Incompetence Spawns Incompetency:

Nigeria and the Nigcomsat Debacle
Samuel Bassey Ijoma

For many players in the Satellite compartment of the Nigerian Telecom space, the shocking news that Nigeria’s greatest space technology asset the Nigerian Communications Satellite or NIGCOMSAT-1 is lost in orbit has not come as a surprise.

The NIGCOMSAT-1 is perhaps the first communications satellite to be owned by a Sub-Saharan African country, it came about as part of the progression of the lofty ideals of the Nigerian government run National Agency for Space Research and Development (NASRDA), which promoted the first Nigerian owned Satellite NIGERSAT -1 in 2003.

That Satellite built by Surrey Satellite UK Ltd and launched in Russia in 2003 represented the beginning of Nigeria’s rambunctious odyssey in space technology.

The first challenge faced by NIGERSAT-1, an Earth observation and surveillance satellite intended for use in mostly civilian applications such as emergency management, urban planning and GIS, was how to match the fanfare if not propaganda that heralded its conception and launch with utility value in actual service.

According to a recent International academic study: “In addition to wasting huge foreign exchange, NIGERSAT-1 is not worthwhile to the country’s development. NIGERSAT-1 is of low spatial and spectral resolution- with only ground resolution of 32m and only 3 spectral bands (Red, Green, and Near Infrared). The quality of NIGERSAT-1 images is not the best for any kind of elementary planning. They are not yet calibrated, validated and radiometrically corrected. This factor adds to the deterioration of the quality of images produced from NIGERSAT-1”

As a result of initial errors or sheer incompetence in the planning and specification stage of the NIGERSAT-1, free satellite imagery services like LANDSAT7 and Google Earth offer far better quality images than NIGERSAT-1, so in effect the NIGERSAT-1 business plan became fatally flawed.

It is preposterous that this acute deficiency in planning and implementation rather than being addressed and eliminated was repeated by the time of the launch of the even more hyped NIGCOMSAT-1 several years later in May 2007. Regrettably, the woeful trend of media blitz and planning freeze continued in more alarming proportions with the birth of NIGCOMSAT-1.

NIGCOMSAT-1 is a hybrid communications satellite, which means that it offers a variety of communications frequencies that can be used for different purposes, usually not found on a single Satellite. These features make the NIGCOMSAT-1 a very interesting and unique satellite.

It features two L-Band Transponders, eight Ka Band Transponders, four C-Band Transponders and 14 KU- Band Transponders.

The Satellite is in geo-synchronous orbit in space at a position slot 42.5 degrees East along the equator. This means that it is constantly moving and rotating in orbit at the same rate with the Earth to keep it at a specific location about 40,000 miles perpendicularly above the eastern shore of Somalia. From this position the Satellite is able to beam signals over Western Europe, Africa and parts of Asia.

A combination of solar power and liquid Hydrogen fuel is used to power on-board electronics and the movement of the Satellite to ensure that despite climatic conditions in outer space it is still able to maintain that specific position. The fuel payload for NIIGCOMSAT-1 is calculated to maintain it in the given orbital slot for at least a 15-year life span.

It symbolizes a bold vision on the part of its promoters, but as a typical Nigerian project its main challenge has been in its implementation and management.

NIGCOMSAT-1 was built and launched in China by China Great Wall Industries Corporation, significantly the first such project ever undertaken by that company. Till today the terms of the transaction and contract for the project remain shrouded in a dynamic mystery as the story is constantly changing. What began as a $200 Million dollar project has been reported variously as $300 Million Dollars, $400 Million Dollars and is now generally fixed between $450 Million Dollars or N40 Billion Naira depending on which source you have access to on the day.

The most fundamental and startling aspect of the entire project is that the so-called Nigerian Communications Satellite does not have any terrestrial connection to Nigeria. Unsubstantiated reports claim that the Satellite has a Ground Control Centre in Abuja Nigeria and Gateway’s in Northern Nigeria, South Africa, Germany and China. In reality, the only Ground Station that appears to have regular contact with the satellite is that based in Kashi, China often touted by Nigcomsat Management as a back up Centre but is indeed the main and only Ground Control Centre. The Satellite is controlled solely and entirely from China.

An illustration of the incompetent implementation of the NIGCOMSAT-1 Project is the absence of a Teleport in Nigeria.

A very basic and standard requirement for the operation of a Communications Satellite is what is known as a Teleport. The Teleport, perhaps what is referred to in Nigcomsat press releases as ‘the Gateway’, is in general terms an interface point between the Satellite and Terrestrial Communications systems such as Telephone Networks, Internet, Television etc. it makes it possible for instance, for information to go from a telephone Network out to the Satellite and utilize the Satellite to distribute such information to multiple remote locations around the world. Every Communications Satellite Operator builds and installs a Teleport months before the Satellite is launched into Orbit, it is a major part of the pre-launch planning of the Satellite.

