NIGCOMSAT boss assures supply of bandwidth to agencies, private sectors

By Chris Alu

The Acting Managing Director, Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT), Ms Abimbola Alale has reiterated her commitment to provide enough bandwidth for corporate organizations and government agencies.

She stated this in a statement signed by Sonny Aragba-Akpore NIGCOMSAT Public Relations Officer, that NigComSat1R was launched on December 19, 2011, and has quad band of Ku, C, Ka and L bands, which has it footprints in over 40 African countries, parts of the Middle East and Asia.

According to her, the supply of bandwidth will reduce the recurrent lingering cycles of capital flights by corporate organisations and government agencies and bring to its barest cost of doing business viainternet.

It has been acknowledged by industry players and users that NigComSat 1R presently has the best satellite coverage over Nigeria “as the satellite was specifically designed to provide bandwidth for services within Nigeria and several other African nations”.

The statement said that in spite of the robust available services on this critical national infrastructure, Alale is worried and dismayed by the trend “of government institutions and the private sector

sourcing for their satellite bandwidth requirements from foreign satellite operators at the expense of the indigenous operator – NIGCOMSAT”.

Adding that, NIGCOMSAT as a national operator is mandated to meet the bandwidth requirements of the nation and “this policy initiative is aimed in part at reducing the capital flight caused by patronage of foreign satellite operators.

The statement also said that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may no longer honour requests for foreign exchange for bandwidth fees to foreign satellite operators. Indeed, “where the capacity on

NigComSat1R is unavailable, or coverage on another satellite is required due to the specific nature of the business, NIGCOMSAT shall rely on agreements with foreign satellite operators to providebandwidth in such instances.

Alale therefore asked Government agencies, the Organised Private Sector (OPS), and Foreign Operators to note that NIGCOMSAT limited is the first point of contact for satellite bandwidth requirements in Nigeria.