Nigeria’s states take extensively totally different approaches to the price of laying fibre-optic cables. Some have waived Right of Way (RoW) fees; others cost the ₦145-per-metre benchmark, whereas Ogun State expenses up to ₦6,600 ($4.84) per metre. Yet these variations don’t neatly clarify the place fibre infrastructure has been constructed, elevating questions on what else drives investment.
Administrative reforms and project-specific concessions might assist offset excessive fees, however there may be little proof that they achieve this systematically. The Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA) describes itself as a one-stop regulator for utility infrastructure, and the state has introduced a web-based allowing system to streamline approvals for fibre, masts and towers. However, the announcement doesn’t set up whether or not the system has lowered processing instances or prices or eliminated necessities reminiscent of environmental approvals.
Ogun has additionally reportedly waived RoW expenses for a particular 250-kilometre MainOne deployment, however that historic concession doesn’t set up that related incentives are usually obtainable in the present day. There isn’t any verified proof of a telecom-specific tax-break programme that explains the substantial fibre networks in these high-fee states. Without entry to operators’ permits, concession agreements and investment choices, it stays unclear whether or not incentives offset the fees or whether or not corporations make investments regardless of them.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) Ease of Doing Business portal, printed in July 2026, exhibits that Ogun has 4,246.48 kilometres of deployed fibre, whereas Kano and Rivers, which cost ₦2,754 (2.02) and ₦2,256(1.65) per metre respectively, have 4,616.71 kilometres and 4,616.01 kilometres. Delta, with a price of ₦2,706 ($1.98) per metre, has 4,202.62 kilometres.
RoW expenses are just one element of deployment prices. Trenching and duct set up additionally depend upon floor situations, water crossings, building strategies and entry to current infrastructure. The NCC portal’s price and deployment indicators don’t present route-level building prices. Broader proof establishes why this issues: the World Bank identifies civil works because the dominant element of sure broadband deployments, accounting for up to 80% of prices in some circumstances.
At the opposite finish of the spectrum, Ebonyi, which expenses a ₦145 benchmark, has simply 586.92 kilometres of fibre. Bayelsa, at ₦850 ($0.62) per metre, has a size of 656.87 kilometres. Jigawa and Zamfara, each of which have waived the price, have 970.10 kilometres and 1,100.98 kilometres, respectively.
The disparity raises a vital query about closing Nigeria’s connectivity gaps: what is going to persuade operators to put money into locations they’ve largely ignored? Lower fees might cut back deployment prices, however they don’t essentially make a venture commercially viable. Understanding what drives investment is crucial to guaranteeing that these reforms lengthen broadband to underserved communities, reasonably than merely decreasing prices in locations the place operators already intend to construct.
High fees, low deployment
Ogun presents a very placing case. Its ₦6,600 ($4.84) per metre price is greater than 45 instances the ₦145 ($0.11) benchmark. A hypothetical 10-kilometre deployment would appeal to ₦66 million ($48,387) in RoW expenses alone, in contrast with ₦1.45 million ($1,063) on the benchmark price.
Despite this excessive cost, Ogun has greater than 4,200 kilometres of deployed fibre. Kano and Rivers even have greater than 4,600 kilometres every, regardless of charging considerably above the benchmark. These current networks point out that operators have constructed important infrastructure in high-fee jurisdictions, pushed by industrial markets, strategic transport corridors, enterprise clients, and current telecoms infrastructure.
The comparability with low-fee states raises the other query. Ebonyi’s 586.92 kilometres of fibre and Bayelsa’s 656.87 kilometres are considerably beneath the footprints in Ogun, Kano, and Rivers. Jigawa and Zamfara even have fewer than 1,200 kilometres regardless of waiving RoW expenses. A waiver removes one value from a deployment venture, however it doesn’t assure that anticipated income will justify building, gear, upkeep, and safety prices the place demand is restricted.
The image isn’t uniformly unfavourable to states which have lowered or eradicated their fees. Kaduna, which has waived RoW expenses, has 4,339.85 kilometres of fibre, placing it amongst Nigeria’s main states for deployment. Anambra, one other zero-fee state, has 2,547.34 kilometres, whereas Niger has 3,383.43 kilometres.