Since Nigcomsat-1 was launched 18 Months ago the Owner/Operator Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd does not own a Teleport anywhere in Nigeria. Claims of having or using Teleports in Germany, China etc are moot as they defeat the purpose of having a Nigerian Satellite in the first place.

A visit to the operational headquarters of the Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd at Olusegun Obasanjo Space Centre Piakassa Junction Abuja is an utterly mind boggling experience. The facts are simply puzzling.

The building housing this enigmatic organisation is an impressive multi-storey cylindrical marble coated edifice encircled by gigantic satellite antenna dishes pointing upwards like gargantuan robotic arms with their palms raised up in praise to the heavens.

Access to the premises is severely restricted by a swarm of military intelligence hoods and gun toting security goons who, if anything, give laymen the impression that some of Nigeria’s greatest secrets are stored in this facility. Once access is granted one immediately perceives a mood of entering into the hub of great scientific and technological activity, a place where Nigerian’s communicate directly with the gods of hi-tech heaven.

However coming closer to the entrance of the building, any seasoned practitioner in satellite communications technology would immediately notice the unusual quiet indicating that the huge Satellite Antennae that ring the entrance so impressively are not operational. Normally for Satellite Antenna systems with dishes of about 4.5 Meters diameter and above, the high power amplifier units and the transceivers require constant cooling when in operation, so there is usually the distinct whining buzz of the internal fans whenever you pass close to the Antenna. At the Nigcomsat facility there are about six Antennae with diameters ranging from 6 Metres to 13 Metres in size, not one fan can be heard.

Again if the fans are not switched on that means the Antenna is not functional, if the antenna is not functional then there is no contact with the Satellite. So if there is no contact with the Satellite at this facility then what on Earth could be going on in this stupendously massive complex, certainly not tracking or controlling of the Satellite.

Over the past year the Nigcomsat management have been embroiled in an unsavoury confrontation with the Nigerian Communications Commission over the question of whether Nigcomsat Ltd should be granted a license to provide GSM or CDMA telephony services. Nigcomsat management insist that Nigcomsat Ltd should be given a license allowing it to provide mobile telephony services in the country. This decision is most certainly as a result of a knee-jerk reaction to the reluctance of the incumbent mobile telephony operators to use Nigcomsat as their backbone connectivity provider in Nigeria.

In a country like Nigeria, to use Satellite as connectivity backhaul for Mobile Communications

Carriers would be a brilliant and practical idea, and without doubt must have been one of the main profit centres in the NIGCOMSAT-1 business plan projections, so a rejection of Nigcomsat services by almost all of the Mobile Operators must have hurt more than a bit.

Interestingly one plausible reason why the carriers rejected the Nigcomsat option is due to the fact that the Nigcomsat C-Band Transponders operate on an abnormal frequency referred to as the Extended C-Band. C-Band is the preferred frequency for Voice Data applications due to its greater bandwidth and its resilience to adverse weather conditions like heavy rain.

Normal C-Band Frequency is widely used in the industry, the equipment is quite standardized to a large extent, and most Operators have already invested in the hardware required for it. However, equipment that would be compatible with Extended C-band is not readily available off-the-shelf and usually requires custom development with lead times of up to 15 Months before delivery. In addition the Extended C-Band frequencies used by NIGCOMSAT-1 have been reported to disruptively interfere with other Terrestrial radio equipment used by Mobile Cellular Operators. It is no wonder that Mobile Operators are not considering using Nigcomsat as their Satellite backbone option.

Now, how NIGCOMSAT-1 ended up transmitting on the Extended C-Band Frequency is another example of what we are discussing here.

So, to solve this looming problem of excess capacity lying fallow, Nigcomsat management suddenly decided that they could deviate from their original mandate and become a Mobile Operator themselves, since they have all this C-Band that nobody wants to take up. It is still uncertain if Nigcomsat ever had a well thought out business plan to set up as a GSM or CDMA Operator at any time.

The resolve of the industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission to insist on due process and diligence was grossly under estimated. The NCC was just as perplexed as anybody as to how Nigcomsat, which had hardly taken off as a Satellite Operator and already facing challenges to deliver on its original business mandate, would instantly transmute into a Mobile Operator.

In response and to overcome the NCC hurdle, Nigcomsat Management expended considerable resources in terms of time, media hype, government connections and extraneous pressure on what became a titanic struggle between two government agencies.

In what seemed like a victory in the end for Nigcomsat, the Federal Government earlier this month conceded 15% equity of Nigeria’s erstwhile dominant telecom company NITEL to Nigcomsat in addition the MD of Nigcomsat was appointed into the Board of NITEL. NITEL currently is the First National Telecom Carrier and also holds Mobile Operator Licenses for GSM and CDMA Mobile Networks.

We shall consider this a victory, however short lived, because it now affords Nigcomsat an avenue to consummate its terrestrial telephony fantasies and also opens up an opportunity for it to expand its dominion even beyond its expectations. It is whispered in very high government circles that the new thinking is to hand NITEL over to Nigcomsat management.

