₦airaland Forum

walcolm: how does that impact the average voice and data subcriber in naija?

It doesn't , not much anyway in the area you are implying but setting up a speed test server on your network no be beans. Check out the requirements;

http://speedtest.net/host.php

So, its an accomplishment for Main One. A step in the right direction. We shall get there soon my brother. Rome wasn't built in a day. Remember just some years back we where all browsing at cafe's or using NITEL landline at N20 per min. Times have changed.

Djcn: How is it going with u bro? Thought u would provide a link for that, but here is what i got.

Am doing great. Check out the screenshots.

The NCC is getting their facts mixed up on the way to approach the issue. The amount of international bandwidth available to Nigeria at Lagos is more than enough for our needs. The problem is getting that bandwidth inland and across the entire 6 geo-political zones in Nigeria e.g Yola, Bayelsa, Oyo, Sokoto, Kogi, etc The lack of a National operator has meant that the Telecom operators cannot have access to NITEL's already existing infrastructure and therefore have to embark upon massive investments to build their own fiber backbones, microwave links and base stations. This things cost money and these companies are out to make a profit, naturally the companies will not want to share their facilities with other operators. Therefore, to make things easier for the NCC and to accelerate broadband penetration, the privatization of NITEL should be concluded and its facilities opened up on an open access model to other operators. Any operator that desires to use the facilities will simply pay the appropriate charges. Imagine all the facilities that NITEL has; SAT3 Fiber, Fiber Backbones and Copper, Both Digital and Analogue Exchanges etc. Some facilities will need to be upgraded and repaired of course but it will all be worth it at the end. Just imagine all the landlines waking up again and and making very cheap international calls and using ADSL Unlimited internet with speeds of over 20Mbps Dedicated. Its possible !!

COMPAQ: LTE!! That would be a tall order. By the way HSDPA from MTN has a theoretical max speed of 7.2Mbps, likewise Glo. HSPA+ has a theoretical max of 21Mbps, while DC-HSPA+ (Dual Channel)has a theoretical max of 42Mbps. For now, only Airtel and Etisalat operate HSPA+. MTN and Glo still operate HSDPA. If they had stepped up, I'm sure they'd let people know about it. Besides we should also realise that we are all still limited by the hardware that we carry!!

Dude, am rocking an unlocked Huawei E367 Modem (28.8Mbps) for my laptop and using the HTC One X (21Mbps) as a wireless hotspot when i need wifi connection. Lets just say am blazing on any network with a good 3G signal. However, i do agree with you, many people are limited by their hardware. I had to shell out some dough to get these hardware but as a download freak its worth it.

Well, consistency is one word that Nigerian network providers don't understand yet. You can be getting killer speeds in one location and be crawling in another. Overall, no provider can claim consistent quality of service in all locations. However, efforts can be made to improve. But trust our Nigerian mentality, the network providers are out to make money.

Eazy Blaze plans need to be reviewed. No matter how fast a network claims their speeds, their data plans will ultimately determine if people subscribe to their network.

henryskywalker2003: @samir101ng, guy I think it's time we just left them to their devices jare, since dem no wan learn when being taught nor do a simple research. Even if I get links and put them up here, I bet you that they won't bother to visit it. When big networks in the U.S. like AT&T and Verizon are still rolling out their LTE services and others are yet to start, na Korea and Malaysia wey go come dey on 5G and 6G. How many phones fit operate on LTE networks sef currently. Do a research and you'll probably get nothing more than 15 at most. Nonsense.

My brother i tire o !!!

Even with the internet at their finger tips they don't want to learn. People just come here and start shout 5G and 6G as if its beans. Well to each his own. End of discussion on that matter.

Back to the topic, Etisalat NG as you know is currently deploying the fastest network in Nigeria HSPA+.

[b]HSPA+, or Evolved High-Speed Packet Access, is a technical standard for wireless, broadband telecommunication. HSPA+ enhances the widely used WCDMA based 3G networks with higher speeds for the end user that are comparable to the newer LTE networks. HSPA+ was first defined in the technical standard 3GPP release 7 and expanded further in later releases.

