. . . Private sector urged to leverage infrastructure
Ben Uzor Jr
Exciting times are in the making for telecommunications consumers, as some firms are beginning to take advantage of the enormous bandwidth capacity on offer from new fibre-optic cable systems which are rolling out in the country to strengthen existing services and produce new, innovative solutions which promise to transform the Nigerian economy.
Fibre-optic cable systems typically carry telecommunications; internet and other data traffic and offer much higher bandwidth (speeds) than microwave and other radio solutions. For years and until the last few weeks, the only cable system serving Nigeria’s Internet and data needs, was the SAT-3/WASC or South Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable is a submarine communications cable linking Portugal and Spain to South Africa, with connections to several West African countries along the route.
In the last few weeks, the ‘Main One Cable System’ has launched, more recently, the ‘Glo-One’ cable has reportedly, similarly gone live. Both cable systems are Nigerian owned. Main One belongs to the Main Street Technologies company while Glo-One belongs to Nigeria’s second national operator – Globacom. A few other such initiatives are in the making.
Experts say that the proliferation of submarine cable systems has opened up the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector to further foreign direct investment. In addition, they have advised players in the ICT industry to take up the challenge of developing and implementing practical investment plans in the area of broadband infrastructure deployment and content creation so as to spread the benefits of these cables to the Nigerian populace.
Similarly, the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) in a recent memo to its members announced plans to spearhead a three phase implementation agenda in this direction. This, it was learnt, would include: building infrastructure across the country, managing data services in a new way and embarking on stimulant funding campaign of local entrepreneurs. Besides, all three mobile phone operators (MTN Nigeria, Etisalat Nigeria, and Starcomms Plc) who bought capacity from Main One cable agree that the connection would open a new window of opportunity for them to introduce enhanced mobile and data services that will add value to the life of the Nigerian phone user.
For Starcomms Plc, the connection to Main One cable would enable the firm effectively offer its Inter-Standard Roaming (ISR) Solution, Business Day has gathered. This solution enables a Starcomms CDMA phone user to make pre-paid roaming calls to an international GSM network. Now, customers of Starcomms can enjoy more efficient and quality voice and data services on their phones.
Analysts say that the company has taken the first step towards opening up a vast untapped market for mobile operators. Steven Evans, chief executive officer (CEO), Etisalat Nigeria assured industry stakeholders recently that, “with the latest technology, customers on the Etisalat network will have the benefit of increased broadband and enhanced data services.”
A reliable source at Etisalat Nigeria told Business Day that the company was fully aware of falling revenue from voice services and was indeed positioning itself to becoming a dominant player in the internet space through the expansion of its mobile data services strategically tailored towards enhancing connectivity and boosting efficiency. In addition, the company is examining new pricing models that better reflect actual network usage and guard profitability, the source further explained.
More importantly, Main One’s entry into the Nigerian ICT market will further strengthen new services that will help make vital services like healthcare and education more accessible to those who need them most. “Main One and Cisco Nigeria are collaborating to ensure we deliver content to the people because these cables will only bring value once they can impact lives. With our TelePresence (Advanced video conferencing) solution riding on MainOne’s cable infrastructure, healthcare professionals in Nigeria, for example, will soon be able to collaborate more easily, regardless of location, thereby improving both the timeliness and the quality of care delivered.
Patients will be able to access specialists and physicians from remote locations”, Richard Edet, managing director, Cisco Nigeria told Business Day in an interview. Also, Phillips Consulting, an indigenous company offering management consulting and training services to corporate organisations sees incredible prospects for the cable with regards to bringing education to remote locations and connecting with institutions and tutors across the globe.
Paul Ayim, managing consultant, Phillips Consulting Limited Nigeria who spoke to Business Day on telephone said: “As the capacity of MainOne becomes readily available, firms like ours can now decide to host a server here and individuals who are interested in acquiring knowledge can take advantage of our e-learning solution. We can help transform the learning environment by bringing training and education to remote locations and connecting with institutions and tutors abroad.
“On the side of our clients, it will be less of a problem for them because their IT departments can now support our e-learning solution because issues revolving around bandwidth availability and cost have been removed”.
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