Between Wireless and Fibre Optic to Increase Telecom Access

The information age has made technology, particularly information and communications technology, indispensable. Nigeria is often identified as the fastest moving economy and one of the most advanced ICT market sectors in the Africa. It has the largest population in Africa, also making it an attractive and big market. How has or how is IT and Telecoms allowing Nigeria to leap-frog into the information age?
Essentially answers to these questions have to do with access to IT and Telecoms services. To examine Information and Communications Technology (ICT) status and developments in Nigeria is by looking at several issues relating to infrastructure in Nigeria. In this regard, telecommunications infrastructure is particularly important, because of its far-reaching impact.
Telecommunication infrastructure remains one of the major issues affecting technology deployment required for growth and development in Nigeria. There has however, been massive improvement in infrastructure over the past few years. Nigeria has certainly left the telecomm state where there were only a few dial-up e-mail providers and Internet service providers (ISPs) as well as when Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (Nitel) was the only Telecommunications operator. It was a dark era characterized by slow Internet links, poor service, high cost, lack of infrastructure and an unprogressive telecoms monopoly. Things have certainly changed. So has night turned to day?
Deregulation of the telecommunications sector led to emergence of major Global System of Mobile Communications (GSM) operators in the country.
Government had earlier provided the impetus for liberalization by setting up the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). Although NCC became the regulatory body for Nigeria's telecom sector in 1992, it is the government that dealt with the telecom policy, interconnection agreements and the empowerment of NCC. NCC issues licenses to private telecoms companies providing a variety of telecom services to the Nigerian populace.
All of these were responsible for the growth in the sector which today, level of penetration is put at 56% and number of active telephone lines to 71million.
The GSM revolution began in August 2001 and changed the face of Information and Communications Technology in Nigeria. But the picture will not be complete without mentioning the Private Telephone Operators (PTOs) and other landmarks such as the licensing of Globacom as well as the licensing of 22 fixed wireless operators.
But Nigeria's telecom infrastructure story and growth has not been due to GSM alone. For example, GSM doesn't have much to do with the upsurge in Internet usage and access. In essence it is the combined activities of Nigeria's telecoms providers - GSM, FWA, PTOs, telephony and Vsat operators and NCC's regulatory efforts that have led to increased competition and availability of a wide range of voice, data and internet applications and services.
The improvement in the telecom situation in Nigeria has made significant impact in all sectors - commerce, social and educational. Although most of the impact is presently felt only in the urban centers, NCC has announced plans to ensure that telecom revolution also touches the rural populace. As noted by one of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) publications, there is "a direct correlation between access to telecommunications, economic wealth, and social development".
The telecoms boom has resulted in greater usage of Internet Technology, growth and availability of cyber cafés, increased Internet provision by ISPs and PTOs, increased communications services (mobile telephony, e-mail, VoIP), reduction of Internet costs, online information gathering and research, e-learning, Internet business opportunities, online advertising opportunities as well as developments in e-banking. Growth has been phenomenal because Nigeria’s size is massive and Nigerians have been starved of such access for decades.
Now that the sector has recorded appreciable level in terms of teledensity that it is now focusing on providing reliable telecommunications infrastructure that will guarantee sustainability as well as aid other services such as telemedicine, e-learning among others. And to do these, that the NCC is encouraging the deployment of both wireless, wired such as optic fibre, copper cable and satellite technologies.
Technological Drive
The telecommunications industry is divided into four main sectors: wired, wireless, satellite, and other telecommunications establishments. The largest sector of the telecommunications industry continues to be made up of wired telecommunications carriers. Establishments in this sector mainly provide telecommunications services such as wired (landline) telephone, digital subscriber line (DSL) Internet, and cable TV and Internet services. These organizations route TV, voice, Internet, data, and other content over a network of wires and cables, and control access to this content. They may own and maintain networks, share networks with other organizations, or lease network capacity from other companies. Establishments in the telecommunications industry, however, do not create the content that is transmitted over their networks, such as TV programs. (Establishments that create television programming are described in the Career Guide sections on the broadcasting and motion picture and video industries). Wired telecommunications also includes direct-to-home satellite television distributors and a variety of other businesses.
Wireless telecommunications carriers provide telephone, Internet, data, and other services to customers through the transmission of signals over networks of radio towers. The signals are transmitted through an antenna directly to customers, who use devices, such as cell phones and mobile computers, to receive, interpret, and send information. A large component of this industry segment consists of companies that provide cellular phone service, which has grown rapidly over the past decade. Another component includes establishments that deliver mobile Internet services to individuals with Internet-enabled cellular phones and computers.
Satellite telecommunications establishments are made up of mostly government and private organizations that transmit a variety of data through satellites, including photos of the earth, messages to and from public safety officials, and a variety of other information.
Other sectors in the telecommunications industry include telecommunications resellers, as well as operators of other communication services ranging from radar stations to radio networks used by taxicab companies.
Telecommunications carriers are expanding their data transmission capabilities, known as "bandwidth," by replacing copper wires with fiber optic cables. Fiber optic cable, which transmits light signals along glass strands, permits faster, higher capacity transmissions than traditional copper wire. In some areas, carriers are extending fiber optic cable to residential customers, enabling them to offer cable television, video-on-demand, faster high-speed Internet, and conventional telephone communications over a single line.
Wireless telecommunications carriers are deploying several new technologies to allow faster data transmission and better Internet access in an effort to make them more competitive in a market that includes wired Internet carriers. With faster connection speeds, wireless carriers can transmit music, videos, applications, and other content that can be downloaded and played on cellular phones, giving users mobile access to large amounts of data. In addition, as use of this mobile technology increases, wireless companies continue to develop the next generation of technologies that will allow even faster data transmission.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (Alton) said government need to rebuild last mile infrastructure in order to aid broadband penetration in the country.
He said copper and fibre should not be regarded as old technology because there is no where in the world where wireless access has become a direct replacement for wired line access. 
He said that the best mobile technology in the world today, has a limit to the capacity it can offer. He added that fibre and copper infrastructure gives that limitless capacity and access required to effectively increase telecom access to last mile.
He noted that the hope of reaping the benefits of the landing of Glo 1, MainOne and other new entrants can be realize  with availability of national fibre optic and copper network.
He urged government to eliminate all form of charges associated with the “right of way”, saying that free access should be given for people to build cable infrastructure without hindrance.
Adebayo said as a policy, all roads that are being upgraded and redesigned should be provided with sufficient telecommunications dots in order for operators not to go through the recurring procedure of seeking “right of way” if the country must drive telecom access to last mile.