Lucky Obukohwo, Reporting
Edo State has topped second in the ranking of states with fibre optic infrastructure in Nigeria.
Edo with 4,892.71km of fibre optic cable network ranks only behind Lagos State with 7,864.60km out of the 78,676km of cable infrastructure in Nigeria.
This was contained in the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy’s white paper on ‘Deepening Nigeria’s National Backbone and Middle Mile Infrastructure,’ which was released recently.
According to the report, “Thus far, 78,676km of fibre optic cables have been deployed as of 2023.
“Lagos leads with 7,864.60km; Edo, 4,892.71km; FCT, 4,472.03km; Ogun, 4,189.18km; Niger, 3,681.66km; Kaduna, 3,028.88km and Delta, 2,750.42km. Kano and Kogi follow with 2,697.72km and 2,602.25km in that order.
“The least 10 States in fibre deployment are Yobe (1,233.31km), Borno (1,190.04km), Gombe (1182.40km) and Ekiti (1,178.04km). Others are Jigawa (1100.53km), Taraba (1,076.58km), Sokoto (1,066.56km), Plateau (997.45km), Ebonyi, 651.65km and Bayelsa (407.88km).”
The whitepaper revealed that individuals and communities face a growing barrier to navigating the interconnected landscape of modern life without reliable and affordable Internet access.
The Governor Obaseki-led administration prioritized investment in digital infrastructure as one of the key pillars to drive economic growth.
This is aimed at powering the State’s E-Gov platform and sustaining the bourgeoning tech ecosystem anchored on tech initiatives such as the Edo Tech Park and the Edo Innovates Hub as well as the providing public internet with the deployment of free WiFi in public spaces to encourage youths to participate in the gig economy.