From the desk of the President

While most of the developed world has benefited from the explosion of telecommunications and Internet services, Africa has largely been left behind. Teledensity levels, Internet penetration rates, number of Internet hosts, PCs and other indicators of telecommunication and Internet development still significantly remain the lowest in the world.

However, in the last few years, there is a perceptible change in the telecommunications industry in Africa. For example, in 1995 only 4 African countries were connected to the Internet. Since the year 2000, however, all 54 countries in Africa have had access to the Internet at different levels. Although a lot still remains to be done, Nigeria's advances in this important sector have been particularly noteworthy. This dramatic growth has only been constrained by its poor telecommunications infrastructure and the lack of adequate bandwidth and connectivity prevalent in most African countries.

In addition to our commitment to the telecommunication needs of the rest of the world, we embrace a particular responsibility to the needs of this continent. We believe that broadband IP based solutions, which combine satellite, wireless and terrestrial infrastructure for intra-country and inter-Africa connectivity, will facilitate the private and public sectors' communication needs. Our deep understanding of the challenges faced by the region's telecom service providers, ISPs, multinational companies and other institutions affords us the unique duty of delivering the solutions that will allow our Pan-African clientele to compete successfully in any part of the world.

Our ultimate goal is to be a global connectivity leader, helping our customers to better succeed in their own markets with reliable, high-quality, flexible, cost-effective and innovative communications services as well as to compete in the new global marketplace. We have an open door policy that invites the sharing of vision and ideas; and we welcome the opportunity to learn how we can serve our friends and clients better.

Sincerely,

Akandu Nwosu
President/CEO