NIGERIA: Telecoms market transformed with new broadband cable

Record ID: 234081

  • Title: NIGERIA: Telecoms market transformed with new broadband cable
  • Date: 23rd July 2010
  • Summary: LAGOS, NIGERIA (JULY 21, 2010) (REUTERS) TRAFFIC ON HIGHWAY PASSING BILLBOARD ADVERTISING ZAIN MOBILE PHONE COMPANY CLOSER VIEW OF BILLBOARD ADVERTISING GLO MOBILE PHONE COMPANY NEXT TO BUSY STREET VENDOR SELLING MOBILE PHONE RECHARGE CARDS IN CAR PARK VARIOUS OF PEOPLE TALKING ON THEIR MOBILE PHONES
  • Embargoed: 7th August 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Nigeria
  • Country: Nigeria
  • Topics: Communications
  • Reuters ID: LVA7J6FK8WIFMDWXVKQV6UEXX0MG
  • Story Text: There was excitement in Africa's fastest-growing telecoms market on Wednesday (July 21) as three subscribed to a new undersea cable linking Nigeria and West Africa to Europe.
    The cable paves the way for a transformation in internet access as the Nigerian arm of Etisalat, South Africa's MTN and Nigeria's Starcomms were among the first to sign up for broadband services from the cable, operated by the Main One Cable Company.
    Main One says the cable delivers more than ten times the broadband capacity of the South Atlantic Terminal (SAT-3), Nigeria's sole existing undersea cable, and will enable service providers to offer cheaper and more reliable internet access.
    Participants from Bangalore, London and Johannesburg took part in the launch using teleconferencing facilities -- not previously possible in Nigeria -- hosted by U.S. router maker Cisco Systems Inc, which is partnering with Main One to develop applications for the Nigerian market.
    Steven Evans, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Etisalat's Nigerian arm, said his firm was testing the cable and would go live on it soon.
    "We are working very hard at the moment actually to go live on the network hopefully in the next 24 to 48 hours so that we would be one of the first people to be having broadband on the main one network into Nigeria," Evans said.
    The 7,000 km (4,350 mile) fibre optic cable, built in partnership with U.S. firm Tyco, runs from Portugal to Nigeria and Ghana, and also branches out to Morocco, the Canary Islands, Senegal and Ivory Coast.
    Evans said it allows mobile phone operators to launch enhanced services, increase speed and lower prices to boost competition in Africa's most populous nation of 140 million people.
    "What we see for our customers is a much better, faster, quicker broadband service to their mobile phones and to their laptops. This market is really crying out for it. There is a tremendous demand for it out there and I think this is the beginning of a new era actually in terms of broadband connectivity to Nigeria," Evans said.
    MTN is Nigeria's biggest mobile operator but faces tough competition from local firm Globacom and from India's Bharti, which last month completed a $9 billion (U.S. dollars) acquisition of the African operations of Kuwait's Zain.
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