Industry experts have warned that poor installation practices and inadequate technical skills could undermine the Federal Government’s planned deployment of 90,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cables under Project BRIDGE, urging strict adherence to international cabling standards.
The warning was issued on Friday during a two-day Siemon Certified Installer training programme in Abuja, where stakeholders said developing a pool of certified installers would be critical to ensuring the long-term reliability of Nigeria’s broadband infrastructure.
The Federal Government recently launched Project BRIDGE (Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth), a $2bn initiative to deploy 90,000 kilometres of new fibre-optic cables nationwide.
The project is expected to expand Nigeria’s fibre backbone from about 35,000km to 125,000km, connect all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, and deepen broadband penetration through an open-access national network.
The training was organised by The Siemon Company, a United States-based network infrastructure manufacturer, in collaboration with Mart Networks Group.
