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Stakeholders in the country’s satellite industry have applauded the increasing impact of Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) across sectors, and want government to provide statutory backing to allow for more patronage by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
“NIGCOMSAT has played a vital role in supporting the military in its north east campaigns against terrorists. We rely heavily on NIGCOMSAT in remote areas including Maiduguri, Monguno, and Damaturu to take the battle to these terrorists,” said Director, ICT, HQ, Nigerian Army Signal Corps, Brigadier General Bode Oguntaiye at a one-day stakeholders’ forum Thursday in Lagos organised by the communication satellite company.
RELATED: NIGCOMSAT hosts Stakeholders’ Engagement Forum in Lagos
The brigadier general was speaking at a panel session on ‘satellite communication as a panacea for Nigeria security challenges’.
NIGCOMSAT owns and manages the Nigerian Satellite (NigComSat–1R), one of the critical national (solid) infrastructures for delivery of communication satellite backbone.
The forum was set up to allow the company reassess its market roadmap as it prepares to launch two new satellites to join its fleet: NigComSat-2 and NigComSat-3. The two satellites will replace NigComSat 1R expected to expire in 2026.
“Our services have improved extensively and our capacity to deliver on live broadcast in real-time have improved tremendously since switching to NIGCOMSAT. Perhaps, even more importantly is the great savings made from non-dependency on foreign satellites for which the House of Assembly has commended the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) for conserving foreign exchange,” said Executive Director, Engineering, NTA, Dr. Stephen Ogu Okpanachi Moses.
The NTA, touted as Africa’s largest television network, has been a long standing customer of NIGCOMSAT.
Earlier in her opening remarks, Managing Director/CEO of NIGCOMSAT Limited, Dr. Abimbola Alale, had described the stakeholders forum as “designed to foster the exchange of ideas, deepen our working relationship and build on areas that need to be improved upon, all with a view to enhancing our services delivery,”
Alale said despite challenges, NIGCOMSAT has remained focused on achieving its core mandate of providing affordable satellite infrastructure backbone.
“We seek for continual improvement, not only in our service delivery, but also in our relationship with you, our stakeholders.
“As players within the industry, we are bound by common goals and interest. We must therefore view the stakeholders’ meeting as crucial to the growth of the industry,” she told the audience drawn from the military, broadcast, telecom industries, NGOs, media and operators of new services.
NIGCOMSAT could best thrive with greater commitment from all stakeholders including government and not just a sense of patriotism from Nigerians, said Chairman. Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, who moderated a session on 5G and satellite communication.
A NIGCOMSAT that enjoys improved support from stakeholders is better positioned not only to serve its own market goals but the country’s larger interest, said Executive Secretary/Chief Operating Officer at Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Ajibola Olude.
Weeks back Alale had told IT Edge News that the publicly owned communications satellite company needs strong legislative banking to become sustainable and also end the huge capital flight from patronage of foreign satellites by government MDAs which was frighteningly huge.
According to some reports, more than three million US dollars leave MDAs coffers ever year as payment for foreign satellite services. The figure could be higher.
For NIGCOMSAT to thrive “all that we need is the implementation of “right of first refusal” policy and the enshrinement of local content policy to satellite business, by government. If the capital flight on satellite services in the country is directed to NIGCOMSAT Ltd, the company would have done better in the revenue generation drive,” says Alale to IT Edge News venting years of frustration over lack of patronage from MDAs and absence of willpower to fully implement the local content policy that would have made NIGCOMSAT a first choice for satellite backbone ahead of foreign competitors.
The NIGCOMSAT ‘Stakeholders’ Engagement Forum’ is an annual event. The theme for the 2022 meeting was ‘NIGCOMSAT: The Roadmap for Enhanced Service Delivery.’
