FG broadband boost plan targets over 55,000 schools and health facilities under a 500 million dollar World Bank programme

The Federal Government has unveiled plans to deliver a major FG broadband boost by connecting tens of thousands of public schools and health facilities to high speed internet across underserved parts of the country.

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According to the World Bank’s Implementation Status and Results Report on the Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth project, also known as BRIDGE, a total of 55,675 public institutions are targeted for broadband connectivity by September 2030.

The report said the FG broadband boost will cover 38,803 public schools and 16,872 health facilities, forming a core pillar of a 500 million dollar World Bank backed initiative aimed at expanding access to high quality and climate resilient digital infrastructure.

Approved by the World Bank Board in October 2025, the project is designed as a large scale infrastructure intervention that combines public financing with strong private sector participation to reach unserved and underserved communities.

Beyond schools and hospitals, the report projected that total broadband connected facilities will rise to 59,103 by the end of the project, up from 33,628 recorded in September 2025.

This includes 3,428 local government administration offices, a sharp increase from a baseline of 510.

The World Bank noted that the FG broadband boost will be delivered through a Special Purpose Vehicle established to deploy nationwide fibre optic infrastructure.

Although no private capital had been mobilised as of December 2025, the structure is expected to attract up to 1.1 billion dollars in private investment by September 2030.

Transaction advisory services to set up the SPV are currently under contracting, with implementation activities expected to begin in early 2026 following the use of a Project Preparation Advance.

The report projected that broadband usage in Nigeria will rise from 92.01 million users in April 2025 to 150 million by the project’s closing date.

Female broadband users are expected to increase from 30.36 million to 45 million, while youth users are projected to grow from 57.96 million to 100 million.

Infrastructure targets under the FG broadband boost include the rollout of 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic networks nationwide, with 90 per cent designed to be climate resilient.

The expansion is expected to deliver a 20 per cent reduction in wholesale broadband prices and improve fixed broadband median download speeds from 22.15 megabits per second to 50 megabits per second.

The programme also places strong emphasis on capacity building. About 37,000 Nigerians are expected to receive digital literacy training, with women accounting for 60 per cent of beneficiaries.

Sex disaggregated connectivity data generated under the project will inform future federal broadband policies.

On service delivery, the project targets a 90 per cent user satisfaction rate for internet services provided through the SPV, while 90 per cent of complaints are expected to be resolved within approved timelines once the grievance mechanism becomes operational.

Financial data showed that the 500 million dollar concessional loan had not been disbursed as of January 2026, as the facility was yet to become effective.

Despite this, the World Bank rated progress towards achieving the project’s development objective as satisfactory, even as overall risks remain substantial due to political, fiduciary and institutional challenges.

Under the financing agreement, Nigeria plans to channel about 460 million dollars into capitalising a proposed fibre infrastructure company that will deploy the nationwide network.

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The Federal Government will participate as a shareholder through the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, but its stake will be capped at 49 per cent to ensure majority private ownership and management.