Putting it modestly, the foundation for this elevated status of Nigcomsat and its management is simply shaky. Nigcomsat is presently touted as being worth $400 -$450 Million Dollars, which if taken into consideration makes it adequately qualified and eligible to handle a 15% stake of NITEL, however what has not been stated is how this valuation was arrived at.

Contrary to its declared objectives at inception, NIGCOMSAT-1 has made no impact thus far on the Nigerian communications landscape in terms of increasing available resources or reducing prices or access barriers. There are presently no ISPs in Nigeria that have deployed services using the NIGCOMSAT-1 Transponders, although many have paid money in advance and are still waiting for the Nigcomsat Teleport.

The other Nigerian technological debacle-in-waiting Galaxy Backbone Plc who announced severally that it has acquired Earth Stations and related equipment including satellite space segment to enable it provide services using NIGCOMSAT-1, has had no other option than to advertise for bids for the acquisition of an independent Teleport in Europe.

Nigcomsat is so incapable of providing Internet related services to anybody that today it relies on a Lagos based Internet Service Provider to provide it with access to the Internet and another Abuja based ISP provides the back up. This is the Internet it uses to connect China to find out how things are going with its Satellite.

The company has so successfully manipulated the media that any stories or articles announcing its ‘feats’ and ‘achievements’ in the press are always very bare and mostly generalized information kept as brief as possible and in some instances craftily obfuscated without any details that can possibly be cross checked.

For example, Nigcomsat declared recently as part of the justification for its present demand for a new NIGCOMSAT-2 that the company has deployed over 300 Community Telecom Centres nationwide, but there is no mention of who is using these Community Telecom Centres and where or what impact they have in the various communities where they are deployed. What actually obtains is that Nigcomsat has carefully rented shops all over the country, painted them in its corporate colours, installed one or two computers and draped them over with a banner declaring them ‘Nigcomsat Community Telecom Centre’ but in reality there is no activity going on in any of those places that is related to Satellite Communications.

Again, the Company has announced its plans to revolutionise the broadcast industry by foraying into the direct-to-home DTH business. Given its awesome Satellite resources DTH is one area where Nigcomsat should be able to have a major impact in Nigeria by helping to reduce the cost of bandwidth to DTH or Satellite TV operators.

Instead Nigcomsat intends to play in the DTH market itself via the introduction of a new triple play DTH set top decoder which would be manufactured in-house by a Nigcomsat Decoder factory that would offer employment to millions of Nigerians. Sounds very interesting, but the disconcerting aspect of this approach is that all over the World neither DTH Operators nor Satellite Providers manufacture Decoders in-house, each focuses on its core business and delivers what it is best at doing.

Only a week ago Nigcomsat again announced to a bewildered audience that it has developed in-house and is releasing a Human Resource Clocking Software that would check the incidence of Ghost workers and latecomers to work in Ministries.

This is an awkward development, considering that Nigcomsat is hardly a software development company. Tested and certified HR Clocking Software is commonly available off the shelf in the market. One wonders how with its business unable to take off for the past 18 Months and with a pile of Nigerian tax payers money at stake, Nigcomsat management can find the time to tinker with experimental development of software unrelated to its business.

As stated earlier, the news of severe technical problems with the NIGCOMSAT-1 Satellite and the uncertainty about its whereabouts in space its hardly surprising considering the obvious lack of focus of the Nigcomsat management team.

For a company that claims to hinge Nigeria’s technological aspirations, its quite amusing to note that its web site was last updated in 2006!

The latest status update on the NIGCOMSAT-1, according to the Hon. Minister of Sate for Science and Technology is ‘that the batteries of the Satellite are dead and the Satellite has been ‘parked’ just like you park a car’. We should assume that the Minister in merely in his element, playing Nigerian-flavoured politics with the issue.

According to the Chinese Xinhua News Agency web site, the Satellite Manufacturer and actual Operator. China Great Wall Industries stated that the NIGCOMSAT-1 is unable to work due to “electricity power exhaustion”. The Beijing-based company attributed the power exhaustion to a technical error of the satellite's solar wing and as a result it is not possible to communicate with the Satellite.

Satellites are usually equipped with Solar Panels, which enable them to draw power from the sun and use that to recharge the on-board batteries, which are in turn used to power the electronic systems on-board that enable the Satellite to function, including communicating with the Earth. Usually a technician at the Ground Control Centre is assigned the task of manipulating the positions of the Solar Panels so that they are constantly facing the Sun as the Satellite oscillates in orbit.

Failure of the Solar Panels are not impossible, however there is a very high likelihood of operator error being responsible for this problem considering that the Nigcomsat Engineers have been busy developing HR software and TV Decoders. Somebody might have simply forgot ten to turn the panels to face the Sun and the batteries died.

