ictnewsnow

Nokia Windows Phone Wins Award in the U.S

2012-01-18T15:04:00.000+01:00

By Jonah Iboma

Nokia’s newly launched windows smartphone the Nokia Lumia 900 is making waves in the United States. The world’s leading mobile manufacturer made a triumphant return to the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas over the weekend, winning a raft of awards and honors for the Nokia Lumia 900. Nokia won the prestigious “Best Smartphone” award from technology site CNET.
In addition to the Nokia Lumia 900 launch for AT&T’s 4G LTE network, the Nokia Lumia 710 went on sale at all T-Mobile stores. Microsoft said it will sell the Nokia Lumia 800 in all its retail stores, and in Canada, Rogers said it will carry the Nokia Lumia 710, while TELUS will sell the Nokia Lumia 800.
The buzz around Nokia’s return was clearly seen in Las Vegas: standing room only at a packed press conference, where media had to be turned away, enthusiastic customer meetings and a non-stop flow of visitors to the Nokia booth. Vegas is known for its glitz, glamor and headline acts, and in this regard the Nokia Lumia 900 did not disappoint.
Nokia’s renowned Bright AMOLED Clear Black display with toughened glass stretching to the sides of the phone is what will catch your eyes in the first contact. The Back, Start and Search buttons on the front of the screen are set in the glass on the front of course. On the back, there’s an eight-megapixel auto-focus camera with Carl Zeiss optics.

Mike Cansfield Joins IDC as Associate Vice President, Telecoms, EMEA

2012-01-18T14:51:00.001+01:00

International Data Corporation, the world's leading provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications and consumer technology markets has announced the appointment of Mike Cansfield to the position of associate vicepresident, Telecoms Consulting, Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
In this role, Cansfield will support andwork closely with IDC EMEA's Telecoms and Networking research team led by EricOwen.

"Mike Cansfield comes to IDC with a with a fantastic trackrecord in telecoms research and his arrival is another indicator of IDC'sstrategic focus on building our ICT consulting and advisory offerings inEurope," said Martin Canning, group vice president, European Consulting,IDC EMEA.

"He is very well known and widely respected, and his knowledgeand understanding of the telecoms industry and the challenges that industry isfacing will further strengthen IDC's ability to support our clients in thisarea."

Cansfield comes to IDC with a very strong background in telecomsconsulting and research, having previously held a senior position in telecomsat Forrester, and led the Telecom Strategy Practice at Ovum. Before that, heheld various positions in international marketing and business development atBT.

Cansfield holds an MBA specialising in marketing, an internationalmaster's degree in management, and is a member of the Chartered Institute ofMarketing.

Experts harp on Marketing Research as aid to National Development

2011-12-08T09:46:00.001+01:00

Experts in the marketing researchprofession have stated the need for Nigeria to pay greater attention to thepractice in order to facilitate greater national development.

The Nigerian Marketing Research Association(NiMRA) noted that market research plays a central role in product development,adding both the public and private sectors should embrace it more to reap itsbenefits.

President of NiMRA, Mr. Lanre Fasakin,stated that marketing research today has become very central to development asit helps in bringing ideas from conceptualization to eventual implementation.

He said: “Once ideas have been generated,marketing research principle/methods are employed to help in ideas screening;test concepts during which modifications needed are discovered; developingconcepts into acceptable/marketable products; conduct test marketing/marketstimulation of the prepared product sometimes deploying other elements of themix such as advertising and effective distribution.”

Fasakin who spoke on Friday following thecompletion of NiMRA’s national conference noted that Nigeria will experiencegreater development if marketing research is embraced properly as many failedefforts at bringing products and services to the market will undergo bettertesting processes before they are eventually deployed.

According to him, in the advanced world,marketing research is an important element that all businesses and sometimesgovernment use to assess and understand market situations.

While making clarifications on the positionof NiMRA vis-a-vis other professional bodies such as the Nigerian Institute ofMarketing and the likes, Fasakin explained that the association was not aparallel body to any existing organization noting that NiMRA has its terms ofreference well cut out.

He predicted that NiMRA will in no timeassume the respectability of professional bodies such as Institute of CharteredAccountants of Nigeria, ICAN, for accountants; the NBA, for lawyers; and NMA,for medical doctors, as efforts are top-gear at the National Assembly to lobbyfor a charter status by way of legislative enactment for the regulation of theactivities of the body.

Putting journalists present at the occasionup to speed on the activities of the association, Fasakin disclosed that sincethe new executive council of the body came on board in 2010, its contributionsto the advancement of NiMRA has been of intrinsic and extrinsic value.

Of the former it has been “able to promotea heightened consciousness on the essence of our great association bystimulating renewed vigour and interest in members in members,” he said, whileadding that of the latter the association has put in place the followinginitiative, including, paying courtesy visits to market research agencies andmedia houses; introduction of monthly e-newsletter; promotion of membershipdrive; execution of mini-library project, among others.

The organization also indicated itsreadiness to partner media with the aim of drawing public awareness regardingits activities and for membership drive, which according to Fasakin, is open,competitive but non-discriminatory, saying accelerated efforts are on course togrow student membership as well.

Etisalat Launches ‘Geek Force’ Solution Services in Port Harcourt

2011-12-08T09:44:00.001+01:00

Inits effort to serve its growing customers better in a revolutionary way,Etisalat Nigeria, has emerged with ‘The Geek Force’, a solution service, whichdebuted recently in the garden city of Port Harcourt.

Speakingat the event, The Regional Head South South and South East, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr Enekwacha Ajah said, the service is open toall Etisalat customers and it is rendered free to all customers provided theproduct is still within the warranty period and if necessary, the Geeks canassist in replacing the product.

“As an innovative telecommunications company,we want to extend our customer support beyond simply providing network servicesand support but we also want to go the extra mile to give our customers supportwith their hardware challenges when it comes to their mobile devices.”

Accordingto Ajah, Etisalat is partnering withOriginal Electronics Manufacturers (OEM) to train their technical staffintensively on how to solve problems related to their devices.

Theservice is not only limited to repair of faulty devices but they can alsoassist in “Pimping up” of smartphones and other devices with songs, games andapplications for the customers delight.

Thelaunch event which was held at the Etisalat office in , Port Harcourt gavecustomers a chance to not only get their device issues solved but there was araffle draw in which customers won mobile phones and other fantastic prizes.

MrsRhoda Dan-Jumbo, one of the winners of a Blackberry Phone was elated as she expressed her joy.

“I was so surprised I just came in today tobuy a modem and I won a new phone. Thank you Etisalat.”

Anotherwinner Mr. Martins Ngerem thanked Etisalat for the opportunity to win andwished them more success on the road ahead.

Customerswho were at the event were also given various prizes for every purchase made atthe centre.

Etisalatplans to extend the Geek Force services to other locations including salesoutlets of device manufacturers in order to afford Etisalat customers theopportunity to experience the new service.

TheGeek Force launch was also launched in other major locations in Lagos, Abuja and Kaduna.

Etisalat reaches 10 million subscriber mark

2011-11-17T11:40:00.001+01:00

Etisalat, Nigeria’s fastest growing Telecommunications Company, has announced reaching a subscriber base of 10million in three years of its service in Nigeria. This announcement comes on theheels of the rollout of the 3.75G HSPA+ network and the third anniversarycelebration.

Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Steven Evans,said at special event to mark the milestone that the firm had been able to reach the subscriber base due to a robust network rollout and provision of high-quality service wherever it was present.

“We realized early that network coverage and quality of service go handand hand, and that coverage is a major consideration for subscribers who wishto join our network, so we embarked on an aggressive roll-out campaign to cover9ja with our quality network. This strategy paid off and has made it possiblefor us to effectively compete with the older players in this market”.

He further explained that from the initial seven launch cities,Etisalat has covered 523 major cities and towns; 2716 satellite communities and111 roads; spreading from north to south, east to west, and all across Nigeria.Locations such as Damaturu, Isiala-Ngwa, Ogbomosho, Jimeta, Amaigbo, Owo, Oron,Shendam, Boki, Sapele, Parakou, Lanlate amongst others have been covered by theEtisalat network.

“We are proud to announce that Etisalat is covering Nigeriawith quality service. In just 3 years of operation, we have now reached themagical 10 million subscribers and we are simply the fastest growing telecomscompany in Nigeria. We say a big thank you to 9ja for giving us the opportunityto become their network of choice” continued Evans.

From a relatively unknown brand launched on the 23rd ofOctober, 2008, Etisalat has grown to become 9ja’s favourite brand meeting theaspirations of its esteemed customers and challenging the status quo to whathad become the accepted standard for mobile operators.

With a promise to deliver innovative and quality services inNigeria since inception, Etisalat launched with the famous 0809uchoose offeringclosely followed by the 0809ja brand campaigns which endeared many Nigerians toits brand.

Since then, Nigeria has continued to witness its innovativeservices including – Homezone, Receiver Pays, Recharge others, You & Me onits easy starter product; Cliq for the day, Cliq for the week, unlimited SMS,facebook updates by SMS and MMS on easy cliq; and Bonus on incoming calls – aunique product feature available to subscribers of its easy starter and easycliq products. Etisalat redefined speed with the recent roll-out of the unique3.75G HSPA+ network and launch of the Gaga Android smartphone, an Etisalatcustomized 3G-enabled device which operates on android 2.2.

Today, Etisalat Nigeria has network coverage in all thestates of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Thecompany has made a substantial direct investment in infrastructure with asignificant portion deployed into the construction of the GSM networkinfrastructure and the introduction of HSPA+ technology which will deliverreliable high quality service

Nokia Unveils New Technology for Browsing

2011-11-11T17:47:00.001+01:00

Aspart of its commitment to connect the next billion to the internet using mobiletechnology, Nokia, World’s leading manufacturer of mobile phones has developeda browser that speeds up connection to the internet via the mobile phone. Builtwith the proxy server technology, access to the internet is at least 90 timesfaster than the regular browsers that mobile phone users have been accustomedto.

NokiaServices Manager for West Africa Mr. Olumide Balogun made this known during aninteractive session with journalists in Lagos. He disclosed that the new Nokiabrowser, which will be preloaded on most Nokia devices, is designed to saveconsumers money and fit web pages to design screens. Proxy servers take care ofthe compression before delivering compressed payload to the consumer. Accordingto Mr. Balogun, Nokia Browser compresses and optimizes web content so thatconsumers can browse the web more quickly and save on data costs. He said the Nokiabrowser has 3 viewing modes i.e Column, Page view and PC view.

TheNokia Services manager was of the view that the future of ICT is increasinglybecoming mobile. According to him, modern day challenges demand that people areconnected to the internet on-the-go using their mobile devices. He said Nokiahas therefore decided to become the catalyst for this trend with its ambitiousplan to connect the next billion to the internet using mobile technology.

TheNokia browser is default for browsers for the Nokia C2-03 while also accessiblevia collections folder for devices such as the Nokia C3. The Nokia browser isalso available for a good number of mid-range devices via the Nokia store. Speakingfurther on the Nokia browser, Mr. Balogun explained that the Featured tab onthe Nokia browser contains links (Social network, News, Entertainment,Information and Web apps) that Nokia recommends to you, such as local websitesand services. Nokia Browser starts pages helps the consumer to find the bestcontent, suggesting locally relevant links to deliver relevant content.

Nokia Keen on African Market

2011-11-03T11:05:00.002+01:00

Nokia has statedit has a broad portfolio of mobile devices specifically targeted at the Africanmarket for its African market. Blanca Juti Nokia’s Vice President ProductMarketing Mobile Phones made this known during the just concluded Nokia Worldconference held in London. According to her, Nokia acknowledges that eventhough most people in the continent have the aspiration and the need tocommunicate, not everyone can afford a supper high phone that is why thecompany has designed a broad range to phone types to meet the needs of thesepeople.

“We obviously asa company have a broad portfolio which goes from the lowest to the highest range, and since Africa is an emerging market in terms of Smartphone users, thecompany’s focus is to design various phones to meet their consumersaspirations,” Blanca Juti said.

Nokia is aglobal leader in mobile communications whose products have become an integralpart of the lives of people around the world. Nokia’s technological and designinnovations have made its brand one of the most recognized in the world andAfrica in particular.

The Nokiaexecutive said “Africa is extremely important to Nokia, in that the continenthas the highest growth and it’s still a penetrating market with so muchpotential”.At the Nokia World, thecompany introduced its first two smartphones - Nokia Lumia 800 and Nokia Lumia710 based on Windows Phone as well as the Nokia Asha range of phones.

According to MsJuti introducing the new smart phones means Nokia sees a great opportunityahead and it’s repositioning itself to take advantage of it.

“Focusing on thenew Nokia range of phones, you can see the hunger to succeed to do well in thecompetitive market in which we find ourselves, and to build on what we have,”Ms Juti added.

During the Nokiaevent, the company showcased the Nokia Car Mode, which it announced inSeptember this year with Internationale Automobil Ausstellung.

Blanca Juti

The Nokia CarMode is a standalone application optimized for the in-car use of Nokiasmartphones.

It features anoptimized user interface simplifying the access and use of Nokia Drive(voice-guided car navigation with Nokia Maps), traffic updates, music and voicecalls while driving.

The integrationof smartphones and their capabilities into cars is playing an important part inNokia’s Location & Commerce business strategy, extending the existingecosystem and thus providing benefits and opportunities for consumers,automotive companies, application developers and advertisers alike.

Etisalat celebrates blackberry week with exciting gifts for customers

2011-11-03T09:46:00.000+01:00

Nigeria’s fastest growing telecommunication company,Etisalat Nigeria, has announced the kick-off of its Blackberry week as ademonstration of its commitment to thrill current and prospective customers onthe Blackberry service.

Starting 1st of November 2011, Blackberry week is designedto reward customers with exciting prizes as they make Blackberry relatedpurchases from any of the experience centres in Lagos.

Chief Commercial Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Wael Ammar, saidthe Blackberry week is to encourage customers to visit the Etisalat experiencecentres for their genuine devices and other Blackberry related purchases at areward.

According to Ammar, “this exercise is an opportunity toreward our customers with exciting gifts and prizes as soon as they make apurchase. The gifts on offers are in different categories depending on theitems bought. The Blackberry week will among other things provide subscriberswith the opportunity of getting genuine devices and other products from ourshops. ”

Under the Blackberry week programme, customers who walk intoEtisalat shops are informed of the activities and are rewarded with instantgift items at the purchase of a device. Gifts such as car chargers, Blackberryskins, wall chargers, free BIS subscription, Bluetooth headsets, airtimeamongst others, are to be won. The Blackberry week will end on Friday 8thNovember 2011.

Global mobile phone market grew 12.8% in Q3- IDC

2011-11-01T12:08:00.002+01:00

The worldwide mobile phone market grew 12.8 per centyear over year in the third quarter of 2011 according to the International DataCorporation (IDC) Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker.
The report also said smartphone growth declined inkey mature markets as vendors shipped 393.7 million units in the third quarterof 2011, compared to 348.9 million units in the same quarter previous year, thetracker said.
The IDC report also showed that the 12.8% growth washigher than its forecast of 9.3% for the quarter and stronger than the 9.8%growth in 2Q11, a reflection of delayed smartphone purchases and conservativeconsumer spending last quarter.
The shipment volume declined on a year-over-yearbasis in economically mature regions, such as the US and Western Europe, whichwere hardest hit.
IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker senior researchanalyst Kevin Restivo said the combination of economic uncertainty andanticipation over fourth quarter or late third quarter product releases causedsome consumers to delay their smartphone purchases.
"Many waited for products such as the iPhone4S, which was announced after the quarter closed, or Research In Motion'sBlackBerry 7 phone series, which were released in the final weeks of thequarter," Restivo said.
In Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) (APeJ), featurephones recovered in the third quarter, while in Japan, the market reboundedsharply after two quarters of either low single-digit growth or outright marketdecline following the natural disasters this spring.
The Western European phone market declined as aresult of lower demand for both feature phones and smartphones. The smartphonedevice type growth was mainly driven by mid-tier Android devices.
Overall the Central Europe, Middle East and Africa(CEMA) markets showed strong growth due in large part to Nokia's rebound in theregions.
Nokia had a very strong Q3 2011 due to feature phonegrowth, while niche smartphone brand HTC did particularly well in some markets,including Russia, as well as RIM continues to make progress in the Middle Eastand Africa, but fared less well in Central and Eastern Europe.
The Latin America market growth was driven bysmartphones though some users delayed purchases in anticipation of new herodevice launches in the region.
Nokia reversed a global market share on a sequentialbasis last quarter primarily due to stronger feature phone sales, while Samsungregistered double-digit growth compared to the third quarter a year ago andalso outpaced the market, driven by the Galaxy S2 sales.
LG Electronics maintained its position as the number3 mobile vendor worldwide, followed by ZTE, while apple gained share and postedthe third-highest growth rate of any Top 5 vendor but dropped to the number 5position globally.

Transcorp Announces More Appointments in Leadership

2011-10-25T10:02:00.001+01:00

Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp)announced today that it has made changes in the leadership of the company.Transcorp’s Board of Directors appointed Obinna Ufudo as President and CEOeffective immediately. Chibundu Edozie was also named to Transcorp’s Board ofDirectors.

Until his new appointment, Mr. Ufudo was the Chief OperatingOfficer at Heirs Holdings Group where he focused on establishing and runningoperations across the Group including HH Capital and Tenoil Petroleum &Energy Services. His professional experience in the treasury management,business strategy and investment banking industries spans over 16 years.

In addition to his new position, Mr. Edozie is the GroupDeputy Managing Director of BGL Plc. He oversees the strategic businessplatform for the company’s asset management, private equity, securities andinvestment banking divisions. A geologist by training, he has over 18 years’experience in the capital markets and investment banking industry and is anappointee by the Federal Ministry of Finance to the Committee on the Review ofthe Investment and Securities Act (ISA).

Also joining the Transcorp Group as Director of Resources isDupe Kupoluyi Olusola. Her expertise is in private equity, business developmentand financial advisory services in emerging markets, particularly in WestAfrica and Europe. Mrs. Olusola has extensive experience in investor relationsand is a PMI-certified and Prince 2 Practitioner project manager.

“Transcorp places great emphasis on attracting top talent tolead the company to its next stage of growth and development.” said Tony O.Elumelu, MFR, Chairman of Transcorp. “Our board is convinced that Obinna is theright person to help lead the Group forward.”

Mikano Donates 10KVA Generator to Airtel’s adopted Public School

2011-10-25T09:49:00.002+01:00

Mikano limited has donated 10KVA generator insupport of Airtel Adopt-A-School programme to Oremeji Primary School 2 inAjegunle, Lagos state. The primary school is a major beneficiary of Airtel’sAdopt-A-School Programme; the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)initiative aimed at uplifting primary education across Nigeria.

The donation is in fulfillment of Airtel’scommitment to continue to play an integral role in the development of theschool, which it adopted in February this year

Making the presentation on behalf of the company,the Director, Corporate Communications & CSR, Mr Emeka Oparah said theAirtel will continue to provide the school with the necessary infrastructure tocreate a conducive environment for teaching and learning, as it presents thepupils the best opportunity to realise their dreams of becoming leaders oftomorrow.

Oparah, who was represented by the Manager, CSR,Chinda Manjor, explained that “as a responsible corporate citizen, it isimperative that we support government agenda to empower people in thecommunities where we serve. That is why we are investing towards qualitativeeducation at the primary level, a concern, which is outside our scope ofdelivering innovative and affordable telecommunications services to Nigerians”

The Education Secretary for Ajeromi/Ifelodun LGA,Hon Adewale Adeogun, who received the item on behalf of State UniversalEducation Board (SUBEB), thanked Airtel for the donation, saying the gesturecame at the right time and promised that the generator will be put to judicioususe by the school authorities, for the betterment of the pupils of the school.

The Headmistress of the school, Mrs. Aduni RisikatuAnimashaun who could not hide her joy, also acknowledged the variouscontributions so far made by Airtel towards uplifting the standard of primaryeducation in the state and expressed appreciation at the deliberate effortsmade by to company to improve the lot of the underprivileged pupils.butwill give the people in these rural communities the additional advantage ofelectricity and refrigeration.”

The generator is just a part of the goodwill Airtelis doling out to Oremeji Primary School. Last May, the new multi-million ultramodern six classroom block, with borehole and lavatory facilities, wascommissioned. As part of the programme, Airtel also provides school uniforms,furniture, books and school bags for the children

Etisalat at Three: Our Customers Are At the Centre of Our World - Evans

2011-10-24T15:07:00.002+01:00

The Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. StevenEvans, has said that the success achieved by the company in the last threeyears has been driven by the development of a clear strategy which is basedaround putting customers at the centre of their operations.

At a media chat held recently in Lagos to convey Etisalat’sappreciation to every stakeholder group for its role in the brand’s success,the telecommunications chief said that the company has made its mark indelivering customers with innovative products and services on the back of ahigh quality reliable network.

Said Evans, “As a company with different innovative productsand services, Etisalat has remained the ultimate picture of success in justthree years of operation in Nigeria, growing its appeal to people across thegeographical locations of the country, cultural, ideological or class dividesat a speed that rarely any telecommunications company has been able toreplicate. We want to ensure that we operate efficiently as a business in orderto offer our products and services at extremely competitive prices. In otherwords, let’s give our customers innovative products and services that meettheir needs, a reliable network and the best value possible”.

Highlighting the significance of this important milestone inthe history of Etisalat, Evans further explained that the company iscelebrating 3 years of providing world class quality service with a clearcommitment to enhancing people’s lives in Nigeria.

According to Evans, “It is no secret that Etisalat has aunique distinction of being Nigeria’s fastest growing and the most innovativenetwork in the country, and this is evident in the numerous awards we havereceived in the three years we have been around. Awards such as ‘MostInnovative Mobile Operator by ICT Alliance in 2011 and Telecoms InnovativeCompany of the Year at the 7th Nigerian Telecoms Awards in 2011”.

Etisalat Nigeria commenced commercial operations on 23October 2008 in 7 cities. With a promise to deliver innovative and qualityservices in Nigeria, Etisalat launched with the famous 0809uchoose offeringclosely followed by the 0809ja brand campaigns which endeared many Nigerians toits brand.

Since then, Nigeria has continued to witness its innovativeservices including - Homezone, Receiver Pays, Recharge others, You & Me onits easy starter product; Cliq for the day, Cliq for the week, unlimited SMS,facebook updates by SMS and MMS on easy cliq; and Bonus on incoming calls - aunique product feature available to subscribers of its easy starter and easycliq products. Etisalat redefined speed with the recent roll-out of the unique3.75G HSPA+ network and launch of the Gaga Android smartphone, an Etisalatcustomized 3G-enabled device which operates on android 2.2.

