Access to broadband not cheap – Jim Ovia

VC Covenant Univesity Prof. Charles Ayo, Jim Ovia second from left with ISPON president 
Chris Uwaje and wife, Prof Charles Uwadie ISPON VP John Obaro and Mr Agu

The chairman, Visafone Communications Limited, Mr. Jim Ovia, has warned that despite the clamour for broadband in the country, it may not be as affordable and cheap as most Nigerians were made to believe.

In a speech as a special guest speaker at the 2013 Presidential Dinner organized by the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) in Lagos, last weekend, Ovia insisted that the event signifies that software industry in Nigeria is recognized, given the attendance of the dinner.

“So, what is needed more is the passion not profit oriented at the initial times. So, the best way to invest in ICT, especially software, is the passion,” he said.

Ovia warned that access to broadband is not cheap and may not go down, ultimately.

Broadband refers to using signals over a wide range of frequencies in high-capacity telecommunications, especially as used for access to the Internet.

“Access to broadband is not cheap and may not go down eventually, the only technology that can be cheap today is the voice,” he asserted.

Hence, access to data at broadband speed, Ovia said, cannot be cheap, stressing though that internet penetration is about 23 per cent, but the broadband is about 2-3 per cent at present.

Nollywood is more popular now because its access online, urging that Nigerians should take advantage of Internet based on the anticipated evolution of broadband for more business and investment.

ITRealms recalls that the term broadband, according to experts at Wikipedia refers to the wide bandwidth characteristics of a transmission medium and its ability to transport multiple signals and traffic types simultaneously. The medium can be coax, optical fiber, twisted pair or wireless.

In contrast, baseband, describes a communication system in which information is transported across a single channel.

Prior to the invention of home broadband, dial-up Internet access was the only means by which one could access the Internet and download files such as songs, movies, e-mails, etc. It would take anywhere from 10–30 minutes to download one song (3.5 MB) and over 28 hours to download a movie 700 Mega Bytes (MB).

Dial-up Internet was also considered very inconvenient as it would impair the use of the home telephone line, and users would contemplate whether or not to get a second line, and if doing so was worth the cost.

In 1997, the cable modem was introduced, although the common use of broadband didn't begin rising until 2001. Having a broadband connection enabled one to download significantly faster than on dial-up.

As with many new technologies, most consumers were unable to afford the cost of faster Internet service.

However, high costs weren't a factor for long as by 2004, most average American households considered home broadband service to be affordable. Since its inception, broadband has continually strengthened and available connection speeds continue to rise.

Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times. Its origin is in physics, acoustics and radio systems engineering, where it had been used with a meaning similar to wideband. However, the term became popularized through the 1990s as a vague marketing term for Internet access.
 

ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D