The Hon minister went further to state that customers of Nigcomsat would be migrated to another Transponder or another Satellite. This is blatantly deceptive. There is no other Transponder that anybody can be migrated to since the entire Satellite has lost operational power, secondly Nigcomsat Ltd does not provide any back up arrangement for its customers in the event of loss of the Satellite. In their supposedly infallible judgement they refused to enter into such negotiations with other Satellite providers and their service contracts contain no such clause.

If the worst happens, that is that the Satellite is lost in space, we recommend that the Nigcomsat Management be sent into space with a torchlight or whatever to go and find it and bring it back. They should not be allowed to bamboozle Nigerian taxpayers to support their avaricious bid to launch a second ill-planned Satellite.

In one and half years the NIGCOMSAT-1 Satellite has delivered no appreciable service to Nigerians despite such embarrassingly high cost yet its promoters are lobbying for more funds to launch a second one.

Samuel Bassey Ijoma

EuroCell Konsult

23 Belgrave Gardens

London NW8

Robot  Villager

# 1 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } ...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 16.11.2008 11:41

delemajek  Villager

# 2 I thought UMYA @ least, had a basic science background! I give it up to our ingenuity Posted by delemajek| 16.11.2008 18:04

Eniyan  JJC

# 3 Just some notes/remarks: 1. The first earth observation satellite by Nigeria is "NigeriaSat-1 "and not "NigerSat-1" as referenced throughout the article. The second earth observation is scheduled for launch by SSTL in 2009. 2. It would have been more valuable to reference specifically the recent international academic study regarding the conclusions drawn regarding NigeriaSat-1. 3. The contract amount and relevant details should be provided by NASRDA so that the contradictions regarding contract amount, etc can hopefully be clarified. 4. Knowing the decision making that went into arriving at the polygons for the different beam bands should be first understood before rushing to judgement regarding the extended c-band. 5. The inteference issues observed is not just for the extended c-band but also the "regular" c-band. Last year the Global VSAT Forum (GVF) spearheaded action globally so that ITU can resolve this bandwidth allocation matters. 5. If the Network Operations Center (NOC) is non-functionally as claimed by the author's supposedly visit, then I dont get how the NigComSat Engineers are responsible for the failure instead of the Chinese Engineers. 6. Are Satellites really "lost in space" as stated??? Posted by Eniyan| 16.11.2008 19:24

Eniyan  JJC

# 4 7. The batteries dying is non-relevant here, because the batteries are only meant to power the satellites during a solar eclipse and not for normal day-to-day operations as alluded to. Posted by Eniyan| 16.11.2008 19:29

