GIVE us update of what NgREN has been upto?
NgREN started with 600 institutions across Nigeria and in the first phase, with catalytic funding support from a World Bank project call (STEP-B) Science and Technology Education at the first Basic Level.
STEP-B closed June last year and precisely by end of June, but we got funding support of the tune of a N10 Million from STEP-B to start the first phase; interconnecting 27 older Federal Universities that were in existence as at January 2010 when the project was conceived.
Why older universities?
As I just finished explaining, the STEP-B was targeted only at the Federal Government-owned Institutions and as at that time we had 27 older universities that were the ones in existence. Now, we have 40, that is, we have about 13 new Federal Universities that have been added into the system since then. So, the first phase was for the 27 Federal Universities plus the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities’ secretariat and the National Universities Commission (NUC) as associate members.
So, 29 entities currently interconnected with the fiber backbone, that is, 10GB fiber backbone leased from Airtel and Phase3 Telecoms. All the institutions have STM-1 (Synchronous Transport Module 1; standard for transmission over optical fiber) capacity which means 145 Mega Bytes per second (MBps) links to the backbone. And we have also launched the High Definition Video conferencing services for all of these schools.
We are looking at offering services down the line, but for now we have the bandwidth; the internet bandwidth at three STM-1s during the test phase. Plans have been concluded that as soon as we go operational, we will raise our capacity to 1 Gega Bytes (GB) via a leased circuit to the London Internet eXchange.
How do you mean by when you go operational and when is that expected?
A technology project goes in phases. As a REN, that is, Research and Education Network, the implementation is different from operation. We have implemented the network by putting fiber links in place; the REN goes on the devices, and the routers.
But to go operational requires implementation of policy frameworks; what and what can the network be use for, who are the users that can use the network; what they can do on the network, what is allowed and what is not allowed.
So, it is a whole body of the authorizing polices, and there are guidelines. It’s no use connecting a campus or a university for an institute when users at that Institutes cannot have access, because the REN takes capacity to the data centre of the institute and its up to the institution to take care of the internal network, so that users, students, staff and everybody within that Institutions can reach that point of contact.
So, there is a whole range of guidelines from minimum requirements that has been discussed with all of them and all Vice-Chancellors that have agreed to it. Therefore, institutions will need to meet these minimum requirements so that we assure the right users have access to the right resources, because at the end of the day it’s not connecting them for the sake of connecting them. We are connecting them as the name goes: Research and Education; we are connecting them so as to enhance research and to enhance education.
Among those that you said you have connected within the first phase I want to belief that all of them met all the requirements?
What we have done, after the implementation phase as we transit to the operational phase, is that they all need to pass through the kind of certification whereas as founding members we discussed these requirements, agreed to them at different levels; at the level of technical directors of ICT, at the level of the Vice-Chancellors there is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the NUC, the World Bank and Vice-Chancellors, all of these we agreed to.
Now, is the taste of the pudding which is in the eating as we transit to operational phase; membership is authenticated by an endorsement. The membership form must be endorsed by the Vice-Chancellors (CVC) and before the membership is endorsed and accepted by the NgREN board, these requirements will have to be enforced because if they are not there are legal issues.
For example, NgREN on behalf of those institutions is recognised by AfriNIC – the Africa Regional Internet Registry that allocates Internet Protocol (IP) numbers in the African region - as an Internet Service Provider (ISP), so we have IP resources that we keep in trust for these institutions. In any case, NgREN equipments, that is, the CPE - Customer Premises Equipment in these institutions will bear REN-IP-resources.
NgREN has got legal commitment to ensure that whatever traffic that is going to be passed via these devices is legitimate traffic. So, we hold the institutions responsible to ensure that those commitments are met and we have legal commitment to AfriNIC. Hence, we hold those institutions also liable to keep those commitments to NgREN. So, all of these and because of these levels of legal implications formal agreement will have to be signed, just in form of MOU with legal strength, and penalties if anything goes wrong. Institutions will be monitored if they fail to maintain and adhere to policies.
When are we looking at engaging those new universities that came on stream after 2010?
Not only the Federal Universities but also the States, Privates, and Polytechnics, Colleges of Education and research institutes; these will follow as soon as this phase is commissioned.
When I say operational phase, technically speaking, to become operational means we have the Board inaugurated, so that these policy instruments and guidelines can now have legal force because the legal force resides with the board and members sign with the board. As soon as that is done all members can then join because the process would have been set in motion for their enlistment as members.
To join as a member, there will be a request from an institution for an application form, the form will be filled by the institution, and then its vetted and once this is cleared technically, the chief executive officer signs the required membership forms and that institution becomes a member and NgREN, will therefore, have the commitment thereafter to ensure that that institution is provided available services.
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