STARCOMMS HERE WITH DATA

Voice now shares space with data on Starcomms network.
Starcomms is storming Wafritel kicking off next week in Lagos, Nigeria with a range of new data products as it launches its Internet service at the yearly telecom exhibition. The event holds inside the expo hall of the Eko L’Meridien Hotel in the country’s commercial nerve.

The move marks a long expected market initiative for the operator, which rebounded into the market two years ago from its depression. It rebuilt its network with CDMA 2001x two years ago to begin a repositioning process that would give it give stronger hold of the market.

But there was only voice for the dialing on Starcomms even when rivals unleashed scorching competition into the fiery telecom sector using data as carrots to win over subscribers.

The new products offers its subscribers a new window
to log unto the net and browse. For grabs are Internet
services for single and multiple access points to meet
the need of its corporate and individual subscribers.

However, the telco is selling data at a first-come
first serve basis. There are only 1000 slots for data
users for now to grow to 5,000 - less than 10 % of its
total subscribers- by the end of the year.

“ We want to see how the network behaves,” said CEO Dirk Smet adding that Starcomms wants to be cautious with how it pushes data on its network. “Operators
that leave their network open have ended up in problems and with disgruntled customers, Starcomms has responsibility to ensure good services at all time.”
 

The national fixed wireless operator last month
recorded 100,000 subscribers on its network, which has
grown to 107,000 in less than five weeks to remain on the list of one of the country’s fastest growing private telecom operators

Over $30,000 million have been spent to open its data
service including the cost of deploying new switches.
 

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