Fayemi slashes RoW charges for telcos

The Ekiti state government has slashed its right of way charges from N4,500 per metre to N145.

According to a statement on Thursday, Kayode Fayemi, governor of the state, signed an executive order to effect the reduction.

The RoW charge is the levy paid to state governments for laying of optic fibre on state roads.

A single telecoms operator needs RoW covering thousands of kilometres.

With the reduction, 1km of cable will now cost N145,000 rather than the previous N45 million.

“Ekiti is the first state in Nigeria to comply with the NEC approved right of way charges for broadband thus becoming the cheapest state for broadband infrastructure investment as 1km of cable will now cost just N145,000 as against N4.5m previously,” the statement read.

Fayemi said the executive order is part of ongoing reforms to make the state attractive to investors within five years.

In January, TheCable had reported that call and internet subscription rates may increase after 14 states hiked their RoW charges.

The states which hiked the levy were Lagos, Kano, Anambra, Ondo, Cross River, Kogi, Osun, Kaduna, Enugu, Adamawa, Ebonyi, Imo, Kebbi and Gombe.

The cost of RoW on federal roads is N142 per linear metre.

At the time, Isa Pantami, the minister of communications and digital economy, had warned states that telecommunications companies would transfer the costs to customers.

Pantami also held a meeting with Fayemi, who also doubles as the chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, to deliberate on reducing the charges.