Phase 3 votes N23.5bn on fibre optic project

Licensed to offer transmission services in the telecommunications sector, Phase 3 Telecom, has said that it would spend about $200 million (about N23,550,000,000 billion) for its optic fibre expansion nationwide.

Chief Executive Officer, Phase 3 Telecom, Mr. Stanley Jegede, who made the revelation at the weekend, said that already, over $100m (about N11,775,000,000) has been spent deploying optic fibre in many cities in the country and providing the needed backbone that had been absent in many towns and cities.

Mr. Jegede also said that his company, which has been in operation for about five years, has been providing services using optic fibre over high voltage power transmission line, adding that this will be combined with underground fibre to compliment where necessary.

He explained that fibre over high voltage involves lashing and stringing optic fibre over power lines holds a lot of advantages over the traditional underground laying of fibre, even as the advantages include security and high-level reliability.

“The case study in Nigeria has proven that most fibre laid on the ground is affected by ongoing construction work, which results in cuts. However these problems are practically eliminated with the phase3 network,” he said.

Also commenting the Chief Operating Officer, Phase 3 Telecom, Dr. Vincent Dogo, noted that the firm had already covered significant parts of the country with its network and was making steady progress towards reaching other parts.

“Today we have practically deployed over 3,000 kilometres of fibre stretching from Lagos, cutting across Ibadan via Minna to Abuja, Kano and heading towards Katsina. We also have a tee-off cutting across Oshogbo, Benin and Asaba and now heading into Port-Harcourt,” he said.

Dogo added that Phase 3 operates today as a neutral carrier of other carriers, stressing that its network was designed by indigenous Nigerian engineering team and done to meet with the challenges associated with the telecoms industry in Nigeria and the West African sub-region today.


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