The Nigerian government is set to host the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Maiden International Submarine Cable Resilience Summit
The stakeholders’ summit which is a two-day event in Abuja, Nigeria, focusing on enhancing the resilience of international submarine cables.
The event to take place on 26-27 February 2025 will bring telecommunications industry stakeholders from 50 countries, governments, and regulatory bodies to deliberate on strategies for protecting submarine cables from man-made disruptions.
The Deputy Secretary General of the ITU, Tomas Lamanauskas and the Nigerian Minister of Communications Innovation and Digital Economy Dr Bosun Tijani spoke at a joint press briefing on Tuesday in Abuja, Nigeria.
Submarine cables are the backbone of global telecommunications, facilitating over 99% of international internet traffic. However, they are vulnerable to damage from human activities, such as fishing, shipping, and construction.
To this end, Lamanauskas said there are between 150-200 submarine cables cuts around the world annually therefore, he said this summit represents a critical step towards addressing the pressing issue of submarine cable resilience.
The Deputy Secretary General expressed his joy that the Nigerian government has already begun discussions on the protection of telecom marine cables.
On the challenges, Lamanauskas explained that “To put that in a context, we have around 150 to 200 cuts around the world a year. So that’s around three cuts a week.
“We have a natural wear and tear, if you will, because of abrasions when those cables, get cut because of their longer wear and tear on the seabed floor and other areas which, again, some of those can be prevented, and we have natural disasters also.some of them need to be repaired.
“Regrettably, around the world, we still have sometimes very diverse issues that prevent some of these quick repair of these cables.
“This is pretty often, regretful. Now, a lot of those reasons for those cuts are actually normal human activity, such as fishing or anchoring. So a lot of ships, regretfully, because of the fishing activities, because of anchoring activities, designing anchors, somebody cutting those cables and impacting on them.” He noted
On the way forward he said a lot of those issues can be tackled by better practices and effective coordination and collaboration with the different industries and stakeholders in the sector.
“We have, International Maritime Organisation (IMO), that’s responsible for the shipping industry as observers. And part of our work to create those interlinkages between submarine cables as an industry and these other areas, which regretfully so far haven’t been so strong.”
He commended the Nigerian government and the Minister, Dr Tijani for taking the lead when there was a cable cut March last year and made sure it was repaired on time though it was a private submarine cable. And that has made ITU to invite governments to this summit.
“We still, for example, notice that in a number of countries there’s no single authority which is responsible for submarine cables, for their repair, for the permits, for repair of the cables, for the permits, for deployment of the cables, for coordination with other authorities.
“And already we see even by us inviting governments to this meeting, we see that change already started happening in some governments because they started the conversations on who should be responsible, how to organise themselves.
“One of the priority initiatives that we’re discussing is a focal list of the focal points across all the governments around the world, who are the first point of call if something happens, if there’s a need for a collaboration. Again, these type of things are not there yet. So I think with this, we’re starting to make the move but it’s not a one-off event, of course.” he noted.
The Nigerian Minister of Communications Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani commenting on the summit said; “Submarine cables are vital to global connectivity but face significant risks. Hosting the inaugural summit in Nigeria underscores our commitment to proactive action.”
He shared Nigeria’s experience during the West African submarine cables cut in March 2023.
“When we had the cuts last year, in March, I think many people in the country were worried because you couldn’t access your bank, a lot of the services that you use on your mobile, you couldn’t access them because of the cable cut.
“But the challenge is that typically these cables are owned by private companies, but the reality of fixing them and ensuring their resilience is not just the responsibility of the private sector because there are territorial issues in some cases. In some cases, you also need to bring together multiple organizations,” the Minister stated
Dr Tijani appreciated the ITU for prioritizing digital economy and connectivity improvement.
“I’m extremely appreciative of ITU for truly accepting that this should be something we need to put on the agenda as we continue to drive the strength of our digital economy as we continue to improve the quality of connectivity.”
Voice of Nigeria reports that The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) had unveiled the International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience, aimed at enhancing the security of critical telecommunications infrastructure.
Co-chaired by Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, and Prof Sandra Maximiano, Chair of the Board of Directors at Portugal’s National Communications Authority (ANACOM), the body seeks to improve submarine cable resilience through collaboration and best practices.
Key Objectives
According to ITU, the Advisory Body will work on: Promoting best practices for cable deployment and repair, reducing risks of damage caused by human activity, natural hazards, or equipment failure, and ensuring the continuity of global communications carried by submarine cables, which form the backbone of the internet and global connectivity.
“Submarine cables support over 99% of international data exchanges and enable essential services such as commerce, finance, governance, digital health, and education. Their resilience is a global necessity,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin.
Challenges Facing Submarine Cables
Frequent Damage: ICPC reports 150–200 annual faults requiring three cable repairs per week globally.
Causes of Damage: Accidental human activity, such as fishing and anchoring, alongside natural hazards and equipment failure, are primary threats.
ICPC Chair Graham Evans highlighted the importance of safeguarding submarine cables:
“This Advisory Body signifies progress in protecting our global digital infrastructure through international collaboration and best practices.”
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