The Nigeria Works Ministry is finalizing a law that will criminalize fibre damage after fixing cable cuts, which resulted in a ₦27 billion loss to Airtel and MTN.
Although there are laws already in place against vandalism, this new regulation will focus on underground network cables and enforce stiffer penalties on offenders.
This is the result of the damages suffered by the largest telecom company in Nigeria, MTN, in 2023. The company spent over ₦11 billion in repairs of these cables, which led it to complain to the government that it was spending billions to fix the damages.
The regulation will also focus on construction companies, as they are also prone to causing these damages. An example is in February when a construction firm, an oil serving company, and a fire caused fibre damages in three locations, resulting in more than 5 hours of network interruptions for MTN customers.
Nigeria has been a tough terrain for the telecom industry. Starting from the rising cost of operation from the devaluation of the currency that happened twice. Then a massive increase in electricity and fuel prices throughout the country.
These issues saw telecom giants begging for mercy as, for the first time in a long while, they all recorded huge losses. MTN reported a loss after tax of ₦137 billion in 2023, compared to its 2022 report of ₦348.7 billion in profits.
Airtel, on the other hand, reported a minus 99% profits following the Naira devaluation.
