Today’s edition of The Guardian newspaper carries a news item announcing that the Glo 1 submarine fibre optic cable is now commercially active.

According to the news item, Glo 1 was unveiled in Lagos at the weekend. Glo promises that broadband access and other services will now be affordable.

Hopefully, Glomobile will soon announce the long-anticipated new mobile internet tariffs. MTN has long since rolled out more affordable mobile internet tariffs and more robust plans. MTN is connected to the rival Main One cable.

Etisalat Nigeria says that new and existing customers on their network are sset to enjoy enhanced service as they are now live on the submarine fibre optic cable system run by Main One Cable Company.

This makes Etisalat the first telecoms company to connect to Main One.

In a related news item, Globacom has announced that their own submarine cable system, Glo 1, will go live in August. That’s some days from now.

Telecoms subscribers have waited in anticipation to experience the difference that these two submarine cable systems will have on both uality of service and tariffs. The wait continues.

Globacom’s under-sea cable linking Nigeria with Europe has touched down in Lagos today September 5, 2009.

Before now, the entire country depended on only the SAT-3 cable under the monopoly of NITEL for cost-efficient high-speed access. Industry watchers have been in expectation of Glo-1 for months now, as its launch will undoubtedly impact on the cost and delivery of high-speed internet access in Nigeria.

Now that Glo-1 is here, when exactly do we begin to enjoy the services?

Source: CyberSchuulNews.

The last one week in the Nigerian mobile internet arena has been hell on earth. Actually, the last one week for internet subscribers in general in Nigeria has been that.

Since the problem with SAT3 cropped up recently, the huge majority of internet subscribers have had to contend with choppy, unreliable connections (and disconnections).

Since most ISPs depend on the SAT3 submarine cable for connectivity, it is no surprise that we have stayed offline more than online since the cable woes hit.

This brings to mind the fact that we still have a long way to go in this country.

How can it be that in 2009 a country of 140 million people largely depends on one channel for internet access? Why?

Oh, we can also ask, Why is it that this same country has depended on one cash-cow for decades – crude oil? Why?

What is happeneing with Globacom’s submarine cable?

Why is it that MTN, Zain, Glo, and Etisalat are adding legions of subscribers year after year and smiling to the bank, while Mtel has lost almost every single subscriber on its network (if it still has a network)? Why?

Why is NITEL – Mtel’s parent company moribund? Why? Why is it up for sale again (after several such sales efforts in the past)?

We must not forget the almighty question – Why is it that we spend more infinitely time in darkness than with our light bulbs on?

It is amazing that Nigeria exists at all. Unfortuately, it is looking like we will continue to ask these questions for a long time to come.