Telecom
ICT Stakeholders @ PIAFO Conference Harps on Benefits of ‘Dig Once Policy’
Stakeholders in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector on Tuesday highlighted the benefits of Dig Once Policy to the economy, saying that it would promote and ensure ubiquitous broadband penetration across the country.
L-R: Adewale Sulaiman, GM, Network Enterprise Services, MTN Nigeria; Chidi Ajuzie, Group Chief Operating Officer, WTES Projects Limited; Omobayo Azeez, Convener PIAFo and Publisher, Business Metrics Nigeria; Engr Usman Aliyu, Sec. BISC and Head, Wireless Network, NCC, (Rep. Minister of Communications and Digital Economy) and Ashwani Mishra, Director of ICT Strategy and Marketing, Huawei Technologies at the fourth edition of PIAFo held in Lagos.
Prof Isa Ali Pantami, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, speaking at the 4th edition of Policy Implementation Assisted Forum(PIAFO) on National Dig Once Policy, said the policy would promote and encourage collaboration between the private and public sectors.
Pantami who was represented by Engr Usman Ali, Deputy Director, Technical and Network Integrity, Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) stated this in his keynote address with the theme ‘Laying the Foundation for Ubiquitous Broadband for Nigeria’s Economic Breakthrough’.
He said that Dig Once Policy would promote synergy and collaboration among private partners participation.
The minister said that the synergy would encourage infrastructure sharing and joint installation of fibre duct to avoid future digging.
He said that the Dig Once Policy which is still in the draft form would promote installation of fibre duct for effective broadband, reduce the barriers for Internet Service Providers.
According to him, Dig Once Policy promotes safety of citizens reduces traffic congestion on line, promotes comprehensive planning and inclusion of all telecoms infrastructure.
Prof Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, also represented by Engr Usman Ali in his keynote address ‘Unlocking the Full Potential of the Telecoms Sector as an Economic Enabler with Dig Once Policy ‘.
The EVC said that NCC as a coordinating agency to will foresee the Dig Once Implementation Council (DOIC) and ensure that the policy is obeyed to the later.
Danbatta said that hopefully, by the end of the year, the Dig Once Policy which is in the draft form would be unveiled.
Mr Olabode Ojo, Director, Fiber Operations, IHS Nigeria said that the many benefits of Dig once cannot be overemphasized.
Ojo said that a Dig Once approach that encourages cooperation but does not prevent excavation when needed is most recommended for federal, state, and local agencies.
He said that Operators’ participation should also be non-exclusive thereby enabling the desired rapid broadband penetration for the country.
According to him, the benefits of Dig once policies include protecting newly and recently paved roads and sidewalks and enhancing the uniformity of construction.
He said that the benefit of Dig Once Policy also includes ensuring efficient, non-duplicative placement of infrastructure in the Public Right of Way (Row).
According to him, the benefits also includes environmentally friendly and enhances a greener planet, partnership in capacity building programmes such as training of contractors, skilled construction workers and site supervisor.
Also speaking at the occasion, Mr Chidi Ajuzie, Group Chief Operating Officer, WTES Project Limited in his paper presentation Public -Private Collaboration as a catalyst for Dig Once Policy Implementation emphasized on public private vector Collaboration.
Ajuzie said that the collaboration develops an ecosystem of trust with connectivity providers considering them as partners in improving the lives and livelihoods of citizens in line with commercial sensitivity.
He said that Dig Once Policy support digital inclusion initiative, internet speed increases, price per data unit decreases, increase data traffic competition.
Also, in his opening remarks, Mr Omobayo Azeez, Lead Executive, PIAFO said that the summit was considered a necessity to boosting Nigeria’s digital economy drive.
Azeez said which would ride on availability of high-speed internet to the nooks and crannies of the country.
He said this explains the choice of the Theme of this Summit which is: Laying the Foundation for Ubiquitous Broadband for Nigeria’s Economic Breakthrough.
It may interest you to know that the National Dig Once Policy that forms the central point of this summit is not yet operational in Nigeria.
‘’In fact we are setting the pace with this summit as the Pioneer stakeholder consultative forum dedicated to Dig Once in Nigeria.
‘’This speaks volume to the enormity of the task ahead of us today.’’
According to him, “we have positioned this forum to make invaluable contributions for proper formulation of the policy and its effective implementation after it is drafted.
