The 21st anniversary of Globacom, comes up today. Today is not only important to Globacom; it is significant to Nigeria. August 29, 2003, marked the advent of liberation from exploitation.
The birth of Globacom and its trailblazing successes are a testament to resilience, innovation and relentless efforts of a Nigerian, Dr Mike Adenuga Jr,. to bridge the digital divide in the country.
Less than a decade after establishing Globacom, Adenuga took another giant stride to give Nigeria an offshoot of the telecom behemoth – Glo 1, not minding the cost,. That submarine cable project, birthed in 2010, runs from Lagos to United Kingdom, displacing the long established tradition of poor data connectivity with the rest of the world and setting up Nigerian businesses for greater productivity.
Glo 1 became a lighthouse for Nigeria’s telecom industry, symbolizing progress in improving connectivity and building the foundations for the country’s growing digital economy. But behind these significant achievements lies a story filled with challenges; yet achievable thanks to the courage and determination of a formidable, dogged, and visionary entrepreneur, Adenuga Jr. Glo 1 has driven regional connectivity and innovation, becoming a cornerstone of Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.
It has weathered the rough seas of Nigeria’s telecommunications industry and contributed significantly to Nigeria’s digital transformation. At the outset, Glo 1 had enormous capacity to cater to the needs of its clients. With time, Nigeria’s data needs soared, necessitating a huge upgrade of Glo 1’s capacity to meet and exceed demands.
This demonstrates the vision and the dynamic nature of the project and its design to be upgradable to meet the country’s growing connectivity needs. Glo 1 has empowered Nigerian businesses by providing them with ample bandwidth they need to effectively perform on the global scale, facilitating international communications and laying the technological foundation for the country’s burgeoning digital economy.
“People can now do business with the rest of the world without leaving their offices,” explained Ayobami Daramola of the Glo 1 team. “Because of this cable, Nigerians can now participate in the global digital economy, from moving funds between continents to running entire businesses online.”
However, achieving these commendable milestones has not been without enormous challenges. Sabotage has been a major recurring challenge that telecommunications companies face. While this is not a new problem, its scale and debilitating impact has grown over the years, posing a serious threat to the continuity and quality of services. Data from the regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) indicated that there were over 50,000 incidents of damage to telecommunications infrastructure between 2017 and 2022.
This frightening figure highlights the vulnerability of critical communications assets, especially in areas where economic instability and security concerns make protecting infrastructure even more difficult. Daramola stressed that sabotage is prevalent in many parts of the country. Such acts of vandalism are often driven by a combination of economic desperation and organized criminal activity, with a dual impact. These not only disrupt services and cause outages that can negatively impact millions of people and businesses, but also result in significant financial losses to telecommunications companies. “Such acts of vandalism not only disrupt services but also lead to significant financial losses that could be earmarked for infrastructure expansion and modernization,” he noted.
But in the throes of this and other challenges, Glo 1 has remained constant like the northern star, serving its growing clientele with reliable services. Its facility has not had a single operational outage since 2016 and has continually guaranteed access for both businesses and individual clients who depend on it for their internet needs. Such milestone is very rare in the telecommunications industry.
In March 2024, the West African sub region suffered a serious hamper in the operations of sub sea cables, impacting businesses and people in several countries. Several underwater cables in Nigeria and West Africa suffered cuts that resulted in extensive and severe internet interruptions, rendering them inoperable. Only Glo 1 continued to effectively service its customers
Financial institutions, ISPs, government agencies, businesses and data users on the Glo powered platform of Glo 1 all continued to operate without hitch. Industry watchers were awed at the resilience of the Glo 1 system and believed that the damage did not compromise the Glo 1 submarine cable system because of the durability and resilience built into it from the start.
Daramola explained that the “the design and strategic planning enabled us to cover our customers and others during this period and demonstrate the reliability of Glo 1.”
That episode was a stark reminder of the importance of resilient infrastructure, especially in a country where telecommunications services form the backbone of many critical sectors, from banking to education to governance to healthcare and a whole lot of other critical sectors. That Glo 1 continued to operate even when other cables failed was not only a technical achievement, but also evidence of the careful planning and continued investment in ensuring the cable’s reliability.
Glo 1 has stayed on course over the years providing quality services without passing on the burden of increasing operational costs to its customers. This approach is deeply rooted in Globacom’s broader philosophy of making communications available and affordable for the average Nigerian.
Getting services to customers at the most affordable rates has always been in the DNA of the company from inception. Despite starting out later than the first two operators, the company was the first to introduce per-second billing for voice calls, significantly reducing communication costs and making communications more accessible to the people. The company has also pioneered several innovations in the market. This commitment to affordability also applies to Glo 1’s data services. Keeping data costs affordable has not only helped Glo 1 maintain a competitive advantage but also attracted global partners that rely on the cable’s delivery capabilities. “We pioneered per-second billing for voice calls, reducing data costs and making communications services more accessible to businesses and individuals,” Daramola said. As Glo 1 looks to the future, it is clear that cable will continue to play a key role in Nigeria’s digital transformation.
The country is on the pedestal of new technologies and life transforming systems such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), all of which require huge bandwidth and connectivity. Glo 1 is ready to support these advancements and provide the infrastructure needed to ensure Nigeria keeps up with global technology trends. “We are ready, we are ready any day,” Daramola reiterated. “We are a division of Globacom and our mobile division is already moving in this future direction and we have the capacity to support this.” We are at the back end, providing all the capacity, bandwidth and data capacity that is needed to support this technological advancement.”
One key factor that works to the advantage of Glo 1 is its ability to rapidly respond to growing demands and regular upgrades. Unlike consortium-based cables, where improvements require agreement between multiple stakeholders, Glo 1’s single ownership and independence allows it to rapidly implement necessary upgrades.
But the road ahead is not without obstacles. One of the most pressing challenges is the construction of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, which poses potential risks to undersea cables that land in Lagos, including Glo 1. Any disruption to these landing sites could have significant implications for Nigeria’s international connectivity. Glo 1 has since said it has taken proactive steps to mitigate these risks. Daramola said the company is working with the Federal Ministry of Public Works and the project contractor to minimize the impact on operations. “Fortunately, our landing stations have not been directly affected, but measures such as rerouting the terrestrial fibre optic cable and maintaining continuous communications with contractors are being implemented to ensure the operation of the cable,” he explained.
Despite these proactive efforts, infrastructure investment remains a challenge. In an increasingly challenging economic environment, with rising costs and increased risks of sabotage, it will require significant financial resources to maintain and modernize infrastructure without increasing tariffs. But Glo 1 is unfazed.
In June 2024, the company committed several millions of dollars to a major upgrade to prepare Glo 1 to meet the challenges of the years ahead and serve more and more clients with the required capacity. This unwavering commitment to continuous improvement has made Glo 1 a cornerstone of Nigeria’s communications landscape.
As Globacom celebrates its 21st anniversary not only as a provider of digital solutions services provider but also as a symbol of resilience and innovation in the face of difficult challenges, the road ahead will undoubtedly require continued vigilance, investment and adaptation, an assignment that Adenuga is always well prepared for. Under his leadership and inspiration, Glo 1 is well positioned to continue to surmount these challenges.
As Nigeria continues its journey towards a fully digital economy, Glo 1 will undoubtedly remain at the forefront, connecting Nigeria with the world and playing a very important role in the next wave of technological innovation.
- Ijagbemi is a public analyst based in Lagos
