the summit becomes important for the country.

“This gathering is a testimony to this government’s understanding and prioritisation of connectivity. We have come to the realisation that over the previous years, we have made significant progress in connecting our people, but the conversation needs to move away from just connection to meaningful connectivity, which means you do have access to the kind of connectivity that can allow you to be part of the global digital economy.

“The minimum in the urban area, you should be able to get a minimum of 25MBPS. When you move the conversation to sub-sea cables, as a country I think we have about 8 or 9 submarine cables landing in Nigeria, so capacity is not our challenge. The biggest challenge for us is extending those cables into the country, ensuring that they can reach every one of our citizens.

“This is why, if you follow the activities of the Ministry and this government, you will find out that the government is now investing $2 billion in 90,000 kilometres of submarine cables across the country, ensuring that wherever our citizens find themselves, they have access to meaningful connectivity.

“That is the awareness for us that when we make these investments, we are not just making the investment for the fun of it, we know that investing such an amount of money into an extensive network in a country where the average age is about 16.9, we will take more of our people online.

“As we do that, we also have to protect them as well. We wouldn’t want a situation where our digital service is not resilient; that is why this is a big programme for us, saying that we will not just connect our citizens, we also want to protect them when they are connected,” he emphasized.

The Minister, who was accompanied by the Deputy Secretary General of the ITU, Tomas Lamanauskas, stressed that as Nigeria continues to make progress towards achieving $1 trillion, digital technologies are central to the course.

He harped on the need to ensure the resilience of the submarine cable, which is a digital infrastructure and the real backbone of the digital economy.

“About 90 per cent of the traffic that we get on the internet is based on the quality of the subsea cables. This is not something that the general public is aware of. The challenge is that as we continue to drive a stronger digital economy, it is important that we ensure the resilience of that infrastructure that is the real backbone for the digital economy.

“Nigeria, as you know, is on a mission to drive our economy towards becoming a $1 trillion economy, which is a commitment that the president has already made and the entire cabinet is working towards. We see a strong role for digital technologies in that process, that for us to truly leapfrog our sectors and make them a lot more competitive, drive the value that we want to see for society, the digital economy has a role to play. Which is why whatever we believe will strengthen that agenda is important for us,” the minister added.