Today, Etisalat Nigeria has network coverage in all thestates of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Thisgreat feat was achieved under a year and half of commercial operations andproof that customers are at the centre of the Etisalat business.

Beyond the business of telephony, Etisalat is a leader onSustainability and an active citizen in the local communities where itoperates. The company’s commitment to impacting the society positively isdemonstrated through their CSR activities which they started implementing evenbefore making income – an unprecedented achievement in the history of CSR inNigeria.

Etisalat Nigeria’s values of caring, optimism and simplicityand its entire business, is built on the four pillars of quality services,innovation, customer focus and operational excellence.

Etisalat’s vision is a world where people’s reach is notlimited by matter or distance; a world where people will effortlessly stay intouch with family and friends; a world where businesses of all sizes can reachnew markets without the limitations of distance and travel

VISAFONE Wins Best CDMA Award

2011-10-21T12:40:00.000+01:00

Visafone Communications Limited, leading Code Division and Multiple Access (CDMA) network in the country has emerged as the Insider Magazine’s Best CDMA network nationwide.

The award ceremony which coincided with the Insider Magazine’s 10 year anniversary yesterday in Abuja, also witnessed the conferment of other awards to Governors Babatunde Fashola of Lagos; Ibrahim Idris of Kogi and Delta State’s Emmanuel Uduaghan and Business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote.

While conferring the award on Visafone, Senator Ben Obi said “the Insider Weekly Magazine Merit Award presented to Visafone is in recognition of your outstanding services and contributions to the society.”

Speaking to newsmen after the award, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) Srinivasa K.V said the awards the network has been receiving this year are a strong statement buttressing the leadership role the company is taking in providing voice clarity and data.

According to him, “we are in the forefront of providing quality of service and superfast data in this business and we are capping that with a clear customer experience reinforced through our 83 retails shops spread across 26 states and 71 cities nationwide.”

It will be recalled that, only a fortnight ago, VISAFONE also won the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) award for the network with the widest spread in terms of retail outlets, shop and consumer experience and friendly initiatives.
VISAFONE has won several awards like ICT company of the year AWARD at the 2009 THISDAY AWARDS; LEADERSHIP CDMA OPERATOR OF THE YEAR 2008 and was conferred with the BEST CDMA OPERATOR OF THE YEAR 2008 AWARD BY THE LEADERSHIP NEWSPAPERS in 2008.

In 2009, VISAFONE was named CDMA COMPANY OF THE YEAR at the TITANS OF TECH ICT MERIT AWARDS and the Founder of the company, JIM OVIA, was also inducted into the ICT HALL of FAME.

Etisalat Nigeria Announces Three-Day Free Services for BlackBerry Customers

2011-10-21T08:59:00.003+01:00

Nigeria’s fastest growing Telecommunications company, Etisalat, hasannounced today that it will compensate its BlackBerry customers on bothpre-paid and post paid accounts following a widespread outage reported byBlackBerry’s manufacturer Research-in-Motion (RIM). Prepaid customers will receive the equivalentof three days free usage, while monthly bills of post paid subscribers will be adjustedto reflect the additional three days.

Chief CommercialOfficer, Etisalat Nigeria, Wael Ammar said, “Keeping our customers satisfied isa priority for us and given the exceptional and extraordinary circumstances, weare compensating our BlackBerry users to demonstrate our care for their loyaltyto our company.

A massive 3 days outage ofBlackBerry data services occurred in Europe, the Middle East and Africa betweenMonday, 10^th to Wednesday 12^th of October 2011. TheBlackberry Internet Service (BIS) — comprising Blackberry Messenger (BBM),email and web services — was affected and potentially affected millions, giventhat Research In Motion's declared subscriber base worldwide about 70 million.

Airtel CEO calls for declaration of telecoms facilities as National Infrastructure

2011-10-20T09:26:00.002+01:00

The Chief Executive Officer and Managing Directorof Airtel Nigeria, Rajan Swaroop has called on the Federal Government to issuea National Policy on Communications (NPC) that incorporates government’scommitment and resolve towards the development of broadband in the country.

Speaking at the ongoing 3^rd WestAfrican Information & Communications Technology Congress (WAFICT 2011) heldat the Eko Hotel & Suites in Lagos, yesterday, Swaroop said thepresent National Policy on Telecommunication (NPT) issued in 2000, apre-Broadband era, does not effectively capture the required framework thatwill boost broadband uptake and development in the country, and therefore,recommended a review of existing guidelines.

He explained that countries that have recorded monumentalsuccess in the area of broadband development and penetration started byinitiating favourable policies accompanied by smart regulations.

Mr. Swaroop cited examples from countries such asFinland, Malaysia, Morocco, Sweden and the United States of America to buttresshis point, arguing that strong regulations and right policies enabledsuccessful penetration of broadband in those countries.

He referred to a similar policy in Finland, whichdeclared Broadband a legal right in 2009, and entitled every person to haveaccess to 1Mbps Internet Connectivity by 2010 while Malaysia had a singularpolicy goal to deliver a High Speed Broadband (HSBB) Network to cover majorcities and towns in the first phase and boost Broadband household penetrationto 50% by 2010.

The Airtel CEO, who hinted that his company iscommitted to partnering with Government to attain the next level of growth forBroadband, also outlined other strategies that can help develop the telecomsand broadband industry,.

Swaroop also reiterated his earlier call for thedeclaration of Telecom Infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure justas he canvassed for the discouragement of Multiple Taxes and Fees by States andLocal Governments.

He also advocated for the pragmatic implementationof policy and regulatory convergence. In this instance, he called for a mergerbetween the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the NigerianCommunications Commission (NCC), stating the future is in convergence and it isabsolutely necessary for both organizations to come together.

Theevent, WAFICT 2011, will run till Thursday, October 20^th, 2011. Theopening session yesterday attracted several bigwigs in the telecoms sectorincluding several captains of industry.

ICANN to Manage Time Zone Database

2011-10-18T12:06:00.002+01:00

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers(ICANN) today took over operation of an

Internet Time Zone Database that is used by a number ofmajor computer systems.

ICANN agreed to manage the database after receiving arequest from the Internet Engineering Task

Force (IETF).

The database contains time zone code and data that computerprograms and operating systems such as Unix, Linux, Java, and Oracle rely on todetermine the correct time for a given location. Modifications to the database occurfrequently throughout the year.

"The time zone database is used by a large number ofcommercial operating systems and the software applications,” said Russ Housely,chairman of the IETF.

“Incorrect time zone information will impact many everydayactivities, including meeting and conference call coordination, airplane andtrain schedules, physical package delivery notices, and astronomicalobservatories."

For nearly three decades, the TZ Database had beenmaintained by a group of dedicated volunteers, in particular, Arthur DavidOlson at the US National Institutes of Health. Olson coordinated the group, managed the data, and created a platformfor their release. Olson’s announcedretirement prompted the IETF to turn to ICANN to ensure continued operation ofthe database.

"The Time Zone Database provides an essential serviceon the Internet and keeping it operational falls within ICANN’s mission ofmaintaining a stable and dependable Internet,” said Akram Atallah, ICANN's ChiefOperating Officer.

Bayelsa adopts Zinox whizkid, distributes to students and teachers

2011-10-18T08:57:00.002+01:00

The wife of Bayelsa State Governor, Mrs Alanyingi Sylva, in partnership with Zinox computers, recently,donated Zinox Whizkid laptops tosecondary school students, teachers and principals in the state.

Zinox Whizkid is a high-techcomputer loaded with about 2,000,000 e-books, 23,000 audio books in MP3 formatcovering all subjects, and also over 100,000 past simulation questions fromJAMB, NECO, WAEC, and POST-UME.

The Managing Director of Zinox Computers,Mr. Emomine Mukoro commended the First Lady for acting decisively by joiningother national efforts to halt the recurring poor performance in JAMB, WAEC,NECO, and Post UME examinations. Mr. Mukoro praised her Excellency for thepassion to revive the dwindling reading culture in Nigeria.

In her response, Mrs Sylvaemphasized her belief in the power of knowledge, called on the students toleverage on the opportunity presented to them. She called on otherorganizations, corporate bodies, and multi-nationals to support the nobleventure which will spread across the State in a drive to conquer the menace ofexam failure in schools. Her Excellency said that access to these tools ofknowledge would most likely nurture a new generation of Bayelsa graduates fromsecondary schools and eventually result in a more resourceful and confidentcitizenry.

In his contribution the HouseCommittee Chairman on Education, Hon. Jonathan Obuebite charged the students tobe focused and take advantage of the opportunity presented to them. TheChairman of SUBEB Bayelsa, Barrister White, commended the First Lady for herefforts in improving the educational standard in the state.

The Chairman of Zinox, Leo StanEkeh, commenting on the intervention by the wife of the Governor of BayelsaState, Mrs. Sylva, said that the adoption of the Zinox Whizkid would lead tochanges that could be compared to a miracle. He explained that as knowledgeincubators, Zinox was always developing platforms that would benefit the entirenation. Leo Stan Ekeh said that as a result of the high failure rate in JAMB,NECO WAEC or Post UME, Zinox decided to develop critical content. Zinox worked withworld e-books and the Zinox Whizkid has 2,000,000 books online. It has over100,000 simulated exam questions and answers and any child who manages to gothrough 60% of the questions and answers will score at least 80% success or geta refund of the cost of the software. He explained that the 100,000 pastquestions and answers can be accessed offline, that is without internet. “WhatZinox is doing is to help governments at all levels to provide these tools thatforce a return to the reading culture on a digital platform.” Zinox, theChairman said is helping the nation to build a strong foundation in order toprovoke growth.

Secondaryschools that benefitted from the scheme are: BDGS Ovom, Yenagoa, Saint Jude’sGirls secondary school, Yenagoa, Nembe Grammar school Nembe, Basic Juniorsecondary school, Okpoama, Government secondary school, Twon-Brass and Epie secondaryschool Opolo, Yenagoa.

Airtel Compensates its BlackBerry Users in Nigeria after Global Outage

2011-10-17T14:40:00.001+01:00

Airtel announced today that it will offer its BlackBerrycustomers a service waiver following last week’s global outage attributed tothe service provider, Research in Motion (RIM).

Research in Motion has now fully restored data services toits BlackBerry devices. The BlackBerry outage was caused by a hardware errorwhich halted messaging and Web browsing across many parts of the world,disrupting services for 3 days. The disruptions began in Europe, the MiddleEast, Africa and India early in the week and later spread to North America.

Mr. Rajan Swaroop, the Chief Executive Officer and ManagingDirector of Airtel Nigeria stated: “We remain concerned about the inconveniencethis has caused to all our BlackBerry users earlier this week and we would liketo compensate both our pre-paid and post-paid customers for the inconvenienceas best we can.

“For our pre-paid customers, we will extend the subscriptionof the services for the month of October by three days. We are communicatingthis to the affected customers through sms.”

Swaroop added, “For our Post Paid customers, who arecustomers paying their bills at the end of every month, we will waive threedays off the BlackBerry monthly rental for the month of October. The three daywaiver will be reflected in the monthly bill sent to all our post paidBlackBerry users for the month of October.”

Airtel clarified that although the root cause emanated fromthe global provider of the services, the telco service provider was willing tooffer the extension as a token compensation for its customers.

9th Annual ICT quiz held in Kano

2011-10-17T10:13:00.000+01:00

AbdullahiIsma’il

After holdingpreliminary ICT competitions in Jigawa and Bauchi states, the Centre forInformation Technology and Development (CITAD), Kano conducted Kano 9^thAnnual ICT Quiz as part of the preliminary series to select three secondaryschools that will represent the state at the National ICT Quiz.

The occasionwhich took place at the Multi Purpose Hall, Digital Bridge Institute, KanoCampus witnessed the presence several dignitaries including Hajiya Ladidi SaniFagge who represented the Director General, Kano State Senior Secondary SchoolManagement Board (KSSSSMB), Alhaji Ibrahim Muhammad Ibrahim who represented AlhajiSagir Muhammad, the Managing Director of Intersystem, Malam Sadiq ImamAbdullahi of Ministry of Science and Technology, Kano, Malam Mahadi Garba Dokawho represented the Provost of Federal College of Education (Technical) Bichi,Alhaji Adamu Aliyu Wari and Malam Usman A. Usman representative of Engineer Femi Afolabi, theChief Executive Officer, Only Computers Limited, Kano.

Otherdistinguished personalities that witnessed the occasion were Malam Ahmad Baitaand Malam Murtala Muhammad representatives of the Vice Chancellor, Kano University of Science and Technology (KUST)Wudil, Malama Rabi Isma, Special Adviser to Kano State Governor on CivilSociety Organizations, Malam Auwal Abdullahi Tudun Wada and Malam MuhammadBashir Yahaya representatives ofDirectorate of Youth Development, Kano, Mr. James Audu, Mr. Adeola Allen andMalam Umar Abdullahi of Hands on Institute of Information Technology (HIIT),Kano among others.

The ICTcompetition hosted twenty three senior secondary schools from all parts of KanoState and forty six contestants wrestled to emerge victorious of the 9^thICT competition in Kano. The competition was divided into two excitingsessions; morning and afternoon.

In the welcomeaddress at the opening ceremony, the Executive Director of CITAD, Y.Z Yau who was represented by Malam Ahmad AbdullahiYakasai the significant of ICT is thoroughly unveiled especially in the area ofeducational institution. He stated that without ICT skills learning will not beeffective and that already institution of learning themselves are migratingmany of their processes including student-teacher interaction online, meaningthose who have no online skills will be left out. In addition the paper calledon the state government to pay attention to the provision of ICT facilities. Healso announced the introduction of new innovations of rewarding the winningschool with a school website instead of the traditional laptop, and provingpersonal prizes for the finalists.

In his remarksAlhaji Adamu Aliyu Wari, the Chairman of the occasion (Morning Session) urgedthe students participating in the quiz to put more efforts towards acquiringICT knowledge as the entire world was now reduced into a smaller global village.Alhaji Aliyu called on the government and the elite to always contribute in thearea of ICT education by providing ICT gadgets to institutions of learning.

In another paperpresented at the occasion by Malam Ahmad Baita Garko, on behalf of the ViceChancellor, Kano State University and Science and Technology, industrializationused to be seen as a factor measuring country’s economic strength but nowadaysICT wais gradually replacing it. A good example, according to the paper, is theICT giants among the developing nations are the Asian countries of India, Malaysia,China, Indonesia, and Singapore among others. The paperviewed ATM Machine in the Banking sector, the e-learning, e-registration ande-library in the academic arena as few of the changes brought by the wind ofICT in Nigeria.Malam Baita expressed appreciation for the organizers of the quiz and said thatKUST is ready to partner with CITAD in making Nigerian ICT complaints

The studentswere also urged to redouble their efforts in acquiring ICT knowledge. This wascontained in a speech delivered by Malama Rabi Isma, the Special Adviser toKano State Governor on Civil Societies. Malama Rabi stated that ICT was inevery profession and every aspect of human endeavor and therefore stressed theneed for the students to acquire ICT knowledge in order to be able to face thechallenges ahead of them

Malam Auwalu AbdullahiTudun Wada who represented the Director General, Ministry of Youth Development,Kano revealed that the ICT Quiz was one of the most interesting innovations forstudents to acquire ICT knowledge. Malam Auwal commended the organizers forhosting the Kano9^th Annual ICT competition and promised that his Directorate willsupport the ICT Quiz in the future

Mr. AdemolaAllen of Hands on Institute of Information Technology (HiiT) Kano commended CITAD for a job well done andoffered a free scholarship for Certificate in Information Technology (CIT) forthe two students of the winning school. Mr. Allen added that HiiT offered 70% discountfor the two students of first-runner up school and 50% discount for the studentsof the second up school respectively

The students onthe other hand were urged to double their efforts towards learning by theDeputy Director of the Ministry of Science and Technology. The Deputy Director,Malam Sadiq Imam Abubakar said that the students were living in a moderncomplex society where competition was everywhere, in a situation where bystudents do not have proper education, life could be miserable. Malam Sadiqtherefore stressed the need for the students to acquire knowledge especiallyICT based

After thedelivery of speeches, the Chairman of the Kano9^th Annual Quiz Alhaji Adamu Aliyu Wari declared competition openedat about 11.52pm. The competition hosted twenty three senior secondary. Belowis the list of the schools:

GovernmentTechnical College Kano, Government Girls College Dala, Government SeniorSecondary School Dala, Government GirlsSenior Secondary School Shekara, Government Girls Arabic Senior Secondary School Tudun Wada, Government Senior Secondary School Sabuwar Kofa,Government Girls Senior Secondary SchoolSani Mai Negge, Government Girls CollegeGwale, Dawakin Tofa Science College, Day Science College, Government Girls College Gezawa, Government Senior Secondary School Tarauni, GirlsScience Techical College, Aminu Kano Commercial College Goron Dutse, Government Senior Secondary School Kawaji,Government Girls Arabic Secondary SchoolKawaji, Government Senior SecondarySchool Stadium, Government Girls SeniorSecondary School Yar Gaya, Government Girls Unity College Kachako, Government Girls College (WTC) Kano, Government Girls Senior Secondary School Giginyu, Kano Foundation Girls SecondarySchool Bebeji, and Government Senior Secondary School Dawakin Tofa.

The schools weregrouped into two: Group A, contained twelve schools while Group B containedeleven schools, each group held four exciting rounds at the end of which threeschools from each group emerged out as winner for the final round. From GroupA, Day Science Kano scored 8 points and was on top of the group; Dawakin TofaScience College, score 6 points ended second, followed by Girls TechnicalCollege Kano, which came at the bottom with 4 points.

In group B, Kano FoundationGirls SeniorSecondary School, (KFGSSS) Bebeji wasthe first to emerge out of the group with 8 points, followed by Aminu Kano Commercial College,(AKCCC) Goron Dutse, Kano with 6 points and Government Girls Unity College, Kachako (GGUC)ended at the bottom of the group with 4 points

In the finalround of the quiz, Day Science College Kano set a new record wining all the pointsin all the rounds, earning twelve points and becoming the winner of the 2011 Kano 9^th AnnualQuiz

Government Technical CollegeKano, with 10 points, won the second placeposition while Foundation Girls Senior Secondary School, won thethird place position with 6 points.

Rewarding thewinning schools, contestants, and their teachers has since been the traditionof the quiz organizers. CITAD had therefore lined up prizes for the winningschools, contestants and teachers. Presentation of the prizes immediately beganafter the conclusion of the quiz, thus;

First position, a website donated by CITAD won by Day Science Kano, and presented to the school by Mal. Auwal Abdullahi Tudun Wada of Directorate of Youth Development
Second position, laptop donated by Engineer Femi Afalobi, CEO/MD Only Computers Limited, Kano won by Government Technical College, Kano and presented to the school by Malam Mahadi Garba Doka of Federal College of Education (Technical) Bichi
Third position, printer donated by Alh. Sagir Muhammad, CEO/MD Intersystem, Kano, won by Foundation Girls Senior Secondary School, Bebeji and presented to the school by Hajiya Ladidi Sani Fagge who represented the Director General, Kano Senior Secondary Schools Management Board, Kano

Other prizes consistedof Refurbished Desktop as the prize for the Best Performing Student donated byCITAD, Hamza Lawan Abdullahi of DayScience Kano won the prize which was presented to him by Muhammad Bashir Yahayaof the Directorate of Youth Development, Kano. Amina Muhammad Isa of Foundation Girls Senior Secondary School, won theprize for the Best Female Participating Student, a color Television Set,donated by CITAD, which was presented to her by Mallam Ahmad Abdullahi Yakasaiof CITAD.

Additionally,the prize for the Teacher of the winning school, a scanner donated by CITADwent to Malam Abdulfatah Muhammad of DayScience Kano. Malam Ado Bala Bichi of Government TechnicalCollege, Kanoand Mrs. Mrs. Asibi Yahaya of FoundationGirls SeniorSecondary School, Bebeji, Kano won i-Pod eachdonated by CITAD as the prize of the teacher of the first and second runner upschools respectively

The finalistsHamza Lawan Abdullahi and Abdulwahid Garba Rabi’u (Day Science, Kano), Aminu Alhassan Lawan and Umar Habib Shu’aibu (Government TechnicalCollege, Kano)Amina Muhammad Isa and Asma’u Umar (FoundationGirls SeniorSecondary School, Kano) received each personal gift of clothingmaterials donated by CITAD

After thepresentations and distributions of these prizes and gifts, Malam AuwalAbdullahi Tudun Wada stressed at the end of the occasion the need for studentsto work hard and acquire ICT knowledge. Malam Auwal restated that Directoratefor Youth Development will assist in organizing the future ICT quiz

In the closing remarksby Malam Ahmad A. Yakasai, the quiz master urged the participating students towork harder in order to be able to become winners of the ICT quiz in the near future

Malam Ahmadexpressed gratitude to Digital Bridge Institute, Kano State Senior SecondarySchool Management Board, Ministry of Science and Technology, Special Adviser onCivil Society Organizations to Kano State Governor, Only Computers Limited,Intersystem, Mediwat, Kano University of Science and Technology, Wudil, FederalCollege of Education (Technical) Bichi, HiiT, Kano, Directorate of YouthDevelopment, Kano, teachers and students of the participating schools, themedia, the quiz team and everyone that contributed to the success of the 9^thAnnual ICT quiz in Kano

Etisalat Secures Exclusive Rights for 3G Gaga Smartphone in Nigeria

2011-10-14T16:50:00.003+01:00

EtisalatNigeria has secured the exclusive rights to the new entry level, 3G range ofU8180 Gaga Smartphone running on android 2.2 manufactured by HuaweiTechnologies.
This isintroduced alongside the recent national launch of 3G network as a packagebundled with Etisalat services.
The uniquepackage; being an affordable 3G Smartphone with access to thousands of freeonline applications requires an affordable high-end device to perform pocketdigital assistance functions for downloads of applications, e-mails-at-a-go,bigger memory size for storage, document viewing and editing-at-a-go etc viathe android market.
Speakingon the new device, Wael Ammar, Etisalat Chief Commercial Officer, said thisunique Smartphone is fully customized to Etisalat Nigeria’s network in terms ofhardware branding and software configuration.
“There iscurrently no operator in the country that is embarking on pushing 3G smartphonethe way we are planning on the Gaga Smartphone. Other operators currentlypartner with manufacturers and offer data bundles with the manufacturer’sdevice.”
Accordingto Ammar, the package will comprise of the device and value proposition fromEtisalat consisting both voice and data services, giving subscribers greatvalue for their money with access to online applications, games, books,entertainment, business, education, sports, health, travel, weather, music etc.
Featuresof the Huawei U8180 (Gaga) include android applications, 2.8 inch full capacitytouch screen, accelerometer functionality, WIFI functionality, document viewer,word, excel, PDF, Adobe flash Bluetooth function, FM radio and 3.2 MP camera.
EtisalatNigeria will be stocking these devices which is available to both old andnew subscribers as well as pre-paid and post-paid subscribers using this devicewhich is purchased from Etisalat Nigeria.