These examples matter as a result of they present {that a} zero-fee coverage and a considerable fibre footprint can coexist. However, complete fibre figures replicate accrued infrastructure over time reasonably than current coverage impacts. A state with a big community might have attracted investment earlier than lowering its fees, whereas a state with a smaller community might have launched a waiver just lately and has but to see its full impact.
Lagos exposes a separate pricing drawback
Lagos and the Federal Capital Territory complicate the argument that prime right-of-way (RoW) fees essentially deter investment. The NCC portal lists Lagos’s RoW cost at ₦850 ($0.62) per metre and the FCT’s at ₦950 ($0.70). Yet Lagos has 11,586.70 kilometres of fibre, whereas the FCT has 6,973.13 kilometres. Together, they account for 18,559.83 kilometres, or 18.35% of Nigeria’s reported 101,148.36-kilometre fibre community.
Their sizeable networks replicate the focus of companies, monetary establishments, authorities businesses, knowledge centres and different main connectivity customers in each places. But Lagos additionally exposes an issue past its fees: inconsistent printed charges. While the NCC portal lists ₦850 ($0.62) per metre, the Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA) lists ₦1,500 ($1.10) per metre for fibre. It additionally publishes a ₦50,000 ($36.66) software price and an administrative and project-management cost equal to 15% of allow fees.
For operators, the discrepancy makes growth prices more durable to predict. A ten-kilometre fibre route would appeal to a base cost of ₦8.5 million ($6,232) on the NCC-listed price, in contrast with ₦15 million ($11,000) at LASIMRA’s price—a distinction of ₦6.5 million ($4,765) earlier than extra expenses. If LASIMRA’s 15% administrative and project-management price applies to the bottom fibre allow cost, it will add ₦2.25 million ($1,650). Including the ₦50,000 ($36.66) software price, the entire would attain ₦17.3 million ($12,683) earlier than building prices. This is an illustrative calculation, not a confirmed bill; operators want readability on which schedule applies.
The NCC acknowledges that charges might differ and directs operators to affirm the relevant expenses with LASIMRA earlier than making funds. “Charges may vary depending on project location and scope. Operators are advised to engage the Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA) for updated rates and guidelines,” the fee says on its web site.
The drawback extends past the quantity operators pay to the uncertainty surrounding their prices. Higher upfront fees tie up capital that would fund different deployment wants, whereas inconsistent charges make it more durable to funds for tasks and assess their industrial viability.
Lagos’s intensive fibre community exhibits that substantial infrastructure can coexist with excessive expenses, however it doesn’t set up that these expenses don’t have an effect on future investment. Operators should nonetheless weigh the total value of deployment in opposition to anticipated demand, significantly on much less worthwhile routes. Clear, constantly utilized fees may cut back uncertainty and enhance the prospects of tasks which may in any other case battle to make industrial sense.
Fibre kilometres are usually not capital expenditure
The size of a fibre community affords a helpful measure of deployment, however it’s not a direct measure of investment. Costs range with route situations, excavation and street reinstatement, gear, community design, and the extent to which operators can use current infrastructure. An extended community doesn’t essentially imply extra capital was invested, simply as a shorter one doesn’t routinely point out weaker investment.
Determining whether or not decrease RoW fees appeal to investment requires knowledge that hyperlinks coverage adjustments to precise deployment. The NCC and state governments ought to publish annual figures on new fibre laid, together with the dates of price adjustments, allow purposes, approval instances and operators’ state-level capital expenditure. Such knowledge would assist distinguish the impact of decrease fees from different components influencing the place operators construct.
A commissioner in a northern state, who requested anonymity due to considerations concerning the upcoming normal elections, mentioned little had modified because the state adopted a ₦145-per-metre price. The commissioner additionally pointed to Nasarawa, which has waived the cost however, within the commissioner’s evaluation, has but to see an enchancment in infrastructure deployment. He didn’t present particular figures for operator allow purposes submitted earlier than and after the adoption of the ₦145 price.
These accounts counsel that decrease fees alone might not be sufficient to spur investment, though assessing their impact requires time-series knowledge on deployment and capital expenditure.