HSPA+ provides an evolution of High Speed Packet Access and provides data rates up to 168 Megabits per second (Mbit/s) to the mobile device and 22 Mbit/s from the mobile device. Technically these are achieved through the use of a multiple-antenna technique known as MIMO (for “multiple-input and multiple-output”) and higher order modulation (64QAM) or combining multiple cells into one with a technique known as Dual-Cell_HSDPA.

The 168 Mbit/s and 22 Mbit/s represent theoretical peak speeds. The actual speed for a user will be lower. In general, HSPA+ offer higher bitrates only in very good radio conditions (very close to cell tower) or if the terminal and network both support either MIMO or Dual-Cell_HSDPA, which effectively use two parallel transmit channels with different technical implementations.

The higher 168Mbps speeds are achieved by using multiple carriers with Dual-Cell_HSDPA and MIMO together simultaneously. [1][2]

The technology also delivers significant battery life improvements and dramatically quicker wake-from-idle time - delivering a true always-on connection. HSPA+ should not be confused with LTE, which uses a new air interface based on OFDMA technology. HSPA+ is an evolution of HSPA that upgrades the existing 3G network and provides a cheap way for telecom operators to migrate towards 4G speeds without deploying a new radio interface. [3][/b]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolved_HSPA

http://www.businessdayonline.com/New/index.php/pdf/phocadownload/images/templates/pdf/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=34322:etisalat-demands-additional-spectrum-for-lte-migration&catid=77:telecoms&Itemid=531

http://www.brandworknigeria.com/newsdetail.php?id=3218

Followed closely after Etisalat is Airtel also with a 3.75G network. However, Etisalat is the only network with a modem that can support all the higher speeds its network supports. Most USB modems offered by the GSM operators for their mobile internet plans are 3.6Mbps. A few are 7.2Mbps. Its with a 7.2Mbps modem and good 3G signal can you enjoy killer speeds on any network. But guess what ??! Etisalat NG is selling the Huawei E367 for N9500 with a connection speed of 28.8Mbps .

Now imagine that powerful modem unleashed on an HSPA+ network or even a normal MTN 3.5G network, the speeds are gonna be out of this world. However, don't always forget, a good 3G signal from a close base station is always a necessary factor. Plus the number of users currently activ on that base station also affects your connection speed.

plenty kola: guy korea has been planning to get 5g dis year since 2008 so go and search ur google again u will see there is 5g or maybe u are using nigeria made google

Dude,

We are talking about actual network implementation. Not some tests conducted in a lab or research work. How many people do you even know with 4G or LTE devices ?? And please give us a link to an ISP that is current;y rolling out 5G in Korea. Plus South Korea has an extensive Fiber Backbone and rely on it mainly for their connections and not Mobile Broadband/Telecoms. You guys better wake up and stop running your mouths. Seek Knowledge. An ADSL/Cable connection will give you faster speeds than a mobile broadband connection. Its only here in Africa without a Fixed Infrastructure that we believe Mobile Operators are all that.

**smh

Main One has just launched a speed test server. Ajah is now on the global map. Check it out !!

Hi,

the idea of a neighborhood ISP is a good one. It will help in reducing overall internet costs. In ancient times, VSAT will have been the preferred medium of connection, however, with advances in modern technology and the emergence of the telecoms providers, i think an E1/T1 2Mbps Microwave Link from MTN or Glo will suffice. You can have a direct link setup to a base station with a fiber backbone. That takes care of the internet gateway. For distribution onwards to the houses, you can have wifi access points setup with WPA-PSK encryption and MAC authentication to block unauthorized users. For the wifi hotspot management, you can use Mikrotik OS. Its the best software/hardware technology i know for Wireless Hotspot Mgt.

http://mtnbusiness.com.ng/

http://www.mikrotik.com/

For more info, check the above urls. Don't hesitate to make more inquiries, will be glad to help.

Airtel 3.75G Ever Blazing !!!

