Nigeria’s MainOne to Expand Broadband Capacity in West Africa

MainOne Cable Co., a Nigerian broadband-data company, plans to expand its West African operations to meet growing demand for connectivity amid the coronavirus pandemic.

MainOne, which operates an undersea cable connecting West Africa to the rest of the world, will complete a data node in Ghana by the first quarter of 2021 and will build another in Burkina Faso, Chief Executive Officer Funke Opeke said in an emailed response to questions.

“The Covid-19 pandemic reinforced the significance of data centers,” she said. “We witnessed an increase in the uptake of cloud, co-location and connectivity services by a high number of customers.”

The Lagos-based company has built terrestrial-fiber and interconnection facilities in 10 West African countries, according to information on its website. New centers are also planned for Mali and Niger, Opeke said.