Nigerian firm in global video breakthrough

Known as the Video Connect Network, the service will allow broadcast and production companies in Nigeria to distribute their live video content worldwide as well as enhance international broadcasters’ reach into this key emerging region.
Main One owns the first privately-owned submarine cable over a distance of 7 000 kilometres along the West African coastline, with                           initial landing stations in Nigeria, Ghana and Portugal.
The company also provides open-access, wholesale international broadband capacity to countries along the western coast of Africa.
Speaking about the product and partnership with Tata, chief executive officer, Main One, Funke Opeke, said: “We are proud to be part of this ground-breaking partnership, bringing new opportunities not only for Nigeria, but Africa as a whole.”
On his part, the senior vice-president, Global Network Services, Tata Communications, Mr Genius Wong, said following increasing demand for high-quality video capability in and out of Nigeria, Tata Communications’ partnership with Main One connected its global video network to an expansive local fibre network.
This, he said, had created a dedicated video network connecting to key broadcasters as well as production and post-production houses in Africa.
Unlike traditional MPLS or contention networks, Wong said having a dedicated video network ensured high quality and consistent                       video transmission needed for video broadcast, adding that this would allow Nigerian media companies to be truly global.
According to him, the Video Connect network offers new levels of scalability and bandwidth supported by Tata Communications’ round-the-world, wholly-owned, sub-sea fibre network and Main One’s cable between Europe and West Africa.
He said video content transfer could be purchased on a permanent or per-hour basis, opening up new opportunities for Nigerian                                companies through flexible payment options. He reiterated that the Video Connect network could carry both live and file-based content, noting that seamless worldwide transmission was now possible through 300+ connected media hotspots                               including key cable and direct-to-home head-ends, as well as production and post-production houses around. — CAJ News.