Nigeria seeks joint West Africa protection of undersea cables

Following recent undersea cable cuts that challenged connectivity in many countries in West Africa, Nigeria has called for a coordinated and multilateral approach by the region to protect shared telecommunications infrastructure, and diversify connectivity to ensure uninterruptible connections.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the  Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Aminu Maida, made the call at the 21st West Africa Telecommunications Regulatory Assembly (WATRA) Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on Friday, March 22, 2024.

Maida, whose statement was delivered at the WATRA AGM by the Deputy Director, Public Affairs of the NCC, Nnenna Ukoha, said recent submarine cable cuts that resulted in nationwide outages on multiple networks in 12 African countries has raised the urgent need for the sub-region to establish a mechanism to protect itself from damage to submarine infrastructure and its attendant impact on the sub-region.

Maida referred to a report by Cloudflare, an IT service management firm, which indicates that about six countries, including four West African countries, were still suffering from the outages caused by the submarine cable cuts, to buttress the call

The NCC boss said: “Securing telecom infrastructure is paramount for fostering Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and enhancing investor confidence in the West African sub-region. The reliability and resilience of telecommunications networks are crucial factors that investors consider when evaluating regional opportunities.

NCC: Voice, data services affected by undersea cable cuts restored

“By ensuring the security of these vital assets, we can attract more investment, spur economic growth, and enhance our competitiveness on the global stage.

“A secure telecoms infrastructure not only facilitates efficient communication and connectivity but also signals a commitment to safeguarding critical assets essential for business operations. This assurance can significantly boost investor confidence and create a conducive environment for sustainable economic development.

“The impact of events like cable cuts highlights the need for a coordinated, multilateral approach to protecting shared infrastructure across our member nations.”

Maida, according to a statement issued on Sunday by the NCC spokesman, Reuben Muoka, therefore, proposed “the urgent need to set up a framework for joint monitoring, risk mitigation, and emergency response procedures for the submarine cables that pass through the sub-region.”

“Further to this, we recommend that the WATRA Working Group on Infrastructure expand its mandate to spearhead the development of a comprehensive strategy to safeguard the subregion’s telecommunications networks and associated infrastructure thereby proactively bolstering resilience through improved disaster response protocols to better insulate ourselves from future disruptions,” he added.

He advised that the goals of the Working Group would be to strengthen sub-regional infrastructure resilience, promote the diversification of the sub-region’s connectivity, conduct regular capacity assessments, as well as facilitate the designation of telecommunications infrastructure as critical national infrastructure in member countries.

A major highlight of the event was the reelection of Nigeria’s Engr. Yusuf Aliyu Aboki as the Executive Secretary of WATRA for a second term in a unanimous vote by the member countries.

The Star