Gerald Ilukwe, director-general of Galaxy Backbone Plc, has disclosed that the company would grant over 12 million Nigerians in the rural and underserved communities in the country, digital access through a broadband network to be deployed by them, by the end of 2009.
Ilukwu, who made the disclosure last week in Abuja, during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Galaxy and the Nigerian Postal Service (Nipost), further stated that under the terms of the MoU, Galaxy is expected to provide Vsat-based connectivity to all of Nipost’s 15,000 postal offices nationwide based on Nicep project.
According to him, the deployment of the network will enable Nipost realize its ambition of transforming into a modern full service postal agency that will offer various e-services to grassroots communities.
In a statement issued last Wednesday by Franklyn Ginger Eke, the company’s corporate communications manager, he explained that the network was designed to provide Nipost with its own VPN, thus enabling modernization and automation of its operations and creating new service opportunities.
He hinted that the Galaxy Backbone network will enable the postal service avail itself of the backbone infrastructure it requires to implement its community broadband networks.
Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, secretary to the government of the federation (SFG), speaking on the occasion, hailed the partnership between the organizations while urging other public sector establishments to emulate them as those alliances could only bring about positive development.