Etisalat Gives Out Over 450 Scholarship Grants to University Students

2011-10-14T16:41:00.003+01:00

(L-R): Acting Vice-Chancellor, Lagos State University, Prof. (Mrs.) Yemi Olatunji-Bello; Special Adviser to the Executive Governor of Lagos State, Otunba Fatai Olukoga; Chief ExecutIve Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Steve Evans; and Director, Brands and Communications, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Enitan Denloye at the Etisalat Merit Awards held at Oceanview, Lagos on Wednesday, October 12

As part of its corporate social corporate responsibility of giving back to society, leading telecommunications provider, Etisalat Nigeria has in less than three years given out over 450 scholarship grants to deserving students from universities across the country. The grants were given under its Merit Awards Scheme, a programme built on its core CSR platform of empowering Nigerian youths to obtain qualitative education.

About 80 of these university students on Thursday September 15 received their grants of N.1 million at the Etisalat Merit Awards regional presentation ceremony held at the Afficient Event Place in Kano. And like the students, their respective schools also received a grant of N1.1 million from the telecommunication giants. The schools include: University of Abuja, Bayero University Kano, Usaman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto; Kaduna State University, Benue State University; Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Kebbi State University of Science and Technology, and Federal University of Technology, Yola.

Speaking on the rationale behind the Merit Awards Scheme, Etisalat Nigeria CEO, Mr. Steven Evans described education as a powerful tool for change and economic growth. According to him, dynamic economies that have emerged in the last 30 years have done so on the back of heavy investment in education, saying that this has driven the company’s desire to support the government in improving the educational sector in Nigeria.

Evans who was represented at the event by Etisalat Nigeria’s Director of Government and Regulatory Affairs, Mr. Ibrahim Dikko, said the scheme was one of four major programmes on its education platform. The others include the Adopt-A-School initiative, Teacher Training Programme and the establishment of the Etisalat CSR Centre. He pointed out that the scheme focuses on tertiary education, rewarding and encouraging excellent academic performance. And the scheme appears to have paid off.

Ferdinand Enyereibe Nwaoha, a third-year student of the department of Electrical/Electronics Engineering of the University of Abuja, and two time winner of the award has already moved from being a second class upper student to being a first class student. His words: “The award has impacted on me positively, and in many ways. For instance, with the money from the scholarship, I was able to buy a brand new laptop and an internet modem, which has helped to broaden my means of studying. Now I can study with ease, as a lot of the challenges I had before had been eliminated. Now I can study and do my assignments online, while also keeping abreast of latest developments in my field of study.”

“I have also been forced to study harder, knowing that if I did well, Etisalat will reward me again, and that is what has happened. Last year, I came in as a second class upper student with a GP of 4.34, but this year, I came in as a first class student with a GP of 4.55, and that was from the encouragement I got from the award,” he said.

It was a similar story for Sherafdeen Muhammad, a third-year student of the department of Electrical Electronics of the Bayero University, Kano and two time winner. He thanked Etisalat for the award, saying that the award has impacted positively on his life, especially in his studies. According to him, the award has helped him in the purchase of text books, which he ordinarily wouldn’t have been able to afford due to their prices.

Speaking also at the event, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics), Bayero University, Kano, Prof. Muhammad Bello, commended Etisalat Nigeria for what it has done in the educational sector in less than three years, not only through the scholarship scheme, but also through its Adopt-A-School initiative and other programmes. He urged other corporate organizations to emulate Etisalat, arguing that if all corporate bodies can do half of what the company has done, the nation will be the better for it.

Customers Thumb Up New Etisalat 3.75G Easyblaze

2011-10-14T11:36:00.003+01:00

Thenewly introduced high speed data package which was recently launched by leadingtelecommunications provider, Etisalat Nigeria has continued to receive rave reviewsfrom Nigerians from all works of life.

Widely described asthe ultimate in broadband internet service, with a speed of about 42 mbps, theproduct appears to be a hit with subscribers, with customer satisfaction scoresat the highest they have ever been for any data-based product.

According to onethem, Mr. Olawola Ajibola, a regular internet service user, ‘’the Easyblaze isa winning proposition from Etisalat. “I'll be more than happy to pay for thisproduct as it is markedly better than what obtains in the market at the moment,and can be an ideal tool for business as a result of its speed,” he said.

Ajibola who wasspeaking during an exhibition of the new product at the Silverbird Galleria inVictoria Island commended Etisalat for bringing into the Nigerian market thefastest 3G modem that outshines the other 3G networks, adding that Etisalat hassurpassed expectation with regards to rendering quality services to itscustomers at affordable rates.

Another customer,Ikenna Nwaka, an I.T. professional who currently resides in Surulere alsocommended Etisalat for the launch of the product, describing its speed asamazing. His words: “This is a great product that eliminates any form ofstreaming problems. I had to come to the exhibition to test it, in order tobelieve and it is real.”

Speaking at theexhibition, Etisalat Nigeria’s Director of Products and Services for, Mr. LucasDada said the new Easyblaze will eliminate the numerous data processingchallenges faced by Nigerians. The exhibition, he said, was aimed at offeringNigerians the opportunity to confirm the superiority of Easyblaze over otherdata packages in the market at the moment.

“The new broadband data service, Easyblaze hastaken a giant stride in delivering internet service, which is second to none inthe telecommunications market. With a speed of up to 42MB, full musicdownloads, video-streaming, as well as, large sized files can now be accessedwithout delay,” he said.

Also speaking at the exhibition, Etisalat’sHead of Data and Service –VAS, Mr. Okung Ebiefie, stated that Easyblaze wasdesigned with the customer in mind, with a lot of time spent in research anddevelopment to provide one of the world’s simple, reliable and qualitybroadband internet service.

“The package has been launched in about 14cities in Nigeria, as the first phase of its roll-out. The second phase, whichhas already commenced will be spreading out to even more parts of the country.This results in a style parallel with that of Etisalat in innovation, deliveringexceptional and consistently excellent levels of internet service, “he said.

The exhibition endedon Thursday September 29.

Etisalat Re-defines Speed, Deploys easyblaze Broadband Internet Service

2011-10-14T11:25:00.001+01:00

Etisalat Nigeria hasintroduced its high speed Broadband internet service, called Easyblaze to its customersin Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, Kaduna, Zaria, Warri, Enugu, Aba,Awka, Nnewi, Onitsha and Benin. The rollout of the High Speed Packet Access(HSPA+) 3.75G technology offering speeds up to 42Mbps allows etisalatsubscribers achieve high speed internet access, faster file downloads, videocalling and streaming and other related activities.

The new easyblazebroadband internet service is sold with a wide range of data plans designed forall segments of the market. These plans can be used on a wide range of mobiledevices from smartphones, tablets, routers and USB modems, from the Etisalatportfolio. As an introductory offer, etisalat is offering free data bundleswith the purchase of any of these devices from any etisalat experience centrewith up to 6GB free data bundle available.

Speaking onthe deployment of the new technology, Etisalat Chief Executive Officer, StevenEvans said that the HSPA+ network launch is evidence of the substantialinvestment the telecommunication company has committed in response to customer’sneed. According to him, “After the successful deployment of voice services, thenext big thing is mobile broadband, and there’s a pent up demand for data servicesin this market and we are committed to meeting this demand of our subscribers. Thedeployment of 3.75G HSPA+ technology on our network is in line with thecompany’s vision of a world in which technology extends people’s reach on allfronts”.

“We have made a substantial direct investment ininfrastructure with a significant portion deployed into the construction of theGSM network infrastructure and the introduction of HSPA+ technology which willdeliver reliable high speed broadband that will represent a change in internetconnectivity and data transfer for our customers”, he added.

Substantiating the CEO’s position, the company’s Chief CommercialOfficer, Wael Ammar said, “Withthe launch of commercial data services based on HSPA+ technology, our customersare now in a position to enjoy compelling voice and data packages that keepthem atop of their business and personal lives. Our customers will now be ableto browse and access both information and entertainment on their devices. HSPA+spectrum will enable Etisalat offer more robust data services with theopportunity for better internet access speeds on mobile devices. As the pacesetter we have become in this market, our broadband internetservice will transform customers experience like never before, with value formoney spent.”

Ammar said that the next couple of months willwitness aggressive roll-out in major cities on Etisalat’s network whilesubsequent network expansion on the 3G spectrum will continue progressivelywith eventual coverage in major parts of the country over a period of time.“The roll-out will ensure that each geographical area that is 3G compliantwill deliver on quality of service, in terms of speed of data access.” The CCOassured.

Etisalat obtained the licence through the acquisition of Alheri Mobile Services Limited, the formerlyowned subsidiary of the Dangote Group, which was previouslyissued the license by the Nigerian Communication Commission. Etisalat’s 3.75G HSPA+ service will beinitially available in 14 cities and will be aggressively rolled-out across Nigeriaover the coming months.

Apple blocks Samsung tablet sales in Australia

2011-10-14T09:09:00.002+01:00

Galaxy Tab

Apple has won an injunction to block the sale of Samsung’s GalaxyTab 10.1 Android tablet in Australia.

The device was already temporarily banned pending the courtruling, and the ban has now been upheld until a full patent trial is held nextyear.

Samsung had initially offered to modify the software on the deviceto counteract the injunction, but Apple’s argument stated that the device alsocopies the design of its iPad and iPhone products.

“It’s no coincidence that Samsung’s latest products look a lotlike the iPhone and iPad, from the shape of the hardware to the user interfaceand even the packaging,” the company said. “This kind of blatant copying iswrong, and we need to protect Apple’s intellectual property when companiessteal our ideas.”

Samsung had tried to appeal the decision to get its device instores during the lucrative Christmas period, but Apple said it was concernedthat if consumers bought the Galaxy Tab might, they may never choose to buyApple products again.

Samsung responded with a statement saying it is disappointed withthe ruling. “We will take all necessary measures including legal action inorder to ensure our innovative products are available to consumers. This is apart of our ongoing legal proceeding against Apple’s claim. Samsung is alsoconfident it can prove Apple’s violation of Samsung’s wireless technologypatents through a cross claim filed on September 16, 2011 with the FederalCourt of Australia, New South Wales.”

Samsung recently lost the rights to sell its Galaxy Tab inGermany, after Apple won an injunction to block the sale of the product,alleging that the device infringes patents held by Apple. The company is nowseeking to block the sale of Apple’s iPhone 4S in several markets, includingSouth Korea.

Airtel Unveils Club 10, New Package for Nigerian Youth

2011-10-13T14:37:00.001+01:00

In line with its corporate vision of creating innovative, exciting, relevant and affordable telecommunications solutions, leading Mobile Operator, Airtel has introduced a special package for Nigerian youth.

The new package, Airtel Club 10, will enable Nigerian youth as well as the young-at-heart to create their own clubs of 10 members and communicate freely through voice, SMSs and data at very affordable rates.

Airtel Club 10 will enable youngsters and the young-at-heart to connect to nine people which may be close friends, school mates and family members at an attractive rate of 10kobo per second; send SMS at N1 per SMS and benefit from a posy of exciting complimentary offerings including free music download, data bundle, caller ring back tone (CRBT) and games.

Speaking on the new offer, the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director of Airtel Nigeria, Deepak Srivastava said Airtel Club 10 is a very distinctive different and germane offering that will further revolutionize the telecommunications industry in Nigeria as it gives young Nigerians the power and freedom to enjoy innovative telecoms packages at pocket friendly rates.

He said following the launch of the highly successful telecoms offerings such as 2Good, Big Family and 2SIMs, there was a need to design an exclusive and exciting package that will meet the needs, demands and aspirations of Nigerian youth.

“Airtel Club 10 is a result of painstaking research. We understand that Nigerian youth are trendy, social, hardworking and innovative. So, we created a package that will meet all of their needs without an adverse impact on their pockets.

“With Club 10, it is fun all the way as young Nigerians can now build a wide network of friends, enjoy complimentary data access and benefit from a wide range of free Value Added Services,” Said Srivastava.

Existing customers can subscribe to the Airtel Club 10 package by dialing *101#. Non Airtel customers are expected to purchase and register their SIMs and then dial *101# to connect to the package. To register friends, school mates and associates, customers are expected to dial *101*2* phone number #.

Under the Club 10 package, customers can make calls at 10k/sec for registered numbers; calls to other service classes within the network are billed at 20k/sec while calls to other networks are billed at 30k/sec. However, customers will be billed 60k/sec for the first minute.
For Short Messages Service, customers’ group’s SMS are billed at N1; other on-net SMS are billed at N3 and off-net SMS at N5. Free 10MB data valid for 1 week after N200 usage within 1 week. Free on-net mid night calls apply within 12:30a.m to 4:30a.m.

Post titleNew IDC Study Reviews Vendor Offerings, Investments, and Opportunities in Mobility Testing Services

2011-10-13T14:34:00.001+01:00

New International DataCorporation (IDC)research profiling vendors in the mobility testing services market shows thatas service providers move forward they will need to address a blended set ofenterprise testing requirements including application testing (e.g. functionand usability testing), performance testing (e.g. device / network), securitytesting, and complex validation of mobile integration to back-end systems. ForOEMs and MNOs, opportunities exist among third parties to accelerate theautomation of test scripts, establish consistency in benchmarking devicesagainst each other, and improve test requirement change control and overalltest coverage.

In this research,profiles of seventeen mobile testing service vendors are presented along withaggregate summary findings. Vendors profiled include Accenture, AppLabs,AT&T, Cognizant, CSC, CSS Corp., Endeavour Software Technologies, HCLTechnologies, HP Enterprise Services, IBM, iGATE Patni, Mahindra IT andBusiness Services, MindTree, Polaris Software Lab Ltd., Sasken, Tata ConsultancyServices (TCS), and Wipro Technologies.

Key study findingsinclude:

· Usabilitytesting emerges as leading focus: Many testing groups are working closely with user experience (UX)teams to improve validity and consistency of user experience across multipleplatforms and devices. Best practices are emerging in how providers approachthe speed, efficiency, and quality of highly iterative mobile agiledevelopment/test lifecycles.

· Talentrecruitment and training activities demand strategic attention: Mobile domain expertise, knowledgein mobile test tools/strategies (e.g. simulators, local and remote devices),mobile technology expertise (e.g. 3G, HSAP, LTE), and platform/OS testingexperience (e.g. Android, iOS, Windows, etc.) are sought after capabilities.

· Compliancevalidation is increasing:Third parties are expanding their mobile testing services to include complianceto platform guidelines (e.g. Android, iOS), app store guidelines (e.g. Apple,Google), vertical specific certifications (e.g. HIPAA, SOX), and enterprisespecific policies (e.g. enterprise app store).

· Partnershipapproaches heat up in testing service ecosystem: Testing providers are extendingtheir lab investments by partnering with ASQ vendors, cloud-based device stores(e.g. Perfecto Mobile, Device Anywhere), and establishing joint test labs andCOEs to support research, test, and incubation of innovative solutions andservices to meet horizontal and vertical specific market demands.

· Mobiletesting service activity extends from B2C to B2B and B2E focus: Initial investment in testingservices for B2C mobile applications that enable banking, social mediainteraction, communication, and mobile commerce activities are shifting toinclude validation for sales force automation, mobile enablement of ERP, andexecutive mobile dashboards, among other applications, with Retail, BFSI andM&E verticals leading in mobile vertical test activity.

According to Rona Shuchat, director, ApplicationDevelopment, Testing and Management Services, "As clients push forefficient and innovative use cases for mobile applications, there is greaterfocus by service providers on providing a mix of user-experience testing,cross-platform testing, performance and load testing, and critical validationof mobile integration to back-end systems. There will be increased value forcustomers to leverage mobile application development/test factories, equippedwith live and simulated test scenario capabilities, to minimize customerinvestment and mitigate risk as activity increases in use of vertical andhorizontal mobile app solutions."

COMARCH JOINS GENIVI ALLIANCE

2011-10-13T14:27:00.002+01:00

COMARCH, a global provider of IT solutions for majoreconomic sectors, announced today that it has become an Associate member ofGENIVI Alliance, an automotive and consumer electronics industry associationdevoted to the development and support of the In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI)reference platform.

Comarch has been implementing components for modern mobileoperating systems, including those based on Linux kernel, for the past 11years. Over 200 specialized engineers, working in the Comarch Mobile Solutions& Services Business Unit, have participated in numerous mobile projects.This way Comarch has acquired unique competences crucial from the viewpoint ofthe automotive industry. The urge to use these competences in a new field wasthe main driver to join the Alliance.

As we have observed, there is a clear trend for consumerelectronics and mobile software entering the automotive industry, we want touse our competences and help carmanufacturers and their Tier-I suppliers to profit as much as possible fromthis new business opportunity. As a company that has largely contributed to thedevelopment of various mobile operating systems, we perceive our role withinGENIVI Alliance as an active member, one which is setting new standards. – saysMariusz Lasek, Business Development Director at Comarch.

In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) is an integrated in-carentertainment and information system which is becoming a key differentiator inthe latest car manufacturers products. Among the wide range of its features are:rear seat entertainment (movies, games, social networking, etc.), radio,built-in navigation, location-based services, external communications andinternal connectivity to mobile devices.

Genivi Associate Membership allows companies to accessGenivi test tools and certification programs as well as development baseline,specifications and implementation guidelines. Through active participation inexpert groups, members influence the technical direction of the program’sdevelopment. Adopting Genivi standards allows for quicker time-to-market,reduction of development costs and increased IVI interoperability acrossequipment of different OEMs.

BlackBerry experience fresh failure

2011-10-12T17:41:00.000+01:00

A few hours after Research In Motion restored BlackBerryservices, users of the mobile phone company services experienced networkfailure once again on Tuesday.

Earlier this week, the service suffered an outage, whichlasted almost a full day, from 11am BST on Monday until around 9.30am BST onTuesday, with claims that the failure was caused by a crashed server. Thereasons for the outage were not explained by BlackBerry.

Millions of customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africawere left without access to the internet or its BBM instant messaging tool, andaccording to reports and commentary on Twitter, the same has happened againtoday.

“Some users in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, India,Brazil, Chile, and Argentina are experiencing messaging and browsing delays,”RIM confirmed in a statement. ”We are working to restore normal service asquickly as possible. We apologise forany inconvenience this has caused.”

The company’s Twitter account is again being inundated withresponses by customers demanding compensation or they would take their businesselsewhere.

The outages come at a time when RIM is facing financialdifficulty and uncertainty over its future. The company’s Q2 profits slide toless than half of the previous quarter while revenue for the quarter was alsodown 15 per cent to just $4.2bn from $4.9bn generated in the previous quarter.

The recent poor performance of the firm led to JaguarFinancial, a RIM shareholder, calling for a major overhaul that may include thesale of the firm.

Post t University Of Benin, Phase3 Telecom Partner on Google Applications Scheme

2011-10-12T17:29:00.002+01:00

L-R: StaffICT Center, University of Benin, Mr. Emmanuel Onowojo; Manager,Engineering Srrvices, Phase3 Telecom , Akeem Sule ; Director, ICT Centre,Uniben, Prof. Chiemeke Stella; and Nsukwa Franklyn ( Phase3 Team) Prof.A.O. Okhamafe (ICT Chairman, Uniben) at the commissioning of the GoogleAplications programme recently … in Benin City

The University of Benin has started theGoogle on Applications Support programme, a special scheme designed tocatalyze internet usage in universities through the provision of affordablelaptops, wireless access and bandwidth.

In a formal ceremony held recently at the mainauditorium of the institution, the Director of Information and CommunicationsTechnology, University of Benin, Professor Mrs. Stella. Chiemeke, said theinstitution was pleased to be among initial beneficiaries in the scheme, notingthat it will help improve the learning process on campus.

Under the scheme, Phase3 Telecom, Nigeria’sonly aerial optic fibre provider, designed a special last mile connection thatspans the entire university campus and connects the institution to the Lagosinternet exchange point (IXP).

Chiemeke said the decision to build an opticfibre-based local loop was a mandatory pre-requisite in order to benefit fromthe Google programme. According to her, this made the university to seekfor a highly trusted and reliable vendor and expressed joy at the work done byPhase3 Telecom.

The Vice-Chancellor of University of Benin,Professor .O.G. Oshodin, in his key role address, thanked Google for thegesture of bringing the scheme to the institution, adding that Uniben is now richin bandwidth for communication.

“We want to thank Google Africa for theopportunity given to our university to participate and benefit from heruniversity assistance programme, the deployment of 25mbps full duplex freebandwidth and Phase3 Telecom Limited Abuja for partnering on last mileconnection at a subsidized rate and other supports from the company. Wesincerely hope that this is the beginning of a good relationship between bothcompanies and our university”.

He also pleaded with the providers, GoogleAfrica and Phase3 Telecom to continuously put wonderful smiles on their facesanytime, as they connect to the global village by making sure that theyexperience no disruption or denials of service at any time throughout thelifespan of this relationship.

Project Engineer, Phase3 Telecom, Mr.Franklyn Nsukwa, while addressing a cross-section of Google representative teamand Uniben ICT staff, thanked them for choosing the company toprovide the last mile service. He assured them that it is a decision they willnot live to regret, saying that Phase3 Telecom will continue to providereliable transmission services based on its aerial optic fibre technology.

According to him, Phase3 Telecom is a companywith an excellent and stable network. He further assured them that Phase3Telecom has secured their link via its fibre on PHCN high voltage power lineand there is no need for fear of fibre cut or vandalism.

ZINOX TO COMMISSION DIGITAL PLANT EARLY 2012

2011-10-12T17:12:00.000+01:00

ZinoxTechnologies, the manufacturers of Zinox Computer brand have concluded plans toinstall one of Africa’s largest Digital Computers Assembling plant in responseto the improved power supply in the country. The design for the digital plantwas concluded a few years back but shipment to Nigeria was stopped due to poorpower supply.

Speakingto newsmen to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Zinox Computers, the ManagingDirector, Mr. Mukoro Emomine, revealed that the installation would be concludedin February, 2012 to serve as a major IT manufacturing platform from which therest of Africa would be supplied. He said over the last ten years, the companyhas justified its corporate existence as No.1 ICT Company in sub SaharanAfrican by intervening in critical national and international projects andleading in strategic ICT projects amongst others. “Yes we agree we are in atough terrain, but as pioneers we have proven Nigerians can do it”.

