Nigeria Lagos State Government: Building a High-Speed Wireless Government Campus Network with Huawei AirEngine Wi-Fi 6

Located on the west coast of Africa, Lagos State borders the Republic of Benin to the west and the Gulf of Guinea to the south. It is the financial, industrial, and commercial center of Nigeria and even Africa at large. As of 2020, Lagos has a total population of approximately 23.5 million, making it the most populous state in Nigeria and the largest metropolitan area in Africa. The Lagos state government plays a vital role in developing such a populous state and regional economic center, and is responsible for social governance and public services. The government is committed to eradicating poverty, boosting sustainable economic growth, and building Lagos into a model metropolis and global economic hub. These ambitious goals are supported by THEMES, a strategic development agenda proposed by the government in 2019, focusing on infrastructure, transportation, education, healthcare, technology, and urban railway construction.

An efficient government is critical to the implementation of this strategy. Therefore, what measures can the government take to improve its operational efficiency in implementing the THEMES strategy? The government considers accelerating its digital transformation as the answer.

Emerging ICT Requirements at Nigeria Lagos State Government

The legacy network of the Lagos state government is faced with several challenges. First, devices have been running for more than ten years. The network communication between government departments is frequently interrupted and the network stutters, affecting communication efficiency. Second, wired network connections have a series of disadvantages. It limits the place where employees can work, hinders improvements in efficiencies, and incurs security risks of unauthorized devices accessing the network. In addition, the repeated removal and insertion of network cables can cause damage, resulting in high troubleshooting and maintenance costs. Third, there is no unified intelligent network management system (NMS). As a result, network problems frequently occur, and it is difficult to quickly locate and rectify them. On top of that, the demand for office network connections is surging as digital government applications develop, such as digital office and remote collaboration. They require improved network coverage and higher quality, security, and reliability. The legacy campus office network has become a key obstacle to the digital transformation of the Lagos state government.

To address these challenges, the government proposed the Lagos Connect project. This project uses the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology to provide faster, more secure, reliable, and efficient wireless connections for the government campus office network. This in turn, meets the increasing requirements of government services, accelerates the digital transformation, and increases government operational efficiency, thereby facilitating the development of the city.

Huawei AirEngine Wi-Fi 6: Building a Secure, Reliable, and High-Speed Wireless Government Campus Network

Huawei has undertaken comprehensive customer surveys regarding the digital transformation needs for governments and has researched each scenario extensively. Capitalizing on its industry-leading Wi-Fi 6 technology and extensive experience in wireless campus network construction and O&M, Huawei developed the Wi-Fi 6 all-wireless solution featuring an autonomous driving network (ADN) for the Lagos state government. This solution is in accordance with the upgrading of the government's campus network, and meets its digital requirements. It has the following highlights:

• Wireless office with access available anytime and anywhere: Huawei AirEngine Wi-Fi 6 products enable the wireless network to cover a 20% wider area. In complex office areas, Huawei has an exclusive advantage: 3D network planning based on site requirements (wall thickness and storey height). This feature ensures wireless coverage in working areas, without blind spots. Moreover, Huawei's unique smart antennas improve the signal gain. Always-on signals boost a seamless high-speed wireless experience wherever the user goes. Employees now enjoy 30% more efficient communication.
• Free mobility and on-demand access control: Huawei deploys wired and wireless network access authentication for the customer and formulates the resource access policy for the services of each department based on the 5W1H principle. These measures effectively control network and resource access, and reduce unauthorized access by over 90%, making it a secure and efficient wireless office network for the entire campus.
• Efficient O&M with integrated management, control, and analysis: The ADN management capabilities of iMaster NCE-Campus allow the central management of the LAN and the WLAN, and service deployment is simplified. With the one-click diagnosis feature, network faults are quickly located, and the network recovery takes only 2 hours instead of 6 hours, increasing O&M efficiency and reducing the impact of network faults.

Accelerate Government Digitalization, Bring New Development into Lagos State

With a new network in place, the Lagos state government is able to provide improved public services. Upgrading the wireless campus office network is an important step in Lagos's push for digitalization. It also lays the digital foundation for the government to continuously increase efficiency and facilitate the THEMES strategy, thereby accelerating poverty eradication, boosting sustainable economic growth, and putting Lagos firmly on the map as an economic hub.

Nigeria is undoubtedly a promising country, and Lagos has to be the brightest jewel in its crown. The Lagos state government is committed to building a digital government and at the same time, allowing the digitalization process to enrich its population. As a leading global provider of ICT infrastructure, Huawei will work with the Lagos state government to accelerate its digital transformation.

In the future, Huawei will continue to work with local communities in Africa to bring digital to every person, home, and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world.