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Overcoming
The Superhighway Barriers
By PATRICK OBI
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Nigeria's
quest to become a member of the world's 20 most advanced economies
by the year 2020 might after all become a mirage if urgent
steps are not taken to revolutionize the Information and Communications
Technology in line with global trends.
The sector which has of late been the most vibrant of all
other sectors of the economy in spite of the global economic
meltdown, has become the proverbial “hen that lays the
golden egg” by massively empowering the populace as
well as being a huge revenue earner for investors and the
government.
The world over, ICT tools and applications have been used
for turning around economies with such technologies playing
prominent roles in virtually all sectors of a nation's economy-be
it Education, Entertainment, Health, Banking, Commerce, Communication
and even Government businesses.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in recognition
of this and the impact on the overall development of the country
declared year 2008 as the 'Year of the Broadband.'
Though government through the NCC is vigorously pursuing the
massive deployment of broadband in the country, it still has
a lot of work to be done if it is to succeed with its policies
and programmes on the broadband project.
It is heart-rending to note that in spite of the rise in the
appreciation of the importance of the Internet in the country
occasioned by positive developments in the telecoms sector,
only about 10million of the over 140million Nigerians have
access to the Internet. This situation can only be linked
to non-affordability and limited availability as well as sub-standard
broadband facilities available in the country.
The broadband technology may sound ambiguous to the ordinary
Nigerian, but to an ICT practitioner, it is readily agreed
that it is the tool by which to fast-track development. The
world has become a global village, and one cannot get closer
without information and communication technology being readily
available.
For the country to tap into the resources of the world there
must be a massive deployment and development of broadband
across the country by both government and private institutions.
There must be total penetration of the technology into all
the nooks and crannies of the country, both rural and urban
Nigeria.
Government policies must be geared towards encouraging potential
investors in the area of broadband development. Broadband
deployment and development would surely raise the socio-economic
bar of the country in spite of the challenges ahead of actualizing
this onerous task as experts insist in our cover for this
month.
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| Broadband,
Broadband!! When Will It Be Available? |
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The Nigerian Communications
Commission (NCC) declared last year, 2008, “Year of the Broadband”.
This declaration was probably hinged on the success of some of the
initiatives the commission was promoting such as the State Accelerated
Broadband initiative (SABi), the Wire Nigeria project and some other
similar programmes.
This is 2009 and the Nigerian telecommunication sector has continued
to grow with broadband penetration obviously not enjoying same pace
of development. This to industry followers is an avoidable irony.
But why has the situation been so? Are there prospects that this accelerator
of economic activities can be evenly accessed in Nigeria? Are there
obvious challenges to the actualization of this mission?
This is our spotlight for the month as written by ROMMY IMAH… |
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A new report prepared
for the Broadband Forum by Industry Analysts, Point Topic
showed that the number of broadband subscribers around the
world has reached 400 million.
About 10 years ago, there were only 57,200 broadband subscribers,
so it has taken some massive growth to get to this point-
a 600,000% increase in the number of subscribers.
For users, the Internet serves as a platform for research,
business and even education. New skills, new knowledge, new
businesses and new contacts are acquired making use of the
information super-highway.
Yet, for first time users, it is as infectious as pool-betting-
the further you go, the more addicted you become. But unlike
pool-betting, opportunities, unquantifiable opportunities
abound in the Internet. |
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Current statistics
show Africa as the world's fastest-growing telecommunications market.
However, it is evident that while the continent has become the beautiful
bride for potential investors in the telecommunications industry,
broadband penetration has been everything but speedy owing to inconsistent
national network and expensive connections to international systems.
A study conducted by the Economists Intelligence Unit in 2007 rated
Africa as fourth in broadband penetration among the six continents
of the world scoring 7.4 behind North America's 10, Western Europe's
9.9 and Central and Eastern Europe's 7.6. The study was on a scale
of 1-10, with 10 representing the highest level of affordability.
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Cambridge, Massachusetts-based
AfricaNext Investment Research said it expected the African
broadband market to grow more than fourfold in five years,
to 12.7 million users from 2.7 million in 2007 arguing that
the growth will be made possible by new underwater cables
and national networks scheduled to begin operation this year
and next, and by the emergence of high-speed wireless technologies
like EV-DO and WiMax.
“There is a confluence of indicators that suggest that
for the first time in more than a decade, broadband growth
in the African continent may be on the verge of truly taking
off,” AfricaNext said.