Mukorosaid that the 10th Anniversary celebrations were encapsulated in the theme – 10Years of Adding Digital Value – an attempt to review the journey so far. Thehigh point of the celebrations is the presentation of three delectable productsdesigned to emphatically add value to the technological growth of Nigeria. Helisted the products as the Zinox Whizkid Professional, a mini notebook designedfor the educational sector with content aimed at eliminating poor performancein WAEC, JAMB, and NECO examinations with commitment to refund candidates whofailed; the Zinox Legacy, a notebook designed as a souvenir, wrapped in anational symbol, running on 2.0Ghz, 2MB Ram and 320GB; and the Zinox Prestige,a notebook for professionals running on Core i7 processors, 4 MB Ram, and 500GBhard disk. Affordably priced, these notebooks are designed to give somethingback to every Nigerian – a gift to Nigerians.

Inaddition, he said that the 10th Anniversary also signals the formal adoption ofa more robust distribution strategy for the Computerize Nigeria Project, aZinox initiative, to ensure that underserved areas are properly reached. Mr.Mukoro announced that the Computerize Nigeria Project would operate shops closeto rural neighborhoods to make affordable and subsidized systems available tothe grassroots. He confirmed that 10 newshops shall be opened before the end of the year.

TheZinox Managing Director noted that Zinox started modestly 10 years ago asmanufacturers of PCs but has evolved over time to an integrated solutionscompany offering a variety of uncommon products that are internationallycertified. Zinox, the leading ICT innovation house, he said, has kept faithwith the Governments and people of Nigeria in the discharge of herresponsibilities as a public trust and in keeping pace with the highexpectations from ICT stake holders. Mr. Mukoro recalled that at launch in 2001that Zinox worked very hard to set aside the doubts over quality arising fromthe wrong impressions conferred by the Made in Nigeria status. The fact thatZinox delayed its launch for 4 years in order to acquire the Microsoft WHQLcertification underscored the commitment of the Zinox leadership to world-classstandards. The patriotic intent of the innovations in the design of the Zinoxbrand earned the brand recognition especially as in the incorporation of theNaira sign on the Zinox international keyboard. The innovations in the area ofmarketing greatly assisted IT penetration in this country in the past decade.

ZinoxTechnologies Ltd, Africa’s mostintegrated ICT firm was launched in2001 by a team of tested IT technocrats with a combined experience of over 128years in different continents, led by Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh. As the foremostcompany to go into an uncharted terrain of Computer production in West Africa,Zinox had Nigeria in mind as it debuted with the first ever Nigerianinternationally certified branded computers with the Naira keyboard. Zinoxtechnologies Limited, with its strong research and development backbone has wonglobal certification of Intel andMicrosoft and also earned the NIS ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management Certification.Zinox has won over 69 Awards nationally and internationally.

IDC Steps Up Presence in Saudi Arabia with New Country Office

2011-10-04T19:49:00.001+01:00

In a move confirming Saudi Arabia's status as a criticalarea of focus for the world's leading ICT providers, International DataCorporation (IDC), the premier global market intelligence and advisory firm forthe information technology and telecommunications markets, has stepped up itspresence in the Kingdom with the launch of a dedicated country office inRiyadh. And in a further show of its commitment to serving the needs of theSaudi ICT community, IDC also recently extended its flagship CIO Summit seriesto the Kingdom, hosting a successful gathering of senior technology leaders atJeddah's InterContinental Hotel.

IDC has been present in the Middle East and Africa since themid-1990s, and launched a major expansion program in 2001 with theestablishment of its regional office in Dubai. This step was followed by newIDC offices in offices in Istanbul, Johannesburg, Casablanca, Lagos, andNairobi. The latest addition in Riyadh represents the culmination of many yearsspent developing close working relationships with the Kingdom's vendors and endusers, and comes as the world's premier IT vendors switch their attention tothe burgeoning emerging markets of the Middle East and Africa in general, andSaudi Arabia in particular.

With a strategic focus on market intelligence,consulting/advisory, and Go-to-Market services for multinational and local ICTproviders and end-users, IDC views the new Riyadh office as critical toexploiting the immense growth potential that this shift presents. "IDC hasa proven track record of equipping organizations in Saudi Arabia with thenecessary tools to enable business expansion, and our new physical presence inthe Kingdom will only serve to enhance our capabilities in this respect,"says Jyoti Lalchandani, Vice President and Regional Managing Director at IDCMiddle East, Africa, and Turkey. "As the largest and fastest-growing ICTmarket in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia represents a key area of investmentfocus for IDC, and we are looking forward to addressing the needs of anever-expanding network of clients within the country."

It was this positive outlook that saw IDC bring its flagshipCIO Summit to Saudi Arabia for the first time on September 25 and 26, havingenjoyed overwhelming success in Dubai over the past four years with the MiddleEast CIO Summit, which is now widely recognized as the seminal event on theregion's ICT calendar. Benefiting from a much narrower focus than itsregion-wide counterpart, the inaugural Saudi Arabia CIO Summit tackled theissues of most specific concern to Saudi-based ICT executives, serving upwinning strategies for reigniting momentum, rejuvenating business operations,and enhancing market share.

With more than 100 of the Kingdom's most influential IT endusers in attendance, the Saudi Arabia CIO Summit 2011 presented in-depthanalysis of key emerging trends such as cloud computing, datacenter management,and infrastructure virtualization and offered advice from representatives ofthe world's most pioneering technology providers on managing change within theenterprise, measuring the ROI of IT-related expenditure, ensuring security in avirtualized world, transforming the perception of IT from a cost to a profitcenter, and aligning IT with the wider needs of the business. A total of 21organizations – including STC, IBM, Microsoft, EMC, and Matco – partnered withIDC for the Saudi Arabia CIO Summit 2011, a clear indication of the intenseinterest currently surrounding the Kingdom's technology markets.

"IDC's CIO Summit series has built up an extremelyloyal following since its inception in the Middle East in 2008, and we weredelighted that so many senior ICT figures chose to support its arrival here inSaudi Arabia," says Abdulaziz Al-Helayyil, Country Manager for SaudiArabia. "We are seeing an explosion of awareness in the Kingdom around therole that IT can play in driving economic growth and greater business agility,and this was reflected in the eclectic mix of vertical industries representedat the event, which included manufacturing, banking and finance, government,oil and gas, and education. The new office in Riyadh augments our ability tocapitalize on this growing awareness, presenting a myriad of opportunities forour business in the Kingdom."

NCC Seals ISP Over Illegal Spectrum Usage

2011-10-04T19:47:00.000+01:00

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has sealed off theoffice of an Internet Service Provider, Cobranet, for illegal use of electromagneticspectrum frequency.

According to details released by the telecommunicationsregularity agency, Cobranet had been using frequencies in some bands of the electromagneticspectrum mapped out for broadband services in the country thereby disruptingthe services of other service providers.

It will be recalled that the commission has in 2009,developed guidelines for the deployment of frequency services on the 5.2 -5.9GHz bands. In April 2011, the Commission declared the 5.470 - 5.725 portionof this spectrum as licensed, licensable and not license exempt in Nigeria.Consequently, it warned all companies without a license of the Commission toavoid transmitting signals, or using equipment on this frequency band.

However, despite the warning, Cobranet, according to NCC, wasstill illegally transmitting signals on some portions of the aforementioned frequencies,thereby creating a situation that necessitated theits (NCC’s) intervention.

The commission said this it had to therefore carry out an actionagainst the company, resulting its being shot down and its equipmentdisconnected and confiscated.

The Head of Compliance Monitoring of the Commission, Mr.Efosa Idehen, who led the enforcement action, Cobranet will also pay some yetto be determined amount of money to be calculated by the frequency departmentof the Commission with reference to the space and time the company hasillegally occupied the band.

Idehen also said the action of the company was detrimentalto the service quality of other providers as illegal occupations of frequenciesdegrade the quality of service of the other operators who may be legallyoperating on such frequencies.

The Head of Media and Public Relations of the NCC, Mr.Reuben Muoka, while speaking on the issue, said the clampdown on Cobranet is asignal to other operators who may be operating without proper authorization orwithout recourse to all the rules of the game in the telecommunicationsindustry.

The NCC's spokesman said the current leadership at theCommission is focused on compliance to the rules, hence the need for all operatorsto adhere to all the rules and conditions in service provisioning for thebenefit of the subscribers and the nation.

Corporate Bodies, SMEs, HNIs Get Pacakes from Airtel

2011-09-30T13:01:00.001+01:00

Deepak Srivastava, Chief Operating Officer, AirtelNigeria (middle); Rajiv Sehgal, Director, Business Enterprise Solutions, AirtelNigeria (left); and Inusa Bello, Chief Sales & Distribution Officer, AirtelNigeria, during the launch of Airtel’s new post paid, corporate and Small Scaleand Medium Enterprises (SME) value proposition in Lagos...on Thursday

Riding on its promiseto provide more value to subscribers on its network, leading telecomsoperator, Airtel Nigeria, has launched new pocket-friendly package planstailored for corporate organisations, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), post-paid individuals andBlackBerry users.

The new packages, which offer tariffs including generous data volumes,will now make it possible for Airtel customers on this platforms to communicatefreely with ease and use their data enabled devices without burning holes intheir pockets.

According to Deepak Srivastava, Airtel’s Chief Operating Officer,the latest development is in line with its commitment in endearing the brand toNigerians with affordable telecoms solutions for their delights.

He said the package was conceived to address the needs of itscustomers in various segments namely: Corporate Organisations, Small and MediumEnterprise (SME), individual postpaid customers and BlackBerry users.

For Corporate organisations to benefit from the latest offer,Srivastava revealed that three distinctive categories namely Corporate Plus;Corporate Pro and Corporate Premium have been created, each of which comes withits own unique voice, SMS and data tariffs. Also, free talk minutes, sms anddata of up to 1GB is available. Customers under a Close User Group (CUG) of 100staff and above can make Airtel to Airtel calls for 17k/sec and 25k/sec toother networks.

For the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), the plan issplit two-ways namely; SME Plus and SME Pro. Both plans have discounted tariffsin voice (including international calls) for 17k/sec and 30k/sec to othernetworks, SMS and data. In addition, there is free airtime, complimentary dataand up 30 free SMSes. A SME should have 10 to 99 lines under the CUG to benefitfrom this plan.

Under the Retail or individual category, there are four differentplans; The Advance plan (annual), Intermediate plan (monthly), Basic and Familyplans. Here, it is possible to make 15k/sec for Airtel to Airtel calls and25k/sec to other networks. Also, free calls, SMS and data as well as up to 150free CUG minutes is available.

Deepak Srivastava, Chief Operating Officer, AirtelNigeria (1^st from right ); Rajiv Sehgal, Director, BusinessEnterprise Solutions, Airtel Nigeria (middle); and Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, Head,Brand Communications, Airtel Nigeria, during the launch of Airtel’s new postpaid, corporate and Small Scale and Medium Enterprises (SME) value propositionin Lagos... on Thursday

To complete the customer cycle, BlackBerry users were notleft out in the package plans as Srivastava stated. He said the company isoffering heavily discounted monthly subscription in both the Enterprise andInternet services with free CUG Airtel to Airtel airtime.

“Airtelis aware of the critical role the Small and Medium Enterprises play as theengine of growth in any economy especially in Nigeria, hence the need for us tofocus on assisting this segment achieve their goals of which communicationplays a critical role. In the same vein, we also recognise that the corporateworld is just as important for growth and development, therefore, the need to empower the corporate sector with telecomsofferings that will make life and business more enjoyable and profitable becamenecessary”, Srivastava reiterated.

“Weare restating unequivocally here that we are not going to rest on our oars onthe delivery of quality products and services to our customers irrespective ofclass as we move closer to fulfilling our promise of being the most loved brandin the daily lives of Nigerians.”

50 winners collect prizes in the Glo SIM registration promo

2011-09-29T15:59:00.000+01:00

From left: Mr. Samson Isa, Head, Value Added Services, a lucky winner of N1 million in the Glo SIM registration promo, 19-year old Ikenna Efoagui and President General of the Nigerian Football Supporters Club (NFSC), Dr. Rafiu Ladipo during the presentation of prizes to winners in the promo Wednesday.

Over 50 luckysubscribers who registered their SIMs and won prizes in the Glo SIMregistration promo have been presented with their cheques and other prizes duringa special presentation ceremony held yesterday at Globacom’s corporateheadquarters inLagos.

During the event, 17winners were presented with cheques for N1 million each, 12 winners collectedtickets for once-in-a-lifetime all expenses paid trips to Dubai while 21 luckysubscribers picked up free tickets to watch Premier league champions ManchesterUnited play on their home turf in the UK. Over 300 other lucky subscribers alsowon N20,000 worth of airtime which has been credited to their phones.

Speaking at theceremony, Globacom’s Executive Director, Human Resources, Mr Adewale Sangowawa,said the presentation was in fulfilment of Glo’s promise to reward itssubscribers who complied with the SIM registration directive with fantasticprizes.

“We are here today togive out prizes to our lucky subscribers who have registered their SIMs andhave won prizes in the different categories. The winners come from all theterritories in which we operate across the country”, he said.

Sangowawacongratulated all the winners and urged them to spread the word that it pays tobe on the Globacom network. He said that though the SIM registration deadlinehad expired, Glo will continue to register new SIMs at the point of sale.

“Though the SIMregistration deadline expires today and old SIMs will no longer be registered,we want to assure our subscribers that all our Gloworlds, Glozones, and Dealeroutlets across the country are still available to ensure quick, efficientregistration of new SIMs at the points of sale”, he stated.

The winners were alsothankful to Glo for making them millionaires and widening their experience ofthe world through free trips abroad simply because they registered their SIMs.Oscar Ikenna Efoagui, a 19-year old student of Oko Polytechnic, who won N1million in the promo; expressed gratitude to Glo for the life changingopportunity. He said he would invest the funds in his education.

Another N1 millionwinner, Madam Lucy Obi, who is a widow with 8 children was also very gratefulto Glo for the fantastic reward. She said the money meant a lot to the familyand prayed for the continued success of Glo all over the world.

Some other winners whocollected their N1 million cheques at the event include Paul Olaha, DeborahAugustine, Olumide Ogunshakin, Seun Kugbiyi, Abdulazeez Alokolodo, John Monye,Obialo Isaac, Aliyu Safianu, Doute Opuene, Ibrahim Aliyu, Akintobi Ibukunoluwa,Toyin Abdulkareem and Bose Odunola.

VISAFONE opens seven Retail Outlets

2011-09-29T13:51:00.000+01:00

Jim Ovia, Visafone Chairman

In line with its strategic expansion plan andthe need to bring excellent quality services closer to the doorstep of users inNigeria, Visafone has added yet another 7 new retail outlets in Lagos, Ogun,Edo and Rivers States respectively.

The grand gala opening ceremony took place atVisafone Retail Outlets located on Nnebisi road, Asaba, Ikota Shopping Complex,Ajah and Ikorodu, apart from the ones at market road, Badagry, Agbaraindustrial estate, Ogun, mission road, Benin and Aba road, Port Harcourt.

A statement signed by Head, CorporateCommunications, Visafone Communications Limited, Mr. Joseph Ushigiale describedthe opening of new retail outlets as one more of their Customer ServiceInitiatives deployed by the company to ensure subscribers get a feel of uniqueand excellent customer service delivery.

The Managing Director of Visafone, Mr. SaileshIyer said the expansion program is aimed at delivering excellent customer caresupport to the people adding that “our new retail outlets are equipped withcomplete bouquet of services from Voice, Data Activation, SIM Registration,Handset choice, Data Modems to after sales services aimed towards serving theever growing needs of the enlightened customer.”

Iyersaid “The decision to establish these retail outlets further expresses thecompany’s determination to bring fast and easy communication pan-Nigeria andcustomer satisfaction which is our number one goal at Visafone. OursignaturesShops & outlets have developed a special bonding with families,friends and loved ones of Visafone Customers.” He encouraged all Visafonecustomers living in these locations to take advantage of the new retail outletsto experience qualitative Visafone products and services.

Like other 75 Visafone shops, the newly opened7 retail outlets are manned by highly trained and qualified customercarepersonnel who have been trained to deliver first class shop and customercareservices. This shops give our customers the opportunity to touch, feel andexperience the various products and services before making the right decision.It operates in a very friendly and cozy environment.

With this development, the Visafone retailoutlets pan Nigeria has increased to 82. Historically, Visafone has anestablished reputation of being a high reliable quality network and offersattractive tariffs bundles, choice of handsets, devices and unbeatable voiceand data quality experience.

Aerial optic fibre will drive connectivity in W’Africa – Expert

2011-09-22T16:00:00.001+01:00

The aerial optic fibre network operated by Phase3 Telecom has beenidentified as one of the key initiatives that will drive connectivity in theWest Africa sub region in the coming years. This assertion came during thejust-concluded African Peering and Interconnection Forum organised by theInternet Society held in Accra, Ghana. ISOC is a non-profi t organisation thatprovides leadership in Internet related standards, education and policy.

According to a member of ISOC, Mike Jensen, Phase 3 Telecom’s networkis one of those projects that have attracted interest of experts globallyespecially in the quest towards building a reliable internet in the West Africanregion. He noted that the high expectation followed the recent signing of anagreement by Phase3 Telecom with INEO Du Energie of France to expand its WestAfrica One transmission network coverage from the Republic of Benin to Togo.

According to Jensen, with this development, Phase3 Telecom becomes thefirst regional fibre optic cable network provider in West Africa to operate ainternational fibre backbone interconnecting six West African countries.Jensen, an independent Information and Communication Technologies consultantfrom Brazil, while identifying a number of initiatives currently going in thecontinent to boost internet connectivity, explained that the innovative aerialoptic fibre system by Phase3 will improve internet access tremendously.

Jensen, who has assisted in the establishment of ICT systems indeveloping countries for more than 20 years, also said that there was a needfor Internet Exchange Points to be established in the continent. According tohim, IXPs are vital elements of Internet infrastructure as they enable networksto exchange traffi c with each other. To this end also, Phase3 has recentlyinterconnected at the only IXP in Nigeria, the Internet Exchange Point ofNigeria Lagos.

Death of Software Encoders Worry NCC boss

2011-09-22T14:45:00.000+01:00

Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian CommunicationsCommission, (NCC), Dr. Eugene Juwah, has lamented the dearth of software encodersin Nigerian.

To redress the situation, Juwah has requested the National Office for Technology Acquisition andPromotion (NOTAP) to step in and urgently seek ways to boost local software development.

Juwah made this appeal while speaking during a courtesy visit by Director General of NOTAP, Dr.Umar B. Bindir, to NCC headquarters in Abuja.

The EVC regrettedthe current trend whereby there is growing number of experts in the data base management without a corresponding increase of people with expertise in the area of encoding. this development, he noted, is detrimental to the balancedgrowth of the industry.

The NCC boss also appraised the performance of NOTAP in theimplementation of its mandate and how it has striven to expand its base for thebenefit of the nation and praised its management for it patriotic efforts.

He noted that the NCC is not fully involved in the issue ofresearch and analysis of softwares but is focused on the assessment ofreasonableness of the pricing of the softwares used in the telecommunicationsindustry but said the Commission will support awareness building efforts of the agency.

He said the current responsibilities of the Commission in thearea of reasonableness of pricing became necessary to ensure that softwaresused in the telecoms industry are not overpriced, and that this assessmentaffects intangible services like Internet access, and are usually compared withinternational benchmarks. He said the NCC performs this responsibility with theCentral Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and that because of the huge growth of the telecomsindustry, it has become like a routine job with a dedicated desk at the NCC.

Dr. Juwah also informed the NOTAP team that in NCC’s dealingswith the telecoms companies, it treats them with respect as credible companieswith internationally corporate governance principles and do not expect them tocheat in their submission.

“Since their accounts are audited by reputable internationalfirms, we have no doubts that they do not cheat,” he said.

Glo 3G modem renamed NetPro…

2011-09-22T13:02:00.001+01:00

Globacom’s popular 3G plus High Speed Internet(HSI) modem has been upgraded. Powered by GLO 1 sub marine cable, the Glo 3Gservice is now much faster and convenient for the day to day use ofsubscribers.

Now known as Glo 3G Net Pro, the new developmenthas put the modem at the head of the pack with potentials to deliver at speedup to 7.2mbps thus doubling its former speed of 3.6 mbps.

Speaking on the new modem, Globacom’s Head ofBlackberry/3G Sales, Mr. Olawunmi Jewesimi stated that the new 3G Net Pro hasevery capacity to out-perform competing products in the entire market.

Headded “The Net Pro modem is poised to bring unparalleled download / uploadspeed to the market and subscribers can do so much more with the speed of lightdelivered by the modem”.

He explained that the speed of the new modem hasincreased considerably making it very easy and convenient for subscribers tobrowse and down load data on-line at a very fast speed.

“The Glo 1 submarine cable brings so much more interms of bandwidth capacity which has made it possible for Glo subscribers tobrowse at faster speed, thus getting better quality in voice calls and dataconnections ” Jewesimi stated.

Jewesimi stated further that the highly flexiblepackages and prices on the new Net Pro are the same as the old 3G HSI modem.

On the Bundle offers, he explained that customerscan now make an upfront payment for the 3G modem and get one month freesubscription for the Always Max or the Always Min plans. For Always Max, thesubscriber will, upon payment of N11, 000, get the Glo 3G modem along withone month free subscription of the package valued at N7, 500.

For the Always Min pack, the subscriber is requiredto pay N9, 500 to get the modem and free one month subscription valued at N5,000. This makes the effective modem prices for the two packages N3, 500 and N4,500 respectively.

Other packages on the Glo 3G Net Pro Internet offerinclude the Always Min package which gives the user a month all-day access tothe internet for N5, 000, the Always Day pack with a monthly fee of N500 forall day access for 24 hours and the G100 which has a monthly fee of N6, 000with 100 hours, all day access.

There is also the Flexi pack which is in twocategories: the G Work package attracts N6, 000 monthly charge with 8 a.m. to 9p.m. access for 30 days and the G Leisure which has a monthly fee of N5, 000for 30 days’ access for 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. every day and all day during weekends.

Globacom has been at the vanguard of high-tech inthe telecoms market, having pioneered per second billing (PSB) 3G as well asBlackBerry services in Nigeria.

Net pro modem can be obtained at any Gloworld,Authorised dealers outlets or Glo Zones across the country.

