The Management of Cellcom has launched commercial services for the fiber optic cable in Liberia after connecting it to the 4G network. The Fiber Optic Cable is the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) Cable, a cable made of optical fibers that can transmit large amounts of information at the speed of light. The cable arrived Liberia in 2011.
Cellcom’s Communication Strategist, Kemmie Weeks, made the disclosure Friday, January 18, 2013, during a press conference at Cellcom’s head office on the Capital Bye-Pass in Monrovia.
According to Weeks, the company has successfully connected its 4G network to the fiber optic cable, and test carried out on January 1, 2013, proved that the services were not only fast, but also reliable.
The Cellcom’s Communication Strategist said they have removed the 4G network, an ultra high speed mobile network introduced about a year ago, from satellites and connected to the fiber cable as well as deploying it on mobile.
Weeks narrated that 4G customers who went online on January 1, 2013 (New Year Day) enjoyed the testing whole day free of charge because the fiber cable was not commercial at the time. Despite the huge customers that day, he said the network could not crash nor experience any slowness.
He admitted limitations in terms of pricing and capacity when 4G was connected to satellite because the satellites were very expensive. But with the new fiber cable, Weeks said, the 4G network is guaranteed.
“4G users will now experience double speed on the network: from 21mbps to 42mbps. Cellcom is the first to deploy the fiber on mobile at this time,” Weeks maintained.
He said the new network opens opportunity for researches, students doing online courses, business promotion; enhances social media, downloads, live video conferencing and live TVs, webcast and call centers for businesses, among others. He said these services have been facing challenges due to the lack of broadband or band wave to support them.
Packaged with the new fiber network, the Cellcom Communication Strategist revealed, are compatible devices including modems, phones and other materials, which he said will shortly be introduced on the market.
“This is a great opportunity, transmitting into millions of dollars and creating new jobs for Liberians,” Weeks indicated.
Weeks said Cellcom took the lead to connect fiber on mobile because the company was already prepared by investing sixty million United States dollars (US$60 million) in the industry to work on other services like the 4G network.
Meanwhile, Weeks said Cellcom remains committed to improving the lives of Liberians, indicating that Cellcom’s relationship with the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA), Cable Consortium of Liberia (CCL) and the Government continues to grow stronger. “We will strive for only the best and hope that this becomes a long standing investment and we continue for our network to be even more super faster,” he averred.
