2.5GHZ Licensing’ll Encourage More Broadband Operators –Garg
Anurag Garg is managing director of Direct On PC, a leading Internet Service Provider in the Nigeria. Garg joined DOPC eight years ago from Zenith Computer Limited, India; he has vast knowledge of the country’s internet service market having served as chief operating officer of the Company before his appointment as managing director in 2010. He spoke to chike onwuegbuchi on issues around growing internet service market in the country.

DOPC Embarked on Network Upgrade to 4G Technology

As you rightly mentioned, we had  started working on our 4G project branded as Unwired last year. I am happy to tell you that we have successfully completed the first phase of Unwired 4G project in Lagos. We have rolled out hundreds of sites in Lagos and we are providing end to end coverage in Lagos. We have covered up to Ajah on one end and up to Alaba International Market on the other end. At the same time, we are not stopping it there as we’ll be adding more sites depending on coverage requirement coming from our customers. We are working on 4G connectivity in Port Harcourt and Abuja as well.

Where Does This Upgrade Position DOPC in Terms of Service Delivery?
This is a big achievement for Direct On PC (DOPC) as we have rolled out the largest 4G network in Lagos. With this roll-out, DOPC has achieved position of the leading Wimax service operator (in Nigeria). Apart from excellent coverage, we are providing wide choice of devices to our customers. As we cater to all sorts of customers ranging from individuals to corporate clientele, they can choose the device which is suitable for their requirements. For instance, an individual or small business may be interested in having our Indoor modem with inbuilt Wi-fi feature. This way, they don’t have to invest in wireless router or switch separately. Corporate customers can choose outdoor Wimax radio device for rugged corporate connectivity. We are providing unmatched internet speed to our customers.

You Have 2.3 GHZ License. If NCC Decides to License 2.5GHZ, Where Does This Leave You?

We were pioneer in rolling out Wimax services in 2.3 GHz band and during last auction, two more players were given licenses to operate in this frequency. Issuing licenses in 2.5 GHz will bring more operators to market offering broadband services. Competition is always good for the market. This helps in increasing the market size and brings cost-effectiveness in operations of providers as they need to work more diligently to remain competitive. Broadband in the country is still in nascent stage and I think such step by the NCC would boost the market. But the NCC needs to keep an eye on the use of frequency as well. Some operators may take frequency from NCC and do not roll-out services in appropriate time. To avoid such incidents only serious players should be allowed to participate in frequency allocation.

Effective Spectrum Management for Digital Dividend and Increased Broadband Penetration

I believe NCC is doing a good job in allocation of spectrum for maximum broadband penetration but there are many other factors to look into. The most important one is basic infrastructure and then IT infrastructure availability in the country. Public power supply remains a major business bottleneck in terms of critical infrastructure for effective operation.
Any given ISP spend enormous amount of money to maintain consistent power supply which eventually shows up in price of its services and they don’t remain affordable to many people. For IT infrastructure, for instance, Nigeria now has various fibres coming into the country but mainly, they are all available in Lagos. Until the terrestrial connectivity between Lagos and various cities is available, these fibres can’t be used to roll out broadband services in remote areas. No wonder that about 60% of total internet connections are in Lagos alone.
Another aspect is that rolling out broadband services is a capital intensive exercise and until the returns are commensurate to the investment, operators may not feel encouraged to go all out for massive roll-out. From NCC and federal government’s side, if they can provide some sort of incentives to serious broadband providers, it may help in faster roll-out of services nationwide.
There are national fibre networks such as the ones own by MTN, Globacom among others which span from Lagos to Kano, as well as Lagos to South-east. Why is cost of bandwidth still very high in hitherland compared to Lagos?
As stated earlier, national fibre network is very limited and is very expensive. And for this reason, while international fibre in Lagos is available at very affordable prices, it can’t be delivered that way to other locations. Only if the cost of national fibre can come down drastically then prices in remote areas will come down and may become comparable to Lagos.

Impact of Operations of Illegal ISPs  on Your Business

This is also a big problem which ISPs like us face sometimes. Some unknown (so called ISPs) use the frequency illegally creating interference. Though NCC takes action on getting report from any ISP, customers suffer during such times. There should be more strict laws in terms of penalty and imprisonment for such illegal operators. NCC can be more active in dispensing information on licensed bands to operators and public in general as well, because sometimes it may be due to one’s ignorance that somebody might be using a licensed frequency allocated to some operator.

With the available bandwidth capacity in Lagos, and 3G, 4G technologies that operators are using, subscribers are yet to experience real broadband services. Why?

I do not think that customers can’t enjoy real broadband on 4G platform. On our 4G Unwired services, we are offering service plans ranging from 512 kbps to 4mbps. These speeds are comparable or better than any global standards set for broadband. Our customers can watch live video and can do uninterrupted video streaming using Unwired connectivity. In fact, some time I feel very happy when I see our customers enjoying our services almost unbelievingly. I have heard many of them saying that they couldn’t imagine Unwired 4G services to be so fast using a small indoor modem. So, true broadband is really available in Nigeria on our service.

What Is the Future of Satellite Technology Especially in Nigeria, in View of National and Metro Fibre and Copper Infrastructure?

Various technologies have their different advantages and disadvantages. Globally, satellite connectivity is known for its stability but at the same time it is much costlier than fibre or any other terrestrial connectivity. Due to this, VSAT normally works as back-up for fibre or copper connectivity. Scenario in Nigeria is no different and I see VSAT taking up the roll of back-up connectivity while it used to be primary connectivity in past. Apart from this, fibre cannot reach everywhere quickly, so VSAT will remain the choice for remote areas until fibre reaches there. Both technologies complement each other very well to deliver satisfactory results. They will co-exist in their respective roles.

DOPC Plans for the Next Five Years

We have taken a leap stride by rolling out largest 4G network in Lagos and we shall be taking it further from here. In the times to come, DOPC will maintain and enhance its position as the leading 4G service provider in Nigeria. Side by side as we are having excellent experience of providing satellite connectivity in Nigeria and West Africa, we shall strive to bring innovative solutions for our VSAT customers as well. DOPC has been adjudged as the Best ISP for the last 9 consecutive years and we’ll remain the preferred ISP in Nigeria.