USIA /GTC Assessment of 
 Internet Connectivity Needs of Nigerian Universities  

By Cliff Missen, MA -- University of Iowa

 

This report is the culmination of ten days of interviews and site visits across Nigeria.  I was invited by the United States Information Agency's Office of Technology Partnerships to fulfill a request from the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria to assess the state of Internet connectivity at Nigerian universities and outline potential projects.

Specifically, my Global Technology Corps contract asked me to:

  • Provide an assessment of the equipment needs and costs, given the limited infrastructure resources of Nigeria, to provide Internet connectivity to the Nigerian universities deemed most appropriate by the US Embassy and the [National Universities] Commission.
  • Provide actual steps: i.e. amount of money needed, equipment needs, political considerations, contacts for the selected universities to gain continuous access.
  • Assess the availability and reliability of ISP's in Nigeria.

 

The results of this investigation are summarized in the following document: 

The following documents contain links to detailed reports on the ten institutions and Internet Service Providers I visited between October 10 and October 20, 1999, an ambitious plan to create Internet connectivity across the NUC universities, as well as several documents describing relevant issues.  There are two ways to view the documents:

 

Your feedback and corrections will be highly treasured.  Please feel free to contact me at [email protected]

 

 

Author's notes:

There's nothing more pathetic than a computer nerd crying over spilt batteries, but that was the scene at the airport in Lagos on October 20th when  I opened my travel case to find my Palm Pilot disembatteried and dead.  I lost many of my notes and, especially, the names of my contacts during the previous ten days.  I've done what I can to resurrect the material, although some names remain to be added to this report.  

Your assistance and corrections would be highly appreciated.

Larger versions of most of the pictures in this report can be viewed by clicking on the picture itself.