Broadband, the technology that has the answer to high-speed
Internet access, may be everywhere but it has remained elusive
or so it seems.
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This seeming elusiveness
explains the reason why governments of various nations, who understand
the importance of the Internet in the overall economic development
of any nation are today, doing everything possible to make broadband
technology available. Many countries are looking at how to provide
universal access to broadband as an assumed driver of economic productivity.
In telecommunications, broadband means a wide range of frequencies
that are available to transmit information. What this ultimately means
is that the wider the range of frequencies available, the higher the
amount of information that can be sent at one given time.
The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Standardization Sector
recommendation I.113 defines broadband as a transmission capacity
that is faster than primary rate Integrated Service Digital Network
(ISDN), at 1.5 to 2 Mbit/s. ISDN is one of the oldest broadband digital
access methods for consumers and businesses to connect to the Internet. |
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The
ISDN is a telephone data service standard, whose use peaked
in the United States of America in the late 1990s prior to
the availability of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) and the
cable modem technologies.
However, there are newer and faster broadband technologies
being deployed today by Internet Service Providers and consumers
for businesses.
Recently, a new econometric study commissioned by Nokia Siemens
Networks and conducted by economic consulting firm LECG explored
the economic benefits of broadband from the wave of |
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diffusion that occurred
in Europe and the United States over the last 10 years.
The study discovered that in countries where ICT diffusion and usage
were at medium or high levels, not only had broadband technology spread
rapidly but the economic benefit from improved broadband penetration
was significant.
However, the study revealed that in countries where ICT diffusion
was relatively low, broadband has generally been adopted more slowly
and has not had a measurable impact in improving economic productivity.
In these countries, while it may simply be a matter of time before
the productivity benefits of broadband are fully evident, governments
should take a more active role in helping to speed up broadband adoption
and in helping businesses and consumers make deeper and more economically
effective use of broadband.
In fact, research has shown that without broadband, communities and
regions are at a competitive disadvantage - and this gap is growing.
Affordable reliable broadband is necessary infrastructure and communities
and regions without this will continue to see jobs, youth and industry
move away. |
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Broadband service
provides higher speed of data transmission, allowing more
content to be carried through the transmission “pipeline.”
It provides access to the highest quality Internet services
streaming media, VoIP (Internet phone), gaming, and interactive
services.
Many of these current and newly developing services require
the transfer of large amounts of data which may not be technically
feasible
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with dial-up service.
Therefore, broadband service may be increasingly necessary
to access the full range of services and opportunities that
the Internet can offer.
Broadband is always on, it does not block phone lines and
no need to reconnect to network after logging off. And there
is less delay in transmission of content when using broadband.
| Broadband.co.uk listed some of the benefits of broadband
technology to include: Watching video clips and listening
to music in real time, including live broadcasts.
Downloading music, software, film trailers and other files
much more quickly, playing games online and doing everything
that could not be done before, much more quickly.
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Broadband can provide a user
with the technical capability to access a wide range of resources,
services, and products that can enhance one's life in a variety of
ways. These resources, services, and products include, but are not
limited to:
Education, Culture, & Entertainment: Broadband can overcome geographical
and financial barriers to provide access to a wide range of educational,
cultural, and recreational opportunities and resources.
Telehealth and Telemedicine: The technology can facilitate provision
of medical care to unserved and underserved populations through remote
diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and consultations with specialists.
Economic Development/E-Commerce: Broadband can promote economic development
and revitalization through electronic commerce (e-commerce) by creating
new jobs and attracting new industries as well as providing access
to regional, national, and worldwide markets.
Electronic Government (E-Government): Electronic government can help
streamline people's interaction with government agencies, and provide
information about government policies, procedures, benefits, and programmes.
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Public Safety and Internal
Security: Broadband technology can help protect the public by
facilitating and promoting public safety information and procedures,
including, but not limited to: Early warning/public alert systems
and disaster preparation programmes; remote security monitoring
and real time security background checks in addition to backup
systems for public safety communications |
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networks.
Broadband Communications Services: This high speed Internet
technology provides access to new telecommunications technologies
such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) allowing voice communication
using the Internet.
Communications Services for People with Disabilities: One other
benefit derivable from broadband is that it permits users of
Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS) to use Video Relay Services
(VRS) to communicate more easily, quickly, and expressively
with voice telephone users.
