Galaxy Backbone’s Mission to Connect 36 States, FCT on Course – Chidi Okpala

Galaxy Backbone (GBB) Limited, an Information and Communications Technology Services provider, wholly owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria, says the plan to lay fibre optic cables across the 36 States of the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), will soon materialize.

The ICT company has already connected 22 States in Nigeria with digital infrastructure and hopes to expand to the remaining States before the end of 2023.

Mr. Chidi Okpala, the Head of Marketing at Galaxy Backbone Limited, reiterated these plans on Thursday September 29 2022 in Lagos during a presentation at the ICT Growth Conference 2.0 organised by the Nigeria Information Technology Reporters’ Association (NITRA).

Okpala, whose presentation dwelt on ‘The Role of Infrastructure in Building a Digital Economy, added that having digital infrastructure across the most populous black nation will accelerate the Digital Economy quest of the government.

In his words: “Presently, we have the digital infrastructure in 22 states, which the private sector can key into. But our target is to have infrastructure such Internet Connectivity, Data centre Infrastructure and Unified Communications in all 36 states of the country, including the FCT”.

                                                                                                                                                                           Prof. Mohammad Bello, MD/CEO, Galaxy Backbone

He further explained that Galaxy Backbone Data Centre Network is underpinned by layered connectivity that comprises of Backbone Network, Metro Network and Access Network.

Mr. Okpala also highlighted that digital infrastructure providers will thrive through partnerships with the government and the private sector.

According to him, with digital infrastructure in place, the Government will be able to build a knowledge economy that will power a great digital economy, attain the government ICT penetration objectives and improve the economy of rural/underserved areas, leading to the creation of indirect jobs in the economy.

The private sector will be able to deliver ICT services to rural areas at a much lower cost than if they were to bear the whole cost and attain financial sustainability due to the enabling environment provided by the government.

To secure public confidence in the use of its Digital Infrastructures, GBB has taken steps through trusted international third-party attestations, such as BSI certification to ISO 27001  Information Security Management System standards in 2012, BSI certification to ISO 20000 IT Service Management standards in 2017, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Certification PCI DSS (2019), 1st Place Winner of 2013 United Nations Public Service Award for “Promoting Whole of Government Approach to Technology, Uptime Institute Certification for Tier 3 Data Centre, 2018 and Ongoing Business Continuity Certification to ISO 22301.

Galaxy Backbone operates state-of-the-art-Data Centre Infrastructure for the provision of secure and available Data centre services across the nation.