Experts seek more protection for nation’s digital infrastructure
Lagos, July 2026 (TBL Africa) Telecommunications experts on Tuesday warned that persistent attacks on telecom infrastructure, poor electricity supply and regulatory challenges are weakening Nigeria’s digital backbone and slowing the growth of the digital economy.
The experts gave the warning during a virtual National Technical Discourse organised by the Nigerian Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (NIEEE) in collaboration with Galaxy Backbone Ltd.
The discourse has the theme, “Strengthening Nigeria’s Digital Lifelines: Overcoming Challenges to Build Resilient and Sustainable Radio Access Network Infrastructure”.
It focused on measures to strengthen the telecommunications infrastructure amid growing operational challenges.
Delivering the keynote address, the Managing Director of Galaxy Backbone, Prof. Ibrahim Adeyanju, said the country’s Radio Access Network (RAN) infrastructure continued to be the backbone of Nigeria’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
Adeyanju, represented by the company’s Chief Technical Director and Technical Adviser to the Managing Director, Dr Kazeem Sulaimon, said the telecommunications sector contributes more than 14.4 per cent to the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
According to him, it also supports over 200 million mobile subscriptions nationwide.
He warned that disruptions to RAN infrastructure affect critical services, including banking, online learning, telemedicine, remote work and other digital platforms.
“The radio access network represents the structural backbone of Nigeria’s rapidly expanding digital economy.
“When RAN freezes, the digital economy grinds to a halt,” he said.
Adeyanju identified some of the challenges affecting telecom operators to include generator theft, diesel siphoning, battery theft, fibre vandalism, unreliable electricity supply and multiple taxation.
These, he noted, had been forcing engineers to focus more on protecting infrastructure than improving network performance.
“Our engineers spend more time engineering for survival than for optimisation,” he said.
According to him, operating costs account for more than 70 per cent of operators’ expenses due to unreliable grid electricity, dependence on diesel generators, exchange rate depreciation and heavy reliance on imported equipment.
He also identified inconsistent right-of-way charges across states as a major constraint to fibre network expansion, saying while some states had waived the charges, others continued to impose high fees that discouraged investment.
Adeyanju urged the government to fully enforce the Critical National Information Infrastructure protection framework to curb vandalism and safeguard telecommunications assets.
“Anybody that tampers with any RAN site, any base station or damages fibre is liable to prison terms of up to 10 years. But this law is not being enforced,” he said.
He also advocated harmonised right-of-way charges nationwide, wider adoption of renewable energy for telecom sites, more collaboration between industry and academia, and increased local production of telecommunications equipment to reduce import dependence and lower costs.
Earlier, the President of NIEEE, Dr Felix Adegboye, said resilient telecommunications infrastructure was critical to Nigeria’s digital transformation.
“Nigeria’s digital future is only as strong as the infrastructure that powers it,” he said.
Adegboye called for more collaboration, innovation and professional engagement among stakeholders to build resilient and sustainable digital infrastructure across the country.
