NCC seeks more cable fibre across Africa

By Chuks Udo Okonta

11th August 2009

Worried by the disruption of telecommunications services caused by the damage on the submarine fibre cable, the Executive Vice President, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Ernest Ndukwe, has called for more installation of fibre cables across countries in Africa.

Ndukwe who made the call at a media forum organised by the Nigerian Telecom Awards and the NCC in Lagos, urged African governments and telecommunications operators to embrace the concept of ‘Fibre Without Border’ which would enable countries to interconnect and enhance their operations, without geographical and political barriers.

He also enjoined operators to encourage researches that would enable the continent promo global information communications technology.

Said he: "Countries in Africa should adopt initiatives that would enhance research and enable the continent contribute more to the global information communications technology development. They should remove geographical and political barriers and develop fibre without border that would link the continent.”

He said the damage on the SAT3 cable optic has shown that no country is self sufficient, hence the necessity for more cable optic installations across the continent, adding that continents like Europe and America have developed more cable links which help to checkmate disruptions whenever there is manage.

"As we create fibre without border, I think African would move up to the next level and uplift us and build the next entrepreneur the continent needs, he added.

Ndukwe said that the information communications technology in Nigeria has been boosted in the last eight years with about 68 million telephone lines connected by July this year, as against a subscriber base of 0.5 million in July 2001.

He said that the wide-availability of digital services has led to improvements of efficacy and productivity, reduction in transaction cost, increase services innovations and better life, adding that close to 15,000 persons have been directly employed by the various companies in the country, while several thousands are benefiting from indirect employment generated by the operators.

"The explosion of telecom service has created a class of need entrepreneurs who might otherwise have been unemployed or under-employed. There is a national network of dealers, vendors GSM accessory sellers and the ubiquitous operators," he stated.

The former President of Sierra Leone, Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, who was guest of honour at the event, urged African countries to ensure uniform standards of service throughout the spectrum to encourage bilateral and multilateral cooperation and agreements.

Source: The Nation

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