MainOne wants undersea cables protected

MainOne, owners of MainOne undersea cable, wants government and other industry stakeholders to guarantee protection of submarine optical fibre cables because of their crucial roles as critical IT infrastructure.

The Nigerian-owned MainOne called on Government agencies, maritime bodies and other stakeholders with responsibilities for seabed use to clamour for the protection of submarine cables and other critical IT infrastructure.

Speaking at workshop held recently in Lagos, Oluwakemi Adeyanju, MainOne’s Regulatory Manager says that, “we need to provide a collaborative, industry-wide framework for the protection of this critical infrastructure, and jointly tackle challenges QoS issues arising from infrastructure deficiencies. This workshop thus provides us an avenue to build ecosystems that assist enterprises in their stride for growth, and expediting the speed of broadband penetration across Nigeria and the West African sub-region.”

Submarine cables are critical information infrastructures whose availability, reliability and resilience are essential to the functioning of a modern economy, security and other essential social values systems, MainOne said.

The technology company hosted submarine cable companies, oil and gas companies, cable maintenance bodies and regulatory agencies responsible for maritime safety and protection, and environment responsibilities, such as the Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research, among others at the workshop.

The forum sought to promote awareness of the strategic, economic and social benefits of submarine cables, especially to all stakeholders involved in seabed use.