By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
About a dozen Nigerian states have waived Right of Way (RoW) fees to attract broadband investments and expand internet access, particularly in rural and underserved areas.
These states, including Zamfara, Katsina, Anambra, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Bauchi, and Adamawa, have over 31.17 million mobile subscriptions. Their goal is to improve digital connectivity by easing infrastructure deployment for telecom operators.
RoW is a fee that telecom companies pay state governments for permission to dig roads and install infrastructure like fibre optic cables, which carry internet traffic. This fee is one of the major hurdles in building broadband networks across the country.
Fibre optic cables are essential to modern communication, providing high-capacity links that connect mobile network sites and carry data traffic. Building these cables is essential in a country where broadband penetration stood at 45.61 percent in January 2025. This is despite surging internet usage in the country, which rose to over 1 million terabytes in January, underscoring increased consumption of digital services.
“Nigeria has fast internet capacity on its shores, but this capacity cannot reach people without fibre. RoW challenges have gotten in the way of this over the years,” an industry insider said.
According to the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, only 39 percent of Nigerians live within five km of fibre networks. High RoW charges have discouraged investments in expanding Nigeria’s fibre backbone, which stands at around 35,000km. To address this problem, the state governors agreed to reduce RoW rates to N145 per metre.
“However, only a limited number of states have implemented this agreement, with many states increasing RoW rates instead,” according to GSMA, the global body for telcos.
Ebonyi has the highest RoW charges, up to 69 times more than others, like Ekiti, which has the lowest.
However, advocacy by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is beginning to yield results. So far 12 states have waived this fee, with Niger State becoming the latest addition to this group of states. Rather than collecting RoW fees, telecom operators will now pay a one-time, non-refundable application fee of N500,000.
These states aim to expand their at least 14,223.76km of fibre network to improve access for their citizens. “Eliminating right of way (RoW) fees for telecommunication infrastructure can significantly lower the cost of network deployment, thereby accelerating digital inclusion and providing residents with better access to educational resources, healthcare services, and economic opportunities,” Niger State said.
GSMA estimates that harmonising RoW rates to N145 per metre across all states could reduce the total cost of national broadband rollout by roughly 15 percent. With more states waiving the fees, operators are likely to increase their investments.
Despite rising demand, limited connectivity has led to usage gaps, with more than 120 million Nigerians not using mobile internet due to infrastructure and affordability issues, according to GSMA. The NCC estimates that 23 million Nigerians still lack telecom access, while 301 local government areas have no internet service. Without resolving the RoW challenge, operators cannot deploy the fibre needed to bridge this gap.
Aminu Maida, the executive vice chairman of the NCC, emphasised that waiving RoW fees creates an enabling environment for telecom investment, increases connectivity, drives economic growth, and enhances access to digital services.
According to the GSMA, streamlining RoW processes will accelerate nationwide connectivity.