Anambra State, in the meantime, views its zero-fee coverage as a long-term investment in connectivity reasonably than an instantaneous income driver.
“Anambra’s zero-RoW-fee policy is a strategic investment in expanding broadband infrastructure, improving connectivity and accelerating digital inclusion,” Chukwuemeka Fred Agbata Jnr., managing director and chief government of the Anambra State ICT Agency, informed TechCabal. “We see it as an enabler of long-term digital growth, with continued efforts to deepen infrastructure deployment across the state.”
Move past assuming cheaper fees routinely produce extra fibre. Ogun, Kano, and Rivers preserve substantial networks regardless of excessive expenses, whereas Ebonyi, Bayelsa, and Jigawa have comparatively little infrastructure regardless of decrease fees. High fees don’t halt growth the place sturdy industrial demand exists, simply as waivers can not single-handedly make an unviable market worthwhile.
For state governments, the actual take a look at is whether or not decrease fees are adopted by quicker approvals, newly laid fibre, better capital investment, and expanded connectivity past main city centres. Until states systematically observe and report new building following coverage adjustments, price reductions stay an enter into investment coverage—not proof that investment has truly elevated.
South Africa’s spam calls reached 17.5 billion within the first half of 2026. Now, the federal government needs corporations to show they’ve checked who they name earlier than they press ship.
The National Consumer Commission (NCC), South Africa’s client watchdog, launched a National Opt-Out Registry on Wednesday that can enable shoppers to pre-emptively block undesirable direct advertising.
The registry is a part of a sweeping authorities effort to sort out South Africa’s rising spam-call drawback. Marketers may have to register with the system and cleanse their lists each month earlier than working campaigns. Fintechs, banks, telcos, insurers, retailers and different digital companies will want to construct client opt-outs into their advertising techniques.
Truecaller’s 2026 South Africa Spam Report discovered that there have been 17.5 billion spam calls between January and June, 25.2% greater than the identical interval in 2025. Spam quick message service (SMS) messages additionally jumped 58.9% to 3.7 billion
The numbers assist clarify why the NCC is shifting past asking shoppers to ignore or block undesirable messages and is as an alternative imposing obligations on the businesses that ship them.
Parks Tau, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, mentioned the rising sophistication of spam and scams required a stronger regulatory response.
“South Africans are becoming more alert, but alertness alone cannot substitute for a proper regulatory backstop,” Tau mentioned on the launch. “Scam and marketing networks are becoming more sophisticated, using spoofing and artificial intelligence to reach consumers.”
The registry provides impact to Section 11 of the Consumer Protection Act, which provides shoppers the appropriate to block undesirable direct advertising communication. Tau believes the difficulty relates to knowledge and privateness, as extra corporations depend on private data to attain potential clients.
“Section 14 of our Constitution guarantees everyone the right to privacy. A person’s phone number, email address and time are not raw material to be harvested and traded without their consent,” he mentioned.
For corporations, nonetheless, the problem shall be translating that precept into their current advertising techniques.
The NCC mentioned direct entrepreneurs have been ready to register on the registry since September 15 and have till December 2026 to full their registration. They will then have 5 months, from December to April 2027, to cleanse their advertising lists and put together to interface with the system for gratis.
From May 2027, registered shoppers shall be ready to pre-emptively block direct entrepreneurs from contacting them.
The registry means corporations may have to account for it earlier than launching campaigns, probably requiring adjustments to buyer databases, campaign-management instruments, and inner compliance processes.
“This is a momentous occasion for consumers who have for years been flooded with unwanted direct marketing,” Hardin Ratshisusu, the NCC’s Acting Commissioner, mentioned. “The National Opt-Out Registry will promote responsible direct marketing, ensuring consumers are protected from unwanted direct marketing through spam calls, texts, e-mails and other electronic communication.”
The NCC mentioned the phased rollout will give companies time to put together and that it’ll publish additional steerage whereas working a client schooling programme.
True scale calls for shifting past surface-level integrations to strong execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the convention strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, international monetary operators, enterprise leaders and people rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks. Get 20% off Early Bird tickets for a restricted time.