Location: Lokoja

Connection: Huawei USB Modem

Djcn: Glo has actually improved....running on glo 1

Hi Djcn,

Its been a while. Nice speed. Where was that taken ?? Glo has definitely improved.

jdoss: WACS went live earlier today. There was a ceremony in SA. Anyone using MTN see any improvement?
Anyone with pricing info on wholesale bandwidth to isps.

Yeah, will be interested to find out about all the cables (ACE, MAIN ONE, WACS) etc !!! What are they charging now for wholesale bandwidth to ISP's ??

dkings101: After much scolding, fighting, insult, rude and hyper with Starcomms & Visafone, I came to meet the Messiah of fast blazing internet speed which is ETISALAT. I am not being paid for this post but I am jst sharing my testimony. The Internet is just too fast that I get scared. Just a click and the page is up. I have browse on 5G internet platform while abroad and I can compare Etisalat to such speed.

If you are located in Ogun, Ijebu, Ibadan I would advice you to go to Etisalat (only if you see 3G on ur handphone, means you would get a fast browsing). I don't know the speed of GPRS but it is very fast. I don't think I would ever wink on any other telco stupid modem for now cos am satisfied with my surfing speed.

Etisalat ooo...una biko.

First and foremost, there's nothing like 5G currently in use around the world. A simple Google search and Wikipedia research will show you that. So, stop falling your hand and claiming you have used 5G. Etisalat is currently deploying a HSPA+ network which is the fastest technology currently in use by the Telecom networks followed by Airtel 3.75G. Glo has launched an LTE network (4G) but it hasn't been deployed for commercial use yet. Do some research first before posting anyhow.

dkings101: Malaysia browse on 5G platform and they r going on 6G for now. I came from there...so I can tell you 100%. for more info, www.tm.com.my

I have gone through the website you posted and no where was 5G or 6G mentioned. Even made a search on their site and nothing. You are confusing the use of FTTH (Fiber To The Home) Technology for 5G/6G. If the Telecom networks where able to provide the true speeds of their technology, Nigeria has nothing to fear from other countries like Malaysia.

Maleeq: Well said samir. I have a friend that once bought "the latest card around" then only to find out his MOBO has no support for it! and the store he got it from wouldn't give him a refund/accept it back

Yeah your right Maleeq. Some newer video card models take up the space of two PCIE slots and need a dedicated cable for power supply. Therefore before rushing and buying any graphics cards, you need to do a little research. For PC's, having a PCIE x16 slot and a 500W power supply is an advantage. Newer PC's supporting the new Core i3,i5,i7 processors have an advantage.

purplekayc: rapid share is still not as cheap to use as torrent and u can always install good anti virus software on your computers

Rapidshare Premium Account N2800 30 Days

There's no reason to be cheap. If you want good quality service, you have to pay for it. Personally, i have found Rapidshare to be a better option for me. Plus some ISP's track and ban users of P2P and Bitorrent traffic e.g Starcomms. You are yet to make any reasonable point for torrents.

skymaxnig: There is already fiber in Taraba if you dont know. Also there are Four international fiber carriers now live and active in nigeria with some others in the pipeline....email info@skymaxnig.net for more.

All the 36 States of Nigeria have a fiber link am sure. Either from the GSM networks like MTN, Glo or Airtel (haven't heard about Etisalat). Private companies also like Suburban, 21st Century, Layer 3 etc have also laid their own fiber links to almost all the major cities. As for the 4 submarine cables, we have been monitoring their progress far longer than you have on this forum so calm down. At the end of the day, what has your post added to the discussions on this topic, ZERO. Better go back and get some facts.

@topic,

there's more to life than just internet you know. For a state government to invest solely in building a fiber network in its state is a tall order for which the citizens of the state will lynch the governor. N20 Billion is not beans even for naija. The lack of privatization of Nitel is the major component missing in the provision of fixed line access to broadband internet.

purplekayc: Why rapidshare? When you can always use any of the torrent software?

