Cable: Poor skills could limit its lifespan

Business

By Macharia Kamau

Local terrestrial fibre optic cable networks may not measure up to global industry standards.

This has forced investors to bypass the country as they set shop in Rwanda, a country that has fast established itself as the regional ICT hub.

Experts now warn that due to inadequate skills among telecom technicians, the country’s fibre optic infrastructure risks facing continuous difficulties, which eventually hurt users.

Ryson Communications Managing Director, Francis Njuguna says the lack of standardised procedures on laying and maintaining the fibre optic cable compromises on the quality of the infrastructure.

Francis Njuguna takes students through the drill of handling fibre optic technology. Photo: Jeniffer Wachie/Standard.

"We should develop standards on procedures of infrastructure building as well as ensure that those working on them can compare with their counterparts anywhere in the world," he says.

"Otherwise investors will continue doubting the quality of our infrastructure and we will keep losing investments to Rwanda."

Although personnel engaged in building the fibre-optic infrastructure are telecommunications cabling experts, they had been accustomed to copper.

Experts say most of these technicians are vaguely familiar with the relatively new fibre optic technology, which requires specific skills to put up and maintain.

ICT service providers have in the past said the lack of standardised training has compelled them to invest in upping the skills of many new employees, an additional cost that eats into their bottomline.

Specialised training

Parties that invested into the fibre optic infrastructure have had to offer specialised training and to seek accreditation from established industry bodies.

Ryson Communications is one such outfit, which trains both corporates and individuals.

The trained personnel and corporates are then accredited to the Fibre Optic Association (FOA), an American-based industry professional body specialising in fibre.

Njuguna says the heavy investments in fibre optic technology necessitate that the management of the undersea and terrestrial fibre optic cable networks is done with pinpoint accuracy to win confidence of investors.

He warned of more disruptions in future, saying the nature physical laying of the cables might be costly.

To date, service providers have reported numerous cable vandalism. Several of the services providers have had to spend huge amounts of money to repair cables as customers go for hours without access to Internet and other services.

He says the frequency with which breakdowns are being reported hardly a year after the cable was laid points to possible technical errors.

"Some of the operators may not have followed industry stipulated standards for laying cable and if we do not get its right at the beginning, it would be costly in the long run," he said.

"This will eventually hurt end users of the cable as well as operators who besides injecting more funds towards repairs will also suffer losses due to frequent breakdowns."

He also said firms that have been outsourced to maintain the networks might find it hard to operate profitably.

"There is the danger that contracted firms might collapse under the weight of a dysfunctional cable that requires regular repairs and legal suits from end-users who may have suffered losses due to breakdown in the fibre optic infrastructure," he says.

"This significantly eats into their earnings," said Njuguna.

Induct technicians

Ryson has a lab at its Nairobi offices with a capacity to induct up to 10 technicians. Njuguna says the training, which lasts five days, affords the technicians adequate time to grasp the nitty-gritty of fibre optic management.

Ryson Communications also runs a walk-in policy to help technicians seek clarifications.

Besides Ryson Communications, there are other firms that give accreditation and train local personnel and corporates in fibre optic technology for three

Njuguna is currently the lead instructor and having worked in the US ICT sector as a fibre technician for more than a decade, he is only among a few Kenyans with such credentials.

The firm is in negotiations with higher institutions of learning to incorporate fibre optic technology as a module that can earn a student professional qualification after studying specific subjects at the university.

"Students graduating from college with these qualification besides their courses in Information Technology can find employment not only in Kenya and the region but even in the developed markets as the accreditation is globally recognised," said Njuguna.

Business
Premium Financial hardships dampen Easter celebrations among Kenyans
Business
Premium Water PS Korir put on the spot over Sh14m dam land
By Brian Ngugi 52 mins ago
Business
Premium Looming crisis as top lenders stare at Sh500b in bad loans
Business
Premium Ruto's food security hopes facing storm amid fake fertiliser scam