Nigeria and Broadband Availability
With a population of about 145million people, Internet
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penetration in the country
is expected to be on the high side. But the reverse is the case going
by a report by the Global Internet Statistics which reported that
Nigeria could only boast of 10million Internet users as at March 2008.
However, to underscore its avowed commitment at ensuring the availability
of affordable Internet access to every Nigerian irrespective of residence,
Nigeria's communications regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission,
declared 2008 as the 'Year of the Broadband'.
This for the NCC is a way of endorsing the technology as the facilitator
of businesses and as an undisputed driver of the country's socio-economic
activities. |
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Already, the government
through the NCC is pursuing this assignment vigorously through
the State Accelerated Broadband initiative (SABi). The State
Accelerated Broadband initiative is designed to carry broadband
infrastructure to all the 36 state capitals of Nigeria in addition
to urban and semi-urban centres.
Besides this initiative, the NCC is also pioneering the Wire
Nigeria (WIN) project aimed at ensuring that fibre optic cable
backbone infrastructure is laid across the country as a compliment
to the State Accelerated Broadband programme. |
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Another initiative of the
NCC, the Community Communications Centre (CCC), which is aimed at
extending voice, Internet, ICT training and other services to unserved
communities on shared basis will also provide public calling centres,
cybercafé and ICT training courses, as well as serve as a platform
from which to wirelessly extend Internet access to surrounding communities.
The Schools, Universities Access Programme to Digital Life Style (SUAP2DLS)
was a project designed to provide Broadband connectivity to schools
and universities and neighbouring communities with particular focus
on Nigeria's rural populace.
And yet, there is the Rural Broadband Internet (RUBI) Access which
will award subsidies to successful proponents to provide wholesale
Internet bandwidth to Community Communication Centres, Cybercafes,
the rural Internet Service Providers, institutions and others in rural
communities in Nigeria.
Only recently at the Mobile World Congress, Barcelona Spain, the NCC
chairman, Alhaji Ahmed Joda and the Executive Vice Chairman of the
Commission, Engineer Ernest Ndukwe, in a joint press conference unveiled
Nigeria's plans of accelerating broadband infrastructure penetration
in the country.
They said the country was now in a hurry to join the broadband league
so as to provide Nigerians with fast Internet access adding that towards
this end, the Commission has shortlisted three existing telecom operators
from the over 50 that applied to run and manage the broadband project.
The two NCC chieftains noted that the three unnamed telcos expected
to be announced soon, will use their facilities to first deploy broadband
in each of the 36 state capitals and later to other towns and cities
across the country and land including all the 774 local government
headquarters in the country.
The NCC said it was determined to ensure that broadband is massively
deployed in the country and has therefore, pledged to subsidise terminal
equipment and bandwidth charges to enable more people have access
to the service. |
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It has often been argued
that for Nigeria to have the right broadband, the Nigerian Telecommunications
Limited, NITEL's SAT-3 project must be brought back to life.
Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Engr. Ernest Ndukwe agreed
completely with this thinking saying that the First National
Carrier is the country's main gateway to the outside world and
therefore, the issue of NITEL has to be resolved urgently.
The communications regulator had expressed its willingness to
provide the right spectrum for operators who are desirous of
it for the deployment of 3G and 4G services, maintaining that
the country's march to providing seamless broadband services
in line with global trend would depend totally on wireless.
The Commission would therefore, work with |
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operators for spectrum demand
in the areas of new mobile broadband services under the Long-Term
Evolution, LTE technology.
“In Nigeria, we believe
it has to be over wireless. Doing it over the wire may not be possible
if we must meet the world at the critical point of deployment of this
important infrastructure of development,” said Ndukwe at a Summit
in Lagos.
Since the telecom revolution of 2001 that triggered off the emergence
of multiple GSM and CDMA service providers as well as Internet Service
Providers (ISPs), there has been an unprecedented investment on infrastructure
by some of the operators that would facilitate massive broadband deployment,
which will in turn improve telecommunication services in the country.
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For instance,
there is the Glo One fibre optic cable network initiative, billed
to take off before the end of next month.
Glo One is a 9,500-kilometre network of submarine telecommunications
cables being laid by Globacom, Nigeria's second national carrier,
to connect Africa with Europe and the United States.
The submarine cable project, which is estimated to cost about
$250m, will run from London to 14 West African countries, with
a dedicated link to the United States. It is expected to reach
Ghana by May 2009, and shortly after, Nigeria.
