Phase 3 Telecom (or "Phase 3 Technologies") is an aerial fiber-optic network infrastructure provider, providing connectivity, network management, and data storage services to wholesale, enterprise, and retail customers across West Africa. The company was incorporated in 2003 and is headquartered in Abuja, Nigeria. Licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission in 2006 - the company in 2014, 2018, and 2022, added more kilometers to its existing coverage area with footprint expansion of its backbone, enterprise network , and broadband services.^[1] Phase operates 6,000 kilometres (3,700 mi) and counting open-access aerial fiber-optic network. The company, for over two decades has been vital to growth in Africa's growing ICT market, implementing the Wire Nigeria Project^[2]—conceived by the Nigerian Communications Commission to help provide broadband communications access to rural communities. Phase 3 has a broad range of wholesale and enterprise clients including Glo, MTN, 9Mobile, Ntel, Airtel, Smile Communications, World Bank, Julius Berger, Unity Bank, etc. ^[3] Some of the African countries where the company currently has partner operations include Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and the Republic of Niger.^[4][5]

Phase 3 was licensed in 2003, as a national long-distance operator and in 2006 entered into a major strategic Public–Private partnership to access powerlines to carry traffic for telecommunication operators.^[7] Phase 3 and Alheri Engineering were the two firms that beat 7 companies, including Siemens Nigeria, Suburban Telecom, NTL, Optic Networks Limited, and Backbone Company of Nigeria; to secure the deal.^[8] Such access to a telecommunications-enabled infrastructure was to make it possible for both companies (with Phase3 planned layout pegged for Nigeria's north and Alheri Engineering's for the west) to build out reliable fiber-optic backbone networks, to ensure faster broadband penetration and nationwide connectivity in the Nigeria unserved and under-served communities.^[9] Thus, making it possible for mobile operators, internet service providers, businesses, government agencies, and international organizations to take advantage of the huge bandwidth that is centrally managed.^[10] And, in March 2006, Phase 3 finalized a 15 Years agreement for the Design, Build, Finance, Operate (DBFO) Telecommunications Infrastructure model for the Western part of Nigeria".^[11] This largely positioned Phase 3 for expansive growth; the operational viability to run a layered range of telecoms, and value-added services as well as considerable access to foreign investment. More so, the company's capacity to offer non-discriminatory and non-competitive services to mobile operators became its distinctive factor as an open access network with unique right of way (RoW).^[12]

In 2021, Phase 3 with its subsidiary, P3Tech entered into a partnership with YahClick (powered by Hughes) on high-speed, low-latency satellite internet services in Nigeria. The key intent is to position as the connectivity infrastructure across unserved and underserved communities that are most affected considering the nation's digital divide index and the challenges of affordable internet access.^[21] The collaboration was piloted in the Northern geopolitical zone in 2022 and leveraged Phase 3's aerial fiber network to circumvent infrastructure deployment challenges limiting the people in the region's most remote areas from actively participating in the global digital economy. Considering, the Federal Government's goal of achieving 70% broadband penetration and 90% population coverage by 2025.^{[22] [23][24]}

In the continuum of its network expansion map, Phase3 went into partnership with PCCW Global (the Hong Kong-headquartered international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong's premier telecom service provider) for regional connectivity provisioning that allows network access for businesses in multiple locations across West Africa^[25]