Attention is lately focusing on South Africa’s Vodacom’s plan to strengthen its footprint in the Nigerian telecoms market amid plan by Telkom to sell off its wholly-owned subsidiary, Multi-Links Telkom.

Technology Times checks reveal that Vodacom is lately devoting resources to driving its Nigerian presence through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Gateway Communications, the pan-African carrier services provider it acquired to drive its African expansion and specifically gain a footprint into Nigeria.

Alongside South Africa’s MTN Group, owners of MTN Nigeria, Vodacom is also part owner WACS, the undersea cable due to land in the country by mid-year to compete with new rivals, Main One and Glo 1 promoted by Main One cable Company and Glo 1 respectively.

Under the plan, the company is “quietly working ahead to cover 36 states in Nigeria with wireless broadband services that will support converged voice and data services ahead of the expected go-live of WACS cable in Nigeria, industry insiders told Technology Times wagering that Vodacom may emerge a major player in the changing telecoms terrain in Nigeria.

But is it different strokes for different folks as Telkom is working hard to exit the market and has unveiled plans to sell off its wholly-owned CDMA business, Multi-Links Telkom citing the loss-making operator has come under increasing pressure from bigger GSM rivals.

In Nigeria, Gateway is also deploying a national MPLS network, rolling out wireless broadband services across 36 different states into 2011 under the company’s market expansion plans.

Gateway Communications, the groups Carrier Services and Wholesale division, is also an investor in the West Africa Cable System (WACS), which plans to bring additional capacity in to Nigeria by June 2011.

Through an agreement with Cisco, Gateway will be able to immediately deploy a range of new services for customers in Nigeria, West Africa, and across the continent, the company had announced ahead of the planned delivery of the cable.

Vodacom has made several unsuccessful efforts to enter Nigeria through botched purchase bids of NITEL and Econet (now rebranded as Airtel Nigeria after it was sold to India’s Bharti Airtel) before clinching the Gateway acquisition that was to offer an entry into the vibrant telecoms market.

Technology Times learnt that Vodacom fired up two key plans to enter Nigeria as appetite for new services emerge in the marketplace.

It has unveiled plans to roll out services in 36 states nationwide and the Gateway acquisition was pivotal to driving this ambition.

Gateway Communications has bought a 10.5 GHz spectrum licence for 10 states in Nigeria covering Kano, Kaduna, Rivers, Delta, Abuja, Edo, Oyo, Anambra, Abia and Enugu.

Under a pan-African expansion plan by the Vodacom-owned Gateway, new technologies solutions are being implemented solutions in Lagos and other major cities nationwide. It is part of Gateway’s drive to build a pan-African connectivity network that covers every major African city based on satellite, submarine cable and terrestrial (fibre) infrastructure.

Not leaving much to chance, Vodacom has also teamed up with MTN to build an undersea cable expected to go live by mid-year and compete in the vibrant bandwidth market alongside rival businesses like SAT-3, Glo 1 and Main One, among other bandwidth providers.

Market watchers reckons that Vodacom’s buy of Gateway will foster its African expansions ambition as the latter is regarded as Africa’s largest independent provider of interconnection services via satellite and terrestrial network infrastructure for both African and intercontinental telecoms companies. Gateway also provides an extensive range of high quality, end-to-end connectivity solutions to multinational corporations operating across Africa.

“Vodacom has sustained double digit growth for more than a decade. As mobile phone penetration levels increase in South Africa, we are actively repositioning Vodacom as a total communications provider with new avenues for growth. The Gateway acquisition is a key part of this strategy and I’m pleased to announce that the transaction has now been concluded”, the South African company said in December 2008 on the completion of the acquisition of Gateway.

Vodacom’s says it see significant synergy potential in the Gateway brand that “broadens Vodacom’s international presence in key markets throughout Africa, especially Nigeria, and creates a platform for future expansion.”

They are forging the synergy that “positions Vodacom as partner of choice for multinational customers and international telecommunications providers seeking African connectivity”, both companies had said.

Gateway prides itself as the largest provider of carrier solutions in Africa, providing voice and data services to Africa’s leading mobile operators. With more than 50 transponders of satellite capacity over Africa it manages more connectivity over the continent than any other operator.

According to the company, with 24 dedicated teleports, access to multiple SAT-3 and SEACOM landing ports, 17 African offices and teams of local experts, it has more on the ground support than any other operator.