By Martin Ekpeke
The latest figures released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as of May 2019 show that, Nigeria presently has 63,244,609 broadband subscribers, representing 33.13 percent penetration.
This figure puts side by side the population of 201,102,939 people living in the country, according to World Population Review is poor. What this means is that 137, 858, 609 Nigerians are without broadband connectivity in today’s world, where people can easily interact with an Automated Teller Machine (ATM), carry out activities around e-commerce, e-government, tele-medicine among others on a daily basis.
Why some stakeholders have commended the figure, saying it is an improvement from the 25.12 percent it was in May last year, others believe broadband penetration ought to have surpassed 50 percent because of its essentiality. Nigerians need a robust and pervasive broadband network more than ever before.
Despite the availability of other broadband service providers, who are already playing in the market, and claiming to be providing 4G LTE broadband services, the coming of VDT is obviously a big plus for Nigeria in her connectivity pursuit. Their coming will expand the market, heighten competition and ultimately, make broadband more available, affordable and accessible
In fact, the hunger for data by Nigerians has grown in leap and bound, largely to the generational change of telecommunications from the use of voice dominated technologies (1G and 2G) to today’s data dominated technologies of 3G, 4G and even the much talked about 5G.
Without a doubt, more virtualised engagements are happening online and will continue to be as it does appears the citizens have an insatiable need for data.
Conscious of this reality, VDT Communications Limited, a hitherto enterprise broadband service provider, decided to join the fray in the retail market with the likes of Spectranet, Smile and iPNx with its army of Internet expertise with a promise and assurance to alter the retail broadband market in Nigeria.
Officially launched earlier this month in Lagos, VDT said it is coming with its 4G LTEAdvanced service into the market to close some gaps existing in the market due to poor quality networks, customer service and support service inherent.
The telecom regulator had on several fora disclosed that through effective regulatory oversight, which the Commission is known for, it has continued to ensure that all new sites to be built for the sake of telecom services are Long Term Evolution (LTE)-compatible
Known for the provision of premium quality services to enterprise customers, the company noted that with its 4G LTE, known for a standard of sending an average speed of up to 500Megabits per second, the country will witness ubiquitous data service for homes and individual subscribers.
“Our ultimate goal is to offer members of the public an exceptional broadband experience every time they use our network. Thus, enhancing all aspects of their lives qualitatively and quantitatively; helping them to achieve more and truly live the life they are meant to!,” the Chief Executive Officer of VDT Communications Limited, Mr. Omoniyi Abiodun said at the launch of the offerings in Lagos.
Expressing the optimism of going live with the 4G LTE service, Abiodun emphasized that VDT, which has been in the business of providing reliable internet service for more than 15 years, is leveraging the 4G LTE to offer different broadband packages with fast, reliable internet of up to 10Mbps.
He argued that experience has shown data consumers in Nigeria have demonstrated without a doubt, their preference for
Expressing the optimism of going live with the 4G LTE service, Abiodun emphasized that VDT, which has been in the business of providing reliable internet service for more than 15 years, is leveraging the 4G LTE to offer different broadband packages with fast, reliable internet of up to 10Mbps
Is there really a gap to be filled?
Despite the availability of other broadband service providers, who are already playing in the market, and claiming to be providing 4G LTE broadband services, the coming of VDT is obviously a big plus for Nigeria in her connectivity pursuit. Their coming will expand the market, heighten competition and ultimately, make broadband more available, affordable and accessible. Going by the testimonies of some users of the network, VDT has come to bridge a gap that exists with a superior network quality, top-notch network performance and proactive customer and support services. The gaps, include poor quality networks, lack of customer service and support service. VDT is here!
VDT dreams to play in the LTE space
The opportunity to actualize this dream of helping everybody in today’s interconnected world get better network capacity came with the successful acquisition of a broad channel 2.3GHz Spectrum from the Federal Government through Bitflux Communications Limited; a consortium which VDT is the principal partner. VDT LTE is leveraging on the Bitflux network it painstakingly and deliberately built from the scratch to provide the premium quality 4G broadband experience in the country.
Commitment to Nigeria’s broadband pursuit
Interestingly, VDT Communications Limited continues to demonstrate serious commitment to the broadband quest in Nigeria and is ever ready to assist in expanding connectivity to homes and offices. It was partly in demonstration of this commitment to the country that it launched the 4G LTE service to leverage its Metro Fibre Network service, which delivers dedicated bandwidth to Nigerians.
The LTE devices
VDT LTE CPE MODEM For Home and Office
- Plug-And-Play Configuration
- LED Indication On WIFI / Power / Transmit Status Across
- WIFI Security Supports WEP / WPA / WPA2 /WPA(PSK) / WPA(PSK2)
VDT LTE MOBILE WIFI For Personal Use
- Easy To Use Web Interface
- Connect Up To 10 Devices Via WIFI
- Free Huawei App; Available On IOS And Android App Stores
The data plans
| Plans | Volume | Cost (N) | Validity |
| Emerald | 7GB | 3, 500 | 30 days |
| Onyx | 15GB | 5, 000 | 30 Days |
| Pearl | 30GB | 10, 000 | 30 Days |
VDT also offers unlimited data plans at 18,000, 25,000 and 35,000.
Coverage
VDT presently has about 80 percent network coverage of Lagos State, with a promise to expand strategically to cover the entire Lagos State, and 18 other states, especially leading cities in the key economic zones of Nigeria and the rest of the country in phases. VDT currently operates in over 30 states in Nigeria. From its various points of presence, VDT is able to provide quality Broadband services with localized support services nationwide and currently provides premium quality services to all top banks and other financial services institutions in Nigeria as well as other blue-chip companies across several other sectors.
The inspiration
This move by VDT appears to be in tandem with the Nigerian Communications Commission’s desire to spread of 4G/LTE services to 100 per cent of the population with a minimum broadband speed of 1.5 megabit per second (Mbps). The telecom regulator had on several fora disclosed that through effective regulatory oversight, which the Commission is known for, it has continued to ensure that all new sites to be built for the sake of telecom services are Long Term Evolution (LTE)-compatible. The Commission is also ensuring that there is the efficient allocation of spectrum resources through re-planning and opening up of some spectrum bands as well as development of framework for the utilisation of unused broadcast spectrum known as television white space (TVWS) for the provision of affordable broadband services in the rural, underserved and unserved areas of the country.