ALTON urges states to scrap telecoms right-of-way fees

Association says charges account for up to 60% of fibre deployment costs By Chidinma Chukwu, Abuja The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has urged state governments to abolish right-of-way charges on telecommunications infrastructure, warning that the fees account for up to 60 per cent of fibre-optic deployment costs in some states and discourage network expansion into underserved communities.

The association said scrapping the charges, particularly in rural areas and locations with limited commercial prospects, would lower infrastructure deployment costs, attract investment and help bridge Nigeria’s digital divide. ALTON Chairman, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, made the call on Tuesday on the sidelines of a plenary session sponsored by IHS Nigeria at the 2026 Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja.

Right-of-way charges are fees imposed for permission to access and use public or private land, roads and other designated spaces to install fibre-optic cables and related telecommunications infrastructure. Adebayo said the high cost of obtaining right-of-way approvals had become a major obstacle to fibre deployment, making it difficult for operators to justify investments in communities where anticipated revenue might not cover infrastructure costs.

“Today, the cost of right-of-way amounts to a significant part of the cost of fibre deployment. For every one kilometre of fibre that you deploy, in some of the states, the cost of right-of-way can be as high as 50 to 60 per cent of the cost of deploying the entire infrastructure,” he said. He called for legislation to make right-of-way access for telecommunications infrastructure free, particularly in rural communities and other areas where expected commercial returns were unlikely to attract private investment.

According to him, removing the charges would make network expansion more affordable and encourage operators to extend services to communities with poor or no connectivity. The ALTON chairman also urged the government to introduce incentives for telecommunications companies investing in areas where infrastructure deployment costs exceeded the revenue they could reasonably expect to generate.

He said existing government intervention mechanisms, particularly the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), could be deployed more strategically to support network expansion in underserved locations. “There are also intervention funds. We have the Universal Service Provision Fund, which is designed for special intervention in those areas that are lacking coverage,” Adebayo said.

He dismissed suggestions that telecommunications operators were unwilling to invest in rural communities, arguing that the challenge was largely economic and could be addressed through appropriate incentives and targeted government support. Beyond expanding network coverage, Adebayo stressed the need for increased investment in fibre-optic cables, telecommunications sites and network capacity to improve service quality and prepare Nigeria for emerging technologies.

He said artificial intelligence (AI) depended not only on software and computing power but also on the telecommunications infrastructure needed to support reliable connectivity and the transmission of large volumes of data. Describing telecommunications infrastructure as fundamental to the digital economy, he called for stronger investor participation to address the sector’s infrastructure needs and support Nigeria’s technological development.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on ICT and Cybersecurity, Shuaib Salisu, disclosed that the National Digital Economy and E-Government Bill had reached its third reading, expressing optimism that the National Assembly would pass it before the end of 2026. Salisu said lawmakers were also working on cybersecurity reforms and reviewing the Data Protection Act to strengthen Nigeria’s digital governance framework.

He said the Federal Government’s planned 90,000-kilometre fibre-optic network would help extend connectivity to underserved communities and complement efforts to improve access to digital services. The senator also identified the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme as a key initiative for developing the skilled workforce needed to support Nigeria’s growing digital economy.

He urged businesses and industry stakeholders to engage lawmakers early in the legislative process, saying such engagement would help ensure that proposed laws reflected industry realities and the requirements for attracting investment. Also speaking at the summit, the Chargé d’Affaires of the United States Mission in Abuja, Jimmy Mauldin, called for stronger investment partnerships between Nigeria and the United States, stressing that cooperation should extend beyond trade to include job creation, technology transfer and support for local businesses.

Mauldin identified digital infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, agriculture, critical minerals and financial services a