ntel, Nigeria’s largest and most advanced broadband
LTE network has announced the successful repair and return to service of its
SAT-3 submarine cable.
SAT-3/WASC/SAFE or South Atlantic 3/West Africa
Submarine Cable is the longest submarine communications cable in the world with
17 landing points linking Portugal and Europe to South Africa, with connections
to several West African countries along the route. It forms part of the
SAT-3/WASC/SAFE cable system, where the SAFE cable links South Africa to Asia.
The SAT-3/WASC/SAFE system provides a path between
Europe and Asia for telecommunications traffic that is an alternative to the
cable routes that pass through the Middle East. SAT-3 provides access to global
markets and enables “seamless and diverse” connectivity to the rest of the
world.
Kamar Abass CEO of ntel while announcing the
successful repair and return to service of the submarine cable said “the repair
of SAT-3 is fantastic news for data-hungry consumers and corporates in need of
superfast and abundant broadband carried over a robust fibre network with
significant capacity and low latency. SAT-3’s 17 landing points and
intermediate branches in-country and abroad provide for connections all the way
to the Far East, thanks to our alliance with SAFE.”
Potential customers of SAT-3 include Nigeria’s GSM
and LTE operators, Internet Service
Providers (ISPs), major international
companies, Private Telecom Operators, Content/Hosting Operators,
Infomedics/Infomatics Operators, the judiciary (for the execution of real-time
on-line matters), banks and the military as well as airline operators.
SAT-3’s repair also included the cable’s physical
diversion away from shipping lanes in the approach to the Port of Lagos. In the
past, the dropping (and dragging) of anchors by such traffic had been associated
with disruptions to the cable. With the
repaired system’s activation, the system’s Upgrade IV will also be implemented.
This boosts its throughput capacity from 420Gbps to 920Gbps in the northern
segments and from 340Gbps to 800Gbps in the southern segments.
SAT-3 Nigeria is now positioned to better address
Nigeria’s need for super-fast internet connectivity, data-hungry applications,
high-quality video-on-demand and increasing social media usage, thus enhancing
customer experience. Today, submarine cable systems carry more than 98% of all
overseas voice, data and video traffic.
The return of SAT-3 is significant in many respects.
First launched in 2001, it was the precursor for Internet access between Europe
and West Africa and it took off where SAT-2 left off as it reached full
capacity. SAT-2 was brought into service in the early 1990s as a replacement
for the original undersea cable SAT-1 that was constructed in the 1960s.
With Upgrade V now planned for delivery in Q4, 2016,
SAT3 will surpass 1000 STM-1 mark in Q3 of 2016, thus providing even more
capacity for the transformation of Nigeria’s broadband landscape.
Nigeria’s SAT-3 cable system connects to a Cable
Landing Station in Central Lagos and, through a network of metro-fibre ducts, connects
to multiple districts in Lagos and, through high-capacity inter-city
connections, reaches multiple cities across Nigeria.
During 2016, ntel expects to connect hundreds of new
customers to the SAT-3 system, including many who have successfully used the
system in the recent past.
ntel is Nigeria’s most advanced mobile broadband LTE
network providing superfast Internet Access that enables high-definition voice,
data and video services. ntel’s network is built on the 900/1800 Mhz frequency
bands which are the best propagation frequencies for the deployment of 4G/LTE
technology.
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