The expected delivery of telecommunications services by two new undersea cables that are currently being laid across the sea coast of West Africa has been described as a development that will boost the businesses of transmission services companies in the region.
According to Stanley Jegede, the chief executive officer of Phase3 Telecom, transmission services firms, especially those owning optic fibre cables, would greatly complement the services of these undersea cables companies as they will help deliver all-important bandwidth for various services such as data, voice and video.
The two cables, which both have Nigerian ownership and have reached various levels of completion, are MainOne and Glo-1. The former belongs to MainStreet Technologies, while the latter is owned by Globacom Limited.
On the plans by the firm for 2010, Jegede said the entry of these cables would impact very positively on the development of telecommunications and other related services in Nigeria and in other countries where they will land as well as in those places where the bandwidth they are bringing would be distributed. He said this was because they will bring more affordable bandwidth and provide needed redundancy and backup that would always ensure that high quality services were always available to users.
Given that the laying of the cables is already nearing the final stages, Jegede noted that his firm was looking forward to the launch of services by the owners of the undersea cables, especially considering the impact they could have on the social, economic and education sectors of the countries in the region.
He particularly identified broadband and third generation mobile services, as some telecommunication services that would be greatly enhanced in Nigeria once the undersea cables begin the operations.
“We are eagerly looking forward to the launch of the undersea cables, as we know that they hold the potential to transform not only telecommunication services but also various other aspects of the lives of people in the region, including education, healthcare and broadcast services.”
Jegede also expressed deep satisfaction at the fact that these cable were being brought in by Nigerian firms, adding that he believed that there is a market void that remains to be filled where their services are really needed.
He said Phase3 Telecom is already well positioned to facilitate the distribution of bandwidth that would be offered by these undersea cable companies. According to him, the firm already has a large footprint covering a number of African countries in the West Africa
“We have a large footprint in Nigeria, Benin, Togo and this makes us very ideal in helping to bring this massive bandwidth that these companies would be delivering to the marketplace especially in West Africa.”
