The Dangote Group, Nigeria’s largest Industrial group, has rolled out fibre optic transmission network on power lines belonging to the Transmission Company of Nigeria. Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group said that Alheri Engineering (a member of the Dangote Group) had decided to collaborate with Phase3 Telecoms to build a 1,4000 kilometre fibre optic network across the country. According to Dangote, when completed the capacity of the two companies would be the largest fibre optic network in Nigeria and would provide unparalleled capacity, security, reach and flexibility to network providers in Nigeria.
Leadership Nigeria reported that the network is expected to cover Edo, Plateau, Borno, Enugu, Delta, Imo, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Baunchi, Abia and Anambra states. Dangote said that Alheri Engineering had decided to collaborate with Phase3 Telecoms to build a 14000 kilometer fibre optic network, which would stretch across the country.
The Phase3 network would cover Lagos, Oyo, Kano, Kaduna, Abuja, Kwara, Katsina, Kogi, and Niger States.
According to the report, Dangote said the fibre optic network, which connects to the Phase3 Telecoms fibre optic network in Benin and two other locations will provide the infrastructure that will be the bedrock for a developed information society in Nigeria.
Dangote also noted that mobile and broadband subscription fees in Nigeria are the highest in Africa and the country needs reliable and affordable infrastructure to transmit these payloads of capacity.
Stanley Jegede, Managing Director of Phase3 Telecom, said that with this collaboration, telecom operators in Nigeria would experience high connectivity across the country.
Engr Ernest Ndukwe, Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Communications Commission, urged the two companies to endeavor to cover the entire country within a short period of time and to consider extending their network beyond Nigeria to other parts of the continent..–Natalie Grobler.
