How one telecom operator keeps users connected along Third Mainland

On a typical weekday morning, thousands of commuters crawl across Lagos’ Third Mainland Bridge, Nigeria’s busiest and longest bridge, stretching 11.8 kilometers across the Lagos Lagoon. Beneath the noise of engines and the buzz of city life lies a quiet but powerful network—one that keeps phone calls clear, internet speeds stable, and mobile services uninterrupted even in traffic gridlocks. At the heart of it is a sophisticated web of telecom engineering designed to connect millions in motion.

“We have some sites that are providing coverage on the bridge,” Yahaya Ibrahim, Chief Technical Officer of MTN Nigeria, told TechCabal. “But because of the heavy traffic and the length of the bridge, we deployed a special solution in July 2025—a dedicated network designed just to cover the bridge.”

This “special solution” involves a series of small but powerful distributed antenna systems (DAS) mounted across key intervals along the Third Mainland Bridge. These antennas, integrated into the larger MTN network, are strategically placed on either side of the bridge and around the median where utility ducts run. Hidden within these ducts are electrical lines and fibre optic cables—critical components that keep the bridge digitally alive.

Connecting a city on the move

The Third Mainland Bridge is widely recognised as the busiest roadway in Nigeria. According to recent traffic surveys and government data, between 117,000 and 133,000 vehicles travel across the bridge daily. This immense traffic volume underscores the bridge’s strategic importance as a link between Lagos Mainland and Lagos Island, serving a steady stream of commuters, primarily in light vehicles, headed to work, markets, or business districts. Given this level of usage, even minor maintenance or temporary closures on the bridge can cause significant disruptions to the city’s traffic flow and overall mobility.

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Maintaining reliable telecom coverage on such a critical route presents unique engineering challenges. In most urban areas, fibre optic cables are installed underground. However, that approach isn’t practical on long-span bridges like the Third Mainland Bridge. Boring beneath large water bodies is not only technically complex but also extremely costly. Moreover, the bridge’s dense concrete structure limits space for underground routing.

To overcome these challenges, telecom engineers turn to specialised above-ground installation techniques. On the Third Mainland Bridge, fibre optic cables are typically laid through protective conduits—such as fiberglass or high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes—mounted securely along the bridge’s underside or attached to its side beams. Fiberglass is often preferred due to its resistance to corrosion, ability to withstand temperature fluctuations, and strength in harsh marine environments, making it particularly suited for coastal infrastructure like this.

“Right in the middle of the bridge, you’ll find all the electrical systems and fibre cables running through the utility ducts,” explained Ibrahim.“These cables provide power to the antennas and transmit data for the users on the move.”

To accommodate the natural movements of the bridge, caused by heat expansion, traffic vibrations, and environmental factors, engineers install flexible joints and leave extra slack in the cables. This ensures that even as the structure shifts slightly over time, the delicate glass fibres inside the cable remain intact.

Maintaining a seamless signal

The success of this complex setup is evident in daily experience. As drivers move across the bridge or along expressways in Lagos, their mobile phones perform continuous “handovers”—shifting from one cell tower to another without losing connection. The process is seamless, but it requires careful network optimisation and frequent maintenance.

“Your phone is connected to a site, and as you move away, its signal weakens. The phone hands over to a new site as you get closer to it,” Ibrahim said. “Sometimes, due to terrain, trees, or buildings, there could be a small coverage gap. But generally, in a place like Lagos, you won’t drive five or ten minutes without coverage.”

These gaps, known as “coverage holes”, can occur when the geographical conditions or real estate limitations prevent the ideal placement of towers. Sometimes, a perfect location for a tower might be unavailable due to landlord disputes or urban constraints. In other cases, obstacles like tall buildings or even trees can block signal paths.

Water, too, plays a role. “Water has always refracted signals. That’s basic physics,” Ibrahim added. “But with the right network optimisation, we can minimise those effects.”

Fibre deployment: Precision under pressure

Installing fibre across infrastructure like the Third Mainland Bridge is a feat of logistics, engineering, and cooperation. Technicians begin with detailed surveys, mapping out the safest and least intrusive paths for the cable. They coordinate with road and bridge authorities, secure permits, and work within narrow windows to avoid disrupting traffic.

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Once on-site, crews mount support brackets to the bridge structure, install protective conduits, and carefully thread fibre cables through them. At critical points, such as expansion joints, they install flexible loops and splice enclosures, all weather-sealed to prevent damage. Every section is tested for signal integrity before the system goes live.

The result is a resilient, high-speed communication channel capable of supporting calls, streaming, navigation, and emergency communications for millions of people traversing the city’s arteries.

The cost of staying connected

Maintaining this network is a collaborative effort. According to Ibrahim, MTN works with multiple partners: one handles diesel fueling for the towers along the bridge and physical infrastructure maintenance; another oversees the active radio and transmission equipment; and a third manages the fibre network.

“We also do network optimisation from time to time to ensure optimal performance,” he said. While he didn’t disclose exact figures, the cost of maintaining a single telecom tower includes not just power and fuel, but also technical checks, repairs, and system upgrades, multiplied across a network of over 20,000 sites nationwide.

Engineering for the future

In a fast-growing megacity like Lagos, where population density and digital demand are both skyrocketing, the pressure on telecom infrastructure is relentless. Yet, by innovating with bridge-mounted fibre conduits, smart antenna placement, and continuous optimization, operators like MTN are building a communications backbone that can support Nigeria’s ambitions for a digitally connected future.

As Ibrahim put it, “We always try to find solutions to ensure our customers have 100% connectivity. That’s the goal.”

Beneath the traffic jams and beyond the reach of sight, the invisible infrastructure keeping Nigeria connected is a testament to the power of engineering—quiet, complex, and utterly indispensable.

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Source: TechCabal | Read More