He said in a simple term, Dig Once” policies include being alert to the potential to install or obtain fiber and conduit along rights-of-way on major infrastructure such as roads.
Azeez said that the Policy is imperative to deal with the bitter reality of telecoms sector anywhere in the world, the reality is that network expansion is often constrained by high cost of deploying infrastructure;
He said that fiber optic is the backbone infrastructure for network expansion and high Quality of Service (QoS).
He noted that achieving these and the ultimate 70 per cent broadband penetration targets by 2025 requires an ecosystem of willing and united stakeholders.
Azeez said that the stakeholders including various agencies of governments, operators, equipment manufacturers, and internet service providers.
He said that it is believed that all relevant stakeholders should be part of formulating this policy to ensure that the implementation is seamless.
According to him, it should be prevented from being revolted against in some quarters, just as the case with Right of Ways Charges in some states.
According to him, PIAFo is committed to building a strong midpoint platform for policy dialogue between the public and private divides of our ecosystem.
He said that this initiative is built on the three pillars of Policy Advocacy, Policy Implementation and Policy Assessment.
According to him, “we believe in more dialogue that leads to clear policy direction which is a prerequisite for seamless policy execution”.
Mr Ashwani Mishra, Director, ICT Strategy and Marketing, Huawei, enumerated important recommendations for Dig Once implementation in Nigeria.
According to him, “DOIC (Dig Once Implementation Council) as SPV should clarify the fiber strategy, boundary and scope of work of each stakeholder and publish quarterly progress reports. A mechanism description clarifying the cooperation between DOIC and NGF in adopting the policy in different states.
“Stimulate demand by making provision of ICT infrastructure a standard requirement for new building to drive extension of fiber everywhere in the country.
“Make Duct a standard specification for road reconstruction and new buildings.
” Uniform RoW charges and have SLA’s for each department / Ministry who are involved in the process of approval or else penalty.
“Protection of telecoms infrastructure by law enforcement agencies. Standard and specifications Redundancy and protection mechanisms should be unpacked, considered and included, especially with relation to national and regional routes.
“Imposition of penalties on construction companies for any arbitrary damage of fiber infrastructure. Establish a normative, technical and institutional framework for the pre-cabling of buildings in fiber optics for access to very high-speed broadband.
“Clearly define the property rights, and right of use of the new ducts/ conduits in the implementation of the policy, especially to those within the buildings and private sectors.
“Promote shared Fiber Infrastructure to avoid duplication of asset and CAPEX by each Player.
“Allow state utility like electrical poles to be used for the fiber rollout to expedite same.”
Modern messengers, such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal and others, are often used for illicit purposes. Kaspersky Digital Footprint Intelligence has conducted an in-depth monitoring of over 800 blocked cybercriminal Telegram channels between 2021 and 2024.
While a range of illegal activities continues to be hosted on the platform, its environment has become noticeably more challenging for sustained underground operations.
Telegram’s bot framework and other built-in features make for a low-effort ecosystem for the underworld.
A single bot can simultaneously manage queries, process cryptocurrency payments, and instantly deliver stolen bank cards, info-stealer logs, phishing kits, or DDoS attacks to hundreds of buyers per day, often without operator involvement.
Unlimited, non-expiring file storage eliminates the need for external hosting when distributing multi-gigabyte database dumps or stolen corporate documents. This frictionless automation naturally favours high-volume, low-price, low-skill offerings, such as leaked bank cards or other data, hosting malware, etc.
High-value, trust-dependent deals (for instance, zero-day vulnerability information) still remain on reputation-gated dark-web forums.
Kaspersky researchers found two clear trends related to illegal activities on Telegram. The average lifespan of shadow channels has increased, with the proportion of channels surviving over nine months more than tripling in 2023-2024 compared to 2021–2022. At the same time, Telegram’s blocking activity has risen significantly.
Monthly takedown figures recorded since October 2024 – even at their lowest – are comparable to the peak levels seen throughout 2023, and the overall pace continued to accelerate in 2025. This impedes malicious activities.
Other disadvantages of Telegram for cybercriminals include the lack of default end-to-end (E2E) encryption for chats, the inability to use their own servers for communication (due to the messenger’s centralised infrastructure), and closed server-side code, which makes it impossible to verify its functionality.
