By Abubakar Yunus Ojima-ojo
The Nigerian Communications Commission and relevant stakeholders have commenced moves to end the repeated excavation of roads for fibre-optic deployment by developing a cost-based pricing framework for sharing underground telecom ducts under the Federal Government’s Dig Once policy.
The initiative, unveiled at the Second Stakeholders’ Forum on the Consultancy Study for the Development of a Pricing Mechanism and Cost-Based Structure for Sharing Ducts under the Dig Once Policy in Abuja on Wednesday, is expected to lower broadband deployment costs, promote infrastructure sharing and accelerate fibre rollout nationwide.
The Dig Once policy seeks to ensure that telecommunications ducts are installed whenever roads are constructed or rehabilitated, allowing multiple operators to deploy fibre through existing underground infrastructure instead of repeatedly excavating roads.
Speaking at the forum, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Nadungu Gagare, said the initiative formed part of the federal government’s efforts to deepen digital infrastructure and improve broadband access.
He said, “The Dig Once Policy remains one of the Federal Government’s strategic interventions for accelerating fibre infrastructure development, reducing the cost of broadband expansion, preventing unnecessary road excavation and promoting efficient use of national resources.
“However, its full potential can only be realised when supported by a pricing framework that is transparent, commercially viable, equitable and encourages infrastructure sharing.”
Gagare said the proposed framework would strengthen investor confidence while safeguarding public interest.
“Our collective objective should be to establish a framework that promotes collaboration rather than duplication, efficiency rather than waste, and sustainable growth rather than short-term gains,” he said.
Earlier, the Director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis at the NCC, Ayuba Shuaibu, said the commission engaged consultants in 2023 to address the absence of a pricing mechanism for shared ducts, which he described as a major gap in the draft Dig Once policy.
He stated, “The Dig Once initiative is fundamentally aimed at reducing the cost and complexity of network deployment by promoting coordinated civil works and the shared use of underground duct infrastructure.”
He added that without a well-defined pricing mechanism, “the objectives of efficiency, fairness, and investment protection may not be fully realised.”
Shuaibu explained that the study would provide “a structured and cost-based framework that ensures equitable access while supporting sustainable infrastructure development across the sector.”
He added that the commission had reached a critical stage where stakeholders would review the consultant’s findings and proposed pricing methodology before the framework is finalised.
“The commission remains committed to a transparent, inclusive, and consultative process. Our objective is to arrive at a pricing structure that balances the interests of infrastructure providers, access seekers, and ultimately the consumers, while also encouraging continued investment in broadband infrastructure,” he said.
Delivering the keynote address, the Managing Director of Dimension Data Nigeria, Olugbenga Olabiyi, who was represented by the company’s Lead Solutions Architect and Head of IT Systems and Infrastructure, Akpevwe Egbelughe, said repeated civil engineering works remained one of the biggest obstacles to broadband expansion in Nigeria.
He said, “The principle behind the Dig Once Policy is simple, yet transformational. Whenever roads are constructed, rehabilitated, or opened for maintenance, provisions should simultaneously be made for telecommunications ducts and conduit systems.
“By embedding appropriately sized conduit infrastructure during road construction, multiple operators can subsequently deploy fibre through existing ducts without repeatedly excavating the same roads.”
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