The management of Nigcomsat, Nigeria’s communications satellite has sealed a partnership deal with the Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) that will see its members leverage the services that Nigcomsat offers to expand broadband across Nigeria.
Speaking at a strategic business interactive session between NigComSat and members of ATCON in Lagos, the Managing Director, Nigcomsat Limited, Mrs. Abimbola Alale,noted that the partnership becomes very necessary in view of the fact broadband penetration national must be deepened.
“The need for a mutual relationship to achieve broadband penetration in the country is long overdue and Nigerians are waiting with keen interest to see how we will achieve this. Today’s gathering of telecoms stakeholders emphasize 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,” she explained.
Alale argues that in this information age, broadband/communication services cannot be limited to a few cities and towns in Nigeria, stating 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.
“Whilst I appreciate the business focus and contribution of ATCON in taking services to our people in 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.
The partnership, according to her is out of the fact it is certainly true that there is tremendous capacity of broadband here in Lagos, but not entirely so in other areas across the nation.
She admitted that even though Nigcomsat can provide the infrastructure that can be leveraged on, ATCON members serve as a vehicle to reach the rural populations, which is federal government’s priority in achieving broadband penetration in the country.
Speaking of the potentials and the business case of Nigcomsat, Alale disclosed NigComSat-1R is performing optimally and the Ka-band payload consists of eight (8) active transponders with a bandwidth of 120 MHz each for communication and broadcasting services.
She added the satellite has three fixed spot beams over Nigeria, South Africa and Europe. “For additional support, we have made back-up agreements with more than two satellite operators. We are committed to making NigComSat-1R readily available to serve as our nation’s gateway for ease of doing business in this digital age,” she assured.
Meanwhile, the President of ATCON, Mr. Olusola Teniola, in his welcome address, noted the partnership is borne out of the need to bring NIGCOMSAT’s services to ATCON’s teeming members because it has shown that the majority of ATCON members do not know that they can buy capacity from NIGCOMSAT and those who know do not patronize NIGCOMSAT because they thought NIGCOMSAT’s prices are very high.
But be that as it may, ATCON primary focus with respect to pervasive broadband is to see how its members can leverage on satellite technology for the deployment of broadband for socio-economic development of Nigeria.
“You would have noticed that in the last few years, ATCON has come up with some initiatives that are not traditional. The whole essence of thinking outside the box is to increase our impact on our members and the industry as a whole. This initiative would undoubtedly make our industry to realise its broadband target set by the federal government,” he said.
Teniola stated that the continuous existence of ATCON members is paramount and as part of adding sustainable value to the business of the members, the strategic business interactive session to foster a mutually beneficial business relationship between the members and NIGCOMSAT with a special emphasis on broadband penetration across the country was designed.
According to him, other strategic objectives of putting the 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.