Customers Commend Etisalat’s Innovative Products, Services

2011-09-21T19:18:00.001+01:00

Ever since it debuted on the Nigerian telecommunications scene less than three years ago, Etisalat Nigeria’s innovative products and services have continued to receive rave reviews, both from industry regulators and other stakeholders, including subscribers.
Some of these subscribers had the opportunity to air their views on Monday, September 12 during a Customer Forum organised by the Etisalat Nigeria for its customers in Abuja and its environs to air their views on the company to generate feedback on its products and services.
Speaking at the event, one of the customers, Mohammed Yusuf, described the impact the company has had on the telecommunications landscape as mind-boggling. He commended Etisalat Nigeria for its innovative services, which he said has really revolutionized the telecommunication industry in the country. According to him, Etisalat has set a standard which will be difficult for others to equal or surpass.
“It is amazing the impact it has had, especially when one considers its very young age, compared to the others who have been around for over 10 years,” he said. He admitted that what endeared him most to the brand were its innovative products and services. Yusuf also commended Etisalat Nigeria for introducing the customer forum, describing it as the first by any telecommunication company in the country.
Speaking in the same vein, the duo of Mrs. Ngozi Onwuzulu and Miss Peace Jacobs commended Etisalat for impacting on the lives of its customers with its lower call rates, which they said have no hidden charges. They also lauded the clarity of Etisalat’s voice calls, describing it as ‘crystal clear.’ They urged Etisalat to improve its data services, as well increase its network coverage, especially in rural areas of the country.
In his response, Director, Customer Care, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Plato Symiris restated the commitment of the telecommunications company to customer satisfaction through the provision of quality services. He informed the customers that already, the company has concluded plans to launch its 3G network around the country, and expressed conviction that this will adequately address complaints over data services.
He stated that customer satisfaction was at the core of Etisalat’s brand values, pointing out that this was the reason behind the introduction of the customer forum. He pointed out that though the company was only three years old in the industry, it has within the relative short period achieved a lot in the industry and challenged others to be on their toes.
Symiris thanked the customers for finding time to attend the forum. As a customer-centric company, he said, the customer forum provides it the opportunity to listen to customers’ complaints, recommendations and suggestions on areas for improvement.
The next customer forum comes up in Abuja on September 19 this year.

Apple to maintain Dominance in the Media Tablet Market in 2011- IDC

2011-09-21T18:25:00.001+01:00

Media tablet shipments in Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) reached closed to 4.4 million units in 2Q11, ahead of forecast at 3.7 million, representing an increase of 394% compared with the same quarter last year and up 82% compared with 1Q11.

Following a softer than expected 1Q, which was adversely impacted by consumers' "wait-and-see" attitude for the iPad 2 and the delayed availability of Android Honeycomb, 2Q showed renewed buoyancy in the market. Stronger than expected trends were driven primarily by soaring demand for the iPad 2, while the plethora of new models launching with Android Honeycomb has further contributed to tablet momentum.

Product design, intuitive touch interface, Internet-centric usage model, and myriad of applications continued to drive demand for media tablets, particularly in Western Europe, which represents the majority of shipments. While the consumer segment remained the key target market, there is increasing interest from enterprises as well. But businesses are still evaluating the products and how they could incorporate non-Windows devices into their existing IT infrastructure, while the limited number of products available for the business space also contributed to constrain stronger commercial demand.

Apple has clearly maintained dominance across the region and outperformed expectations, thanks to robust demand for the new iPad 2. The user interface, instantaneous access to the Internet, large number of applications, product design, and strength of the Apple brand remained among the key drivers behind the continued buoyancy and demand for the iPad.

Having waited for the Honeycomb version of Android, which has been specifically developed with media tablets in mind, a plethora of products hit the market in 2Q. But Android shipments did not meet expectations and reached fewer than 1.4 million units, despite increasingly aggressive price points starting from €99 for entry-level 7in. models.

Among the new Android entrants, Acer had a strong sell-in push of the new Iconia tablet, but following the initial interest, sell-out was reported to have slowed down. ASUS, on the other hand, had relatively limited sell-in in 2Q, but the Eee Pad Transformer proved to be one of the most successful Android models, and ASUS could have sold more if supply was not constrained. French vendor Archos continued to expand both from a product range and go-to-market standpoint, fueling solid growth for the vendor in 2Q.

The PlayBook from RIM became available at the end of June 2011, with initial sell-in reaching 93,000 in 2Q11. While historically the vendor has had a large footprint in the enterprise space with its smartphone offering, the consumer segment has been RIM's initial target market with its tablets, using primarily its telco retail partners such as Carphone Warehouse.

"IDC expects the EMEA media tablet market to continue to enjoy robust expansion, with shipments forecast to reach close to 22 million units, representing €9.1 billion in value in 2011," said Eszter Morvay, research manager for IDC's Personal Computing Group. "The second half of the year will see a further expansion of product availability, which will lead to accelerating competition and more aggressive price points. The Christmas season in particular is expected to be very buoyant with vendors positioning their products as the perfect Christmas gift."

IDC remains very optimistic about the outlook for media tablets and projects EMEA shipments to reach 33 million units in 2012, an increase of 53%, representing a value of €13.1 billion, up 44% compared with 2011. Sustained momentum around the Apple brand and the expected launch of iPad 3 will help iOS to maintain dominance in 2012. Android is forecast to gain market share, reaching 34% in 2012, stimulated by further expansion in product availability and available routes to market, with the telco operator channel expected to become more involved. But there will also be additional competition from the BlackBerry Tablet OS, which is expected to make further inroads across both consumer and commercial segments.

While the market will remain heavily focused on the consumer segment, expansion will also come from a change in end-user dynamics, as the ongoing product evaluation by businesses is expected to translate into an increasing number of media tablet shipments in the commercial segment as well. Tablets are seen as a major opportunity for several horizontal and vertical applications and many businesses are looking seriously into deploying tablets in the near future. Nevertheless, according to a recent IDC survey about tablets in the enterprise, Windows is still top of the list when it comes to commercial tablets. And with a completely redesigned user interface based on the Metro design language developed for Windows Phone 7, the new Windows 8 operating systems will likely be able to make a strong impact not just in the commercial segment but in the consumer segment as well, further intensifying the OS battle.

Airtel, MTN lead strategy development for Nigerian telecoms

2011-09-21T18:16:00.001+01:00

The second annual Nigeria Com conference and exhibition opened today at the Eko Centre in Lagos - Nigeria's leading event for the telecoms, media and ICT community.

The major topics of discussion were: growth opportunities, network expansion, quality of service, power, internet access, customer care and pricing. As Deepak Srivastava, COO of Airtel Nigeria, said: 'Nigeria Com is very good for helping industry leaders to get together, to talk about what's happening in the market and to develop a strategy for the country'.

Deepak opened the conference with a keynote presentation on Airtel's strategy and position after 1 year in the market. The first conference session also included a keynote from market leader MTN. Bayo Adekanmbi, Senior Manager for Business Intelligence, said it was 'a pleasure to be at the 2nd Nigeria Com' and gave a positive message: 'MTN's 10th anniversary is not just reinforcing how much we have led, innovated and enriched the way millions of Nigerians live, work and play; it is a demonstration of MTN's concept of responsible marketing to give much more through value-adding lifestyle-enhancing solutions and transforming corporate social investment'.

A panel discussion followed, with leaders from alternative service providers Mobitel, Pinet Informatics, Comium Data and Geoidtel. They covered strategic topics such as broadband connectivity, VAS, enterprise services and more.
The rest of the day focused on network strategies, with presentations by Corning, Gilat and Huawei, and further contributions from operators Mobitel and Starcomms.

The 2nd day will include more presentations from operators Etisalat, Glo and Visafone among others, as well as a regulatory update from the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Federal Ministry of Information and Communications.

'This event shows that Nigeria is one of the most exciting telecoms and ICT markets in Africa', says Julie Rey, Research Director at organisers Informa Telecoms and Media. 'We are pleased to see that so many participants were undeterred by heavy rain and traffic to attend and share ideas and network with their peers'.

Nokia, Pearson, Airtel, Train Public School Teachers in Lagos

2011-09-21T10:20:00.000+01:00

(R-L) Erik Gregory, Pearson Foundation; Emeka Oparah, Director, Corporate Communication and Corporate Social Responsibility, Airtel Nigeria; Atinuke Adelekun, Coordinator, BridgeIT project; Kamarudeen Abatan, Deputy Director, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB); and Osagie Ogunbor, Head of Communications, Nokia West Africa, during the final day of the Teacher Training programme in Lagos

Global phone maker, Nokia, Pearson Foundation, and leading telecommunications service provider, Airtel Nigeria have completed the training of teachers in Public Schools in Lagos State on the use of mobile technology to deliver rich media content to students in their classrooms.
The teachers, 62 in all from 32 public schools in Lagos State were trained under the Airtel, Nokia, and Pearson Foundation technology-driven education initiative, BridgeIT, in collaboration with the Lagos state government through the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
The schools are part of a pre-pilot program and the number is expected to grow to more grade levels and subject areas over the next two years.
BridgeIT combines mobile technology, the use of mobile phones and teachers to deliver and share high quality educational content in public schools where IT infrastructure may be limited.
Teachers will receive digital educational programming – videos, pictures, text, and audio files – over mobile network already in use in their community, and are empowered to share these materials with students in ways that improve student learning.
The commencement of the pilot BridgeIT programme is a follow up to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Nokia, Pearson, Airtel and Longman with the Lagos State Government early in May, this year.
In the arrangement, while Nokia will provide the technology - a mobile application known as Nokia Education Delivery (NED) - Pearson Foundation, the charitable arm of the world’s largest learning company – Pearson - will provide the educational content. Similarly, Nigeria’s leading telecom operator, Airtel Nigeria, has the duty to provide the network coverage that will enable teachers download the videos to their phones, which are used as instructional materials.
After viewing educational content, students participate in interactive lessons facilitated by teachers who have benefited from professional development workshops that promote collaboration and the use of mobile technology in the classroom. The implementation of the programme begins this academic session in schools drawn mostly from suburban parts of Lagos.
According to a statement from the partners to the BridgeIT, the working of the programme follows a simple technique: ‘videos are stored on a remote server and organized according to subject and grade. By connecting the mobile phone to a TV or a projector, the teacher can play the videos to a class to illustrate any relevant topic in the school curriculum.’
Besides other major benefits, BridgeIT also offers teachers in public schools a unique opportunity to sharpen their skills and upgrade themselves through well structured professional development efforts.
While the first phase of the implementation of BridgeIT begins this month of September in 32 schools, the consortium have given the assurance that the programme will eventually be extended to many other hundreds of schools in the country in the next three years.
Partners to the programme have individually and collectively reaffirmed their commitment to the intellectual development of the Nigerian child through the BridgeIT programme, stating that the initial focus of the programme would be the critical subjects of Mathematics, English Language and Science.
The CEO of Airtel Nigeria, Rajan Swaroop, expressed his company’s delight that the programme is eventually taking off and said the BridgeIT has the potential to transform lives of school children, the leaders of tomorrow.
He explained that the BridgeIT program was in line with Airtel’s Corporate Social Responsibility thrust, the Adopt- A-School Programme, which underscores the company’s commitment to providing the much-needed support for the improvement of the educational sector in the country.
“This effort allows students in Nigeria to benefit from the BridgeIT model and extends the Pearson Foundation’s commitment to student achievement and teacher ability across the globe,” explained Pearson Foundation President and CEO Mark Nieker.
On his part, the General Manager of Nokia West Africa, James Rutherfoord said Nokia is actively involved in communities around the world to create tangible social benefits. According to him, Nokia is committed to enhancing the quality of life around the world by using mobile technology to stimulate social and economic development. In his words, “realizing that government cannot shoulder the educational challenges of a developing country like Nigeria alone, Nokia feels a sense of responsibility to contribute its quota in helping to improve the delivery of public educational services by improving both the performance of students and the quality of teaching in our public schools”. Mr. Rutherfoord further disclosed that workshops have been conducted to train teachers in using the software to optimize their lesson plans using video content. He thanked Airtel for making it possible for the videos to be downloaded over its mobile network.
The BridgeIT model has enjoyed success in the Philippines, Tanzania, Chile, Colombia, and India. Each implementation of the program has been characterized by the utilization of the latest educational technologies, the empowerment of teachers to fully utilize mobile technology in the classroom, and the following of a tailored and focused program for a sustainable, scalable, and replicable implementation in partnership with local education ministries and agencies.

Customers Commend Etisalat’s Innovative Products, Services

2011-09-20T13:12:00.000+01:00

Ever since it debuted on the Nigerian telecommunications scene less than three years ago, Etisalat Nigeria’s innovative products and services have continued to receive rave reviews, both from industry regulators and other stakeholders, including subscribers. Some of these subscribers had the opportunity to air their views on Monday, September 12 during a Customer Forum organised by the Etisalat Nigeria for its customers in Abuja and its environs to air their views on the company to generate feedback on its products and services.Speaking at the event, one of the customers, Mohammed Yusuf, described the impact the company has had on the telecommunications landscape as mind-boggling. He commended Etisalat Nigeria for its innovative services, which he said has really revolutionized the telecommunication industry in the country. According to him, Etisalat has set a standard which will be difficult for others to equal or surpass. “It is amazing the impact it has had, especially when one considers its very young age, compared to the others who have been around for over 10 years,” he said. He admitted that what endeared him most to the brand were its innovative products and services. Yusuf also commended Etisalat Nigeria for introducing the customer forum, describing it as the first by any telecommunication company in the country.Speaking in the same vein, the duo of Mrs. Ngozi Onwuzulu and Miss Peace Jacobs commended Etisalat for impacting on the lives of its customers with its lower call rates, which they said have no hidden charges. They also lauded the clarity of Etisalat’s voice calls, describing it as ‘crystal clear.’ They urged Etisalat to improve its data services, as well increase its network coverage, especially in rural areas of the country.In his response, Director, Customer Care, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Plato Symiris restated the commitment of the telecommunications company to customer satisfaction through the provision of quality services. He informed the customers that already, the company has concluded plans to launch its 3G network around the country, and expressed conviction that this will adequately address complaints over data services.He stated that customer satisfaction was at the core of Etisalat’s brand values, pointing out that this was the reason behind the introduction of the customer forum. He pointed out that though the company was only three years old in the industry, it has within the relative short period achieved a lot in the industry and challenged others to be on their toes. Symiris thanked the customers for finding time to attend the forum. As a customer-centric company, he said, the customer forum provides it the opportunity to listen to customers’ complaints, recommendations and suggestions on areas for improvement. The next customer forum comes up in Abuja on September 19 this year.

ICANN Leader Praises Brazil’s Multi-Stakeholder

2011-09-16T12:25:00.001+01:00

Rod Beckstrom, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), has praised Brazil as one of the few countries that has adopted a multi-stakeholder approach to Internet governance issues. The ICANN leader praised Brazil’s Internet Steering Committee or Consejo Gestor de Internet CGI during a keynote address to the Futurecom information technology conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He said it has been instrumental in bringing security enhancements to the Internet and in embracing the IPv6 protocol, which dramatically increased the amount of available Internet addresses. “It is an example of the Brazilian government’s wisdom in saying we want the private sector, we want the civil society, and academic leaders, Internet experts and corporations to come together and provide the Internet Strategy for the country,” said Beckstrom. Beckstrom said ICANN is also proudly defined by a multi-stakeholder model, aimed at increasing the participation of diverse groups from all around the globe. He said those varied groups provided valuable input in putting together ICANN’s new generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) program. The gTLD program will greatly expand the current number of 22 Top-Level Domains (i.e., .com, .gov, .net, etc.) to include almost any word or name. But Beckstrom made clear that new gTLDs are not intended for every company or organization, since running a gTLD means an applicant is committing to run an Internet registry – an expensive and highly technical operation. “I want to make clear that ICANN is an organization that is not advocating new gTLDs for anyone,” said Beckstrom. “Our role is merely facilitation to implement the policy and the programs approved by our community, so we are here to educate not to advocate.” Caption: Internet leaders at Brazilian CGI and NIC.br. Left to right are; Demi Getshko - Director of the NIC.br, Frederico Neves - Director of Services and Technology at NIC.br, Rod Beckstrom – Chief Executive Officer of ICANN, Hartmut Glaser - Executive Secretary CGI and Rodrigo de la Parra – Manager of Latin American Relations at ICANN.

Airtel, Standard Chartered and MasterCard Rollout World’s First Virtual Card on Mobile Phone

2011-09-15T17:07:00.001+01:00

Airtel Africa, Standard Chartered Bank and MasterCard Worldwide have today announced the commercial launch of the world’s first virtual card that operates off a mobile wallet linked to Airtel’s mobile commerce offering – Airtel money. While initially launched in Kenya, this product will soon be available across Africa. The groundbreaking mobile commerce product known as ‘PayOnline’ will give consumers across the continent greater financial inclusivity in the global e-commerce sector. Registered Airtel customers will be able to make online purchases from any site where MasterCard is accepted. The single use shopping card will be initially available in Kenya for purchases made from non-Kenyan websites. The second phase of the program will see the rollout of the online product across Airtel markets.The tripartite partnership signals the growing realizations by players in the e-commerce sector of the expected growth in mobile payments and contactless card payments in the next decade. Airtel’s consumer penetration in Africa backed by the financial structuring and regulatory framework expertise by Standard Chartered Bank combined with the global acceptance of MasterCard will provide the consumer with a compelling product that is fast, secure and convenient. The one-time basis of the product has provided the consumer with a simple but secure payment process bereft of complex reconciliation and integration processes associated with other online transactions. The simplified online transaction will follow the process; Airtel Customers will be able to request a one-time virtual card number with the amount of purchase. Airtel money services platform will generate a special 16 digit number that enables the completion of the transaction. On completion of the transaction, a confirmation message will be sent to the consumer’s handset. Speakers at a launch ceremony held in Nairobi, Kenya, were unanimous in their analysis of the power of the mobile phone in leading and forging customer relationships through innovative payment solutions in alliance with banking partners. Commented N Arjun, Chief Projects and Transformation Officer, Airtel Africa: “The sustained socio-economic changes witnessed in Africa over the last decade have shown that the continent has the ability to leapfrog conventional systems and embrace innovations on platforms such as the mobile phone. At Airtel Africa, we believe the delivery of innovative and relevant solutions that tackle consumer’s daily challenges play an important role in bolstering a country’s economy through communication and mobile commerce.” He added: “The launch of Airtel Money and subsequent offers under Service Payments, Money Transfer, top ups and Mobile Banking is proof of our commitment in converting innovations into sustainable economic development”. Daniel Monehin, MasterCard’s area head for East & West Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, MasterCard Worldwide said, "The connected world is shrinking at a rapid pace as people turn to mobile phones to connect with friends and make purchases on-the-go. We saw that people want more options in making their payments easier and more convenient which is why we joined hands with airtel and Standered Chartered Bank to help make people's lives easier with this innovative new product.”“Financially empowering the citizens of Kenya is a rewarding experience, not only for consumers themselves, but for the various institutions and merchants that are involved in doing so. MasterCard looks forward to working with Standard Charted Bank and airtel to continue promoting the advantages of electronic payments and to accelerate the displacement of cash and cheques in Kenya,” he adds.Commenting on Standard Chartered’s behalf, Kariuki Ngari, Executive Director Kenya, and Cluster Head, East Africa Consumer Banking, “As a leading international bank in Africa, we are always looking for ways to bring innovative financial solutions to our customers in line with our brand promise: Here for good. We have been in Kenya for 100 years and have always been at the forefront of introducing new products and services to the market. The PayOnline solution is a unique way of ensuring that our customers can transact in the digital world for the first time without having to have a credit card or use their physical debit card. airtel PayOnline, will enable more Kenyan consumers to connect to the global marketplace via their mobile phones no matter where they are in the world,”.The global opportunity for mobile payments is growing. According IE Market Research Corporation the global mobile purchases will reach $ 224.4 Billion by 2014. In the latest IEMR global mobile payment forecast, the research firm opines that that merchandise purchase growth will closely track overall growth in mobile payments globally. The PayOnline solution is compatible with all mobile phones and operating systems via a configured update from Airtel customer service. Equally, the three partners have instituted a raft of security controls to ensure probity and secure transactions.

Airtel Receives Commendation for Rural Entrepreneurial Scheme

2011-09-06T17:45:00.000+01:00

The government of Cross River State has applauded leading telecommunication service provider, Airtel Nigeria for powering its economic empowerment programme for rural communities and for improving access to modern communication infrastructure in these areas.
Airtel, the Deputy Governor of the State, Mr. Efiok Cobham, said in Calabar, through its support has helped the government realize its dream of creating a pool of rural entrepreneurs and empowering more indigenes of the State economically as well as spreading its poverty reduction programme across the area. Under the programme, Airtel and the government will provide incentives for Rural Distributors to extend access to telecommunication services to rural and underserved communities.
Speaking at the presentation of brand new motorbikes, crash helmet, megaphones, SIM registration machines, giant umbrellas, and N50, 000.00 (fifty thousand naira) worth of Airtel products and services to each of the beneficiaries, Ugbo explained that the gesture will undoubtedly positively impact the life of the beneficiaries, their dependents, and indeed the general economy of the state.
The presentation was made under the wealth creation programme championed by Airtel Nigeria, and in collaboration with the government’s Microfinance and Enterprise Development Agency (MEDA). The project is code named “Project Sunny”.
The Deputy Governor who was represented by the Secretary to the Cross River State Government, Barrister Fidelis Ugbo said such an interventionist programme was needed to reduce the impact of poverty on marginalized groups, particularly women and youth, adding that it is the desire of the government to drastically reduce the percentage of the population that live below the poverty line of $1 per day.
He added that the government has mandated the Microfinance and Enterprise Development Agency (MEDA) and other relevant agencies to actively engage and obtain the support of the private sector in empowering the people of the State and thereby increase their purchase power, as part of its rural empowerment programs.
In addition to the current rural entrepreneurial programme, a few months ago, the State government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Airtel Nigeria to deploy specialized information and communication technology infrastructure across the state to deliver health, education, tourism and other economically beneficial services to the people and to boost the economy of the area.
Also, the Director General of the state Microfinance and Enterprise Development Agency(MEDA), Ignatius Atsu, commended Airtel for its swift response and assistance in spreading the benefits of the state government’s poverty alleviation programme.
Atsu expressed the optimism that since the telecommunications is currently one of the fastest growing services in Nigeria today the gains of the programme will become readily noticeable to the new entrepreneurs and all across the State and therefore encourage more people to take up the scheme.

