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Facebook includes Nigeria, others in its undersea cable

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Facebook Inc and some of the world’s largest telecoms carriers, China Mobile Limited and MTN Group Limited, are set to build a wider-than-earlier planned giant sub-sea cable in Nigeria and other parts of Africa

On inauguration, the subsea cable will  join  five other international submarine cables, with over 40 terabyte per seconds  (Tbps) of capacity, including SAT3 cable, MainOne cable, Glo1 cable, ACE cable and WACS cable, landed by Natcom, MainOne, Globacom, Dolphin Telecom and MTN.

Already, capacities of these submarine cables are under utilised as about 30 per cent of total capacity is currently in use. A group, Association of Cable operators of Nigeria (ASCON) two years ago, said less than 10 per cent of the five cables is in use.

The companies plan to add the Indian Ocean island countries of Seychelles and Comoros, as well as Angola and a new connection to Nigeria, the company said yesterday.

This is in addition to a recently announced link to the Canary Islands and would bring connection-landings to 35 in 26 countries.

“The significant investment by Facebook in 2Africa builds on several other investments we have made in the continent, including infrastructure investments in South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo,” a Facebook spokesperson said via email.

The undersea cable sector is experiencing a resurgence, with Facebook and Alphabet Inc.’s Google behind about 80 per cent of recent investments in transatlantic links. The tech giants are seeking to tap growing demand for fast-data transfers used for everything from streaming movies to social messaging and telemedicine. During the 1990s dot-com boom, phone companies spent more than $20 billion laying fiber-optic lines under the oceans.

The project is part of Facebook’s long-held plans to lead the race to provide more reliable and faster internet in Africa, a continent of more than 1.2 billion people with an increasing up take of smartphones. The U.S. social-media giant first announced plans for a new undersea cable in May 2020. That followed attempts to launch a satellite in 2016 to beam signal around the continent — but the SpaceX rocket carrying the technology blew up.

2Africa, set to be one of the largest subsea cable project in the world, will cost just under $1 billion, Bloomberg reported last May, citing people familiar with the matter. Manufacturing of the first segments of the infrastructure has started in the U.S., according to the statement. Nokia Oyj’ Alcatel Submarine Networks was picked to build the cable.

The marine surveys for the new sections of the cable will probably be completed by the end of the year, according to the companies. The 37,000-kilometer (23,000 miles) long cable will connect Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

2Africa is expected to come into operation by 2024 and will deliver more than the combined capacity of all sub-sea cables that are currently serving Africa, according to the statement. Other project partners include Telecom Egypt Co, the U.K.’s Vodafone Group Plc and Paris-based Orange SA.

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Business & Economy

Mangal Cement Reiterates Commitment to Consistence Quality, Tightens Relationship with Stakeholders

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The General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Omowunmi Goriola Oduguwa Monday, July 14th, 2025 addresses Annual Stakeholders Forum, Abuja
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By AbdulRahman Obaje

Mangal Cement has reiterate its commitment to consistence quality while reinforcing its relationship with it stakeholders.

The General Manager, Sales and Marketing, Omowunmi Goriola Oduguwa made this known Monday, July 14th, 2025 during this year Annual Stakeholders Forum, Abuja.

Omowunmi said, “We are here today basically because of this title: ‘building stronger partnership, quality trading solution and value for money’. We are here; number one, to tighten the collaboration that we’ve been having with our stakeholders. We know that we’ve been having relationship with you by virtue of the fact that you are partner to our business, you are using our brand; that automatically has clarify the fact that we are in partnership”

”We don’t just want it to be like that, we want it to be tighter, so we want to strengthen that collaboration, we want it to be tighter. That is why we are here and that is why we have invited you to be part of this event.”

“And secondly. We are also here to reaffirm the consistency in quality and innovation. We want to assure you that our quality remain the way it has ever been since inception; since we started production. My colleague said this is first of its kind; I mean the stakeholder forum we are having. But obviously this is first of its kind in Abuja environment. And I want to also appreciate us for being part of this very first one.”, she continued.

Participants also expressed satisfaction with Mangal product. Obastar Block Industry Said the cement is very good. He said, “People should join in using it, we have been using it. The cement is good. We have been using other cements but since we have tried Mangal cement, we have not been disappointed.”

“The only place they need improvement is setting, outside that, the cement is very good.” he concluded.

Olayinka AbdulWahid, IBZA Blocks said, “Mangal cement is very good in terms of quality and durability.

The blocks that we produced with Mangal cement, the customer actually vouch for. I have some few friends that whenever they want to cast, they always request that make Mangal cement available.

So, in terms of quality, it is a very good quality/ the only challenge we have is the availability and most of the time the delivery is very very poor in which sometimes, some of us we are unable to wait. we have to look for alternative product.

But with this seminar we attend today, if we can have access to more of the vendor or more of the distributor, we can have alternative demand.

So, that is the only challenge, the availability.”

However, Omowunmi further revealed that Mangal Industries is not slowing down on innovation and quality assurance, asserting that this is the reason for the forum, so as “to reaffirm our commitment to quality and innovation as an organisation.”, she continued.

The forum saw notable personalities such as Engr. Yusuf Ibrahim, Industrial Training Fund, Silifa Shagaya, SON and others in attendance

High point of the event was the distribution of wheelbarrows and protective gears to all the participants of the stakeholder forum.

 

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Business & Economy

Nigerian Economy Stabilising — CBN Governor, Cardoso

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CBN Governor Yemi Cardoso
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The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso, has said the Nigerian economy has stability.
He disclosed this at the press briefing at the end of its 300th Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Tuesday.

According to him, investors’ confidence in the Nigerian economy has improved over the past eighteen months.

Responding to questions on how improved macroeconomic fundamentals of the Nigerian economy are impacting the lives of Nigerians, he said, “Investors do not go to where there is economic instability. They don’t go out to lose money but to make a profit. With that stability comes confidence and then investment and growth.

“What is now being recognised is that the Nigerian economy is not stable. The inflation numbers speak for themselves.”

Recall that the World Bank, in its latest Nigerian Development Update report, said the country is in good shape as it grew by 3.4 percent in 2024.

 

 

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 CBN Retains Nigeria’s Interest At 27.50%

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Yemi Cardoso,CBN Governor
Yemi Cardoso, CBN Governor
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The Central Bank of Nigeria Monetary Policy Committee has retained the country’s interest rate at 27.50 percent.

The governor of CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, disclosed this in a press briefing on Tuesday after the 300th MPC meeting in Abuja.

“The committee unanimously agreed to retain MPR at 27.50 percent,” he stated.

Cardoso also announced that the MPC member decided to retain the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 50 basis points for commercial bank and 16 percent for mortgage bank, the liquidity ratio (LR) at 30 percent, and the asymmetric corridor at +500/-100 basis points around the MPR; other monetary policy decisions were retained.

He justified MPC’s decision to pause the rate hike on the easing of Nigeria’s inflation rate to 23.7 percent in April.

it would be recalled that last week the National Bureau of Statistics consumer price index showed that country’s inflation dropped by 23.7 percent.

In February, the MPC retained the country’s interest rate at 27.50 percent as inflation cooled off.

 

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