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Telecoms: Nigeria’s committed to resilience, safety of submarine cables as ‘lifelines of digital economy’ ─Tijani

Photo Collage of Dr. ’Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Honourable Minister for Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and Telecoms Subsea Fibre Optic Cables

*Dr. ’Bosun Tijani, Minister for Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and Co-Chair of the ITU Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience, affirms his new appointment underscores Nigeria’s active advocacy towards ensuring resilience in the global digital infrastructure, particularly in the area of subsea fibre-optic cables that the West African country has made considerable investment

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

Nigeria’s active and consistent advocacy towards ensuring resilience in the global digital infrastructure has received a big boost as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has appointed Dr. ’Bosun Tijani, Nigeria’s Honourable Minister for Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, as the Co-Chair of the newly-formed ITU Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience.

ConsumerConnect reports Dr. Tijani stated this Friday, October 4, 2024, while announcing his fresh transnational appointment in a blog note via his verified social media account.

The Minister asserted that he is “pleased to announce my appointment as Co-Chair of the newly formed International Telecommunication Union Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience.”

ITU Advisory Body, a multi-stakeholder platform for collaboration on protection of submarine cables

Stressing the strategic importance of the ITU Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience, ITU also noted the e International Advisory Body will serve as a platform for international multi-stakeholder collaboration, bringing together governments, regulatory authorities, industry leaders, and key stakeholders in areas related to enhancing the safety, redundancy, and protection of submarine cables.

In regard to the Advisory Body Composition and Co-Chairs, ITU disclosed the new Advisory Body would serve a term of two years, starting November 1 this year, and would be co-chaired by Nigeria’s Dr. Tijani, Minister for Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy.

The Minister also stressed the benefits of the Body to his country, stating “this appointment underscores Nigeria’s active advocacy towards ensuring resilience in the global digital infrastructure, particularly with respect to subsea fibre-optic cables, which is an area we are particularly invested in, considering our recent challenges with cuts to our fibre-optic network.”

ITU: Telecoms submarine cables are ‘lifelines of global digital economy’

On the significance Submarine Cable Resilience in the global digital economy space, the ITU as well underlined the fact that in an increasingly interconnected world, telecommunications submarine cables serve as “the lifelines of the global digital economy”, facilitating over 99 percent of international data exchange.”

These cables enable communication, finance, cloud services, and critical infrastructure to operate seamlessly across borders.

Yet, despite their critical importance, submarine cables face a range of vulnerabilities, from natural disasters to accidental damage.

With the world’s reliance on stable, high-speed internet growing every day, the resilience of these cables is paramount.

Multi-stakeholder dialogue among governments, regulatory authorities, industry leaders, and international organisations is vital for enhancing the resilience of submarine cables, safeguarding our digital future and global economic stability.

Core responsibilities of International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience

The ITU said it is setting up an International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience with the primary aim of promoting dialogue and collaboration on potential ways and means to improve resilience of this critical infrastructure powering global communications and the digital economy.

The UN body noted in view of the current frequency of cuts and outages, submarine cables are more vulnerable than ever before.

It stated: “This Advisory Body will serve as a platform for international multistakeholder collaboration, bringing together governments, regulatory authorities, industry leaders, and key stakeholders in areas related to enhancing the safety, redundancy, and protection of submarine cables.

According to ITU, the basic role of the International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience will include providing strategic guidance to improve cable resilience; developing and promoting best practices to improve the protection of subsea cable systems; and facilitating international cooperation on technical development, policy frameworks, and investment models.

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