Threats facing Nigeria’s five submarine fibre optic cables delivering over 40 terabytes of internet traffic capacity will henceforth receive maximum attention from a new group called Association of Submarine Cable Operators of Nigeria (ASCON). The group was unveiled at the 2018 Cable Protection Awareness event that held in Lagos recently.
95 per cent of international and a large proportion of other international, internet traffic travel by means of submarine cables.
To be sure, a submarine fibre optic or communications cable is a cable laid on the sea between land-based stations to carry telecommunications signals. Optical fibre cables are not only simple point-to-point connections, but multiple destinations can be served by a single cable system. A vast web of submarine cable totalling more than a million kilometres in length interconnects the modern world, carrying 100s of millions of simultaneous calls and untold amounts of data, and ceaselessly performing at staggering capacities.
In Nigeria, submarine cables jumped from 1 to 5 between 2001 and 2014. The five cables include SAT3 Cable landed by NatCom, MainOne cable by MainOne, Glo1 cable by Glo 1, ACE cable by Dolphin Telecom, and WACS cable by MTN.
Among the benefits of submarine cable deployment are low latency network, cheaper bandwidth and high speed. It is seen as fundamental to closing the between developed economies and developing economies.
Over time, threats such as deep sea earthquakes, sharks, dragging of ship anchors, dredging in shallow water, fishing trawlers among others have made it difficult for efficient operation of the cables. Most cable operators at a point in time had had fault on their submarine cable, which required huge cost of repairs.
“The protection of optic fibre cables is of paramount importance, and we as a nation must pay attention to the protection of our submarine optic fibre infrastructure that connect Nigeria with the rest of the world,” a statement from ASCON sent to BusinessDay noted.
In terms of cable protection, ASCON noted that West Africa is currently performing below average.
ASCON’s mandate includes the creation of a national advocacy forum for Nigerian companies and administrations that own and or operate submarine telecommunications cables landing in the country.
The group was established, according to the statement, to promote, encourage and assist in the protection of subsea cable infrastructure and ancillary equipment and facilities from marine activities, man-made and natural hazards.
“The association shall support and manage governmental and public and private sector collaboration, to ensure that the operations and maintenance of critical subsea communication assets are adequately protected and recognized in the development of rules and policies in Nigeria.
“The association would equally serve as a forum for the exchange of technical, environmental and legal information pertaining to submarine systems operations and maintenance,” ASCON said in its statement.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