MrOneNaija  Villager

# 5 MONEY WASTED? When my attention was drawn to this matter of the missing satellite and I later discovered that the managing director of the Nigerian Comminication Satellite (NigComsat) bears the same surname as the former Director-General of the BPE under the last Obasanjo regime and ex-minister of the FCT, Nasir, el-Rufai, I instinctively began to panic. Nigerians vividly remember the Pentascope scandal whereby a foreign outfit with neither the technical nor the financial wherewithal was awarded a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars to supposedly manage the then national jewel called NITEL. The "headquarters" of that foreign outfit was later found to be an abandoned church in the Netherlands! El-Rufai did not apologise for that crime. He was not penalised either. Nobody, it seems, did pay for that terrible scam against the people of Nigeria. Instead, the profligate and terribly corrupt Obasanjo elevated el-Rufai and made him minister in charge of the FCT. It was the epoch of reckless impunity on the part of profoundly unpatriotic hedonists. Now, I have alluded to the Pentascope scandal in order to situate what is happening with the satellite in the context of an era characterized by lofty ideals that were nonetheless sabotaged from the word go by the ill-will, incompetence and outright dishonesty of the very characters that were charged with giving concrete form to those ideals. Surely, critical questions must be asked. The issue at hand is a very important one for the development of the country. We are grateful to Mr. Ijoma for his enlightening contribution. He will do the nation a good deal by sharing his knowlegde and concerns with the House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology which has reportedly invited the Managing Director of NigerComsat, Engineer Ahmed el-Rufai, to explain what is going on regarding the satellite. The chairman of that committee is Mr. Abiodun Akinlade. Another critical question to look into is the possibility, if any, of sabotage by foreign agents or even by locals. Also, did we get our money's worth with the satellite built by an outfit called The China Great Wall Industries? Was there any cutting of corners à la nigérianne as is apparently suggested in the report below? Will there be dire consequences for culprits? Nigeria’s Satellite lands in N8b insurance scandal The Nation Online 17/11/2008 By O’seun Ogunseitan, Science & Technology Editor The Federal Government will this week begin investigations to confirm if its damaged N12 billion communication satellite was underinsured by as much as N8 billion, it was learnt at the weekend. Besides, foreign intelligence sources are worried over what may have caused the failure of the Nigerian satellite, barely 18 months after launch. The worries in global intelligence circles are predicated on what the future holds for the safety of more expensive and strategic satellites worldwide, if the Nigerian satellite is discovered to have been downed following an erroneous or malicious programming code sent from its ground control station in Abuja. The Nation also gathered from official sources in Lagos and Abuja that the NigComSat 1 Satellite, may also have been under-insured in error, as officials exchanged memos at the expiration of the tenure of the satellite’s first year’s insurance five months ago. But details are still sketchy. Officials said the government would definitely address the media on the issue in the next few days. The Managing Director of NigComSat Limited, managers of the satellite, Mr. Ahmed Rufai, at the weekend only said "the Satellite was fully insured." But industry sources knowledgeable in such matters hinted that the issue was more complex. Their claim is that the specific terms of insurance stated by the broker is what matters in the case of high technology equipment such as that of the now damaged satellite. The insurers of the Satellite or the brokers have not yet been revealed by the government. But industry experts fear that specific insurance details, which may have left out the ground control station in Abuja out of the insurance cover, in a cost-cutting measure, may have unwittingly caused a lower valuation for the satellite itself. The contention is that the original valuation for the insurance cover for the Satellite and the ground control station was said to have been in excess of more than $180 million, with an insurance premium hovering between $30 million and N54 million, but that as a cost-cutting measure, a lower valuation was submitted to reduce the premium that would have been paid. It was not clear at the weekend if the charges schemed off the original value that was to have been insured, left the value of the satellite intact. Nigeria spent almost $300 million on communication Satellite acquisition, launch, training and the construction of a ground control station in Abuja. The Satellite alone, cost about $102 million and The Nation gathered that the details of the insured items and insurance terms as submitted by the broker and accepted by the insuring firm determine the level of compensation. The NigComSat Satellite 1 switched to its night-mode batteries as the sun set in Space late last Sunday, as it was supposed to do, but failed to switch back to its primary solar power source, when the Sun came up. It, instead, continued running on batteries. In Space, Satellites derive their electric power mostly from solar panels, which in daytime power the Satellites themselves, while also charging batteries that provide power during the night. After two days of continuous operation on its batteries, the managers of Satellite had to shut it down to retain some amount of electric power that will now be needed to send down the Satellite back to Earth where it will be destroyed by a combination of gravity and pressure as it re-enters the Earth. Though it cost more than N12 billion, the Nigerian Satellite is not expensive enough to command the near $200 million that NASA says Satellite repairs in space cost. Unlike many multi-billion dollar American Satellites and other space-based equipment which astronauts, cosmonauts and robots are sent to space to repair, the Nigerian Satellite which has now been confirmed to have totally lost its ability to generate its own power in Space, will have to be brought back to earth and be destroyed in the process. The Satellite was not expected to have any serious malfunction until it has reached year 10 of its 18-year life span. Posted by MrOneNaija| 16.11.2008 22:25

Zanderlex  Villager

# 6 "If the worst happens, that is that the Satellite is lost in space, we recommend that the Nigcomsat Management be sent into space with a torchlight or whatever to go and find it and bring it back. They should not be allowed to bamboozle Nigerian taxpayers to support their avaricious bid to launch a second ill-planned Satellite. In one and half years the NIGCOMSAT-1 Satellite has delivered no appreciable service to Nigerians despite such embarrassingly high cost yet its promoters are lobbying for more funds to launch a second one". Samuel Bassey Ijoma Thank you my brother Bassey. You really nailed it here.!!!!!!!. Posted by Zanderlex| 16.11.2008 23:51

