Information Technology and Shared Services Provider of the Federal Government, Galaxy Backbone, has steps to secure its fiber optic cables for internet services on some road construction sites in Nasarawa state.
Some management staff and a team of engineers from the company embarked on a field trip to some of the construction sites where some of the cables had been uprooted to allow construction works to take place.
Leading the team, Prof. Muhammad Abubakar, the Managing Director (MD) of Galaxy Backbone, said the road construction was an important aspect of infrastructure development as much as the cables.
“The cables are also important as part of national assets which should be protected.
“The Galaxy Backbone will work with the construction company and the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to ensure that damage to the cables during construction was reduced to the barest minimum.
“Road construction is not going to stop any time soon because roads are integral to the development and progress of the nation but we should also take steps to protect these cables.
According to Abubakar, the removal of the cables had greatly affected the company’s operations adding that the line from Lagos through Enugu, Makurdi to Akwanga are down.
“It means our customers on this line are not getting the services they deserve, and we experience several hours of low connectivity,’’ the MD said.
He assured that the company was already taking steps to liaise with the Ministry of Works and Housing to ensure that construction work across the country did not have so much effect on the cables on road corridors.
He said that although the cables could not be relocated until the construction was completed, the company was working with the local communities to ensure that they were not stolen or vandalized.
A long stretch of fiber optic cables, from Sabongida in the outskirts of Keffi to Garage near Akwanga, all in Nasarawa, had been uprooted by construction workers and left exposed.