Management of Nigeria Telecommunications (NITEL) has said it had fixed and restored the services of South Atlantic Terminal 111 (SAT-3) Cable, damaged on October 15, 2008.
The damage on SAT-3, the main stay for the country’s national carrier, disrupted international calls and internet connections in Nigeria.
The company, in a statement signed by its Deputy General Manager, Corporate Communications, Mr Sule Shehu, said the repairs and restoration were concluded over the weekend.
The company, for whom the government is still seeking for a new core investor after Transcorp acquired it in 2006, said it had put “some mechanisms in place,” to protect the cable from further damage.
In the statement, it recalled that it had invited South African cable ship CS Chamarel and Alcatel Marine and NOC of France to access and repair the fault located 46 kilometre into the sea and at water depths of 1.3 kilometre.
“Our investigation into causes and consequences of the damage is still on-going and will assist us in our quest for uninterrupted service provision,” the statement quoted Chief Executive Officer of NITEL, Mr Kevin Caruso, as saying.
“Management of NITEL appreciates the patience exhibited by its esteemed customers during the period of the break down and we assure you of our prompt services in spite of the ugly development,” the statement noted.
NITEL became a TransCorp portfolio company on July 3, 2006, when BPE announced that TransCorp had won the bid for 51 per cent of the Federal Government’s equity in the telecommunications company.
TransCorp paid $500million for the national carrier and its mobile subsidiary, Mtel, to control 51 per cent of the equity, while the Federal Government maintains 49 per cent. Lately, the Federal Government ceded 15 per cent of its shares to NIGCOMSAT.
Nov212008