Abuja — Phase3 Telecoms, one of the two lucky winners of the bid to commercialise Power Holding Company of Nigeria's (PHCN) fibre optic cable network across the country has formally taken over the facility.

The launch of the project signifies increased availability of broadband services within the country.

At a symbolic ceremony to mark the take-over, Chief Executive of Phase3 Telecom, Mr. Stanley Jegede described the development as historic and the beginning of better things in the telecommunications industry.

Jegede, who received the facility on behalf of his firm pledged that with the hand over, Phase3 "shall go ahead to design and build a world class and reliable fibre optic backbone network, which is an essential need for a nationwide connectivity".

He said within the next 100 days the facility will allow telecom operators, business and international organisations take advantage of the huge bandwidth, which would be centrally managed.

This, he said, will allow the various firms in their clientele to concentrate on their core competence while Phase3 takes care of the transport layer of the business. Contract between Phase3 and PHCN for the commercialisation of the Fibre Optic Backbone facility was signed on March 20, 2006.

Chief Operating Officer, Transmission Company of Nigeria, Engr. Godwin Osakue who handed over the multi-million naira facility at PHCN's substation, Katampe Hills, Maitama, Abuja expressed delight as well, saying that the enormous facility that had laid largely dormant over the years would now yield revenue for PHCN as well as stimulate other businesses in the telecommunications industry.

"PCHN started developing its fibre optic telecommunications cable network a couple of years ago, solely to improve its internal telecommunications capabilities. The first phase of the project was to link all power stations in the country while the second phase was to link all 330kv substations. The first phase was concluded with the exception of Afam Power Station. When we realised the vast potentials inherent in this infrastructure, we started broaching the idea of commercialising it. Our first attempt failed due to some unresolved issues between us and our joint venture partners. "We have in existence about 1,500km of optic fibre wrapped around some segments of our 330kv lines and 140km of optic grounds wire (OPGW). Some portions of the the wrapped fibre were defective during a technical audit but parts of it have since been restored while materials to restore the other parts have already been procured. Today we are making history. The public private partnership initiatives of this government are taking roots in the power sector, not only in electricity production but in value added services such as telecommunications," Osakue said.