Here’s an interesting development initiative from Ericsson that would boost ICT in Nigeria. ITNewsAfrica reports that:

International telecoms giant Ericsson has entered into a joint venture with 21st Century Technologies to install a Gigabit-capable Passive Optical Network (GPON) in Nigeria this month, a development that is set to benefit over 10 000 families.

Apart from bringing the much needed Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to the West African nation, the Ericsson-21st Century Technologies partnership will also see Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) networks being put in place.

FTTH connectivity is aimed at providing clear internet access, voice-over-IP as well as quality broadband services to the pilot project, which is likely to prove a success to Africa’s most populous nation.

Ericsson, which is also a renowned international company in terms of bringing up both 2G and 3G mobile technologies, will ensure that the use of fibre optic is expanded to the countryside.

Efforts by CAJ News to get comment from the Ericsson official in charge of West African region, Jan Embro, were unsuccessful. However, work on the ground is at an advanced staged.

My Opinion

It would be interesting to see how this development turns out, since Internet penetration in Nigeria is quite sluggish. Most of the internet access has been through VSAT, until recently where WiMax, WiFi internet access is gradually becoming popular.

The question is: Would this not be a drop in an ocean?

Nigeria has a lot of potentials if only there is high-speed broadband access. Until this is possible, lack of internet connectivity would still hamper the growth of web-centric business start-ups.