Check out the link below

http://www.bablotech.com/2009/01/14/5-reason-why-rapidshare-is-better-than-torrents/

Try googling rapidshare vs torrents for plenty of arguments for rapidshare. With dedicated servers and support for internet download managers, downloading from file hosts like rapidshare is extremely fast. Torrents increase your networks overhead traffic and are too much of a hassle if you are behind a firewall or proxy. However, if a torrent file has a large number of seeders it tends to have a longer shelve life unlike rapidshare files that can be removed for digital piracy. Thats the only advantage that torrents have over http downloads like rapidshare, fileserve, filesonic etc

How do you propose such a project in a state like Taraba State ?!



Plus, where is the Submarine cable going to terminate at (Source Country) ??

I hope you know laying a fibre network from the North East to Lagos and via the submarine cable is gonna be a lot more capital intensive. I think building a submarine Cable from Lagos to London, France, etc is gonna be less expensive than laying a fibre network from Lagos to Jalingo, Taraba Sate.

P.S I use Taraba State as an example to show you the measure of difficulty encountered as you enter more inland in Nigeria. A southern state will obviously be less expensive.

@lumzi23,

My brother, you must learn by now to lower your expectations when it comes to somethings in Nigeria. Hopefully, we pray that we doubting thomases can be proved wrong. As far as i am concerned, true 3G speeds is more than enough for our normal day to day use. HSDPA or 3.5G as offered by MTN and Glo has a therotical speed of 42Mbps (Megabits). Dude, that's roughly closely to over 2MB/s using Internet Download Manager. We are not even talking about Airtel 3.75G or Etisalat HSPA+. If i can get that speed consistently at an affordable price i would be a very happy man. LTE is just hype as far as i am concerned. But lets wait and see and not jump to hasty conclusions yet. Just hope its affordable and won't cost an arm and leg.

Location: Lokoja

Network: Glo 3G+ HSI

Glo-1 is certainly improving Glo's network speeds

Airtel 3.75G

Since our own earlier posts on this topic did not get the front page, we will join the bandwagon here. Well done Moderator (Even Nairaland PDP dey) !!

Now back to the topic !!

Glo’s launch on Sunday brought a three-year long wait to an end, and it came only after the National Communication Authority (NCA) had fined Glo $200,000 for failure to launch and cover at least six regions in the country within two years of its license, which was in 2008.

Look at what Ghana's NCC equivalent is doing while ours are just lining their pockets with bribes and free credit. Whenever any network launches a new product in Nigeria, its usually limited to Lagos, Abuja and Port-Hacourt. God bless Airtel Nigeria for launching their 3.75G network across Nigeria. That was a first in the history in Nigeria. We are yet to feel MTN, Glo and Etisalat 3G in some states of the federation.

George Andah said those offers came on the back of Glo’s superior $750 million-worth world class network comprising 1,400 BTS, the popular 2.5 terabit/sec Glo One submarine cable, with some 2,900km terrestrial spread into Ghana, which also made 80% of Glo BTSs 3G (UMTS.

Just look at that statement, so 80% of the Glo Network in Ghana is 3G !!! Look, no matter how hard things are to achieve in Nigeria, you cannot rule out the propensity of Telecom operators to abuse the lackadaisical attitude of Nigerian regulators to their advantage. Ghana now should be among the second or third country with the fastest internet betwen Egypt and South Africa. It shall be well with us sha !! We are gonna get their soon also.

Network: Airtel 3.75G

As you can see this is just with 2 Bars !!! Moreover, am a little bit far away from the base station with lots of tress and buildings affecting the signal.

Will MTN Crash Internet Cost With WACS Cable ?

As MTN Nigeria prepares to go-live on the West African Cable System (WACS), a 14,000 kilometres fibre optic submarine cable with a capacity of 5.12 terabits per second (tbps), which berthed in the country last year, the expectation that Nigeria e-commerce and emergence as a digital economy may have to wait until the issue of carrying bandwidth traffic to the hinterlands is addressed.

