Olayinka Latona
23 February 2009
Main One Cable company last week announced that it has embarked on a submarine cable project, building an open access fibre optic transmission cable which will run from Portugal into the crest of west Africa, with initial landing in Nigeria and Ghana.
This project is to bridge the gap of Satellite network and to construct the most trusted, scalable and professionally managed international fibre optic network in Africa.
The project will provide telecommunication infrastructure that will enable cost effective access to global information. The company said that in order to face this challenges, it has arranged a 1.92 Terabits per second capacity cable system which will terminate in Seixal, Portugal where it will interconnect with other cable systems to London, New York and key cities in Asia. The cable will also span 14,000 kilometers with approximately 7,000 kilometers in the first phase between Lagos and Portugal.
Meanwhile, the chief executive officer of Main One Cable Mrs. Funke Opeke said, the cable will significantly expand internationally the internet capacity to West Africa by providing fifteen times the capacity available on the entire SAT3 system. Speaking further, she said, the service will provide adequate capacity which is more higher than the existing ones, double fast action services Internationally and believes that with all this effort being put in place Nigeria and west Africa will be launched into the information age with cost effective platform.
According to her, the effort will translate to fast access for business, e-government, education and other applications. The services are said to be targetd at existing communication operators and Internet service providers with the view of providing an infrastructure option that will not tie down their capital with long term savings for high quality international bandwidth.
The project according to Opeke would gulp about two hundred and fifty million dollars for the execution of the first phase.
Main One cable company signed a contract in April 2008 and subsequently awarded sub-marine cable last year in Nigeria and Ghana .The project which is in its six month out of the twenty- one months that is being schedule for it, is expected to start operation by the year 2010 in order to meet June 2010 which is the service date . Okepe also noted that by the time the project is fully in place, the cost of International bandwidth would be brought to levels that are globally competitive and provision of wholesale connectivity between Lagos or Accra cable station.
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West Africa: Main One to Land Submarine Cable From Portugal to Nigeria
On the surface this venture seems like a great idea. Internet Technology or all of Africa. I have no problem with Technology. My problem is with the continuing complacent attitude and LET THEM DO IT FOR US attitude of so many Black Africans throughout the world. We Black Africans have been giving away our Talents and resources, like the one (1) LAZY person , in Jesus Christ’s parable of the Talents .
In the parable Three (3) persons were given Talents by God ; 1) One person was given Five (5) Talents. This person was industrious and turned his 5 Talents into Ten (10) Talents. 2) One person was given Two (2) Talents. This person was industrious and turned his 2 Talents into Ten (4) Talents. 3) One person was given One (1) Talent. This person was spiritually-lazy and BURIED HIS TALENT IN THE EARTH.
The above-noted PARABLE OF THE TALENTS have two types of roads of travel we can take with our Talents : a) We can use what God gave us and be fruitful and multiply ; like the persons with five (5) Talents & two (2) Talents. OR b) We can hide our talent in the Earth ; which represents man’s way of suppressing his spiritual conscious , trying to guide him to use his gift from God in love. • And just as God gave Judas Iscariot’s (betrayer of Jesus Christ ) position of Apostle to Matthias . So will God give the place of all who neglect their Talents to those who are industrious .
Jesus Christ concluded in his PARABLE OF THE TALENTS : God said this to the LAZY SERVANT. “ …….You should have put the Talent I gave you to the use. Then at my coming I should have received my own with interest. .Therefore the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten (10) Talents. For to every one that has shall be given, and he shall have abundance. But from him that lacks shall be taken away the only thing he has (his soul’s life ). And cast that LAZY SERVANT into The Lake Of Fire :where there shall be weeping and grinding of teeth .
We Black Africans aren’t inferior to anyone. After all, all mankind is one body, Adam. We have and can be very industrious . Right now because of our SPIRITUAL LAZINESS (possible coerce also by fear of our oppressors) we Black Africans have been living in a state of backwardness ; in a world that is moving into a technological revolution. So right now it is in the best interest of Black Africa to accept what is going on technologically via the Internet Company MAIN ONE.
Yes it is a good choice for us Black Africans to update our technology so that our African House can be as capable as any other Houses in God’s world. I would advise us Africans to act on our standing of being equals with all the rest of the World community.
If we Black Africans believe that we are equal with anyone, then our actions will Be consistent with our beliefs. After all, “ FAITH WITHOUT CORRESPONDING ACTION IS DEAD ! “. I’d like to address a key point in this article ( ) . Here’s a quote from this article : The services are said to be targeted at existing communication operators and Internet service providers with the view of providing an INFRASTRUCTURE OPTION that will not tie down their capital with long term savings for high quality international bandwidth.
The key phrase here is INFRASTRUCTURE OPTION . This implies that Africa would have an option to make this technology a part of its INFRASTRUCTURE . I have no expertise in this area, but I tend to have common sense. There are some questions that that I’d like to introduce to you readers : a) Where will the INFRASTRUCTURE be based ? b) Will Africa be in charge of installing the INFRASTRUCTURE ?
Bottom Line / Conclusion : We Black Africans can , have, and are slowly making a difference in this world . Here are some major things that Black Africans have invented From A - Z : Air Conditioner - Bicycle Frame - Bottle Caps - Hair Brush - Baby Buggy - Auto Air Brake -Toilet (Commode) - Pressure Cooker - Folding Chair - Pressing Comb ( Pressing & Curling Iron ) – (Torpedo Discharger ) - ( Disposable Syringe ) - Doorknob -Door stop - ( Digital Toaster ) - Defroster - ( Clothes Dresser ) -( Dust Pan ) -( Clothes Drier ) [ Eye Protector (Goggles) ] - ( Egg Beater ) - ( Envelope Seal ) - (Fire Extinguisher ) -Elevator -( Fire Escape Ladder ) – (Automatric Fishing Reel ) – (Heating Furnace ) - (Pastry Fork ) ( Guided Missile ) -Guitar - (Gas Mask ) - (Starter Generator) - ( Home Security System ) - Horseshoe – (Horse Riding Saddle ) – (Horn Light Indicator ) - [ Thermo (Heated) Hair Curlers ] ( Bathroom Tissue Holder ) - (Heating Furnace ) –(Rain Hat) – Helicopter – (Hair Care Products) - ( Ironing Board ) – (Ice Cream) – (Kitchen Table) –
( Letter Box) – (Lawn Mower) –Lock -( Electric lamp ) – Lantern – (Lawn Sprinkler) – (X-Ray Machine) - Motor - (Urinalysis Machine ) Mop – (Multi-Stage Rocket) -Corn Planter - Cotton Planter - Pacemaker Controls - Peanut Butter - Paints - Air & Water Pillow – Player Piano -Postal Letter Box -Printing Press -Pencil Sharpener Fountain Pen -Street Sweeper - Stains (Varnish) – Soap – Shoe –Siren - Keyboard Stand -Super Soaker Watergun - Shoe Lasting Machine - Traffic Signal -Sugar Refiner -Stair-Climbing Wheelchair - Train bathrooms - Typewriter -Train Alarm - Medicine Tray - Track Athlete Trainer – Sanitary Belt (Tampons) - Sanitary Belt (Waterproof Tampons) Electric Railway -Passenger Register - Roller Coaster - Pocketed Underwear - Clothes Wringer - Wrench - Window Cleaner - Backwasher - X-Ray Machine