How CanalBox Is Democratising Internet Service Through Fibre

BY OLALERE OJEDOKUN

For too long, fast internet in Nigeria has been a luxury. Households ration data, students cluster around Wi-Fi hotspots to do assignments, and small businesses lose customers because a video call freezes.  

The country is online –154.72 million internet subscriptions and 55.67% broadband penetration as of April 2026– but truly fast, reliable, home internet is still rare.

Canal+ Telecom Africa is here to solve that real problem. Under the CanalBox brand, it builds, operates and markets its own FTTH networks in major African cities, and it now brings that service to Ibadan.

Democratising internet means making fibre fast, stable and affordable, not just for a few. That is the mission CanalBox was built for. While mobile data keeps you connected, fibre keeps you productive. It does not fluctuate with network congestion, it does not end mid-month, and it connects everyone at once.

The national challenge is clear. According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Executive Vice Chairman, Dr. Aminu Maida, at the ATCON Critical Conversation Forum on FTTH in Lagos: “Fixed broadband remains underdeveloped, with only about 265,000 FTTH subscriptions, presenting significant opportunities for expansion and economic growth.”

Maida also noted: “The gap between broadband penetration and fixed broadband subscriptions presents both a challenge and a major opportunity for economic growth.”

Part of the Federal Government’s responses to this challenge is Project BRIDGE, the national fibre-optic backbone that is expected to expand Nigeria’s existing network from about 35,000 kilometres to 125,000 kilometres. On 4 August 2026 after briefing the President, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani stated: “This is a project where every state, every geo-political zone, every local government and every ward in this country will be covered with fibre optic cables, which will transform the quality of connectivity.”

This is the gap CanalBox is closing. Democratizing fibre starts with price: CanalBox offers its START plan at ₦25,000 per month for 50 Mbps. That one clear price is the case for democratisation. It is not a compromise. It is true fibre.

What does ₦25,000 buy in real life? For a household, it means 5-7 devices online at once without fighting for bandwidth. Children can do online classes on YouTube while parents are on Zoom for work and browsing in the kitchen. No more ‘who is downloading?’ No more hotspot math at month-end.

For a small business –a beauty salon in Bodija, a pharmacy in Akobo, a tutorial centre in Dugbe-– it means you can run POS, CCTV, WhatsApp Business, Instagram Live sales, and video calls to suppliers on the same connection, all day, without recharge anxiety. That is productivity that mobile bundles cannot guarantee.

In Ibadan: CanalBox fibre service is available in selected areas of the city and it is already showing what focused fibre rollout can do. Ibadan is Nigeria’s largest city by landmass and a test of whether fibre can move beyond Lagos and Abuja. By lighting up selected areas with FTTH, CanalBox is contributing to closing the gap, one neighbourhood at a time, in a country of over 200 million people.

When fibre arrives, usage changes. Data consumption nationally has risen to about 1.4 million terabytes per month, driven by remote work, online learning, cloud computing and AI, according to the NCC. Ibadan families on CanalBox mirror this –they stream, learn, work, and create more because the limit is lifted.

CanalBox is part of the answer to this national challenge. While the Government lays the 90,000km national backbone, CanalBox brings fibre directly into homes, estates and shops. When fibre reaches the last mile at an accessible price, broadband stops being a status symbol and becomes a utility –like power and water – that powers learning, commerce and inclusion.

CanalBox START plan at ₦25,000 per month for 50 Mbps proves this future is already here for households and small businesses in selected areas of Ibadan. Unlimited, stable, multi-device fibre that lets a family study, work, and browse together, and lets a small business sell beyond its street.

That is what it means to democratise fibre.

 

Ojedokun, a brand strategist, development communication scholar and policy analyst, contributes this piece from Lagos