MainOne to Finance N2 billion on Lagos Fibre Infrastructure

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MainOne Expands Global Interconnection Capabilities Using Equinix Fabric
MainOne Expands Global Interconnection Capabilities Using Equinix Fabric

Mainone, West African connectivity including data centre solutions provider, is set to station 2,000 kilometres of fibre optic infrastructure in Lagos state in the next three years. 

In a project the company tagged ‘Digital Lagos for All’, MainOne announced the N2 billion investment in broadband infrastructure would be a shared open model that would unite towers and government establishments in the state.
This is becoming four years after the company acquired Infraco permit from the Nigerian Communications Commission for the omnipresent deployment of broadband infrastructure.

Articulating at a press conference in Lagos on Tuesday, the Chief Executive Officer, MainOne, Funke Opeke, noted that the objectives for Lagos was animated by the perception of the Lagos Governor-elect, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who noted that technology would develop the rule of law, education, efficiency of doing business and government processes of Lagos.

According to her, approximately 1,000km of the optic fibre infrastructure will be ready in the next 12 months.

“We are establishing a resilient infrastructure that will be beneficial for some time to come,” she appended.

Opeke said the company was keen to collaborate with the Lagos State Government and all other relevant stakeholders to build a digital Lagos and help citizens from all walks of life realise the advantages of broad, sustainable economic extension, modernised education, health, and other services delivery, and improved quality of life.

“MainOne is pleased to have the opportunity to present its plan for digital Lagos, a proven path to ubiquitous broadband connectivity. This plan will involve the investment by MainOne of over N25bn over the next two to three years to develop critical fibre optic infrastructure to enable broadband services across Lagos state,” she said.

Opeke said, as the licensed Infraco for Lagos zone, the resulting network to be built by MainOne would provide essential connectivity to critical state institutions, cover over 300 government agencies, up to 10,000 State CCTV locations, telecom operators and Internet Service Providers, public Wi-Fi hotspots, smart city components / IOS devices, in addition to enterprises.

The Chief Executive Officer, HIP Consult, a consulting company for the project, Mr Judah Levine, said MainOne’s original investment could yield up to N140bn by 2025 due to the economic worth the infrastructure would yield to the country.

He said with the increasing population in the country, more towers would be required to meet the data needs of the people.

According to him, the fibre infrastructure project will reach 94 per cent of known health centres and 97 per cent of known schools within 1km of the optic fibre cable.

“MainOne’s prepared Lagos network would reach every Local Government Area permitting operators to expand broadband services more efficiently,” he added.