By Jessica Dogo
Nigeria’s fiber optic Engineers have united to drive connectivity and growth in the telecom industry.
The maiden fiber optic engineers meet-up, which held at the Notion Technology office in Abuja, had professionals who build, maintain, and restore Nigeria’s broadband infrastructure.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the gathering brought together practicing fiber optic engineers, the men and women who traverse difficult terrains, mountains, and high-risk environments to ensure uninterrupted connectivity in Nigeria’s digital economy.
In her remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of Notion Technology Ltd, Nana Oluwagbenga, said that the meet-up was designed to position fiber engineers often unseen.
Oluwagbega also said that they were indispensable at the heart of conversations around deployment, maintenance, and the sustainability of the nation’s underground connectivity networks.
“When fibre engineers are united, they exchange knowledge, support one another, and collectively improve service delivery.
“Fibre engineers are the backbone of connectivity. Doctors rely on the internet for telemedicine, bankers depend on networks for financial transactions, businesses need connectivity to operate, and even homes depend on stable internet access,” she said.
Speaking at the event, Omachonu Ogah, Chief Technology Officer of MadePro and a fiber contractor based in Abuja, said that passion was critical to surviving the rigours of fiber engineering.
He said, “First of all, if you do not have passion for something, do not participate in it. Fiber is one of the industries always wanted to be in as an engineer.”
He said that the profession demand commitment beyond routine engineering practice due to the physical, technical, and psychological pressures involved.
According to Ogah, the most challenging moments occur when critical links fail.
He added, “The major challenge is when the link is down, you can be there for hours trying to see how to bring it up. There is no joy in it. Resolving such failures is rarely a solo effort.
“You do not do it alone. It is teamwork. You call others, they bring their experience, and together you restore the link.
The Regional Manager for Fiber Deployment at ZTE, Eruayekomeme Anthony, provided an insight and identified inadequate pre-deployment testing as a major source of fiber failures.
“Most of these issues are not supposed to happen if proper Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) tests are carried out before the fiber starts carrying traffic.”
Anthony, who was a former Huawei engineer said that insufficient testing often leads to signal loss once live traffic begins.
He underscored the strategic importance of fiber engineers to Nigeria’s digital future.
“One of the major issues in fiber is loss. When there is loss, we locate it and correct it through splicing joining fiber cores together to restore integrity.
“Fiber engineers are extremely important. In terms of impact, they are even more important than wireless engineers because fiber drives wideband services for users,” he said.
Eaelier, Olufemi Onifade said Right of Way (RoW) approval was one of the most persistent barriers to fiber deployment.
He said, “Right of way is a government permit to dig and lay infrastructure,” he said. Without it, engineers risk arrest.”
He also said that poor coordination with road construction firms and rampant vandalism were major threats.
“Construction companies damage existing fiber during road expansion, while scavengers steal cables and closures.
“When this happens, internet services are disrupted, and the public often blames network operators,” he said.
NAN also reports that some participants said that the event was long overdue in an industry where collaboration among engineers often occurs only during emergencies, rather than through structured professional engagement.
Discussions at the meet-up reinforced the essential role of fiber engineers in Nigeria’s digital ecosystem. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng
Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani
