Phase3 Telecom, a Nigerian firm licensed to offer transmission services in the telecommunications sector, has announced it will spend US$200 million on fiber-optic coverage throughout the country.

The company has already spent over $100 million to deploy fiber optics in several cities across Nigeria, providing the necessary backbone, said Phase3 CEO Stanley Jegede.

The company, which has operated in Nigeria for five years, currently delivers fiber optics over high voltage power transmission lines, a method Jegede hails for its reliability. Underground fibers will be used to compliment these lines where required, he said.

"The case study in Nigeria has proven that most fiber laid on the ground is affected by ongoing construction work, which results in cuts," Jegede said. "However, these problems are practically eliminated with the Phase3 network."

Revealing plans to expand to other West African countries, Jegede stated that the network was designed to meet the demand of bandwidth in the future.

Phase3 COO Vincent Dogo further pointed out that a Nigerian engineering team designed the network, which has prepared it to meet the challenges of the telecoms industry in Nigeria and the West African sub-region.

The IDG News Service is a Network World affiliate.