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alukome@a... Date: Sat Jul 12, 2003 12:41 pm
Subject: What does SAT-3/WASC Mean In Practical Terms to Nigeria?
July 12, 2003
Dear Colleagues:
I continue to seek for what SAT-3/WASC fiber optics communication highway means for Nigeria in practical terms, and what questions to ask as we proceed.
First, some numbers: as far as digital transmissions go, the E1 carrier rate is 2.048 Megabits per second (Mbps), and enables 30 voice channels. (T1 carrier rate is 1.544 Mbps for 24 voice channels).
The SAT-3/WASC project Phase 1 is 20 Gigabits per second (Gbps = 1,000 Mbps), Phase 2 will be 40 Gbps and Phase 3 (if they every get there) will be 120 Gbps.
That means that Phase 1 will allow a maximum of 300,000 voice channels, Phase 2 will allow 600,000 voice channels and Phase 3 will allow 1.8 million voice channels.
Now since there will be roughly 15 landing points (countries) sharing this information pipe, and if they were in demand of it at the same time, no one will be able to use more than 20,000 voice channels, 40,000 voice channels or 120,000 voice channels on average at any given time. If we look only at the 8 African countries on which it will land, the average number of channels quoted above roughly doubles.
However, South Africa, as initiator and provide of $85 million out of the $639 million project, already has an "indefeasible" 30% right to the SAT-3/WASC, meaning that if for example it needs 100,000 voice channels at any given time during Phase 1, it has a right to them, with concomittant decrease in that available to other countries. It has already initially taken 12.5% (2.5 Gbps) of the Phase 1.
See: http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/telecoms/2002/0205271141.asp?O=E
So the first question we need to ask:
QUESTION 1: WHAT IS NIGERIA'S negotiated INDEFEASIBLE right to SAT-3/WASC?
Obviously the throughput in any given country depends on the perceived needs of the country and how much it is willing to pay for that access.
Some indication of that for Nigeria may be already evident when we read that NITEL has a 622 Mbps connection to Port Harcourt, etc. That is roughly 310 E1s - or 9,000 voice lines.
So we get a second question:
QUESTION 2: Why was this connection speed chosen to extend from the SAT-3/WASC Lagos landing point to Port Harcourt, etc.? In-built technical limitation (which we may not be able to get over in a hurry) or cost?
As far as Internet access is concerned, we have the following options:
(i) dial-up on an analog phone line - up to 56 kbps;
(ii) DSL (digital subscriber line): ISDL: Up to 144-kbps download/upload;
SDSL: 1.5-Mbps download/upload; ADSL: 384-kbps to 9-Mbps
download/128-kbps upload
(iii) T1/E1 - up to 1.544 Mbps/2.048Mbps (1,544/2,048 kbps);
(iv) Cable - theoretically up to 27 Mbps (27,000 kbps), but typically 500 kbps to
2 Mbps download/128-kbps to 384-kbps upload connection ranges.
So this leads to a third question:
QUESTION 3: To take advantage of desirable broadband access (> 200 kbps) to the Internet, what choices is the country making with respect to SAT-3/WASC access in Nigeria?
Let the inquiries continue.
Bolaji Aluko
PS: Official site of SAT3/WASC is http://www.safe-sat3.co.za/
In a message dated 7/11/2003 8:25:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Alukome writes:
July 11, 2003
Dear Colleagues:
Some few quick responses and points of information here about all this fiber optics business:
1. Africa One and SAT-3/WASC/SAFE are not the same thing although very similar and are somewhat in competition with each other:
Their maps are different:
While Africa One Map is:
http://www.africaone.com/english/maps/Africa_ONE_segments_022801.jpg
and surrounds Africa (20-30 landing points total, including Europe and Middle East), the WASC Map is:
http://www.alcatel.com/submarine/refs/cibles/atls/sat3.htm
and goes from Portugal to South Africa. The SAFE end continues to Malaysia.
Their histories are different:
Read:
About Africa One ( it is US-based funding and control)
http://www.africaone.com/english/about/about.cfm
http://www.africaone.com/english/about/fact_sheet_faq.cfm
http://www.africaone.com/english/about/fact_sheet_history.cfm
http://www.africaone.com/english/news/news.cfm
About SAT-3/WASC/SAFE (South-Africa initiated, Alcatel-built/managed)
Telkom commits to submarine cable
http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/telecoms/1999/9906181307.asp
http://nww.alcatel.at/at/presse/archiv/newsarchiv/content/00473/index.php
See also
Africa: Broadband Technology
http://www.pressroom.com/~screenager/broadband/ABband.html
2. Africa ONE has been around in one form or the other since 1993, has had funding problems and has not built one kilometer of cable, but SAT-3/WASC (initiated in 1999) has been built, with landing in Senegal in May 2001 and inauguration in May 2002.
Read:
Europe-Africa-Asia submarine cable launched
http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/telecoms/2002/0205271141.asp?O=E
3. About Nigeria, exactly when SAT-3/WASC landed or was inaugurated in Nigeria is unknown to me, maybe to the reader too, but the IEEE Spectrum article
http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/wonews/jun03/fibopt.html
and other emerging info
http://www.american.edu/carmel/ew5473a/Telcom.htm
Information Technology in Nigeria
Telecommunications Infrastructure
show that not only is it already “hot†and “live†in Nigeria – with NITEL being the controlling party up to date – but that NITEL has extended it along the coast all the way to Port Harcourt, inland to Aba, with plans for further inland to Abuja.
4. Because of Globacom’s previous strategic partnership with Alcatel (the builder/manager of SAT-3),
http://wireless.itworld.com/4273/021023alcatel/page_1.html
Alcatel forges deal with Nigeria's Globacom
ITworld.com 10/23/02
it appears that it is getting first dibs (deebs?) into SAT-3, including the possibility of completely controlling access to it.
http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/news/article09/
Govt raises board for M-TEL, plans 1.2m lines
From Alifa Daniel, Abuja
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/features/fe117032003.html
NITEL to lease capacity to Globacom... after some disagreements
One hopes that it is not a purely rent-seeking relationship, which may be what NITEL is trying to prevent.
--
Anyway, the task for us all now is as follows: now that we know what we know, no matter how belated, how do we make sure that we ITites make the BEST USE of the existing capacity for the benefit of ICT in the country, all politics aside?
It appears that the best strategy is to GET ALL THE INFORMATION THAT WE CAN about WASC/Nigeria, including capacities, routes, etc., map out all the advantages that we can get from it and then GO TO TOWN DEMANDING ACCESS now!
Things may actually be looking up, better than we thought, only that we just did not know!
Best wishes all.
Bolaji Aluko
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