Efforts to achieve Nigeria’s 30 per cent broadband penetration target by end of this year has received a boost as the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) enter into strategic business partnership with Nigeria’s communications satellite company, NigComSat. The partnership signed in Lagos at a business meeting was aimed at leveraging the wider coverage of Nigeria’s satellite to deliver services to the nooks and crannies of the country by ATCON members.
Speaking at the meeting, the President of ATCON, Mr. Olusola Teniola, said the initiative was borne out of the need to bring NIGCOMSAT’s services to ATCON’s teeming members as findings have shown that majority of them do not know that they can buy capacity from NIGCOMSAT, while some were not patronising the satellite company because they thought its prices were very high.“Be that as it may, ATCON primary focus with respect to pervasive broadband is to see how our members can leverage satellite technology for the deployment of broadband for socio-economic development of our country”, he said.
“Other strategic objectives of putting this timely initiative together are; to make NIGCOMSAT offer its quality services at a cheaper rate for the patronage of our members; to create an enduring business relationship and partnership and a treaty between our members and NIGCOMSAT; to support broadband service via satellite technology and to rejuvenate the satellite business among our members” Teniola added.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of NIGCOMSAT, Mrs Abimbola Alale, described the business session as re-emphasized the collective desire to critically examine the prospects, challenges and future plans in an attempt to redefine the relationship between telecoms operators and NIGCOMSAT in deepening broadband penetration nationally.
Alale noted that through determined collaboration between NIGCOMSAT and telecoms industry stakeholders, Nigeria would surpass the 30 per cent target in the next few weeks. According to her, such collaboration with industry stakeholders would speed up the process of broadband penetration in the country and open opportunities for businesses to have unlimited access to internet, thereby boosting online transactions and e-Commerce business in the country.
“NIGCOMSAT has all it takes to speed up broadband penetration in the country, since it operates Nigeria’s foremost satellite, NigComSat-1R that operates on the Ka-band payload consisting of eight active transponders with a bandwidth of 120 MHz each for communication and broadcasting services.”
According to her, “The collaborative gathering between NIGCOMSAT and telecoms stakeholders, emphasises our collective desire to critically examine the prospects, challenges and future plans in our attempt to redefine the relationship between telecoms operators and NIGCOMSAT in deepening broadband penetration nationally. “Whilst I appreciate the business focus and contribution of ATCON in taking services to urban and sub-urban areas, I also believe that our collective efforts will yield better results across all parts of the country in order to boost the overall business environment.”
She added that in this information age, broadband/communication services cannot be limited to few cities and towns in the country, noting that the farmer, the market woman, the student and a host of others are critical stakeholders in the nation’s quest for digital economy and inclusiveness.
Add Comment