Telcos Urged to Boost Broadband Capacity in Hinterlands

• Telcos Urged to Boost Broadband Capacity in Hinterlands

Worried about the limited broadband capacities in the hinterlands, which has been attributed to high cost of broadband services in cities that are located outside the shores of the country, the Chief Executive Officer of VDT Communications, Mr. Biodun Omoniyi has asked telecommunications operators (Telcos) to pull resources together to enhance the trunk capacities of broadband connectivity from the shores of the country to the hinterlands.

Omoniyi who spoke in one of the panel sessions during the launch of Insurance Market online platform, at the eInsurance Conference organised by Pinet Informatics in Lagos recently, decried paucity of broadband capacities in the cities, which he said, had led to high cost of broadband services rendered by telecommunications operators in the country, even though the country has excess broadband capacities at the shores.

He the excess capacities were provided through the landing of broadband submarine cables at the shores of the country from Europe by MainOne, Glo 1, MTN WACS, and SAT-3.

Omoniyi who blamed the paucity of broadband capacity in the hinterlands on lack of coordinated efforts by the telecommunications operators to build a national backbone of broadband capacity from the shores to the hinterlands, called on telecommunications operators to form a synergy that would enhance the trunk capacities of broadband connectivity to cities outside the shores of the county.

According to him, once this is achieved, it would not only reduce cost of broadband services in the country, but would also boost broadband connectivity for all players in the insurance industry, whom he said, were willing to embrace technology to further grow the insurance sector and the newly launched Insurance Market online platform.

“Insurance is a key sector to economic growth but it’s market penetration is still very low in Nigeria. The sector needs technology and broadband connectivity to deepen penetration and this can only be achieved if the telcos provide ubiquitous broadband and expand their 4G LTE technology for players in the insurance sector to key into,” Omoniyi said.

Speaking on how the insurance sector could access the Internet, Omoniyi said there must be sufficient and affordable wireless technology like the 4G LTE technology across the country.

He said VDT, one of the sponsors of the eInsurance Conference, has been servicing over 80 per cent of insurance companies in the area of broadband connectivity. He promised quality service, while insisting on sufficient and affordable broadband cost.

The Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Isa Ibrahim Pantami, who delivered a keynote address at the eInsurance forum, said there were policies offered by most insurance companies and the rising number of customers and policy holders makes it difficult for most insurance companies to operate effectively and efficiently without the adoption and use of information and communications technologies (ICTs).

Pantami who was represented by the Deputy Director, Corporate Strategy and Research at NITDA, Dr. Idris Mohammed Yeluwa, said; “There are number of ways that ICTs can be integrated into the insurance process, especially in the area of big data analytics, which is about analysing vast amounts of data in order to identify patterns, trends and other business information that can help decision makers to make informed decisions.”

The Managing Director, Pinet Informatics, Lanre Ajayi said the essence of the launch of Insurance Market place, was to provide an online platform, where insurance companies could set up micro websites on the online platform for enhanced transaction between vendors and buyers of insurance policies.