Mohammed Jameel, the Group Chief Operating Officer of Globacom
said the completion of the project will revolutionise telecoms
services in the continent of Africa, facilitate easier and greater
access to the Internet and make them truly affordable to individuals
and corporate bodies. |
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Besides the intercontinental
fibre optics project, Globacom which is also Nigeria's Second
National Operator has commissioned multiple phases of its ambitious
$700 million fibre optic cable to link Nigerian cities.
The fibre optic cable has a much faster speed of data transmission,
voice and broadband Internet and multimedia services over a
range of frequencies.
“At present, service providers rely on satellite based
operators for their bandwidth |
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requirements. These
are dependent on weather and therefore, not completely reliable. A
thunderstorm can render the microwave and satellite ineffective.
Fibre optics guarantees high speed, reliable data and voice connectivity
to meet the large bandwidth requirements of service providers.
“We have put in place a network of infinite capacity, so that
the consumer can scale his bandwidth requirement as his need grows.
The service is also much cheaper than satellite based transmissions
because the satellite bandwidth providers retail bandwidths that they
procure in bulk and this makes their services very expensive. Our
optic fibre service thus offers the customer the best value for money,”
Mohammed Jameel had stated at the launch of the Minna-Abuja route
of the project. |
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The facility will provide
land bandwidth for offices and corporate organizations while
telecom companies, Internet service providers, individual businesses,
anufacturers, oil companies, banks and financial institutions,
governments and other corporate organizations will have a better
alternative for their bulk voice and data transmission requirements.
First National Carrier, the Nigerian |
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Telecommunications
Limited (NITEL) was before now touted to have enjoyed the monopoly
in the data, Internet and trunking services space, driven by fibre
technology.
NITEL had the privilege of having exclusive rights to the Nigeria
end of the South Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable, otherwise
known as SAT-3/WASC. This is an ambitious submarine communications
cable project linking Portugal and Spain to South Africa, with connections
to several West African countries along the route.
It forms part of the SAT-3/WASC/SAFE cable system, where the SAFE
cable links South Africa to Asia. The SAT-3/WASC/SAFE system provides
a path between Asia and Europe for telecommunications traffic that
is an alternative to the cable routes that pass through the Middle
East, such as SEA-ME-WE 3 and FLAG. SAT-3/WASC provides the only optical
fiber link between West Africa and the other parts of the world.
MTN, one of the leading GSM services providers in the country has
also invested in excess of $300million on a 3-phased national Fibre
Optic Transmission Network in Nigeria that will cover 3,500kilometres
on completion.
Ahmad Farroukh, MTN Nigeria chief executive officer once noted that
the project has the ability to fast-forward the growth of ICT among
other economic values accruing to the nation from such an investment.
“The new fibre optics network on full completion will cover
over 3,500 km, spanning the length and breadth of the country and
will ensure a dramatic improvement of quality of service.” |
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Zain, another GSM services
provider in Nigeria has commenced the construction of a 4,000kilometre
fibre optic transmission backbone across cities in the country.
The project described as the widest in the country is expected
to be completed mid 2009.
“We have commenced
work on the construction of a 4000km fibre-optic transmission
backbone, addition of 2000km to our existing 3000km microwave
backbone as well as addition of 1000 base stations to our existing
3,100 sites to boost the transmission and radio capacity of
our network”, Bayo Ligali, Zain Nigeria CEO once said.
Alheri Engineering, owned by business magnate Alhaji Aliko Dangote,
is partnering Phase 3 Telecom |
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and PHCN to build a fibre
optic network that will cover the Eastern region of the Country. The
agreement was signed in Benin, the Edo State capital a couple of months
ago.
In the new partnership, Alheri Engineering and Phase 3 are jointly
creating a One Network of over 14,000kilometre of aerially deployed
Fibre Optics Cables, using the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)
Power lines. Work on the first 472km from Benin to Port Harcourt has
commenced and the project was expected to be completed and available
for commercial use in 90 days.
Alhaji Dangote said at the agreement signing event that: “The
'One Network' Fibre Optic Network will not only be used for voice,
data and video transmissions, but will also be used as leverage to
strengthen delivering in areas of e-Governance, Telemedicine, imparting
Literacy and Information Security, among other facilities.”
And yet, there is the Main One Cable project, an ambitious Open Access
fibre optic transmission project that will run from Portugal into
the coast of West Africa with initial landings in Portugal, Nigeria
and Ghana, and with the possibility of landing in more countries along
the coast of West Africa down to South Africa as regulatory policies
and market opportunities permit. |
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A 1.92terabits per second
capacity cable system, it will significantly expand international
and Internet capacity to West Africa by providing 15 times,
the capacity available on the SAT-3 system.
