Excavation, Civil Works Linked to Fibre Cuts, Damaged Cables, NCC Warns

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has linked excavation and civil works to the wave of fibre cuts and damaged cables disrupting calls and data across the country.
The regulator said more than 5,000 fibre cuts were recorded in the first half of 2026 — an average of 27 cuts every day — largely from road construction, excavation and related civil works.
The Commission’s outage data shows fibre cuts now dominate major network failures. In the first quarter of the year, 361 of 577 major outages — 62.6 per cent — were due to fibre cuts. In May, the share rose to 74.7 per cent, with 183 of 245 major outages linked to damaged cables.
Fibre cables carry traffic between towns, towe...