Executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Ernest Ndukwe, believes that Nigeria will be self sufficient in terms of fibre optic connection by 2010.

He said Nigeria needs a highway of optic fibre criss-crossing the length and breath of the nation.

The NCC is actively encouraging mobile service providers to build fibre optic networks.

Fibre-optic communication involves the transmission of information from one place to another by sending light through an optical fibre, the light forms an electromagnetic carrier wave that is modulated to carry information.

A national fibre optic backbone would lead to many positive changes in Nigeria's telecommunications sector. Fibre optic has the ability to carry far more traffic; facilitate better speech quality; lead to better short messaging service (SMS) response times; and reduce the number of drop calls.

Ndukwe believes that fibre optics play a vital role in solving issues relating to poor service delivery, even though it is not the ultimate solution.

Globacom currently has Nigeria's largest fibre optic network which covers the Lagos-Abeokuta-Ibadan; the Lagos-Ijebuode-Ore-Benin, Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano; and the Onitsha-Awka-Enugu routes.

MTN only recently commissioned its three-phased national Fibre Optic Transmission Network.