The WACS consortium include MTN, Angola Cables, Broadband Infraco, Cable and Wireless Worldwide; Congo Telecom.; Société Congolaise des Postes et Télécommunications (“SCPT”), PT Communicacoes, Togo Telecom, Tata Communications, Telecom Namibia, Telkom SA Ltd, and Vodacom Group Ltd. WACS which cost about $650 million spans the entire West African coast and terminating in the United Kingdom.

The cable would enable seamless connectivity among Southern and West Africa countries with the rest of Europe and America. It has 15 established terminal stations along its route and would function to reduce the cost to connect the West coast of Africa into the high-speed global telecommunications network. MTN is the single biggest investor in WACS with over $90 million in the cable.

Mr. Wale Goodluck, corporate Services Executive, MTN Nigeria said, “The WACS cable is here. It landed in the middle of last year. The landing station is ready and we expect that it should be carrying live traffic by the end of April. The capacity is bigger than any submarine cable that has landed in Nigeria and we expect that it would provide greater bandwidth, greater redundancy and for more latency for data services.”

However, landing the cable on the shore of the beach is just the beginning. “We need to take it up country. The federal, state and local government needs to support the industry with Rights of Way and give us conducive environment to enable us put infrastructure in the ground,” Goodluck said. MTN Nigeria plans to invest $1.3 billion into its core, radio and the transmission networks and build more national and metropolitan fibre rings.

To get this done, it needs free or easy access. But the company faces the difficulty in taking the cable into the hinterland. Issues of Rights of Way permits, multiple taxations from all levels of government, vandalisation of cables by construction companies building roads, etc are obstructing the delivery of bandwidth to the hinterlands.

Mr. Okey Itanyi, Executive Commissioner Stakeholder Management, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), said that MTN and other telecom operators are now seen as an palying in the extractive industry and should pay all the taxes, levies and duties imposed on them by the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) at the federal, states and local governments levels. He said the multiple taxations which is in tens of billions of naira for each operator may affect the plans by operators to crash the cost of bandwidth especially in the semi urban and rural ears.

http://www.technologyavenue.com.ng/news/2012/03/will-mtn-crash-internet-cost-with-wacs-cable/

http://www.itnewsafrica.com/2011/04/wacs-submarine-cable-nears-completion/

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/04/broadband-wacs-cable-lands-s-africa/

http://nationalmirroronline.net/business/business-and-finance/35592.html

Well, by all accounts, the WACS cable has landed in Nigeria and South Africa. All that remains is for traffic to go on live. I just pray that God gives MTN a merciful heart and they reduce prices a little and increase bandwidth. Even their 3.5G expansion has stopped as no new city has been added. Airtel has launched 3.75G across the 36 States of the Federation without a complex fibre backbone or a submarine cable. Imagine what MTN can do if they really care about their Nigerian subscribers. May God help us.

Sometimes i weep for my country Naija

Glo’s launch on Sunday brought a three-year long wait to an end, and it came only after the National Communication Authority (NCA) had fined Glo $200,000 for failure to launch and cover at least six regions in the country within two years of its license, which was in 2008.

Look at what Ghana's NCC equivalent is doing while ours are just lining their pockets with bribes and free credit. Whenever any network launches a new product in Nigeria, its usually limited to Lagos, Abuja and Port-Hacourt. God bless Airtel Nigeria for launching their 3.75G network across Nigeria. That was a first in the history in Nigeria. We are yet to feel MTN, Glo and Etisalat 3G in some states of the federation.

George Andah said those offers came on the back of Glo’s superior $750 million-worth world class network comprising 1,400 BTS, the popular 2.5 terabit/sec Glo One submarine cable, with some 2,900km terrestrial spread into Ghana, which also made 80% of Glo BTSs 3G (UMTS.

Just look at that statement, so 80% of the Glo Network in Ghana is 3G !!! Look, no matter how hard things are to achieve in Nigeria, you cannot rule out the propensity of Telecom operators to abuse the lackadaisical attitude of Nigerian regulators to their advantage. Ghana now should be among the second or third country with the fastest internet betwen Egypt and South Africa. It shall be well with us sha !! We are gonna get their soon also.