The first phase of the project will span 6,900 kilometres, extending
from Portugal to Ghana and then Nigeria, the second phase is
expected to extend by another 6,000 kilometres to South Africa
and Angola.
Chief Executive Officer of Main One Cable Company, Ms. Funke
Opeke said the project when completed, will provide open access
to regional telcos and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) at
rates that are less than the current international bandwidth
tariffs. “With a capacity that is several multiples of
what is currently |
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Coast, Main One Cable promises to bring the cost of international
bandwidth to levels that are globally competitive. We will provide
wholesale connectivity between our Lagos or Accra cable stations and
London, UK at prices that are at 10-20% of what is currently paid
for such services,” she assured. The
challenges facing broadband deployment
Experts have argued that the absence of last mile equipment and
high cost of bandwidth are responsible for the low broadband Internet
access penetration being witnessed in the country. For instance,
lack of essential equipment like optic fibre has immensely hampered
broadband delivery in the country.
It has often been argued that to ensure high speed, low latency
broadband services, ample international bandwidth at reasonable
rates is paramount. One of the problems faced by Nigeria just like
other African countries today is that some service providers do
not have the required international bandwidth to provide the standard
broadband speed.
President of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association, Ndukwe
Kalu, observed that the absence of optic fibre and copper to deliver
Internet service in many parts of the country remained a stumbling
block to the growth of broadband access, adding that mobile services
could not effectively deliver such services.
But going by the massive optic fibre projects across the country
and beyond, that issue appears to be getting to resolution point.
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Besides absence of international
bandwidth, one other challenge to the penetration of broadband
in the country is in the area of funding and investment in the
broadband rollout.
“The issue of funding and
investment maybe an impediment, looking at the issue of global
economic meltdown where finances and inves tments are drying
up,” said Engineer Lanre Ajayi, President of the Nigerian
Internet Group.
Ajayi went further to argue that there is undue concentration
on the urban areas at the |
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negligence of the rural areas-
a replication of what is happening in the voice telephony sector.
“My major concern to this broadband roll out is that it is being
limited to the urban areas alone, forgetting that more of our people
live in the rural areas and we need to take care of them. But presently,
the roll out that we've seen is limited to the urban areas.
So that's my concern and it is an area the government should look
at by giving the operators the right incentives.”
Spectrum availability is another challenge to broadband penetration
in the country. Because broadband wireless technology is considered
the best for last mile and it requires frequency spectrum, the onus
is on the NCC to make this available.
Most prospective broadband service providers have not secured the
spectrum for their service and this poses as a big challenge that
must be addressed if the country must make any meaningful headway
in broadband growth. |
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Neotel's strategist,
Angus Hay believes proper spectrum allocation and management
from African communication regulators can go a long way to
help improve broadband provisioning in the continent.
He posits that this, coupled with spectral
efficiency, is an important ingredient for a successful broadband
environment like Nigeria where wireless services are becoming
the primary access method.
Hay further said that broadband providers
are very reluctant to release true contention ratios most
likely because they do not fall within international norms.
While some providers disclose their local contention ratios,
it is not easy to establish the ratios they use for international
bandwidth. |
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ratios fall within acceptable limits, Hay argues, the end user experience
can diminish significantly, especially during business hours. The
advertised access speeds, can become insignificant if adequate bandwidth
is not made available on the backend of a broadband network.
What should be
done?
Experts are of the opinion that absence
of ubiquitous broadband has been slowing the pace of overall telecommunications
growth in the country. To them, Nigeria would have made greater
impact on the continental telecommunications scene if broadband
penetration has been higher than what it is today in the country.
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It is argued that
the country's effort at becoming one of the 20 leading economies
of the world come 2020 will come to nothing if serious effort
is not made to increase broadband penetration in the country.
The argument is based on the fact that modern economies are
driven by heavy investments on ICT tools and applications.
For Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, President of the Association of Telecommunications
Companies of |
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Nigeria (ATCON), the
country's so-called telecoms revolution cannot be complete except
she succeeds in delivering broadband services to her people in a ubiquitous
and affordable manner.
Ekuwem insists that the benefits of broadband technology cannot be
swept under the carpet and therefore, should be seen by both the private
and public sector as the next phase of the country's telecommunications
development especially now that the whole world is doing a paradigm
shift to knowledge economy.