DeepThought  Villager

# 7 @Ijeoma: Thanks for the informative article 2. It would have been more valuable to reference specifically the recent international academic study regarding the conclusions drawn regarding NigeriaSat-1. Probably a waste of time. Nigeria and Nigerians shouldn't worry to much about "international academic study" in determining what is useful to Nigeria and Nigerians. The contract amount and relevant details should be provided by NASRDA so that the contradictions regarding contract amount, etc can hopefully be clarified. That would be good 4. Knowing the decision making that went into arriving at the polygons for the different beam bands should be first understood before rushing to judgement regarding the extended c-band. 5. The inteference issues observed is not just for the extended c-band but also the "regular" c-band. Last year the Global VSAT Forum (GVF) spearheaded action globally so that ITU can resolve this bandwidth allocation matters. This looks like an excuse to me. If the extended c-band is not functioning optimally, looks to me like somebody made a mistake. But that is not even the crux of the matter. What matters most is that the satellite appears not to be working at all Not even scratchy signals 5. If the Network Operations Center (NOC) is non-functionally as claimed by the author's supposedly visit, then I dont get how the NigComSat Engineers are responsible for the failure instead of the Chinese Engineers. 6. Are Satellites really "lost in space" as stated??? Much of this is irrelevant and it looks like you are working hard to justify incomptence of the NigerComsat Management. I mean, if we say its a Nigerian Satellite , wouldn't it make sense to be operated by Nigerians even if it wasn't built by Nigerians? So if its true that you need Gateways or Teleports, how come non exist in Nigeria, ref below: A very basic and standard requirement for the operation of a Communications Satellite is what is known as a Teleport. The Teleport, perhaps what is referred to in Nigcomsat press releases as ‘the Gateway’, is in general terms an interface point between the Satellite and Terrestrial Communications systems such as Telephone Networks, Internet, Television etc. it makes it possible for instance, for information to go from a telephone Network out to the Satellite and utilize the Satellite to distribute such information to multiple remote locations around the world. Every Communications Satellite Operator builds and installs a Teleport months before the Satellite is launched into Orbit, it is a major part of the pre-launch planning of the Satellite. Since Nigcomsat-1 was launched 18 Months ago the Owner/Operator Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd does not own a Teleport anywhere in Nigeria. Claims of having or using Teleports in Germany, China etc are moot as they defeat the purpose of having a Nigerian Satellite in the first place. Could this be true? If NigerComsat management went to the trouble of getting the Chinese to launch the thing, how much more effort would have been required to build Teleports in Nigeria? Below are very serious allegations: However coming closer to the entrance of the building, any seasoned practitioner in satellite communications technology would immediately notice the unusual quiet indicating that the huge Satellite Antennae that ring the entrance so impressively are not operational. Normally for Satellite Antenna systems with dishes of about 4.5 Meters diameter and above, the high power amplifier units and the transceivers require constant cooling when in operation, so there is usually the distinct whining buzz of the internal fans whenever you pass close to the Antenna. At the Nigcomsat facility there are about six Antennae with diameters ranging from 6 Metres to 13 Metres in size, not one fan can be heard. Again if the fans are not switched on that means the Antenna is not functional, if the antenna is not functional then there is no contact with the Satellite. So if there is no contact with the Satellite at this facility then what on Earth could be going on in this stupendously massive complex, certainly not tracking or controlling of the Satellite. So is the NigeriaComsat mangement deliberately and knowingly decieving Nigerians? For example, Nigcomsat declared recently as part of the justification for its present demand for a new NIGCOMSAT-2 that the company has deployed over 300 Community Telecom Centres nationwide, but there is no mention of who is using these Community Telecom Centres and where or what impact they have in the various communities where they are deployed. What actually obtains is that Nigcomsat has carefully rented shops all over the country, painted them in its corporate colours, installed one or two computers and draped them over with a banner declaring them ‘Nigcomsat Community Telecom Centre’ but in reality there is no activity going on in any of those places that is related to Satellite Communications. :confused1:confused1 The latest status update on the NIGCOMSAT-1, according to the Hon. Minister of Sate for Science and Technology is ‘that the batteries of the Satellite are dead and the Satellite has been ‘parked’ just like you park a car’. We should assume that the Minister in merely in his element, playing Nigerian-flavoured politics with the issue. ... According to the Chinese Xinhua News Agency web site, the Satellite Manufacturer and actual Operator. China Great Wall Industries stated that the NIGCOMSAT-1 is unable to work due to “electricity power exhaustion”. The Beijing-based company attributed the power exhaustion to a technical error of the satellite's solar wing and as a result it is not possible to communicate with the Satellite. And so, is that the end of the story? What is the next step/solution.And whose responsibility was it to ensure there were no “electricity power exhaustion”. If the worst happens, that is that the Satellite is lost in space, we recommend that the Nigcomsat Management be sent into space with a torchlight or whatever to go and find it and bring it back. They should not be allowed to bamboozle Nigerian taxpayers to support their avaricious bid to launch a second ill-planned Satellite. In one and half years the NIGCOMSAT-1 Satellite has delivered no appreciable service to Nigerians despite such embarrassingly high cost yet its promoters are lobbying for more funds to launch a second one. We're right to be outraged by this debacle but I think the right thing to do would be to investigate and document all that went wrong with this operation, go back to the drawing board and run extensive simulations before even thinking about any further launches. Maybe the timing is not yet ripe but take or leave it, Nigeria will have to go into space technology someday. MrOneNaija wrote: Now, I have alluded to the Pentascope scandal in order to situate what is happening with the satellite in the context of an era characterized by lofty ideals that were nonetheless sabotaged from the word go by the ill-will, incompetence and outright dishonesty of the very characters that were charged with giving concrete form to those ideals. Surely, critical questions must be asked. The issue at hand is a very important one for the development of the country. We are grateful to Mr. Ijoma for his enlightening contribution. He will do the nation a good deal by sharing his knowlegde and concerns with the House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology which has reportedly invited the Managing Director of NigerComsat, Engineer Ahmed el-Rufai, to explain what is going on regarding the satellite. The chairman of that committee is Mr. Abiodun Akinlade. Thank you Another critical question to look into is the possibility, if any, of sabotage by foreign agents or even by locals. Also, did we get our money's worth with the satellite built by an outfit called The China Great Wall Industries? Was there any cutting of corners à la nigérianne as is apparently suggested in the report below? Will there be dire consequences for culprits? I don't believe and will probably never believe in any talk about sabotage, foreign agents, e.t.c. Nigerians remain Nigeria's worse enemies. And about getting our money's worth? :confused1. How is that possible when we don't fully understand what we are buying? Posted by DeepThought| 17.11.2008 01:13

