Main One, Glo1 Stir Broadband Revolution as Nigerians Await Feast

It is now a matter of time before broadband becomes widespread and affordable, thanks to the burgeoning competition expected from Main One and Glo 1, two home grown undersea cable initiatives, already reshaping the internet landscape in the country, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can now reveal.
From the dark age of frustrating and slow access to the internet exacerbated by unnecessary high cost, several indices now point to better days ahead as the two companies battle for the soul of Nigerian internet users and their peers on the paths (countries) where the cables initiatives land.
Before Main One and Glo 1 came on board, cost of internet access was prohibitive largely because of the associated cost involved in using satellites due to lack of cable infrastructure.
Also, the existing SAT-3/WASC/SAFE cable that links south and West African countries to Europe and Asia no longer has sufficient capacity.
But the cost of access to the internet is about to adjust itself as competition intensifies and internet revolution looms.
Already, Nigeria’s internet market is showing signs of rapid growth because between 2000-2009, the country, reported a staggering 5400 per cent increase in internet usage.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek investigations also revealed that internet revolution is also coming with new windows including investment opportunities in areas like internet access infrastructure; ICT applications for government and educational institutions; Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services; and developing online payment solutions.
Also apart from the Internet Service Providers (ISPs), GSM and CDMA operators are now aggressively marketing internet services as part of their offerings.
Experts say that the competition will succeed in making Internet a commodity item in Nigeria.