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 How
Liberia can benefit from connecting SAT3
By
Ciata Victor
Fiber
Optics is the technology you hear about when people
talk about the telephone system, the cable TV
system or the Internet. Fiber-optic lines are
strands of optically pure glass as thin as a human
hair that carries digital information over long
distances. They are also used in medical imaging
and mechanical engineering inspection.
In
the telecommunications world, Fiber is the preferred
medium over copper wire, and it is cheaper, faster
and more reliable then Satellite.
By
utilizing the rivers and coastal waters to distribute
long-haul Fiber Optic cables for the backbone,
land rights and digging issues as well as installation
cost and time can be greatly reduced.
Liberians
live and work approximately 5 to 10 miles inland,
along 350 miles of Coastal waters, and in close
proximity to several river channels that run perpendicular
to the coast. The fiber cables for the backbone
and the services they will deliver can be deployed
by running cables along the coast, and in rivers
for long-haul distribution to the interior. Wireless
technology, trenches and poles will complete the
system by delivering services to customers locations
inland. This method of using the waterways is
faster and cost less then trying to build and
distribute the entire system over land.
The
Network can be built in 2 phases. Phase One: Build
the internal network consisting of a backbone
running along the entire southern coast of the
country, from Cape Mount to Cape Palmas. Extend
the cables deep into the interior using the Lofa,
St. Paul, St. John, Cestos and the Cavalla Rivers.
The River trunks can be use to connect Liberia's
Internal Network to Guinea, and coastal links
can connect Liberia to Sierra Leone and the Ivory
Coast.
While the backbone is being built, Phase Two can
begin with negotiating connections to the SAT-3 Cable and to Liberia's neighbors. The SAT-3 Cable connection will serve as the entry and
exit ramp, onto the information super highway,
and provide the internal network with an external
connection to the World.
If Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone want to cooperate,
they could agree to share the installation and
connection cost for a single shared connection
to the Cable. Thereby reducing the cost to the
Cable for each country by 66%. This savings could
be reinvested in their internal network systems
and help create a regional fiber optic network
for West Africa.
Once
the internal backbone is laid and the end points
connected, digital and telecommunication products
and services will be immediately available internally,
allowing Liberians and their neighbors to cost
effectively and reliably communicate. Customers
wanting high-speed connections can then pay the
installation cost of running the cable to their
facilities, just like it is done in the west.
Customers wanting connectivity, can buy, rent
or lease the equipment and pay monthly access
charges for digital services. Digital services
will be cheaper, faster, and more reliable then
the current system of costly, limited or no Satellite
connectivity in Liberia, and slow, low bandwidth
analog copper connectivity in Guinea and Sierra
Leone. Because these digital systems interface
with analog systems, countries with major investments
in analog systems, can gradually move to a newer,
faster, more reliable digital system over time
and as budget allows.
In
addition to the many benefits offered by the digital
network for Voice, Data and Video, there are huge
benefits for distance learning which can go a
long way in reducing Liberia's illiteracy rate
and increasing Liberian expertise.
It
is this engineer's opinion, that a connection
to the SAT-3 cable is essential for Liberia's
development and the success of the economy. The
life span of these cables is between 15 - 25 years.
The initial investments like all infrastructural
development projects are high, but the returns
on investments are even higher. The potential
for developing a technical workforce that could
support the rest of Africa, is real and it can
be accomplished in less then 5 years with Sierra
Leone and Guinea as our first customers.
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