“Broadband,” according to him, “is the future of
the global telecoms industry, and the country must be ready for that.”
Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Engineer Ernest Ndukwe believes
strongly that broadband was the next frontier in the country's telecommunications
revolution that needed to be conquered.
“We believe that with the current penetration of phone services
across the country, broadband services would be a major catalyst for
pervasive application of e-education, e-health, e-commerce, e-government,
e-business, and all those e-applications that are available in most
developed countries of the world.
“This also means that if broadband infrastructures are made
available to users, there will be cost effective use of Internet services
as users would spend less time doing their businesses on the net',
he said.
The NCC sponsored State Accelerated Broadband initiative (SABi) is
no doubt a step in the right direction owing to the fact that the
rationale behind the project is to provide wireless broadband services
in Nigerian cities so as to stimulate demand for Internet services
and increase usage, and most importantly, drive broadband to homes
at affordable levels.
Again, the Wire Nigeria project being facilitated by the Commission
to ensure the provision of fibre optic cable backbone infrastructure
across the country will go a long way to promoting broadband penetration
in the country. Experts say greater efforts should be geared towards
actualizing this project.
President of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA),
Ndukwe Kalu said “I strongly believe that the Nigerian Communications
Commission (NCC) State Accelerated Broadband Initiative (SABI) project
in the next 12 to 15 months will take Nigeria to the number one position
as far as broadband usage is concerned in Africa”
Stakeholders in the ICT sector believe that for the country to enjoy
accelerated national economic development, broadband connectivity
should be seen as a tool for realizing this.
They contend that there was need for the country to continuously improve
on her connectivity infrastructure if she ever hoped to achieve any
meaningful broadband breakthrough.
For Jimson Olufuye, President, Information Technology Association
of Nigeria (ITAN), affordable access can only be promoted the country
when government policies encourage competition and the expansion of
consumer markets, as well as promote investment in infrastructure
and connectivity. |
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Govt
Should Give Operators The Right Incentive To Deploy Broadband
-Ajayi
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What
is broadband all about?
Broadband simply speaking is all about fast Internet access.
You know we started with dial-up Internet access which was generally
slow.
As demand for Internet services was increasing and people began
downloading pictures and videos from the Internet, the narrow
band which we used to have became insufficient and there was
the need to increase the band to the size of the pipe that carries
the traffic, hence the need for broadband.
The definition for broadband is always a shifting one, but certainly
it is an Internet service of not less than 256 kilobyte per
second.
Of recent, the NCC has been canvassing for massive broadband
deployment in the country, how feasible is this? |
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It is not only feasible
but the logical thing to do. And I would like to applaud the vision
of the NCC for recognizing the importance of broadband in national
development.
Broadband is a technology that allows the converged technology of
video, data, Internet and sort of traffic. It is a service that
would help drive all aspects of our economy, be it aviation, transportation,
agriculture.
It becomes a tool that everyone must have because it facilitates
communication, information sharing, entertainment; it is a viable
tool for productivity driving economic activities. For NCC to have
recognized that and given it adequate attention, I really commend
that vision.
Do government policies support this
initiative?
Government in this particular case is being represented by the NCC,
so if NCC says this is the way I want to go, that simply means government
is supporting the initiative. But there are some other government
global objectives that must work in tandem with NCC vision; which
means that government policies must encourage and facilitate broadband
service provision in the country.
Yes, NCC can do so much but there are other government policies
that are outside the control and purview of NCC that needs fine-tuning
so as to ensure that operators pay attention to it. As at now, operators
in Nigeria are happy making money through voice because Nigerians
are ready to pay anything to talk on phone and the operators are
capitalizing on that.
Nigerians should know that they stand to benefit a lot from broadband
but because it would not immediately enrich the pocket of the operators,
that is why they may not pay attention to it. But if it is for our
long term interest to have broadband and not in the immediate interest
of the operators to deploy broadband then, something must be done
by the government and stakeholders to refocus the attention of the
operators to the provision of broadband.
So government must come with special incentives, conducive environment,
appropriate legal, regulatory and political framework that refocuses
the attention of operators from just providing voice, to the provision
of broadband because we need massive investment in the area of broadband.
It's heartwarming that the regulator recognizes that.
What do you think may militate against the success of broadband
development in Nigeria?
