COMMUNICATION-NIGERIA: Connecting Villages with the Rest of the World

By Toye Olori Reprint | | Print |

Toye Olori

OGORI, Nigeria , Jan 30 2003 (IPS) - ”I am so happy that I can now call my relations in Lagos and Abuja (the capital of Nigeria) from Ogori.

I called my brother in Lagos yesterday on GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) phone. Before, I had to travel to Okene (a town 15 kilometres away) to make calls on the NITEL landline whenever I need to call my brothers. I am so glad,” says James Ogeyin, a councillor at Ogori, central Nigeria.

Ogori, with a population of about 20,000, is the headquarters of Ogori-Magongo Local Government, which is still waiting for a telephone line. The government had announced that each local government headquarters would be provided telephone facilities by the state-owned Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL).

Ogori, which served as food collection centre for European traders in the 18th century, got linked to the rest of the world through MTN Nigerian Communications in Lokoja, the capital of the Middle-belt State of Kogi, this month. Ogori is about 75 kilometres from Lokoja.

MTN is one of three GSM operators licensed in 2001 to provide mobile telephone services in Nigeria.

The 120-million-U.S.-dollar project, which took 10 months to complete, spans 3,400 kilometres and stretches from the north to the south-east and south-west, covering more than 30 cities and 120 communities linked together via GSM.

President Olusegun Obasanjo commissioned the transmission facility, known as ”Y’helloBahn”, in Lokoja, the nation’s first capital city, on Jan 20. It was in Lokoja that the colonial governor of Nigeria, Lord Frederick Lugard in 1914 amalgamated the Northern and Southern Protectorates to become what is now known as Nigeria.

Today, relics of the colonial era, including the cemetery where the remains of some European soldiers killed in battles were buried and cenotaphs built in their memory, are visible. The building that was used as Lord Lugard’s headquarters now serves as the state governor’s office.

”As the meeting point of two defining rivers of our land, Rivers Niger and Benue, Lokoja is at the very heart of Nigeria and like Abuja, our new capital, it symbolises the unity of our great country,” said Obasanjo, while praising the GSM operator for ”re-enacting history through this re-amalgamation via technology”.

Obasanjo, whose speech was translated by Bello Mohammed, Minister of Communications, described the transmission facility as a major addition to Nigeria’s telecommunication infrastructure.

”I am reliably informed that the MTN Y’helloBahn traverses over 120 towns, villages and communities in Nigeria, many of which will thereby benefit from GSM coverage. The (transmission) backbone will, therefore, help to provide telecommunications services not only to big towns and cities but also to rural communities and in so doing, bring development closer to the door steps of our people,” he said.

However, the high tariff, charged by the mobile telephone provider, has been a source of worry by customers who have protested and even gone to court to try to force down the fee.

While NITEL GSM charges 21 naira per minute for local calls, subscribers to MTN and Econet pay 50 naira a minute.

One U.S. dollar is equal to 100 Naira.

Obasanjo said: ”While it is the policy of this administration not to interfere or dictate tariffs, let me quickly add that we are very concerned that tariffs do not remain unbearable to the majority of our people”.

He urged GSM operators to exercise restraint and have a sense of responsibility while fixing tariffs.

The three GSM operators bought their licences for 285 million U.S. dollars each at an auction held in 2001, an amount the operators argue has contributed to the high tariff.

”Fifty naira a minute charge is not too high because the tariff has to be taken within the context of the licensing fee which is eight times what was paid in UK, five times more than what was paid in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Holland, Germany and Spain,” argues Adrian Woods, MTN’s Chief Executive.

”What we want in Nigeria is for people to make a fair comparison and not trying to compare the tariff in the above mentioned countries with a brand new network in Nigeria,” he says. ”MTN has 1.4 billion U.S. dollar five-year investment plan in Nigeria. It cost a little over 200,000 U.S. dollars to install one base station.”

Demola Eleso, chief technical officer of MTN says: ”GSM networks are made up of several specialised equipment and systems such as base stations and switching exchanges. Base stations generate the radio signals with which our mobile phones interact and are distributed across cities. To link different base stations with each other as well as with our phones, the Y’helloBahn backbone enables GSM phones to function properly”.

”In the absence of such a critical transmission backbone, we relied on satellite transmission links for inter-city transmission. Satellite transmission, however, has very limited capacity and may only handle approximately 400 voice calls at the same time. This very limited capacity is one reason for most of the problems experienced on our network. Satellite is also affected by weather conditions such as rain,” Eleso says.

”Many of the smaller villages and communities will be linked by communications to the world for the first time ever by virtue of our microwave transmission backbone. MTN strongly supports the federal government policy for rural telecommunications for equal access, employment and business empowerment and to promote sustainable development,” he adds.

The facility will also enable the MTN to cover a growing number of highways in Nigeria. ”On account of this road coverage, people may keep in touch with the world on the move and motorists who suffer car breakdowns can call for help on their phones. Help can also be solicited on the spot for victims of road traffic accidents,” Eleso says.

”The microwave transmission backbone was built by Nigerians. It was planned, budgeted, designed and implemented by a Nigerian team. It has taken 10 months of toil and focus to bring this 3,400 kilometres backbone to reality,” he says.

The completion of the facility, he says, will enable millions of Nigerians connect to their families and remain in touch with their businesses and new opportunities in a growing number of locations around the vast West African country of 120 million people.