Tizeti, a prominent Internet Service Provider in Nigeria, has revealed plans to cut bandwidth costs by 90 per cent by leveraging the Federal Government’s ambitious 90,000-kilometre fibre-optic backbone project.
The broadband initiative, backed by a US Trade and Development Agency $2bn grant, will lay fibre-optic infrastructure along key national routes, including power grids, railways, roads, and oil and gas pipelines.
The USTDA grant was formalised last week at a signing ceremony attended by the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani. The event also had in attendance key stakeholders from the US agency, as well as the Chief Executive Officer of Tizeti, Kendall Ananyi.
CEO Ananyi on LinkedIn expressed optimism that the project is expected to address the high costs associated with bandwidth in Nigeria, paving the way for more affordable and accessible internet services.
The 11-year-old operator plans to leverage the cost savings from the fibre backbone to expand its FreeFiber.Africa initiative, which aims to deliver high-speed broadband to underserved communities.
“Once completed, this initiative will help reduce TIZETI’s bandwidth cost of sales by 90 per cent, enabling us to generate additional free cash flow that will accelerate broadband penetration through our recently launched FreeFiber.Africa project,” Ananyi disclosed.
In December, the firm backed by the US Y Combinator announced the launch of its FreeFiber broadband service in Lagos and Port Harcourt in Nigeria and Accra in Ghana, with plans to expand to additional cities within the next year.
The operator said FreeFiber broadband delivers speeds exceeding 1Gbps, far surpassing the regional average of 28Mbps.
He said, “Fibre is the next generation of internet technology, offering unparalleled unlimited speed and reliability.
“With our advanced fibre infrastructure, we’re delivering speeds of over 1Gbps, which are 50 times faster than existing offerings and 10 times faster than 5G or LEO satellite services.”