Nokia Opens Upgraded Retail Outlet in Lagos

2011-08-03T17:32:00.002+01:00

In its bid to continually deliver unmatched total consumer experience to its teeming consumers, Nokia, world’s leading manufacturer of mobile devices has upgraded one of its general retail outlets, SLOT in the heart of Computer Village, Ikeja. Known as the shop-in-shop concept, the upgrading involves the exclusive branding of an entire section of a general retail outlet, where only Nokia devices and solutions are on display. Speaking at the launch of the SLOT outlet, Nokia’s Managing Director for West Africa Mr. James Rutherfoord said Nokia consumers now have an opportunity to test and interact with live devices for functionality and features before deciding on what to buy. According to him, this hands-on experience with a range of phones helps the customer make an informed choice of the device that best suit his/her purpose.
Also speaking, Nokia’s Head of Retail Mr. ‘Ladi Oyatayo disclosed that the “shop-in-shop” will have Care representatives on standby to provide after-sale service whenever it is needed. He said the initiative was bound to give Nokia faithfuls a total consumer experience. According to the Nokia Retail boss, plans have been perfected to launch about 60 of such outlets in premium locations across the country.
On his part, the Managing Director of SLOT, Mr. Nnamdi Ezeigbo said he was delighted to be part of Nokia’s retail initiative. According to him, Nokia is living up to its reputation of innovation and Customer Service orientation. The SLOT boss used the occasion to advice consumers to avoid patronizing counterfeit and substandard phones. Apart from being dangerous to health due to excess radiation, Mr. Ezeigbo said counterfeit devices do not stand the test of time. “They pack up sooner than later, and the customer has no warranty or after-sales service”, he said.
Nokia is the world’s number one manufacturer of mobile devices by market share. Beyond its leadership status as a manufacturer of devices, Nokia is fast becoming a leading solutions provider in the converging Internet and communications industries providing internet services that enable users to experience media, messaging, maps and games.

Picture R-L Silvin Sinan. Head of Care, Nokia West Africa; Reuben Onwubiko, Head of Marketing, Nokia West Africa; Ladi Oyatayo, Head of Retail, Nokia West Africa; Nnamdi Ezeigbo, Managing Director, Slot Limited and a Nokia Activator at the launch of Nokia Shop-in-Shop outlet at Slot, Medical Road, Computer Village in Lagos recently

Glo intensifies SIM registration

2011-07-13T15:32:00.000+01:00

By Jonah Iboma

National telecom operator, Globacom, has intensified its SIM registration exercise. The new campaign is aimed at encouraging Glo subscribers to register their old and new SIM cards before the 28 September deadline given by the industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), while earning fantastic rewards.
Speaking about the new initiative in Lagos , Globacom’s Group COO, Mohamed Jameel said the new campaign was aimed at expediting the pace of the ongoing Glo SIM registration exercise which the company started last year, through special incentives which will encourage all existing and new subscribers to register their SIMs.
He stated that those customers who comply and immediately register their SIMs will be rewarded with fantastic prizes during the 3-month duration of the campaign.
In the first instance, all subscribers who register their SIMs get a guaranteed 30 minutes of free airtime during the 3 months of the promotion. 10 minutes of free airtime is given every month for three months. The 30 minutes bonus airtime will be given immediately the person recharges N500 and above in each of the 3 months of the campaign and will be valid for 7 days.
An additional N20,000 worth of free airtime will also be given out to 300 lucky subscribers who will be picked during special draws which are to be held monthly. 100 lucky customers will be selected monthly and rewarded.
The highlight of the campaign is the offer of free all-expense paid pleasure trips to Manchester or Dubai for 60 lucky subscribers who register their SIMs. The winners of the free trips will be picked during special draws which will be conducted monthly for three months.
The campaign will, therefore, see 10 lucky subscribers travelling to each destination each month for 3 months. At the end of the day, 30 Glo subscribers would have made an unforgettable trip to Manchester to watch English Premier League champions, Manchester United, play at their home turf, while another 30 would have taken a memorable trip to Dubai as a reward for simply registering their SIMs.
The draws to select the winners of the other prizes such as the N20,000 free airtime and pleasure trips will be held at the end of every month among customers who have recharged N500 and above during the month.
In order to make the new SIM registration campaign a huge success, all Gloworlds, Glozones, Dealer outlets and Glo agents across the country have been sufficiently equipped with high-tech systems to ensure quick, efficient registration of customer SIMs. The whole registration process with Glo takes less than 2 minutes at these points. Glo Subscribers can also text “reg” to the short code “3456” in order to confirm whether their SIMs had been registered or not on the Glo network.
Jameel, therefore, called on all existing and new Glo subscribers to ensure that they register their SIMs and recharge them in order to win the free, exciting prizes on offer. He said that the registration process has been made simple and fast while the various registration points have been made easily accessible.

Multi-Links Telkom Switches To Hitech Fibre Protection

2010-07-23T15:16:00.002+01:00

Multi-Links Telkom has recently achieved another laudable milestone enabling network availability and enhancing superior customer experience with the completion of the Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) project which is designed to make the fibre optic network of Multi-Links Telkom more robust as it will provide greater redundancies and a buffer to network down time resulting from fibre cuts (the completion allows us to offer industry leading SLA’s with guaranteed uptime of 3 times reliability/redundancy).
With the completion of the DWDM project and the cut over of SDH sites, customers now enjoy protection from prolonged downtime on account of fibre damage, Olurotimi Aborisade, Manager, Transmission Planning, Multi-Links Telkom said that the impact of fibre cuts are less noticeable and that DWDM project will significantly improve the quality of service delivery and will enable Multi-Links Telkom customers to enjoy high level of service availability with seamless switchover to redundant transmission paths, in spite of the fibre cuts.
He noted that Multi-Links Telkom’s corporate customers on the leased line service and individual subscribers on the broad market platform will now enjoy more stability in network availability and industry benchmark SLA delivery for superior customer experience. This means that Multi-Links Telkom’s corporate clients would be empowered to more effectively manage their respective businesses.
Before now, corporate customers in Nigeria on leased line circuits often experience downtime as a result of the persistent fibre damages in respect of which the SDH network could offer little protection. However, the Multi-Links Telkom DWDM network has built in redundancy that allows traffic to be re-routed if fibre cut is experienced on a particular route because each route has been designed to carry two channels with the second channel serving as the alternative route when a cut happens on the first route.
This new initiative which is superior to the linear SDH facility on the network also has an enhanced capacity in terms of the volume of data and connection that it can offer Multi-Links Telkom’s corporate clients. Corporate clients can now deliver more offerings to their customers by the sheer size of the capacity embedded in the DWDM component which is of higher capacity to the linear SDH network.
Olurotimi Aborisade, who led the project team, said that the DWDM fibre ring is a robust facility that offers greater capacity and higher redundancy in terms of the flexibility of the network to provide alternative routing for traffic whenever downtime is experienced on the network on account of vandalization or other service disruption.
Ben Machoga, Executive, Network Engineering said that the DWDM network provides a greater platform for Multi-Links Telkom to offer better Service Level Agreement (SLA) with its corporate clients and thereby significantly improve revenue opportunity by blocking loopholes on the revenue channels.
With the expected network stability and availability resulting from the implementation of the DWDM project, Ben said Multi-Links Telkom would enjoy enhanced revenue growth as our existing and potential customers can migrate their mission critical applications onto services offering much higher availability. He noted as well that with the DWDM network the technical team would have fewer challenges in micro managing the incidences of fibre damage which often result in network instability and commercial challenges regarding fulfilling customers’ expectations and satisfactions.
So far, major cities in Nigeria have already been covered in the DWDM deployment project. Cities presently covered by the DWDM ring include Lagos, Benin, Ibadan, Abuja, Jos, Bauchi, Kaduna, Kano, Zaria, Ife, Akure, Warri, Sapele, Aba, Umuahia, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Asaba, Markudi, and Onitsha.

Gwandu unveils plans to end Kidnapping

2010-07-21T13:59:00.000+01:00

With the spate of kidnapping assuming a worrisome dimension in the country, the Acting Executive Vice Chairman/CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Bashir Gwandu, yesterday in Abuja unveiled some plans to newsmen on how to reduce the menace of kidnapping in the country using telecommunications devices.
Kidnapping has become a serious menace in Nigeria over the last one year most especially in the South-East and South-South Geopolitical Zones of the country.
Drawing from one of his short, medium and long term plans to move the telecom industry forward, which he presented at a meeting with chief executives of telecom operators in Lagos recently, Gwandu who spoke to newsmen, said that one of such plans could significantly curtail or even eliminate the menace of kidnapping in the country.
He said while SIM Card registration offers significant solution to the issue of kidnapping, another project that could complement Sim-card registration is a plan to issue subsidy to operators to install equipment on every mast and tower that could be used for triangulating between sites in order to identify real-geographical location of both GPS and None GPS-enabled Mobile handsets.
Gwandu stated that in addition to the triangulation project all GPS-enabled handsets can also be tracked by low earth orbit satellites. He further stated that there are other equipment that could be deployed to tract and identify the locations of handsets being used to solicit for ransom.
According to Gwandu once ownership of numbers can be identified, handsets can be tracked, and their geographical location becomes identifiable, then, any call made to solicit for ransom will help to locate the Kidnappers.
Decrying the problems of none registration of SIM Cards, Dr. said “with just about 1000 Naira a multitude of crimes can be committed by purchasing multiple Sim-cards and fraudulently use them to threaten others via voice or text messages and also commit other phone-assisted crimes. “This has to stop, and we are working hard to stop it”, he said.
To curtail the phone assisted crimes Engr. Gwandu said the Sim-card registration will not only help to identify the owners of Mobile phone-numbers but the data-base to be created will allow for pictures of criminals captured on CCTV or other cameras to be compared with and be searched in the phone users data-base for facial identification of criminals.
He also explained that the Sim-card registration can help in national-planning as well as for identification of criminals anywhere, anytime.
In addition, Engr. Gwandu who initiated and championed a project that will block stolen handsets once they are reported as being stolen said the project will also be helpful in stopping the criminals from using snatched handsets in perpetrating such act.
He said NCC will soon start publicity campaign to inform consumers of the availability of the stolen-handset blocking system, adding that discussion with countries in West-Africa so as to have a coordinated approach to blocking of stolen handsets is on.

Visafone Excites Subscribers With Scratch and Smile Initiative

2010-07-21T13:55:00.000+01:00

Excitement is in the air again as Visafone unveils another programme tagged Scratch and Smile to bring smiles to its esteemed customers.
With this initiative, subscribers on the network stand the chance to win exciting prizes like Car Refrigerators, MP3 radio sets and over 2 billion naira worth of free airtime upon recharge of N500, N1000 and N2000 denominations.
The Head Marketing of Visafone, Mr. Clifford Onyeike said upon recharge of these denominations, lucky winners would receive SMS confirmation of their prizes and thereafter redeem them at any of the Visafone shops nationwide.
Onyeike said this is another demonstration of Visafone’s drive to renew the joy of communication of its customers, adding, “Visafone just concluded the 10 cars in 10 weeks initiative which saw 10 lucky winners and several others smiling home with brand new cars and other fantastic prizes weekly.”
The initiative which will run till September 30, 2010, is a further demonstration of Visafone’s drive to consistently reward its subscribers.
Visafone is known for its programmes that reward its subscribers, apart from giving them value for money through attractive tariffs and excellent voice and data quality.
Visafone, which started commercial operation in February, 2008, is Nigeria’s 4th largest mobile operator by active subscriber base. Visafone today covers 24 states and over 171 cities across the country.
The wholly Nigerian company operates with the service ideals of Quality, Clarity and Coverage. The network which promises to renew the joy of communication and give Nigerians the passport to reach the world, recently upgraded its network capacity to 5 million.
Visafone has recorded several firsts since its establishment, the most recent being its certification by CDG as the first Open Market Handsets (OMH) compliant network in Africa. Visafone has won several prestigious awards for excellence, innovation and customer initiatives.

Visafone introduces Multi-Lnaguage IVR Customer Care Service

2010-07-21T13:50:00.001+01:00

Nigeria’s leading CDMA operator, Visafone, recently launched its Multi Language Interactive Voice Recorder (IVR) Customer Care Service, in what it said was a move a move to further enhance the customer care and give more subscribers the opportunity to communicate effectively in their languages,
The IVR service is available to callers via 333 and is expected to boost the customer experience and effectively communicate products and services information in a manner that is easily understood. In addition to English, the Languages are Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and pidgin English.
Mrs. Lynda Amechi, Visafone’s Head of Customer Care, said that to enjoy this service the subscriber would dial 333, after which they will be welcomed in English and then instructed by the IVR to press the appropriate key for any of the language options presented.
Mrs. Amechi further said these instructions will be made in the five Language options available, “for example, press 1 for English, press 2 for Yoruba (in Yoruba language), press 3 for Igbo (in Igbo language) e.t.c. When an option is selected, the IVR responds in the selected language option providing information on Products and services available on the network. Subscribers are also presented with the option of speaking to an agent in the selected language option.”
The service, which is totally free of charge, would provide any subscriber an option of speaking to an agent when it is selected. The call is immediately routed to an agent with the specified language skill set, i.e. if a subscriber selects the Yoruba option, the call will be routed to a Yoruba speaking agent who will communicate with him/her effectively in Yoruba language.
Visafone is known for its programmes that reward its subscribers, apart from giving them value for money through attractive tariffs and excellent voice and data quality.
Visafone, which started commercial operation in February, 2008, is Nigeria’s 4th largest mobile operator by active subscriber base. Visafone today covers 24 states and over 171 cities across the country.
The wholly Nigerian company operates with the service ideals of Quality, Clarity and Coverage. The network which promises to renew the joy of communication and give Nigerians the passport to reach the world, recently upgraded its network capacity to 5 million.
Visafone has recorded several firsts since its establishment, the most recent being its certification by CDG as the first Open Market Handsets (OMH) compliant network in Africa. Visafone has won several prestigious awards for excellence, innovation and customer initiatives.

Internet Business Showcase Debuts…gets NCC Endorsement

2010-03-29T23:31:00.000+01:00

The country’s leading business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) strategic publicity and events management firm, Private Media Mart Limited has announced the repackaging of its annual Cyber Café Expo as the annual Internet Business Showcase. The event, which will be coming up on the 11th of May 2010 in Lagos, was originally conceptualized as the antidote to the seeming short-life span of majority of cyber businesses in the country and had been held annually for three (3) years in Lagos before now.

With its new identity as the Internet Business Showcase, the organizers of the event represented by the Managing Partner of Private Media Mart Limited Mr. Ejiofor Agada stated that the idea behind the change was to reflect the reality of the internet environment. According to him, “this event is meant to serve as the needed boost for the nascent Internet Business environment and sundry solutions in Nigeria today”. He explained further that the Internet Business Showcase is Nigeria’s only dedicated internet business event with Seminar and Presentations aimed at bringing together Big, Medium and Small businesses, all eager to find new ways of accessing and doing legitimate internet business.

Unlike the previous vision of using the Cyber Café Expo to serve as a bridge for both the Cyber Solution providers, the Cyber Café operators and potential investors, the new Internet Business Showcase however is meant to be the key to the future of the 21st Century, and that is why the firm intends to conduct an Internet business/technology forum for the players in the internet industry including ISPs, Telecommunication companies, Cyber Café operators, E-business solution providers, and individuals with the target audience compromising everyone involved with online and digital business. With others from board level executives, down to implementation teams, Senior Executives, Owners, CEOs, General Managers, Finance Directors, Information Managers, CIOs, Technology Managers, Cyber café operators, Students and independent cyber entrepreneurs (existing and prospecting).

In appreciating the scope and vision of the event, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has also endorsed the event with the purpose of using it to encourage internet penetration, appreciation and usage among Nigerians. NCC, through its spokesman Mr. Reuben Muoka, "NCC will always support all efforts being made to encourage the penetration and adoption of the Internet culture among Nigerians, and that is why we see the Internet Business Showcase as a classic example of how to indoctrinate Nigerian SMEs and individuals on the opportunities offered by the Internet today for all their endeavors'.

According to Mr. Agada, “the partnership with NCC is a strategic one because we felt that the telecom regulator has the same vision as we have when we conceptualized the Internet Business Showcase, and we believe that the support we are receiving from them will make the event to reach its ultimate goal of encouraging the internet content culture in Nigeria”. This year’s edition is also in collaboration with Knowledge Media International, publishers of IT Edge Magazine with Tribe Media, Newswatch Magazine, and NewswireNigeria(R) as media partners.

NCC warns on speculative reports about new EVC

2010-03-09T19:16:00.000+01:00

Jonah Iboma

The Nigerian Communications Commission has warned journalists about making untrue reports concerning moves to appoint a new chief executive for the organisation.
In a statement signed by the Head, Media and Public Relations, on Tuesday, NCC, Mr. Reuben Muoka, the commission dissociated itself from what it called " damaging speculations" warning that many of the reports had become baseless speculations.
The statement read, "The attention of the Nigerian Communications Commission has been drawn to numerous media reports speculating about the appointment of the new Executive Vice Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer for the Commission.

"The Commission is also concerned about the unusual attention directed on this issue in the media, and the level of propaganda, sentiments and insinuations attending these reports, some of which have no basis or reference to the position of the law guiding the appointment of the chief executive of the Commission."

The commission added that the frequency of the speculation had become very suspect noting that lobbyist must be behind most of the them. The NCC added that it was the prerogative of the President of Nigeria to appoint who becomes the chief executive of the commission.

The position of the NCC chief executive also known as the Executive Vice-Chairman, is the most powerful office in Nigeria's telecommunications industry, which is the largest in Africa.

The statement read further, "The Commission wishes to dissociate itself from these wild speculations and insinuations which may have been fuelled by some desperate lobbyists attempting to use the media to achieve their selfish motives.

"For the avoidance of doubt, it is the prerogative of the President of the Federation to appoint the new chief executive officer for the Commission at the appropriate time. We are confident that such decision will not be based on sentiments and insinuations sponsored in the media."

Saad Al Barrak, Zain MD, resigns

2010-02-04T17:11:00.003+01:00

The Managing Director and Vice-Chairman of Zain, Mr. Saad Al Barrak, has resigned, according to a statement by the firm.
The statement said that the company's chairman would convene a board meeting to discuss next steps.
Zain, one of the leading Middle East and African regional operator, has had its strategy scrutinised in recent times, especially with the recent global economic meltdown. According to telecoms.com, Al Barrak has helped build Zain into a firm with sizeable regional footprint as part of an oft-stated plan to become a top-tier international player in the telecommuncations industry.
Al Barrak took over the leadership of the firm in 2002 with just about 600,000 subscribers on its domestic network in Kuwait. Today, the firm has operations in 22 markets across Africa and the Middle East, counted 52.8million subscribers at the end of the third quarter of 2009, according to information from Informa and Telecoms Media's World Cellular Investors Service

Review of the 2.3 GHz Bidding Process

2009-08-24T17:16:00.000+01:00

The Board of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, chaired by Alhaji Ahmed Joda, met Thursday, August 20, 2009 in Abuja, to review the issues concerning the recent 2.3GHz frequency spectrum licensing process and the issues arising there from.
The Commission notes the published directive to the Commission, by Mr. President, Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua, to conduct a fresh bidding round for the licenses on this frequency band.
Flowing from above, the programme for the fresh bidding round for licences in the 2.3GHz Band, and other frequency bands, has been initiated by the board of the Commission, and full details will be announced in due course.
All stakeholders are advised to look out for public announcements in this regard.
We plead with all interested parties, to forget the events of the past months and join the Commission in fostering a nation where telecom services are accessible and affordable to all.
The Commission pledges its absolute commitment to due process, respect for law, and unequivocal commitment to openness and transparency, and has always been guided by these principles in all its licensing processes.
The Commission also wishes to use this opportunity to solicit for the support and understanding of all stakeholders in the quest to sustain the gains made in the Nigerian telecom industry in the last nine years for the benefit of the Nigerian people and the future of the nation.

Statement by Omatek on alleged indebtedness to Afribank Plc.

2009-08-22T22:58:00.000+01:00

In line with the recent newspaper advertorial by the Central Bank of Nigeria, we will like to state that we (Omatek) DID NOT take any loan to the tune of N1,649,380,634.77 with Afribank or have facilities that are NON PERFORMING as stated in the said publication.
OMATEK IS A 22 - YEAR OLD Venture that had worked hard to build its credibility over the Years. We have facilities with the Bank on Import Finance /Restocking basis. We Opened Form M’s, Bills for collection etc with the Bank to import raw materials. However, we have more than enough stock to match our exposure. These facilities were extended to the factory – Omatek Computers Limited (OCL), the production arm of the group. The OCL Products are being distributed to resellers and end-users by Omatek Ventures Distribution Limited (OVDL)

On the other hand, Omatek had done a considerable amount of Consumer business with Afribank through the financing of our OMATEK e-Xpress factory initiative that had been launched in over EIGHT STATES and SEVERAL Tertiary Institutions. This scheme had allowed Civil Servants, Teachers, Lecturers etc to own Computers and pay over a period of 24 months. This consumer scheme is BEING DESIGNED AS ONE OF THE BANK’S Consumer PRODUCTS and it has been very successful thus far. This is aligned to Omatek Ventures Distribution Limited (OVDL) with proceeds paid into the OVDL account at Afribank.

However, a deficit was created on the OCL account due to the expected and due inflow from the consumer scheme which was not credited into our account with the bank.

IT IS THEREFORE SUPRISING TO DISCOVER THAT OMATEK COMPUTERS WAS NAMED AMONG THE BANK’S NON-PERFORMING DEBTORS.

It is pertinent to state that the said indebtedness of =N1,649,380,634.77 is a combination of the two Import Finance Facilities and the Principal of a Mortgage transaction which has a 10-year repayment period.

Omatek is a rapidly growing company with factories in Nigeria and Ghana. we have also expanded our frontiers with the launching of our franchise retail outlets throughout the federation and across the west African sub-region.

We also wish to state that Mr Fola Adeola has ceased to be a Director of Omatek Computers Limited – the factory (from March 2008), since the EXIT of the SMEIS scheme with the two partner banks. All inconveniences/embarrassment caused by the listing of Mr. Fola Adeola’s name in the said publication is hereby regretted.

