�May address Nigeria�s last mile broadband challenge
�To drop cost of doing business in hinterlands
�To drop cost of doing business in hinterlands
By Prince Osuagwu (Hi-Tech Editor)
The irony of Nigeria�s poor broadband penetration is that in abundance of submarine cables, with volumes of terabytes, the citizens hardly get enough bandwidth to do their daily internet activities.
Where they get that opportunity, it comes at a huge cost. Even with the high cost, it is only available, mainly in the cities.
With Glo, MainOne and other investors in submarine broadband cable, there are quantum capacity of broadband that have not left the Lagos seaside where they landed many years ago, to the hinterlands where they should ordinarily create economic empowerment
These multi-million dollar submarine cables lying fallow on the shores of Lagos while the country struggles fruitlessly to achieve last mile deployment, are mainly because the Federal Government and the states have been unable to harmonise the Right of Way (RoW) levies that give operators access to deploy services.
While the National Economic Council, NEC, RoW guideline stipulates N145 per metre for laying fibre network in every part of the country, the states have arbitrarily fixed their own charges which range from N1,500 to N6,000. States like Rivers and Abia, charge N1,500 and N2,000 respectively, others like Lagos, Delta and Ogun charge up to N5,840, N4,600 and N6,500 respectively.
These price disparities hold down telecom and other broadband operators from rolling out broadband services to most of the rural areas.
However, second National Operator, Globacom, recently braved the odds to land a national submarine cable, Glo 2, specifically to ease roll out in the hinterlands of South-South and South-East.
Since the project flag off, not a few telecom subscribers have commended the effort. Some even referred to it as broadband revolution made possible.
A Lagos-based economist, Mr Felix De-Kanu, described the initiative as �a patriotic investment.�
He said: �I have read about Glo2, the services it tends to render and where it tends to do so. I can tell you unequivocally that our second national operator has just made a patriotic investment. It is only a true national operator that can do that, because with this, the people of South-East and South-South would witness a dramatic economic turnaround. Every economy today is technology-driven and at the heart of technology is the internet which broadband powers. So, other telcos should make similar investments to turn Nigeria�s economy around,� he added.
Meanwhile, a value added service provider, Mr James Ukiwe has called on state governments in the South-East and South-South to complement Glo�s efforts by reducing the Right of Way prices to a reasonable rate so that not only Glo, but other interested parties can leverage the national submarine cable initiative to spread broadband services in the hinterlands.
According to Ukiwe: �Without state governments� buy-in to this project, the arbitrary Right of Way prices would still hinder roll out of services and render Glo�s patriotic investment almost useless to the people.
�I know that Glo2 is business but Globacom has also shown it is a true Nigerian company. It has made one investment that can give states in the hinterland an edge, but that also depends on whether governors in these states would recognise that and buy into the project,� he quipped.
Globacom�s second national submarine cable initiative came after it successfully landed a 9,800km long, 2.5 terabytes per second capacity submarine communications cable, tagged Glo 1 in 2011.
This second undersea fibre optic cable becomes the first national undersea cable to be landed outside Lagos.
While Glo1 was linked from Bude UK to Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Ghana to Lagos Nigeria, Glo2 submarine cable would be built along the Nigerian coast from Alpha Beach in Lagos, where Glo1 landing station is located, and run across the Atlantic Coast of Nigeria to land at a shore in Akwa Ibom State.
It will provide data connectivity speed of up to 12 terabyte per second and designed for further expansion southwards to Cameroon, Gabon, Angola, and other African countries.
Globacom says the cable which comprises three fibre pairs will offer solutions to the protracted issue of non-availability of telecommunications service on offshore platforms.
Signing a Memorandum of Understanding with Huawei for the construction of the cable recently, Globacom said it was optimistic that in 18 months when the initiative is scheduled to begin full operation, Nigerian hinterlands may not remain the same even as cost of doing businesses in the oil regions, as well as South-South and South- East environs would drastically reduce.
Globacom also said its conviction on the project was driven by the technical competencies of the driver, Huawei Technologies.
The telco revealed that Huawei has also taken up the upgrade of Glo 1 to provide a maximum of 16 tps from Nigeria to the UK. The upgrade is expected to be completed by May.
Globacom official, Mr Folu Aderibigbe said: �This dedicated submarine optical cable will provide ultra-high capacity connection to oil communities as well as enhance the network efficiency in all Globacom operating areas.
�Since inception 15 years ago, Globacom has pioneered several innovative technologies in the telecommunications landscape. Some of these innovations include GPRS, MMS, 3G Plus and the 4G LTE technology which today has the widest nationwide coverage.
�Today will mark the beginning of another milestone in our history as we sign the contract to build the first-ever national undersea cable to be landed outside Lagos.
�It will also provide high-speed internet connectivity as well as digitalise oil platforms to improve productivity. The new cable will usher in a new era of digitalisation to the Nigerian economy.�
He claimed that �Glo 2 will build on the company�s requisite pedigree and vast network to enhance the enterprise solutions as well as capacity for all our current and potential subscribers.�
When completed, Glo2, is expected to provide data connectivity speed of up to 12 terabyte per second, and designed for further expansion southwards to Cameroon, Gabon, Angola, and other African countries.
In his presentation, the company�s Regional Director Technical, Sanjib Roy, said that the Glo2 submarine cable would be built along the Nigerian coast from Alpha Beach in Lagos, where Glo1 landing station is located, and run across the Atlantic Coast of Nigeria to land at coast of Akwa Ibom State.
Roy said: � Glo2 would enable high capacity connections between oil companies� offices onshore and their offshore locations.
�The New submarine cable will be approximately 850 kilometres long. The cable will be integrated to Globacom�s existing terrestrial Backbone Network to provide additional service redundancy, especially Abuja and other parts of the country.�
He announced that the cable would contain three fibre pairs, with the first pair connecting Lagos directly to southern part of Nigeria with terrestrial extension to other parts of the country for redundancy and maintenance purposes. The second will be equipped with eight switchable Branching Units (BUs) which will deliver high capacity to offshore oil stations and communities connected directly to BUs, while the third pair will be equipped with two switchable Branching Units to deliver high capacity to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.
Representing Huawei Technologies, Li Shaowei, said after completion, the national undersea cable will modernise and digitise the country�s technology landscape, promising that the project begins immediately after the MoU signing and will be completed in 18 months time.
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