DeepThought  Villager

# 8 @Ijeoma: Thanks for the interesting article 2. It would have been more valuable to reference specifically the recent international academic study regarding the conclusions drawn regarding NigeriaSat-1. Probably a waste of time. Nigeria and Nigerians shouldn't worry too much about "international academic study" in determining what is useful to Nigeria and Nigerians. The contract amount and relevant details should be provided by NASRDA so that the contradictions regarding contract amount, etc can hopefully be clarified. That would be good 4. Knowing the decision making that went into arriving at the polygons for the different beam bands should be first understood before rushing to judgement regarding the extended c-band. 5. The inteference issues observed is not just for the extended c-band but also the "regular" c-band. Last year the Global VSAT Forum (GVF) spearheaded action globally so that ITU can resolve this bandwidth allocation matters. This looks like an excuse to me. If the extended c-band is not functioning optimally, looks to me like somebody made a mistake. But that is not even the crux of the matter. What matters most is that the satellite appears not to be working at all Not even scratchy signals 5. If the Network Operations Center (NOC) is non-functionally as claimed by the author's supposedly visit, then I dont get how the NigComSat Engineers are responsible for the failure instead of the Chinese Engineers. 6. Are Satellites really "lost in space" as stated??? Much of this is irrelevant and it looks like you are working hard to justify incomptence of the NigerComsat Management. I mean, if we say its a Nigerian Satellite , wouldn't it make sense to be operated by Nigerians even if it wasn't built by Nigerians? So if its true that you need Gateways or Teleports, how come non exist in Nigeria, ref below: The most fundamental and startling aspect of the entire project is that the so-called Nigerian Communications Satellite does not have any terrestrial connection to Nigeria. Unsubstantiated reports claim that the Satellite has a Ground Control Centre in Abuja Nigeria and Gateway’s in Northern Nigeria, South Africa, Germany and China. In reality, the only Ground Station that appears to have regular contact with the satellite is that based in Kashi, China often touted by Nigcomsat Management as a back up Centre but is indeed the main and only Ground Control Centre. The Satellite is controlled solely and entirely from China. :confused1:confused1 This contradicts all the reports in the media. So what are the Nigerian engineers and technologists doing on this project? A very basic and standard requirement for the operation of a Communications Satellite is what is known as a Teleport. The Teleport, perhaps what is referred to in Nigcomsat press releases as ‘the Gateway’, is in general terms an interface point between the Satellite and Terrestrial Communications systems such as Telephone Networks, Internet, Television etc. it makes it possible for instance, for information to go from a telephone Network out to the Satellite and utilize the Satellite to distribute such information to multiple remote locations around the world. Every Communications Satellite Operator builds and installs a Teleport months before the Satellite is launched into Orbit, it is a major part of the pre-launch planning of the Satellite. Since Nigcomsat-1 was launched 18 Months ago the Owner/Operator Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd does not own a Teleport anywhere in Nigeria. Claims of having or using Teleports in Germany, China etc are moot as they defeat the purpose of having a Nigerian Satellite in the first place. Could this be true? If NigerComsat management went to the trouble of getting the Chinese to launch the thing, how much more effort would have been required to build Teleports in Nigeria? Below are very serious allegations: However coming closer to the entrance of the building, any seasoned practitioner in satellite communications technology would immediately notice the unusual quiet indicating that the huge Satellite Antennae that ring the entrance so impressively are not operational. Normally for Satellite Antenna systems with dishes of about 4.5 Meters diameter and above, the high power amplifier units and the transceivers require constant cooling when in operation, so there is usually the distinct whining buzz of the internal fans whenever you pass close to the Antenna. At the Nigcomsat facility there are about six Antennae with diameters ranging from 6 Metres to 13 Metres in size, not one fan can be heard. Again if the fans are not switched on that means the Antenna is not functional, if the antenna is not functional then there is no contact with the Satellite. So if there is no contact with the Satellite at this facility then what on Earth could be going on in this stupendously massive complex, certainly not tracking or controlling of the Satellite. So is the NigeriaComsat mangement deliberately and knowingly decieving Nigerians? For example, Nigcomsat declared recently as part of the justification for its present demand for a new NIGCOMSAT-2 that the company has deployed over 300 Community Telecom Centres nationwide, but there is no mention of who is using these Community Telecom Centres and where or what impact they have in the various communities where they are deployed. What actually obtains is that Nigcomsat has carefully rented shops all over the country, painted them in its corporate colours, installed one or two computers and draped them over with a banner declaring them ‘Nigcomsat Community Telecom Centre’ but in reality there is no activity going on in any of those places that is related to Satellite Communications. :eek: I thought I'd heard it all The latest status update on the NIGCOMSAT-1, according to the Hon. Minister of Sate for Science and Technology is ‘that the batteries of the Satellite are dead and the Satellite has been ‘parked’ just like you park a car’. We should assume that the Minister in merely in his element, playing Nigerian-flavoured politics with the issue. ... According to the Chinese Xinhua News Agency web site, the Satellite Manufacturer and actual Operator. China Great Wall Industries stated that the NIGCOMSAT-1 is unable to work due to “electricity power exhaustion”. The Beijing-based company attributed the power exhaustion to a technical error of the satellite's solar wing and as a result it is not possible to communicate with the Satellite. And so, is that the end of the story? What is the next step/solution.And whose responsibility was it to ensure there were no “electricity power exhaustion”. If the worst happens, that is that the Satellite is lost in space, we recommend that the Nigcomsat Management be sent into space with a torchlight or whatever to go and find it and bring it back. They should not be allowed to bamboozle Nigerian taxpayers to support their avaricious bid to launch a second ill-planned Satellite. In one and half years the NIGCOMSAT-1 Satellite has delivered no appreciable service to Nigerians despite such embarrassingly high cost yet its promoters are lobbying for more funds to launch a second one. I know we tend to be cynical about these things and are right to be outraged by this debacle but it would be a mistake to think we can stop trying. I think the right thing to do would be to investigate and document all that went wrong with this operation, go back to the drawing board and run extensive simulations before even thinking about any further launches. Maybe the timing is not yet ripe but take or leave it, Nigeria will have to go into space technology someday. MrOneNaija wrote: Now, I have alluded to the Pentascope scandal in order to situate what is happening with the satellite in the context of an era characterized by lofty ideals that were nonetheless sabotaged from the word go by the ill-will, incompetence and outright dishonesty of the very characters that were charged with giving concrete form to those ideals. Surely, critical questions must be asked. The issue at hand is a very important one for the development of the country. We are grateful to Mr. Ijoma for his enlightening contribution. He will do the nation a good deal by sharing his knowlegde and concerns with the House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology which has reportedly invited the Managing Director of NigerComsat, Engineer Ahmed el-Rufai, to explain what is going on regarding the satellite. The chairman of that committee is Mr. Abiodun Akinlade. Thank you Another critical question to look into is the possibility, if any, of sabotage by foreign agents or even by locals. Also, did we get our money's worth with the satellite built by an outfit called The China Great Wall Industries? Was there any cutting of corners à la nigérianne as is apparently suggested in the report below? Will there be dire consequences for culprits? I don't believe and will probably never believe in any talk about sabotage, foreign agents, e.t.c. Nigerians remain Nigeria's worse enemies. And about getting our money's worth? :confused1. How is that possible when we don't fully understand what we are buying? Posted by DeepThought| 17.11.2008 01:19