We wish to state that the continued existence of our great company is not in any

FG rakes in 56.78bn from spectrum fees in 3years

2009-07-07T19:17:00.004+01:00

Jonah Iboma
The Federal Government has realized a total of N56.78bn from spectrum sales made by the Nigerian Communications Commission between 2007 and May 2009.
According to a document released by the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent on Tuesday, a breakdown shows that the commission paid N51,102,583,704.68 in 2007 into the Consolidated Revenue Fund ,while the sums of N2,375,138,083.00 and N3,279,350,270.78, were paid in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
The document with reference number D(R&F)584/Vol.1/99 dated 22 June, 2009 and which was released by the AGF’s office following the contentious auction of 2.3GHz spectrum by the NCC in May 2009, was signed by the A.R. Ogah, the Director, Revenue and Investment at the AGF’s office.
The document had been released by the AGF to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission following claims by the Ministry of Communications that it received petitions protesting the process for the auction of four slots in the 2.3GHz band of the electromagnetic spectrum by NCC.
Meanwhile, the AGF letter has stated that the NCC could grant waivers to telecom operators provided the law establishing it stated so. This position represents a major departure from the one adduced by the Minister of Communications, Prof. Dora Akunyili, in her call for the NCC to stop the process.
She said that a petition alleged that the grant of waiver to Mobitel, which was one of the companies that won the bid for 2.3GHz spectrum, was not proper as it was said to be indebted to the Federal government and that this necessitated a stoppage of the auction.
Among other things, it was alleged that the time given by the commission for shortlisted companies to pay the reserved price of N1.3bn was too short and that the process lacked transparency, especially given the short period that companies had to pay
Meanwhile speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Tuesday, the President and Chief executive Officer of Mobitel Limited, Mr. Johnson Salako, has said that the company was not interested in getting into any contention with government over the auction issue.
According to him, Mobitel is now simply is waiting for the allocation of frequencies based on its successful bid for it to commence service. He added that for three years, the old Mobitel ceased to exist and that it went through a lot of pain to acquire the firm and had invested over N4bn into the firm to ensure that it successfully paid up all its debts to
Salako said the firm was ready to rollout service in October as it had placed order for the equipment to enable it to commence services.
The Chief Commercial officer, Mobitel, Mr. Okon Iyanam, said the firm had done a lot of work to get ready to offer a fourth generation mobile service and that it was unfortunate that the current problems had held back its plans
He said, “We shed tears for the kind of investment that we have made but which have been held up by the current problems.”

Harris Stratex Opens First Technical Support Centre in Nigeria

2009-06-02T23:15:00.002+01:00

In what has been described as a clear statement on the overall value of the fledging Nigerian market for the information communication technology (ICT) sector, the top management hierarchy of the leading global wireless communication solution providers Harris Stratex Networks were on hand penultimate Monday the 1st of June to officially open the company’s first Technical Service Support and Test center in Lagos.

The centre, which is the first of its kind in the sub – region, is meant to cater for a part of the existing customer base of Harris Stratex in Nigeria. Making this confirmation during the official opening ceremony of the Centre in Lagos , the President and CEO of Harris Stratex, Mr. Harald Braun explained that apart from the fact that the company presently operates in eleven African countries including Nigeria, his company is the only one with up to 30% of its profitable business coming out of Africa.

Describing Africa in general and Nigeria in particular as the only place in the world today where businesses are still in the up swing, Mr. Braun noted that of the existing five regions where Harris Stratex operates from globally, Africa’s importance is enhanced by the fact that it has been recognized as a mobile and wireless terrain.

His words: “Nobody that knows this terrain will be thinking of still depending on putting fibre or copper in the ground here anymore, the future on Africa depends on wireless technology and we happen to be the best in this area”.

Citing, available statistics he revealed that with Africa and other developing markets’ sudden leap in broadband usage from almost nothing in the last ten years to 34 million presently and a projection of one billion broadband subscribers by 2013, the market presents an enormous attraction. While admitting that there are a lot of challenges in doing business in Nigeria, Mr. Braun also explained that it is not unusual pointing out that other areas within and outside Africa also have challenges in doing businesses there including regulatory issues, inflation and economic stability issues which are not present in Nigeria. Rather the challenges in Nigeria are actually opportunities as he observed that with the lack of infrastructure in place in Nigeria, it will allow for the early deployment of cutting-edge technology from Harris Stratex, which according to him, brings to bear the full advantage of next-generation 4G technology. Therefore, the move to make the presence of Harris Stratex better felt in Nigeria with the setting up of the technical Centre was borne out of a carefully thought-out business strategy.

In addition to that, the mere fact that the President of Harris Stratex is visiting the country for the fourth time in two years also underscores the importance the company attaches to the Nigerian market. Explaining the features of the new Centre located in the heart of Victoria Island, Mr. Braun stated that the location will serve the purpose of a technical support Centre for this part of Africa, while the second location will serve as a training Centre with ample space and facilities to cater for the training of their customers.

Additionally, Harris Stratex will also be putting in place a partnership and mentoring programme in collaboration with some Nigerian Universities in order to give back to the society where they operate from in the area of training and employment opportunities.

Meganet pushes mobile recharge

2008-10-14T22:20:00.001+01:00

Meganet Nigeria Limited, a telecommunication value added services firm, has unveiled a platform for recharging mobile phones from the Internet.
The Chief Executive Officer, Meganet, Mr. Oso Abiodun, while unveiling the platform, explained that it was designed to enable mobile phone users recharge their phones from the comfort of their homes, offices or wherever, provided they had access to the Internet.
He explained that the service would ride on the Interswitch payment platform, thereby ensuring reliable security for users and also enabling a user to recharge his phone, using a debit card without visiting an automatic teller machine.
He added that the firm designed the product to make the lives of Nigerians more comfortable.
Abiodun said, “We are an information technology company with core interest in web development, software solution development wireless and enterprise solutions.
“Since our mission is to develop products and resources that will offer convenience to people in the technology driven economy, we felt that the problem of getting phones recharged at midnight or in a distance far from the recharge card vendor, should not pose a barrier to Nigerian subscribers at this age of digital advancements, particularly when companies like ours are still in business.
“So, we developed a platform, www.mobilerechargeng.com. This platform was developed to offer phone subscribers the opportunity to buy airtime from the comfort of their homes and offices with their Interswitch ATM debit cards.”
Abiodun said that all a subscriber needed to use the recharge platform was to log onto the website, register free of charge as a member, pick from the listed vendors, including almost all the mobile operators in the country, and click the buy button where details of the buyer’s card would be required for verification by Interswitch.
“It is very easy, once you are registered and you have selected the network you want to buy their recharge, you click the buy button and the site automatically redirects you to a secure Interswitch platform where verification would be made on the details of your card.
Once this is completed, the PIN of the recharge card requested is displayed and a copy sent to your email address,” Abiodun added.

PNN signs N7bn telecom infrastructure agreement with ITL

2008-10-14T22:09:00.001+01:00

PNN Limited, a telecom turnkey and infrastructure firm with operations in several Africa countries, has announced an agreement with Independent Towers Limited to deploy and operate 750 base stations sites.
The project, according to the firms, is expected to cover six African countries and will be implemented between now and June 2010. ITL is a firm with specialisation in building telecom towers and base stations.
Our correspondent gathered in Lagos on Monday that in the first phase of the project worth N7bn, 200 co-location sites would be built in Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda while the rest would follow suit immediately.
The Managing Director of PNN, Alhaji AbdulRahman Abiola-Odunowo, said that the firm intended to deploy the sites innovatively to help reduce the capital and operational expenditure for these sites.
He stated, “To achieve a reduction in the operational expenses of our client, ITL has approved that all the sites would be deployed utilising alternative power solutions. We are very excited to be working with a forward thinking organisation like ITL because they have recognised the need to think out of the box by deploying their sites in a more energy efficient manner.”
Abiola-Odunowo also added that 100 of these sites would be completed and brought to use before June 2009.
The Head of Business Development, ITL, Mr. Gbenga Owoeye, explained that ITL’s primary focus was to deliver a cost-effective service across Africa and the deployment of the first 200 sites to Nigeria, Uganda and Ghana was as a result of the assessment of the current needs in these markets.
He said, “Our choice of PNN as our turnkey service provider is based on their understanding of ITL’s aspirations in ensuring our operational cost is reduced significantly while also ensuring that uptime on our sites is 100 per cent at all times since they are the leading telecoms infrastructure operations and maintenance service company in Nigeria with over 700 sites under their management.”
Abiola-Odunowo explained that PNN was a Pan African telecoms company whose corporate mission was to enhance the socio-economic growth of any nation they operates in by providing excellent telecommunications solutions to both business and individual clients.
PNN started operations in Nigeria in 1998 and has recently expanded her operations into other African countries including Ghana, Uganda and Rwanda.

New Horizons plans national job fair

2008-10-11T21:56:00.001+01:00

Leading Information Technology Professional training institutions firm, New Horizons, is to organise job fair and IT seminar, which will focus on tapping contemporary job opportunities for people in Africa

The event will feature the major technology firms including Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, Sun Microsystems, EC-Council and New Horizons coming together to discuss the latest trends in IT and how it affects Africans as a whole, but more importantly, how individuals can benefit optimally from the numerous IT opportunities.
The epoch making event will take place at three locations across the country: namely Lagos, Ogun and

The firm said the event which will take place on the 18th of October 2008 would teach participants about actionable steps to take towards improving their professional skills thereby making it easier to get the jobs of their dreams.

It added that as a result of this, top recruitment companies such as People Prime, IRIS Consulting, Michael Stevens, and Clement Ashley Consulting would feature in the event

The Co-founder of EC-Council University, Mr. Sanjay Bavisi, creators of programmes such as Certified Ethical Hacker, Certified Hacking Forensic Investigator, Master of Security Science-MSS, and MBA E-Business will be in attendance to discuss the importance of e-business to national growth and career development.

New Horizons said at event, participants would have the opportunity to meet with the recruitment firms to discuss their career aspirations, the needed steps to take to achieve their goals and job opportunities in the Nigerian employment market. They will also get to know the top paying companies in the country, good universities they can attend on a reasonable budget abroad for their postgraduate programmes as well as available scholarships they can tap into to sponsor their schooling.

The Managing Director of New Horizons Mr. Tim Akano, said this new event was being organised because of the unprecedented turn out of participants at the first one which attracted more than 10,000 people.
He further said that people had been calling in, writing letters and emails, beckoning on the organsation to put together another job fair, not only in Lagos, but in other states and that is why the firm is putting together a bigger job fair. He added that they were expecting upwards of 30,000 people to come for the event.

He drew attention to the deplorable situation of unemployment in the country and the need to address the situation with pragmatic and long lasting solution. He said the former Minister for Education, Mrs. Oby Ezekwelisi, and the present CBN Governor Mr. Charles Soludo said that more than 70 per cent of Nigerian youths were either unemployed, unemployable, or underemployed and if the situation is not reversed Nigeria will soon become a nation of criminals. He said the effect of unemployment is deeply been felt in the society as the rate of crime have risen to alarming proportions and the only solution to it is to provide the right skills to people so as to rise above the situation and live more prosperous lives. He explained that ICT is the area in which skills are needed in the world today and those who strive to acquire these skills will be better for it.

MTN Partners with FCMB on Wide Area Network Solutions

2008-10-11T21:55:00.001+01:00

MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, has signed a five year deal for the provision of a Wide Area Network solution to support 89 up-country branches of First City Monument Bank
The wide area network solution provided by MTN will assist FCMB to enhance its customer experience, product and human capital development.

In a statement on Friday, Head of Information Technology, FCMB, Mr. Olayinka Oni, said the Wide Area Network solution would improve the quality of services rendered by the bank through the prompt provision of banking services and, reduction on the time customers spend in the banking halls.

“The solution which is the first of its kind to be adopted by any bank in Nigeria will reduce turn around time, improve transaction speed, and enhance customer satisfaction. It will also impact on long term increase in customer base and long term profit,” Oni stated.

He said further, “This is an exciting development, and we look forward to leveraging on the cutting edge ICT facilities provided by MTN to offer our growing customers’ base the excellent services for which we are known.”

Commenting on the partnership, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Ahmad Farroukh said, “At MTN, we leverage on our expertise in the area of telecommunications to provide cutting edge ICT solutions to a wide range of customers including progressive corporations such as FCMB. We design and deploy effective business solutions and ensure that services are available to sustain excellent service delivery on a consistent basis.”

FCMB, which was founded in 1982, was the first wholly owned merchant bank to be established in Nigeria before it acquired a universal banking license in 2001. Its pedigree and reputation in the banking and financial industry was further demonstrated in 2007, when it attracted over $300m in direct investments, as well as on-lending facilities from leading international institutions such as HCBC, CDC, OPIC and the IFC among others.

MTN Nigeria is the largest telecommunications company in Nigeria with coverage in over 200 towns and more than 10,000 villages and communities across the 36 states of the federation. MTN has built in excess of 3,400 bases stations in Nigeria, and its 3,600 kilometres fibre optics Superhighway is the largest private infrastructure of its kind in Africa. The company is poised to consolidate its achievements in telecommunications by offering superior ancillary products and services.

Tavia wins three Microsoft awards

2008-10-11T21:51:00.000+01:00

Tavia Technologies Limited, a leading Applications Solutions Provider has been honoured with three awards at the Microsoft Nigeria's Partner Award ceremony. The awards are in recognition of Tavia’s efforts in delivering and enhancing value to the numerous members of Microsoft’s clientele across the three main areas of its operations; Web, Wireless & Applications and Business Intelligence.
Tavia, formed in 1999, won Rookie of the year award, Customer Experience Award and the Country Managers Award which are the results of the company's strong focus to consistently provide first class services to its clients.
The firm, which has over the years carved a niche for itself in the industry took a strategic decision to further deepen and leverage its relationship with Microsoft through skills acquisition partnerships which have enhanced its service delivery to its clients. The Chief Executive Officer, Tavia Technologies, Mr. Ayo Olasoju, said the company had invested in human capital development through the enrolment of the staff in Microsoft Partner University and other Microsoft centred training courses. He added that Tavia Technologies had also built up its in-house Microsoft knowledge base to ensure capacity building by the staff.
Olasoju stated that in delivering value driven services, the company also developed international alliances with organizations outside Nigeria who have had an established pedigree of deploying Microsoft solutions. According to him "We tailored our Solution Implementation Approach to best practice as contained in the Microsoft Solutions Framework which has helped us to improve on the customer experience we provide during solution implementation.

Emperion continues Internet franchise scheme

2008-09-27T21:02:00.001+01:00

Jonah Iboma

IN its quest to take Internet and video conferencing facilities to the grassroots, Emperion West Africa has completed a one-day seminar on its franchise programme in Lagos.
The franchise programme is a nationwide scheme designed at providing ordinary folks affordable Internet, which allows individual, small and medium businesses the opportunity to offer services through the franchise programme.
The scheme is also designed to provide also a national stock and service support to achieve the objectives.
According to the firm the seminar, gave officials of Emperion the opportunity to explain the franchise programme to its existing and potential dealers.
The Managing Director, Mr. Sandeep Jayaswal, who led the Emperion team, said the scheme was designed to transform internet access in the country
“Services will be standardised,” Jayaswal told his audience that came from far and near.
“The programme will revive cyber café businesses, use of online payment, offer financial help among others,” he said
Jayaswal added that it would also provide a national wide stock and service support to achieve the above objectives, covering Nigeria and bring small ISPs and cybercafe under one umbrella and providing them collective strength.
Besides, he noted that to the franchise scheme would train all the franchisees so that they could themselves install and maintain their equipment and network.

He said that in order to revive cyber café business in Nigeria hot spot services would be encouraged to promote internet use by individual and small business enterprise.
He added that existing equipment in certain cases can be used to reduce capital expenditure.
During the event, the firm had a live video of keynote address of Chief Executive Officer of Andersen Advisory Group, Mr. Michael Andersen straight from Copenhagen, Denmark.
Andersen presented to the audience his keynote address and also took live questions from the audience. He emphasized the commitment of Emperion A/S Denmark in the Nigerian Internet market and his full support to the new franchise programme.

Etisalat’s 0809uchoose offers more choice with Homezone

2008-09-27T21:01:00.001+01:00

Etisalat has today announced the introduction of Homezone, yet another dimension of choice in the suite of choices it is offering potential subscribers to the Etisalat network in its ongoing 0809uchoose campaign.

Homezone is an innovative feature from Etisalat that will empower customers with the power to choose and register any area of their choice nationwide in the launch cities, and in other cities subsequently, as their Homezone. On this highly unique plan, calls within the registered Homezone attract discounted costs compared to calls made in other areas. This means that customers can register any area they spend most of their time as their Homezone and thus enjoy discounted call rates every time they make calls from this zone.

Speaking about the new initiative, Etisalat Nigeria’s Vice President Marketing, Wael Ammar, stated that with Homezone, Etisalat is further demonstrating to Nigerians that it is entering the Nigerian market with the sole intention of ensuring that Nigerian customers enjoy quality offerings that are comparable to the best in the world.

“As a world class brand with 32 years of experience doing business on 3 continents, Etisalat knows only one way of doing business in all the markets we operate in; our customers’ way. We are always looking for the best ways to give our customers an unforgettable experience on our network. That is why we chose to enter the Nigerian market by giving 1 million Nigerians the opportunity to choose numbers that have a special meaning to them with 0809uchoose for free. This is the first time this has ever happened in this market. We are further reinforcing the power of choice that we offered with 0809uchoose by giving them an opportunity to talk more and pay less when they register their Homezone on the Etisalat network. The Homezone can be anywhere they spend the majority of their time. For every call they make in this zone, they save money because they pay a lot less than anywhere else”, Ammar explained.

Ammar also said a person’s Homezone can be anywhere there is Etisalat network coverage and they can make calls at anytime of the day or night from this zone and pay less; no on or off peak time to worry about, he said. Hear him, “Anyone can take advantage of this opportunity to truly talk more for less as long as they register their Homezone on the Etisalat network. It costs nothing to register but the benefits are immense for the customer. For instance, workers who spend a large percentage of their days in their offices can choose their office area as their Homezone. Businessmen can choose the areas where they spend a greater percentage of their time as their Homezone. Market men and women can do the same. Students can choose their schools as their Homezone. In short, you can register anywhere as your Homezone.”

The Homezone will be as flexible as the lifestyles of the various customers the GSM outfit hopes to cater for. “I encourage Nigerians to reserve numbers during the duration of the 0809uchoose campaign as the benefits are lifelong and far reaching’. He reminded potential subscribers that they still had the chance to reserve and enjoy the power of choice on several levels – their choice of their special number, the choice of their Homezone and in addition 300 seconds of free airtime for their lifetime, whether on or off the network.

Etisalat recently launched its unique 0809uchoose campaign via which it is offering subscribers an opportunity to choose and reserve special numbers for free on its network. Subscribers who make a reservation at this time will get the numbers free (if they do not fall within the Gold, Silver or Bronze range). They will also get an opportunity to enjoy free airtime every month for life. The Homezone is a key benefit for all subscribers on the Etisalat network even as it gets set to begin commercial operations in the country.

African operators to build new $400m undersea cable

2008-09-09T16:57:00.001+01:00

Jonah Iboma
Grahamstown, South Africa

Leading African mobile telecommunications operators have signed a $400m pact to build an undersea fibre optic cable infrastructure that would complement the current but insufficient SAT3 in operation. The new cable will run from the West Africa coast through the rest of Africa.Leading operators in the pact which include Vodacom, Telkom, MTN, Broadband Infraco and Neotel said on Sunday that they signed a deal worth more than $400 million (about R3.12 billion) to build a 5.1Tb cable to land in as many African countries on the West Coast as possible. The new venture is expected to increase the already emerging competition in the undersea cable business. Due to dissatisfaction with SAT-3, the only undersea cable serving most of the countries in West coast of Africa, a number of new ventures had started to provide alternative services. Among these ventures are Infinity Cable promoted by Infinity Worldwide Group based in Granada; MainOne Cable promoted by MainStreet Communications Nigeria and Glo-1, a project of Globacom Nigeria. The new joint venture will enter into negotiations with the representative telecommunications operators. In some countries, the participants already have landing rights such as those that have already been granted to Telkom and MTN by Nigeria.Details of the deal which was put together in a memorandum of understanding signed by all the parties, said that the new infrastructure will be code-named "Cable-X". This will ensure international connectivity, reduced costs of bandwidth and the savings are passed on to consumers. Using the traditional telecommunications model, the financial structure will see all parties contribute an equal amount to the project. This will give them an equal share of the capacity. The cable is expected be renamed and three alternatives were presented at the Sunday's meeting. The first is African Cable Enterprise, the second is West African Cable System, and the third is Fusion, symbolising the concept of the five shareholders coming together. Sources say the cable will stretch from Telkom's Melbosstrand landing station, just outside Cape Town, and terminate in Europe. The next step for the parties is to form a joint venture company, and sign a construction and maintenance agreement that will detail the construction timeline, set an operational date and appoint a company to survey the route and build the cable. Sources close to the negotiations say this deal effectively combines what Broadband Infraco, championed by the Department of Public Enterprises, was trying to achieve, but failed to because of its cumbersome financing structure.The project replaces Telkom's SAT-4 cable project, which it had been planning for some time, and would have been modeled on its previous systems, such as the current SAT-3 system.The deal also excludes any other international player making a move to link up one of the fastest growing telecommunications markets in the world – the African hinterland. United States Internet giant Google was in discussions with some of the individual parties, but these talks have now ended.Sources said the joint venture met the government objectives and the DPE plans in terms of reducing connectivity costs. An official release announcing the joint venture is expected either later on Monday or Tuesday, following a briefing by the joint venture to the South African Department of Communications.However, it effectively snubs the DoC's own pet project, Uhurunet, which aims to encircle the continent with fibre optic.Twelve countries, 10 of which are Southern African Development Community members, have signed the protocol governing Uhurunet, but only six have ratified it.During a parliamentary press briefing on Sunday Deputy Director-General for ICT Infrastructure, Keith Shongwe said Uhurnet was making progress.He said representatives from Nigeria and Kenya were due to meet with the Uhurunet consultants, the US company 5P, this week to sign a memorandum of understanding over their participation.

Etisalat sends strong start signals on 08.09 with new camapign

2008-09-09T16:02:00.000+01:00

Jonah Iboma

The fastest growing telecommunications company in the world, Etisalat, has today 08.09, announced that it has entered the final leg of its journey towards the commencement of commercial operations in Nigeria. Etisalat, Nigeria's fifth GSM operator had paid 400 million USD to obtain the Unified Access Service License.Etisalat had made the first official call on its network on 13 March 2008 and progressively set in motion the process of rolling out a robust and stable network that will traverse Nigeria, starting with several cities. Making the announcement today in Lagos, the Chairman of Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Hakeem Bello-Osagie said 'Today, 08.09, I am happy to announce that Etisalat Nigeria is indeed on track in its quest to build and deliver a truly robust and stable network, one in keeping with Etisalat's reputation as a world class telecommunications service provider.' Mr. Bello-Osagie further stated that 'it has been crucial for Etisalat Nigeria to ensure that as Nigerians join the 64 million-strong Etisalat family across the Middle East, Africa and Asia they experience first hand the innovative service delivery, the creative and relevant product development that have become the hallmark of Etisalat's quality'. Vice President, Marketing, Etisalat Nigeria, Wael Ammar added that 08.09 is indeed special for us at Etisalat, not just because it is a day that signifies our numbering range but because today we reach a key landmark with the unveiling of our brand in Nigeria and beginning the process of formally entering the market in Nigeria. Though our journey has only just begun, we are nevertheless proud to announce to you that our network with the unique 0809 prefix is on course, on track and in line with our business and technical plans, very much on time.' Ammar added that 'Etisalat's commitment to Nigeria has been evidenced by several key factors already – from the assemblage of Nigerians who have been deeply involved in the network roll out process to a revolutionary advertising campaign made by and reflecting the hopes and aspirations of Nigerians across all walks of life'. Dubbed 0809ja, Etisalat's maiden marketing campaign, a prelude to its commercial launch, kicks off today Monday 08.09 and deeply identifies with Nigeria and Nigerians need to talk and be heard. Etisalat, which has been ranked the fastest growing telco in the world and the largest in both the Middle East and Africa, ahead of all other regional and international operators in the two regions, serves an aggregate of 64 million customers across 15 other countries. Etisalat will roll out commercial services across Nigeria beginning with some cities and has stated that it is indeed keen to cover the rest of the country in record time.

