Nigerian mobile service provider Airtel Nigeria announced over the weekend that that are planning to add another 2 000km to their fibre optic cable system. Currently the cable system is over 4 000km long, and services around 20 million subscribers in the country.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Rajan Swaroop said that the addition of more fibre optic cables is only the first step in a long process. “In this first phase, we will be adding over 2,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable to our network. Our efforts are paying dividends. The Nigerian Communications Commission rated us the best in March and April of 2012 when they rated networks in Nigeria,” he said.
He also added that since Airtel has taken over the fibre optic cable system, they have doubled their network capacity, and will be adding more cables as they try to improve services and offerings in the country. Airtel was also rated the best network in Nigeria in the first quarter of 2012.
Swaroop said that since they have double their capacity to Nigeria, it will put them in a good position to eventually double their subscription base – with having to contend with the loss in quality of service, which has become a huge problem for African nations.
Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech editor