Eniyan  JJC

# 9 @Deepthought: First, no excuses are being made. An incisive look based on objectivity is what I am calling for. In addition, we should not mesh facts and fallacies together. I would be hard-pressed to believe that the Satellite was not even working at all, not even scratchy signals. A review of the In-Orbit-Test (IOT) data and results is one indicator. In addition, NIGCOMSAT should provide clients list so that prior/past usage/utilization can be independently confirmed. The satellite was never built by Nigerians. The Chinese built it. Where did Nigerian acquire the technology/education for building satellites? The University? I doubt so. The Universities back home are so run down it is pathetic. I dont know if there are Nigerians locally that have adequate skills and expertise to manage and operate a Satellite. Nigerians may have been trained but only sustained and committed practice over couple of years. So let me know if you find locally based Nigerians that can do so effectively within a year or two after training. The ground control station claim is hard to fathom without real and verifable information on this. The media and congressional committee with oversight for NigComSat should be invited to visit the facility. Nigerian needs to stop being just a consumer nation! @Mr One Naija The former minister of FCT is Mallam Nasir El-Rufai. The MD of NigComSat is Engr. Ahmed-Rufai. They are not kin. Posted by Eniyan| 17.11.2008 03:55

Olamide  Villager

# 10 I am tired of the constant complains about the Chinese and their 'incompetence' when it comes to designing and manufacturing things for Africa. It is very simple. The Chinese are very efficient when they are working for European and American organizations and becomes complacent when it comes to Africans because of the corruption of our leaders. By the time further invetigations are made, we will discover that some big 'ogas' have received almost a third of the contract sum as kickbacks from the Chinese to do the shoddy job they did and short-change Nigerians once again. The same thing with the rehabilitation of the railway system which the Chinese bungled under Abatcha but the contract was re-awarded again under Obasanjo for several billion dollars with no results to another Chinese firm when we could have asked the French or the Japanese with the best railways technology in the world to rehabilitate and modernize our railways, add value to the local economy and create at least two hundred thousand new jobs for our teeming youths who are riding 'okadas' all over the place. I am tired of reading about these rip-offs because they spoil my day. The satelite is gone if it ever existed in the first place. Sorry Nigeria and Nigerians but the day of reckoning will surely come. Posted by Olamide| 17.11.2008 03:56

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