As a result, several established underground communities, including the nearly 9,000-member BFRepo group and the Angel Drainer malware-as-a-service operation, have already begun shifting primary activity to other platforms or proprietary messengers, citing repeated disruptions of their activities on Telegram.
“Fraudsters find Telegram a convenient tool for many malicious activities, but the risk-reward balance is clearly shifting. Channels are managing to stay online longer than a couple of years ago, yet the dramatically higher volume of blocks means operators can no longer count on long-term stability.
“When a storefront or service disappears overnight – and sometimes reappears only to be removed again weeks later – building a reliable business becomes much harder. We’re starting to see the early stages of migration as a direct consequence,” comments Vladislav Belousov, Digital Footprint Analyst at Kaspersky.
Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB), the Federal Government’s leading ICT infrastructure and shared services provider, will mark its 20th anniversary in June 2026 with a grand celebration that reflects two decades of innovation, resilience, and national impact.
Since its inception in 2006, Galaxy Backbone has been at the heart of Nigeria’s digital transformation journey; building the technological foundation that supports modern government operations and public service delivery. What began as a bold vision to connect government has grown into a critical national platform that drives efficiency, transparency, collaboration and innovation across the public sector.
Over the last 20 years, GBB has helped redefine how government works. By providing secure connectivity, enterprise-grade data centre services, cloud platforms, and digital collaboration tools, Galaxy Backbone has enabled Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to move from fragmented, paper-based processes to more integrated, technology-driven systems.
This transformation has improved government-to-government coordination, strengthened engagement with businesses, and enhanced the delivery of services to citizens. Today, the digital infrastructure powered by Galaxy Backbone supports thousands of government users, hundreds of institutions, and critical national platforms that Nigerians rely on daily.
A key part of this journey has been the Federal Government of Nigeria’s investment, managed by GBB in robust national infrastructure, high-capacity and world class data centres, fibre-optic connectivity across multiple states, secure hosting services, and shared platforms that have helped government operate more efficiently and responsively. These contributions have played a pivotal role in Nigeria’s progress toward a more digital, agile and citizen-centered public service.
Galaxy Backbone’s impact has earned both national and global recognition. In 2025, the organisation was ranked first overall in the Federal Government Website Performance Scorecard, reflecting its commitment to excellence in digital service delivery. Internationally, GBB, a couple of years ago, received the prestigious United Nations Public Service Award, a testament to its leadership in promoting a whole-of-government approach to digital transformation.
As GBB celebrates two decades of service, this milestone is more than an organisational anniversary; it is a celebration of Nigeria’s digital evolution. It is an opportunity to appreciate how collaboration between government, industry partners, technology providers, and dedicated public servants has helped build a stronger, more connected nation.
The June 2026 anniversary celebration will bring together stakeholders from across the public and private sectors to reflect on the journey so far, acknowledge the partnerships that have shaped this success, and chart an ambitious course for the future. It will highlight how collective effort, shared vision, and innovation have positioned Galaxy Backbone as a strategic national asset.
Looking ahead, Galaxy Backbone remains committed to deepening digital transformation across the country; expanding infrastructure, strengthening cybersecurity, enhancing service delivery, and supporting the Federal Government’s drive for a smarter, more efficient and digitally empowered Nigeria.
At 20 years, Galaxy Backbone stands proud of its past, confident in its present, and inspired by the limitless possibilities ahead.
Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB), Nigeria’s leading federal ICT infrastructure provider, has announced its 20th-anniversary celebration for June 2026, marking two decades since unifying government’s fragmented digital landscape into a secure national platform.
Galaxy Backbone
The announcement by Head of Media and Corporate Communications Chidi Okpala follows GBB’s top ranking in the 2025 Federal Government Website Performance Scorecard by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms, cementing its leadership in digital service delivery and transparency.
Managing Director Professor Ibrahim Adepoju Adeyanju described the milestone as celebrating Nigeria’s shift from paper-based silos to a cloud-first, integrated government. Achievements include the UN Public Service Award for 1-GOV.net, high-speed fiber deployment for G2G and G2B interactions, IPPIS payroll rollout, and pandemic-era digital support.
The June event will gather public-private stakeholders, global tech partners, and policymakers to unveil GBB’s next-decade roadmap emphasising cybersecurity, AI in public service, and rural connectivity.
GBB positions itself at the forefront of Nigeria’s 2030 digital nation drive, with 20 years of innovation signaling a smarter, connected future.
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