QoS: Phase3 Telecom boss urges operators to embrace aerial fibre services

Stanley Jegede

For Nigeria’s telecommunication services to record needed improvement and stability in quality, the Chief Executive Officer of Phase3 Telecom, Mr. Stanley Jegede, has urged operators to rely more on aerial optic fibre cable for their long distance data communications. According to him, aerial fibre optic routes offer both cheaper and more reliable services than their terrestrial equivalent and in view of recent experiences facing operators, there is need for them to adopt this aerial services to keep their customers happy.
Jegede, who spoke in Abuja on Thursday stated that with the current challenges facing the deployment and use of underground optic fiber cables especially Right of Way issues, persistent vandalism and ecological problems, aerial optic fiber systems offer the needed and timely solution at this time in the country.

He said, "We are all aware about the problems of building and maintaining underground cables in Nigeria. It is one of the most difficult challenges that telecom firms face today in view of issues such as host community hostilities, persistent construction of roads and its attendant impact on underground cables. Besides, excessive and unlawful regulatory activities by various agencies of government at different levels and environmental and natural disasters such as erosion sometimes leaves underground cables exposed.

“We have also witnessed persistent vandalism and theft of underground cables all over the country all of which exacerbate the problem of poor quality of services as large numbers of subscribers are cut off when these problems occur. These problems also take a lot of time to identify and repair. However, the aforementioned issues and many more can easily be overcome by the use of aerial optic fibre system.”
Phase 3 Telecom according to him, currently runs West Africa’s only aerial optic fiber network with the focal point of operations in Nigeria. He added that in view of today’s reality in which the West Africa region including Nigeria is still a developing region, road construction and the building of other infrastructure would be very frequent, leading to underground cables often being cut. The situation, according to him, highlights the need for a backup network, adding that this is where the Phase3 aerial optic fiber network comes in especially as high-tension networks power often have dedicated routes by law.
He said, "In Nigeria today all the operators including those that have their own transmission networks have embraced Phase3's aerial optic services especially after they have seen the advantages that it offers them. We believe that even for those that may already have excess capacity, aerial optic fibre provides a very reliable backup and redundancy. Furthermore, he advised that all other mobile operators should stop building fiber network and collaborate with Phase3’s Open Access network to provide their immediate and future needs. This is also in addition to the fact that there are certain areas of coverage of the Phase3 aerial optic fibre system which other terrestrial network are not designed to reach currently due to the country’s road and highway network".
Besides, Jegede noted that most optic fiber cables follow the same predictable route, meaning that they are all likely to be affected at the same time in the event of anything catastrophic happening; such as fire, road construction and vandalism. This, he added, clearly defines an obvious need for a reliable alternative to the underground fiber that is used by operators.
He noted further that besides providing the best quality, aerial optic fiber provides many advantages over underground cables in the transmission business. Among them, he said, were the ease and speed of deployment, stating that aerial optic fiber is one backhaul means that can be quickly expanded to un-served and undeserved locations unlike underground optic fibre.