The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said it will spend N65billion as counterpart fund for the laying of 127,000km of fibre optic across the country in the next four years.

This was disclosed by the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, when he paid a working visit to the Galaxy Backbone Data Centre in Abuja on Wednesday, 16th October,

Prof Umar Garba Danbatta said this counterpart fund was subject to approval by the government.

He said the only way Nigeria could make broadband ubiquitous is to lay 127,000km of fibre optic cable throughout the country.

Prior to this, Danbatta led a delegation of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) to the the Minister of Communications Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, to discuss the problem of denial or exorbitant cost of Right of Way (RoW) by state governments, vandalism of telecoms infrastructure, poor or lack of access to public electricity to run telecoms operations, multiple taxations and regulations, the need for Executive Order to protect telecoms infrastructure, and the need for a national digital policy.

The visit which was the first industry stakeholders meeting with the minister also discussed how the federal government could achieve its target of laying 127,000 kilometers of fibre across the country in the next four years.

Tabling the sectoral challenges, ALTON President, Gbenga Adebayo, earnestly solicited the Minister’s interventions requesting him to use his good office to address the issues in view of the significance of telecoms as a central and pivotal infrastructure shaping the economy.