CBNL on the road – a look at the future of connectivity in Nigeria
We recently took to the road to visit two of our longest-standing customers in Nigeria, MTN and Vodacom, for whom we have been providing mobile backhaul and fixed wireless access services now from as far back as 2006. With an impressive footprint in Nigeria and throughout Africa, these customers are instrumental in providing the region’s businesses and residents with crucial connectivity, so these bi-annual visits have become an important forum for us to connect in person as we partner to develop connectivity solutions for future of this country.
This year’s roadshow presented us with an opportunity to share an overview of CBNL’s current business roadmap, give an update on our latest services and recent projects, and introduce the latest additions to our market leading product portfolio – VectaStar Edge and VectaStar 600 Flex. Designed specifically to address the emerging fixed wireless residential access and smart city markets, these new products were a focal point of the visit as together we discussed what the future of broadband technologies and what the next generation of wireless connectivity will look like for Nigeria.
According to the ITU’s 2018 State of Broadband report, Africa’s fixed broadband market is worth a staggering $5.7B, though strikingly 97 per cent of existing connections across the market are delivered on expensive, ageing copper infrastructure rather than fixed wireless technology, which is capable of delivering a more reliable, higher-performing network architecture at a lower cost than the existing infrastructure.
Whilst Nigeria is in many ways a microcosm of the wider African landscape, lower regional average revenue per user (ARPU) along with pressure from local government to deliver reliable connectivity to the unconnected is creating a unique set of challenges and is driving operators to search for solutions that are capable of delivering better performance at a lower cost. This is where cost-effective, easily deployable point-to-multipoint (PMP) networks can provide an appealing alternative for sustainable fixed wireless connectivity across the region.
Since we first entered the region in the early 2000s, CBNL has been establishing a pedigree working with operators in Nigeria and across Africa to roll out reliable networks that leverage point-to-multipoint technology using mmWave. Addressing some of the region’s specific pain points, mmWave Fixed Wireless Access can offer operators fibre-equivalent performance at a lower total cost of ownership (TCO). What’s more, these networks are considerably quicker-to-deploy, providing operators with a more flexible solution that can quickly scale to meet future demand and growth.
As we continue working in Nigeria, the ability to provide on the ground support and training remains a top priority as the industry anticipates the commercial rollout of 5G and the advent of smart cities. The city of Lagos in Nigeria, one of Africa’s first cities to embrace smart technologies, is home to one of our many Centres of Excellence, a local hub from which we provide crucial training for local engineers and deliver technical support to help our customers maximise the profitability of their own network.
Beyond the borders of Nigeria, CBNL has a local presence on the ground in South and East Africa, with reach into Ghana, Cameroon, Somalia, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To date, CBNL serves 25 customers in 17 African countries, delivering PMP networks and turnkey services and acting as a key infrastructure provider for the region’s leading operators.
If you would like to discuss any of our latest updates in more detail or find out how CBNL could help your business, please do contact us at enquiries@cbnl.com.