The greatest challenge to the penetration of broadband in Nigeria
is mostly funding and investment in the broadband rollout. My major
concern to this broadband rollout is that it is being limited to
the urban areas alone, forgetting that more of our people live in
the rural areas and we need to take care of them. But presently,
the rollout that we've seen is limited to the urban areas and that's
my concern.
Another area the government should look at is finding a way of giving
the operators the right incentives. The issue of funding and investment
may be an impediment, looking at the issue of global economic meltdown
where finances and investments are drying up.
Yet, one other challenge is still in the local terrain, which has
to do with the availability of spectrum. Broadband wireless technology
is the best for the last mile and it requires frequency spectrum,
which NCC have to make available. As at today, most operators rolling
out broadband have not even secured the spectrum and this a big
challenge which we must really address.
Which of the broadband technologies
would best suit the country?
The provisions of broadband have three dimensions, first, the international
link, that links Nigeria to the rest of the world, which is best
provided by fibre optics by submarine cable. Today, we have just
one submarine cable linking Nigeria to the rest of the world which
is the SAT-3 cable. As an alternative to SAT-3, we use the satellite
which is also a good alternative. But certainly not the best option;
the best option is always the cable because of its high capacity.
The fibre cable is the best option.
The second segment to the rollout of broadband after the international
link is the national backbone, which is the national transmission
link that takes the broadband from Lagos where the landing station
of the international link is to the rest of the country. And that
is tested and serviced by fibre. Regrettably, we don't have sufficient
fibre rollout in the country and they are only limited to the urban
areas.
The last part of the transmission chain is the distribution of the
bandwidth from the operator's base station to the customers. The
technology best suited for that is the wireless technology and there
is a whole gamut of wireless technology. There is the WiMAX, HSPDA
etc. But wireless is the most pragmatic way of deploying service
at the last mile level.
To summarize it all, I would recommend fibre for both the international
link and the national backbone and wireless for the last mile.
At present, how do you assess the
level of broadband penetration in the country?
It is certainly growing. We have broadband penetration through the
GSM operators, CDMA and the ISPs, much better than what we used
to have. But I want to say that the rate of penetration and the
affordability is not the best. For instance, it is being overpriced
in the country compared to the rest of the world especially the
developed world.
It is an irony when you compare the success of the telecom operator
to broadband penetration. And I don't know why we should not attain
the same success in the telecom sector with broadband.
Can the massive deployment of broadband change the face of the society,
especially unemployment?
Certainly, it can; but it cannot work by only providing access to
people, it can when the people understand the potentials that are
in the Internet and are willing to tap into its vast array of opportunities.
But unfortunately in our environment people see the Internet as
a technology to be exploited. It is a technology based on trust,
so people should not abuse that trust.
The Internet gives tremendous opportunities to do a whole lot of
businesses, and very soon most businesses in the country would eventually
move online. People should take advantage of these opportunities
because it is capable of generating millions of employment. But
the bottom-line is that people should try and acquire the skills.
I believe that with the right empowerment, education and skill,
people can turn around their jobless situation to fully employed
and even a job creator.
That is why the Nigerian Internet Group recognizes the lack of awareness
in this area and it initiated a programme just for that purpose
which is called Internet for Job (I4J) initiative. The purpose of
this initiative is to sensitize people on the use of the Internet
to create jobs. So we are encouraging people to start their own
online businesses and for government to move its services online.
The deployment of broadband is certainly changing the society for
the best if properly harnessed.
Ten years from now, can you predict
the societal cum national development broadband could bring to the
country?
When this Internet thing started, nobody envisaged this level of
development. So, it would be hard forecasting the next ten years.
Personally speaking, I feel that in the next five years the words,
radio and television would become archaic because people would be
more comfortable with smaller devices that can through the Internet
provide same services.
With the Internet, new technologies are being churned out daily
and we have no option but to move along with the global development
powered through the Internet.
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Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
DSL is a wireline
transmission technology that transmits data faster over traditional
copper telephone lines already installed to homes and businesses.
DSL-based broadband provides transmission speeds ranging from several
hundred Kbps to millions of bits per second (Mbps). The availability
and speed of your DSL service may depend on the distance from your
home or business to the closest telephone company facility.
The following are types of DSL transmission
technologies:
Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) used primarily by residential
customers, such as Internet surfers, who receive a lot of data but
do not send much. ADSL typically provides faster speed in the downstream
direction than the upstream direction. ADSL allows faster downstream
data transmission over the same line used to provide voice service,
without disrupting regular telephone calls on that line.
Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (SDSL) used typically by businesses
for services such as video conferencing, which need significant
bandwidth both upstream and downstream.
Faster forms of DSL typically available to businesses include: High-data-rate
Digital Subscriber Line (HDSL); and Very High-data-rate Digital
Subscriber Line (VDSL).
Advantages:
Easy to install
Disadvantages:
Downloading information is much faster than sending
(2) Cable Modem
Cable modem service enables cable operators to provide
broadband using the same coaxial cables that deliver pictures and
sound to your TV set.
Most cable modems are external devices that have two connections,
one to the cable wall outlet and the other to a computer. They provide
transmission speeds of 1.5 Mbps or more.
Subscribers can access their cable modem service simply by turning
on their computers without dialing-up an ISP. You can still watch
cable TV while using it. Transmission speeds vary depending on the
type of cable modem, cable network, and traffic load. Speeds are
comparable to DSL.
Advantages:
Easy to install
Potentially the fastest connection
Disadvantages:
Only available in cities and large towns
(3) Fibre
Fibre, or fibre optic, is a newer technology available for providing
broadband. Fibre optic technology converts electrical signals carrying
data to light and sends the light through transparent glass fibres
about the diametre of a human hair.
Fibre transmits data at speeds far exceeding current DSL or cable
modem speeds, typically by tens or even hundreds of Mbps.
The actual speed you experience will vary depending upon a variety
of factors, such as how close to your computer the service provider
brings the fibre, and how the service provider configures the service,
including the amount of bandwidth used. The same fibre providing
your broadband can also simultaneously deliver voice (VoIP) and
video services, including video-on-demand.
Telecommunications providers (mostly telephone companies) are offering
fibre broadband in limited areas and have announced plans to expand
their fibre networks and offer bundled voice, Internet access, and
video services.
Variations of the technology run the fibre all the way to the customer's
home or business, to the curb outside, or to a location somewhere
between the provider's facilities and the customer.
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(4)
Wireless
Wireless broadband connects a home or business to the Internet
using a radio link between the customer's location and the service
provider's facility.
Wireless broadband can be mobile or fixed.
Wireless technologies using longer range directional equipment
provide broadband service in remote or sparsely populated areas
where DSL or cable modem service would be costly to provide.
Speeds are generally comparable to DSL |
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and cable modem. An
external antenna is usually required.
Fixed wireless broadband service is becoming more and more widely
available at airports, city parks, bookstores, and other public locations
called “hotspots.”
Hotspots generally use a short-range technology that provides speeds
up to 54 Mbps. Wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) technology is also often
used in conjunction with DSL or cable modem service to connect devices
within a home or business to the Internet via a broadband connection.
Mobile wireless broadband services are also becoming available from
mobile telephone service providers and others. These services are
generally appropriate for highly-mobile customers and require a special
PC card with a built in antenna that plugs into a user's laptop computer.
Generally, they provide lower speeds, in the range of several hundred
Kbps. Advantages:
Not restricted by the local telephone exchange
Fast connection for downloading and sending information
Disadvantages:
Requires an experienced technology provider to set up and maintain
the network
Can suffer from interference in built-up areas if there is another
network nearby used for something other than internet access
(5) Satellite
Just as satellites orbiting the earth provide necessary links for
telephone and television service, they can also provide links for
broadband. Satellite broadband is another form of wireless broadband,
also useful for serving remote or sparsely populated areas.
Downstream and upstream speeds for satellite broadband depend on
several factors, including the provider and service package purchased,
the consumer's line of sight to the orbiting satellite, and the
weather.
Typically a consumer can expect to receive (download) at a speed
of about 500 Kbps and send (upload) at a speed of about 80 Kbps.
These speeds may be slower than DSL and cable modem, but download
speed is about 10 times faster than download speed with dial-up
Internet access. Service can be disrupted in extreme weather conditions.
Advantages:
Available anywhere
Disadvantages:
Expensive
Bad weather can cause connection problems
(6) Broadband
over Powerline (BPL)
BPL is the delivery of broadband over the existing low and medium
voltage electric power distribution network. BPL speeds are comparable
to DSL and cable modem speeds. BPL can be provided to homes using
existing electrical connections and outlets.
BPL is an emerging technology, currently available in very limited
areas. It has significant potential because power lines are installed
virtually everywhere, alleviating the need to build new broadband
facilities to every customer.
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