Glo storms Ghana’s telecom market with juicy offers

Beginning from Monday, April 30, 2012, all 1.5 million Ghanaians who successfully reserved 023-3 and 023-5 Glo numbers can go to any of the 25 GloWorld Shops across the country and activate them and start making calls.

This is possible because the Glo Ghana network has now been activated and the first official call was made on the network between National Media Commission (NMC) Chairman, Ambassador Kabral Blay-Amihere, and Globacom Executive Director for Human Resource, Adewale Sangowawa at a press launch of Glo Ghana’s commercial services.

But due to SIM registration procedures, new Glo customers might have to wait for a while for their registration particulars to be verified and validated before their Glo SIM could be activated.

Glo’s launch on Sunday brought a three-year long wait to an end, and it came only after the National Communication Authority (NCA) had fined Glo $200,000 for failure to launch and cover at least six regions in the country within two years of its license, which was in 2008.

But Glo Ghana Chief Operating Officer (COO), George Andah told journalists the long wait was not a waste because for every extra day Ghanaians waited, Glo was planning and working on relevant packages and offerings that would excite Ghanaians.

Evidence of that was the company starting with 85% coverage of Ghana, providing services in 974 cities and 10,000 villages, and also starting with some of the juiciest offers the industry could offer.

For starters, all new customers on Glo would get 20Gp credit free everyday for the first 100 days they joined Glo, and George Andah said that was about three minutes of call free on Glo for 100 days just for being a customer.

He said beside the free 20Gp every day, new customers also would get up to 100% bonus on every recharge, five hours free night calls for spending just 10Gp in a whole day, one minute bonus to call any network for every three minutes of calls received, and one special phone number (Sweet Number) that a customer could call for only 2Gp per minute.

“Glo SIM cost only GHS1 and a call per minute on Glo is 8Gp but with 100% bonus on every recharge the effective call tariff is way less than 8Gp,” Andah said.

The company also assured Ghanaians of the most competitive international call rates, not much different from domestic call tariffs.

There were other offers that enabled customers to have the latest news, sports, entertainment and weather updates on their Glo 128kb SIM cards, whiles a service called Sharp-Sharp also allowed electronic tranfer of credit on the go.

George Andah said those offers came on the back of Glo’s superior $750 million-worth world class network comprising 1,400 BTS, the popular 2.5 terabit/sec Glo One submarine cable, with some 2,900km terrestrial spread into Ghana, which also made 80% of Glo BTSs 3G (UMTS.

He noted that 1.5 million people had already reserved their special Glo numbers on a network that was ready to accommodate at least 10 million customers for starters, “which means one out of every two Ghanaian can be on the Glo network without it getting congested.”

The Glo Ghana boss said with the superior infrastructure Glo had installed, it could assure Ghanaians of the fastest upload and download internet speeds in country, and the best quality voice calls from everywhere on the soils of Ghana.

“We are starting with 1,400 BTS which makes us the second biggest network in the country in terms of coverage but the rate at which we are going, we would reach 2,300 BTS by the close of 2012 and that will make Glo the largest network in terms of coverage in Ghana,” he said.

He said the company had already seated 500 Customer Care staff at the 25 GloWorld Stores, who are ready to receive over 200,000 calls in a day serving customers’ various needs.

http://business.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201204/85743.php

Hmmm !!!

That's a great marketing strategy from MTN. But however, how sure are we that its really unlimited ?! Coz, these people will always trick you into subscribing to a plan and then discreetly write a fair usage policy at the end which people don't notice. However, if its truly unlimited, then MTN go suffer be that. Download freaks will just line up their downloads and go to sleep. Was getting consistent speeds of over 600KB/S on my 7.5Mbps HSPA modem. Imagine what i will get on a 28.8 Mbps modem with a Rapidshare Premium Account. Na God save MTN am in a place with no 3.5G coverage. Only Airtel 3.75G is available. Anybody try the plan ?