More Glo To Telecoms   

Globacom launches phase 2 of the Glo 1 project, West Africa’s most extensive undersea cable  network

Last Tuesday, national telecoms carrier, Globacom presented what it called its Independence  anniversary gift to the nation with the formal launch of the multi-million dollar Glo 1  international submarine. The facility, the first individually owned international submarine  cable in Africa, was designed to solve bandwidth capacity problem in the region and usher in  reliable telecommunications services.

Glo’s Group Chief Operating Officer, COO, Mohamed Jameel promised Glo 1 would be availing  its customers an excellent communication network and a cost-effective voice, data, video and  e-commerce services across Africa and the rest of the world. The technology will be a big  boost to general business activities – from information technology to banking, oil & gas,  manufacturing and commerce by offering world-class long distance voice, video and data  communication services.

Glo 1 has a capacity of up to 2.5 terabits per second and will offer unprecedented high  speed internet services at much cheaper rates. It will be of immense advantage to Internet  Service Providers, GSM and land-line operators who will pass on the benefits to remote  enterprises, retail and individual customers. “Glo 1 also has 99.9 per cent up time  reliability. Therefore, customers are assured of much faster, more reliable and cheaper  internet services,” Jameel stated. He added that Glo 1 will offer attractive rates and  long-term partnerships resulting in enhanced profitability for the customer through flexible  terms of contracts tailor-made for the customer type and need.

“A unique advantage we have is our extensive terrestrial network in West Africa through our  operations in Nigeria, Ghana, Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia and Senegal. This will  enable Glo 1 to give end-to-end connectivity including last mile services, thus providing a  one-stop-shop for customers’ requirements,” the COO said. Glo1 has connectivity with top  international carriers which gives it a global reach and enables it to offer international  standard Service Level Agreements. This gives the customer guaranteed world-class services  at highly affordable price. It will also be able to offer Data Center Services, the first  operator to do so in Nigeria. Such centres can be connected to Glo 1 for disaster recovery  across the globe.

Other services that Glo 1 will offer include telemedicine and seamless video conferencing.  With the facility, medical information can be transferred through interactive audiovisual  media. Remote medical procedures or examinations will, therefore, be possible. “Glo 1 will  aid on-line diagnosis and video conferencing during surgery and research, while distance  learning will be made easy by enabling a class of students and lecturers in West Africa  participate in a real-time class in Europe, America and any other part of the world,” Jameel  explained.

Glo 1 will facilitate premium video conferencing between multiple locations across the  country and the West African region, thus reducing the operational cost incurred in  travelling by corporate organisations. This will be of great benefit to oil & gas companies,  banks and other corporate organisations..

Globacom boasted Glo 1 will enable multinational companies get connected to all their  international locations through global Virtual Private Networks, using its International  Private Leased Circuits. Offices in Nigeria and other parts of Africa can connect to their  offices abroad on a completely private circuit. “Glo 1 will bring to reality the desire of  multinational companies and financial institutions to deploy ERP solutions to connect their  branches in different countries and continents. All these will indeed signal the dawn of a  new era in telecommunication in Africa,” Jameel concluded.

The 9,800km-long Glo 1 cable connects Nigeria to the UK through Mauritania, Morocco and 16  West African countries with dedicated extension to New York.  Regarded as Nigeria’s most  innovative network, Glo has pioneered the introduction of many innovative services in  Nigeria including the per second billing, 3G services, mobile internet, blackberry, vehicle  tracking and in-flight roaming.

— Tayo Odunlami