Experts urge Nigerians to embrace internet telephony

2008-09-09T15:38:00.000+01:00

Jonah Iboma

In the light of the current epileptic services and high price regime by Telecom Operators in the country, experts have advocated the use of internet telephony as the only succour available for now. One of their strong points is that Internet telephony forms more than 75 per cent of calls in developed countries while Nigerians still depend largely on GSM and landlines for both local and international calls. A Nigerian communication expert based in the United States of America, Dom Francis, lamented the cost and quality of services Nigerians are made to endure in the name of telephone services. He noted that the unfortunate thing was that the cost of calls was not commensurate with the services received by subscribers. He advised Nigerians to wake up to the realities of evolving technology stressing that Nigerians seem to have been left far too behind. "Out there internet calls is the main thing and it doesn't cost more than N5 per minute whether local or international, and with that, you can afford to do real business on phone rather than merely confirming appointment as it is in the country now for fear of costs." he said. He stated that the implication of this was that for N150, a caller can be on phone for 30 minutes no matter the network. Unfortunately, according to Francis, the same amount can only give a caller in the country that uses a GSM only three or four minutes of call time across networks in the country. Francis said it is the main reason people calling from abroad can afford to talk for more than two hours and never feel the pain was because they paid as little as nothing. He added that besides this, the service was never as epileptic as ordinary telephone calls that were available in Nigeria where calls could break more than ten times within a 3 minute call. Said he, "I don't see why Nigerians cannot make calls when it rains, but that is mostly the case in the country." Another US-based Telecom Engineer, Mr. Collins Iyamah, said Nigerians were under a heavy bondage when it came to telephony. He said it was not a good thing that people carry as many as four phones just to avoid inter-network calls adding that what was needed was either a software on his phone that allows him make internet calls wherever and whenever he wanted or a connection that interfaces with his fixed line phone to give him access to make internet calls always Iyamah said the basic problem with Nigeria is lack of adequate enlightenment, insisting that with proper enlightenment, Nigerians are supposed to live better than they were living presently. "In offices, for instance, internet abound, even in homes and shops, it is available because most of the Telecom Networks offer internet services. With it, anybody who has the right tools can always save telephone costs. All people need to be told are how to use it, how to acquire it and where to use it. I don't see why somebody can not use a USB and plug into a system with internet in the office or in the Cybercafe and make as much calls as he/she wishes to, and save enormous cost. It is all about information. Eventually, the razzmatazz of the Telecom operators have blinded Nigerians against other options available to us them," Iyamah said.

MTN plans quality improvement across operational countries

2008-09-09T15:37:00.001+01:00

Jonah Iboma
Grahamstown, South Africa

MTN Group on Sunday admitted quality challenges in a number of countries where it operates stating however that it was set to address the problems.Already in a number of countries the telecoms firm has spent huge sums of money on quality improvement.The Executive Director, Corporate Affairs, MTN Group, Ms. Nozipho January-Bardill Who disclosed this at the ongoing 12th Highway Africa conference at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa, stated that strong growth was expected across the regions and that additional investments infrastructure would be required to meet demand and improve network quality.She said this decision reflected the determination of the Group to be the leading provider of telecommunications services across the globe and especially in emerging markets.Speaking further, she said the group has always been a leader in the provision of quality telecom services to its subscribers and therefore would not relent in this direction.In a related document circulated at the event on Monday, the MTN Group disclosed that the West and the Central Africa region now provides the highest absolute Earnings Before Interests Taxes Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) contributions to the group and revenue level similar to the South and East Africa region.According to the report, subscribers in the WECA region increased from 19.6 million to approximately 28 million in increasingly competitive markets. It stated further that this was characterised by accelerated network roll out to address capacity and quality constraints, particularly in Nigerian and Ghana.It however acknowledged the fact that Nigeria remains the major contributor in the WECA region, increasing subscriber by over four million to 16.5 million. It added that Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire delivered strong performances, growing the number of subscribers by 1.4 million and 1.1 million respectively ending December 31, 2007.MTN also

Globacom, Vodacom in merger talks

2008-09-01T15:38:00.000+01:00

Jonah Iboma

There were indications on Friday that Globacom is in talks about forming a partnership with South African mobile phone operator, Vodacom.
According to reports by Reuters, an unnamed spokesman for Globacom said both Telkom South Africa, which owns 50 per cent of Vodacom, and the Nigerian company were partnership talks. The spokesman said, “There is a discussion going on between Vodacom and Globacom ... The discussion is about building a business partnership between the two organisations.”
It added that a spokeswoman for Vodacom, however, said that she was unaware of any such talks. A South African newspaper had earlier reported that the Chairman of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga, had proposed merging Telkom’s 50 percent stake in Vodacom with Globacom to create a pan-African telecom firm “Vodaglo” worth $18 billion
Vodacom provides GSM service to more than 23 million customers in South Africa, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho and Mozambique. Industry experts in South Africa believe the new development has better prospects in store for both operators as it will also foster a stronger bond between Nigerian and South African entrepreneurs. Before now, there had been no multi-billion dollar business relationship between Nigerian entrepreneurs and their South African counterparts at this scale.

Operators agree to reduce SMS tariff

2008-08-13T20:19:00.001+01:00

As NCC plans price cap

Mobile phone operators on Tuesday agreed to commence steps to reduce the price short message service across their networks considering the potential of increased SMS use to reduce network congestion and in line with practice elsewhere.

Operators expressed this position at a consultative forum held on Tuesday in Lagos by the Nigerian Communications Commission on reduction of SMS tariffs.

The NCC had argued that current SMS tariff in Nigeria was too high against the backdrop of the fact that SMS utilises an almost insignificant network resource.

According to the Executive Vice-Chairman, NCC, Mr. Ernest Ndukwe, operators were not doing their networks good by keeping prices of SMS high as increased use of SMS could help reduce the congestion on networks and improve services generally. He added that complaints about current tariff were increasing.

He said, “As you well know, SMS serves as alternative platform of communications to voice to the teeming consumers in Nigeria. Recent findings, as well as other feedbacks from consumer programmes organised by the commission, particularly in recent times, have disclosed a concern about the SMS tariff charged by telecom operators across the networks, leading to a call for reduction in the SMS tariff rates by consumers.”
NCC boss noted that under current tariff regime, various mobile and fixed wireless network operators charged different tariffs off-net and on-net, with the highest off-net tariff on mobile being N20 and the lowest N10. He added that on-net tariffs varied between N10 and N15, while off-net tariffs on fixed wireless networks ranged between N10 and N12.
He noted that in some countries subscribers have SMS as a free service.
“May I state that though the current SMS rates in Nigeria is not the highest in the West African sub-region, it is also neither the most attractive. It is interesting to note that other jurisdictions like Ghana, Gambia, Australia and Switzerland adopt free SMS policy while other countries only token amounts are paid for SMS

He said based on the complaints the commission would introduce a price-cap for SMS services. According to Ndukwe, this is to encourage the use of SMS by the teeming subscribers, noting that there was potentially a market of 54million SMS users, especially youths.

The Chief Commercial Officer, ZOOM Mobile, Mr. Fabian Uzor, said there was need to reduce SMS tariff but added that operators needed to address the issue of interconnect rates first among themselves.
Officials of Zain, Globacom, MTN and Starcomms also agreed on the need to reduce tariff but Starcomms said there was need for operators to be allowed to increase their capacity in order to cope with increased use of SMS

The President National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, a group that advances consumers issues, Chief Deolu Ogunbajo, suggested that operators should bring SMS to N1.50 per message.

HITV subscriber base exceeds 100,000

2008-08-13T19:57:00.000+01:00

Nigeria’s locally owned pay television platform, Hi-TV, has recorded over 100,000 subscriber base, the company said in a statement on Monday.

The station, owned by Entertainment Highway Limited, commenced operations on February 1, 2007 with a pledge to provide qualitative, informative and entertaining content to Nigerians at affordable rates.
with a further promise to give customers value for money through compelling content and technical quality

The Chief Operating Officer of HiTV, Mr. Olumide Amore, was quoted as saying that an unprecedented patronage has propelled the subscriber base from 25,000 in August last year to 47,000 in December, over 70,000 in February 2008 and 122,000 at the end of July 2008.

Amore said having overcome initial start-up challenges as freezing of satellite signals and late kick off of live matches, the platform was poised to offer subscribers quality services having invested heavily in equipment and infrastructure, as well as the recruitment of tested hands.

The firm’s phenomenal growth, he said, had been driven largely by robust technology, compelling content, competitive pricing, aggressive marketing, financial clout and management savvy.

He said the company had strengthened its technical base, adding that over the next 12 months the company will be adding more content in different areas of interests to customers such as sports, movies, news and entertainment.

HITV operates on two platforms - the cable service, which is currently in operation in Lagos only, and the satellite Direct-To-Home (DTH) service, which is available all over the country.

Mobile operators agree to reduce SMS tariff

2008-08-13T19:50:00.000+01:00

By Jonah Iboma

Mobile phone operators on Tuesday agreed to commence steps to reduce the price of short message service across their networks.
This is considering the potential of increased use of SMS in reducing network congestion in line with the practice elsewhere.
The operators came up with this position at a consultative forum held on Tuesday in Lagos, by the Nigerian Communications Commission on reduction of SMS tariffs.
The NCC had argued that the current SMS tariff in Nigeria was too high against the backdrop of the fact that SMS utilises an almost insignificant network resource.
According to the Executive Vice-Chairman, NCC, Mr. Ernest Ndukwe, the operators are not doing their networks any good by keeping prices of SMS high as increased use of SMS could help reduce the congestion on the networks and improve services generally.
He added that complaints about current tariff were increasing.
He said, “As you well know, SMS serves as alternative platform of communications to voice for the teeming consumers in Nigeria. Recent findings as well as other feedbacks from consumer programmes organised by the commission, particularly in recent times, have highlighted concern about the SMS tariff charged by telecom operators across the networks, leading to a call for reduction in the SMS tariff rates by consumers.”
The NCC boss noted that under the current tariff regime, various mobile and fixed wireless network operators charged different tariffs off-net and on-net, with the highest off-net tariff on mobile being N20 and the lowest being N10.
He added that on-net tariffs varied between N10 and N15, while off-net tariffs on fixed wireless networks ranged between N10 and N12.
He noted that in some countries, subscribers had SMS as a free service.
Ndukwe said, “May I state that though the current SMS rates in Nigeria is not the highest in the West African sub-region, it is also neither the most attractive. It is interesting to note that other jurisdictions like Ghana, Gambia, Australia and Switzerland adopt free SMS policy, while in other countries, only token amounts are paid for SMS.”
He said based on the complaints, the commission would introduce a price-cap for SMS services.
According to him, this is to encourage the use of SMS by the subscribers

Telecoms: NCS wants government to license more 3G operators

2008-08-06T21:34:00.001+01:00

Seek biometric authentication for e-commerce
Jonah Iboma

The Nigerian Computer Society has asked the Federal Government to license more telecommunication operators to offer third generation mobile services in the country.
According to the body, issuing more licences was important as 3G services offered the country a window for increased job creation.

The President of NCS, Prof. Charles Uwadia, who stated this on Wednesday during a media conference on its recently-concluded national convention, noted that 3G technology offered a very quick means of fast-tracking internet access and improving businesses in Nigeria.

He said, “3G mobile communications services provide a window of opportunities for job creation in Nigeria. The Federal Government is thus urged through the Nigerian Communications Commission to grant additional licenses to increase the diffusion and deployment of GSM and Internet access in Nigeria.”

Currently Nigeria has issued four 3G licences to namely; Glo Mobile, MTN Nigeria, Zain and Alheri Engineering, a firm owned by the Dangote Group. Each cost of $100m.
While only Globacom and MTN have rolled out 3G services, Zain is yet to do so, while not much has been heard from Alheri on its plans to commence the service. However, Nigeria’s newest GSM Licensee, Etisalat has applied for the licence, stating that it was central to its plans for the Nigerian market in the future.

NCS, which is the central body of all organisations involved in computer and related businesses in the country, also called for the introduction of biometric authentication as a means of curbing increased theft of electronic payment cards in Nigeria.
Uwadia said, “This would protect the banker and their customer and is bound to trigger geometrical growth in e-commerce implementation in Nigeria.”

He added that biometric authentication was also important as electronic payment was very crucial towards accelerated socio-economic and technological development of Nigeria and that the courage of banks that had already invested in e-payment needed to be sustained through an improved security system.

The computer science professor also called for the creation of the enabling environment for the deployment of e-payment in the local government areas of Nigeria. He noted that with this, the incidents of corruption at the local government level would be drastically reduced, while government revenue would be better captured.

He said NCS had also recommended to the government that the time had come for Nigeria to begin training of selected civil servants in Computer Forensics and also require higher institutions to establish Computer Forensics departments for the training of more experts to combat internet crime.

New Horizons inspires youths with IT scheme

2008-07-29T20:08:00.000+01:00

New Horizons, the world’s leading information technology training institution, has highlighted the need for youths to have information technology skills to better their lives.

The company stated this in a statement made available on Monday, after a special information and entertainment programme for youths in Lagos.

The Managing Director, New Horizons, Mr. Tim Akano, told participants that the present century belonged to Nigerian youths, and urged them to strive hard to take their rightful place in the scheme of things in the world, thereby leading Nigeria gallantly into the future.

He noted that IT was central among skills that they should possess to become competitive in the present age.

He added that it was the duty of the youths to develop Nigeria and that foreigners could not do a better job than the citizens.

He identified the IT skills that participants should acquire in order to improve their chances of professional success to include Oracle and Microsoft certifications, E-Business, Sun Java and Comp Tia certifications.

Others include Information Security and CISCO certifications.

Popular radio presenter, Mr. Dan Foster, who was one of the speakers at the event, told the youths to be dedicated and focused towards achieving their dreams and ambitions.

He shared his personal experiences whilst growing up in the United States of America and his journey towards becoming a radio talk show host, and how IT had enabled him to increase his productivity as well as allow him to work across continents thereby earning more money.

He also informed the youths to have a positive self image of themselves and to aspire to be unique in all they would do, especially by acquiring IT certification based skills to increase their chances of success in the labour market.

At the end of his presentation, Foster gave out 500 scholarships from Oracle University, USA on behalf of New Horizons.

The company said it was using entertainment as a universal language of the youths, to communicate important and life transforming ideas that could impact positively on them and save them from the abyss of perpetual unemployment.

The event was attended by well over 5,000 people from across the country and had many entertainers including music maestro Abolore Adegbola Akande popularly known as 9ice and Dan Foster.

Zain Group surpasses 50million customer base milestone

2008-07-29T20:07:00.000+01:00

Kuwait-listed Zain Group, owners of Celtel Nigeria, has reported a significant growth in revenues with customer numbers exceeding 50 million.
For the first half of 2008, Zain Group recorded consolidated revenues of $3.49bn, an increase of 26 per cent compared to the first half of 2007.
The company’s consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased by 20 per cent for the same period to $1.305bn.
Zain’s consolidated net profits reached $551.5m, an increase of seven per cent on the first half of 2007 profits.
Year-on-year customer growth across the two continents where Zain operates was 58 per cent with the group serving 50.74 million active customers as at 30 June, 2008.
Commenting on the company’s first half of 2008 financial results, Zain’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Saad Al-Barrak said, “On the back of splendid results for 2007 and the first quarter of 2008, despite fierce competition in many markets, we are elated that Zain continues its excellent performance in the first half of 2008.
“Highlighted by crossing the 50 million customer milestone, these impressive results reflect the exceptional operational efficiencies in a company that is investing heavily and rapidly expanding across two continents.”
Al-Barrak added, “We have started to reap the rewards of our recent large investments particularly in Iraq, Nigeria and Sudan, with these three countries now serving more than half of Zain’s 50 million customers, and we expect similar rewards when our operations in Saudi Arabia and Ghana commence commercially.”
Further to Zain’s Saudi Arabia’s listing on the Saudi Stock Exchange and a share price currently trading at double its initial offering, Zain has committed capital investments to date in networks exceeding $1.5bn in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Currently the operation is testing the network with thousands of friendly users and Zain has confirmed that it would commence commercial operations by the end of August 2008.
“We look keenly forward to launching our modern network and commercial offerings in the Kingdom, promising to offer the Saudi community world class telecom services. We are confident that our investment in the Kingdom will reap rewards for all our stakeholders.” said Al-Barrak.
After its launch in Africa, on April 14, offering customers favourable rates for cross-border communications, Zain introduced its borderless ‘One Network’ mobile service to 14 million customers in four countries in the Middle East namely, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan and Sudan.
On this, Al Barrak noted “One Network’s preferential offerings, removing borders and high roaming charges, have been warmly welcomed and we expect it will be the catalyst for further growth in customer acquisition as we soon plan to link the two continents.”
Saudi Arabia and Ghana will join One Network on launch of commercial services.
Zain plans to roll-out One Network in all its operations, subject to regulatory approvals.
Zain also announced that the capital increase subscription period (as approved at the annual general assembly meeting in March 2008), would take place between August 17 and September 18, 2008.
This capital increase will raise approximately $4.4bn.
“Zain aspires to be a top 10 global telecom company by 2011 and increasing the company’s capital will provide it with the liquidity necessary to continue its ambitious expansion strategy, while reducing the borrowing costs of the company’s operations and increasing shareholder value in the long term,” concluded Al-Barrak.

CPN to introduce professional examinations

2008-07-29T20:01:00.000+01:00

Jonah Iboma

The Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria is to introduce a professional examination programme similar to what is being offered by other professional bodies in the country.The programme, called, "Computer Professional Examination," is to be offered in various stages to individuals depending on their skills and academic qualifications with highest level being equivalent to a university degree. According to the Registrar of CPN, Mr. Sikiru Shehu, every stage of the examination has a corresponding recognition in the country's educational system as approved by the Federal Ministry of Education. He added that the introduction of the programme had become necessary in view of the fact that computer education had become compulsory like mathematics and English language. He said a professional programme of the nature had to be introduced in order to offer students, who were unable to immediately meet standards for university education, a window to acquire knowledge and improve their lot rather than the current system that almost excluded them. He said, "The examination is an an ideal opportunity for people to improve on their knowdge and skills, add value and also enhance their carrier prospects. The examination has various entries and exits.CPN was established by Decree No. 49 of 1993, to control and supervision of the computing profession in the country. Among some of its duties include the determination of what standards of knowledge and skills are to be attained by persons seeking to become members of the computing profession and improve those standards from time to time as circumstances may permitShehu said the programme was not entirely an examination but that certain problems in the past necessitated its being stopped and repackaged.He said, "The examination is not entirely new. The examination has been ongoing for sometime but had to be suspended for logistic reasons. "The examination has now been repackaged to reflect the challenges of the century, make the graduates more industry-ready, immediately employable and globally competitive." He explained that CPE was much better than the certification programmes offered by computer schools in the country, which were specific to the use of certain applications only. According to him, CPE will not only capture such programme, but give opportunities for participants to become true computer professionals with knowledge in various areas.He said, "The window that CPN is offering individuals today is similar to that offered by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria some years ago. What we are trying to do has a serious link with the Millennium Development Goals." He said a publicity campaign had already commence and the programme was already well-publicised in the Eastern part of Nigeria and that partnership with various corporate bodies was also in the works. Among institutions that have signed on to the scheme are the four Monotechnics in Ogun State.

Experts seek resolution of impasse over emergency numbering system

2008-07-29T19:59:00.000+01:00

Recent developments have showed that Nigeria needs to quickly implement a harmonised emergency numbering system. JONAH IBOMA captures experts’ views on the matter.

Today, Nigeria remains one of the countries in the world where a uniform number code that can be reached in times of emergencies does not exist.

This is despite the rising incidences requiring the use of such numbers in the country.

Instead of simple three digit numbers, there exists various numbers used by the Nigeria Police, Federal and state fire services and even traffic management agencies for emergencies.

The situation means that in case of emergencies, people often struggle to remember the numbers to contact.

The situation is made worse by the fact that the numbers are not easy to remember as many of them are regular mobile lines with 11 digits.

Globally, this is not the situation as various countries have numbers for emergencies.

Recently, the International Telecommunications Union introduced a new emergency numbering system that allows emergency workers searching for contact information on the next-of-kin of an injured person globally to do so in a recognised way.

Simply prefixing the Arabic numericals , 01, 02, 03, and so on to a nominated contact, such as “01father”, “02wife” or “03husband,” written in any script in the mobile telephone directory, will help emergency workers in any part of the world to identify contacts in order of priority and notify them.

ITU said it would work with the non-profit organisation ICE4SAFETY, to promote this new way of identifying an emergency contact in a mobile handset’s directory.

The new standard, which is a clause to ITU-T Recommendation E.123, internationalises the ICE concept and recommends the use of Arabic numerals (0 to 9) to denote emergency contact numbers in a handset’s directory.

It exploits the fact that even though written scripts differ around the world, these digits are universally recognised, making them usable by anyone regardless of language or script.

Director of ITU’s Telecommunication Standardisation Bureau, Malcolm Johnson, said, “Emergency telecommunications is a top priority for ITU. This simple addition to a person’s next-of-kin or nominated contact details has the potential to greatly reduce stress for overworked emergency workers around the world. Anything that can be done to reduce the workload of these remarkably brave people and assist in getting injured people the right care and attention is commendable. We will work tirelessly with ICE4SAFETY and other agencies to promote this concept.”

The need for Nigeria to have a harmonised emergency code resurfaced again with decision by the Nigerian Communications Commission to stop moves by Lagos State Government to implement its own code.

The state government had started the emergency code, 767, to help in emergencies, after discussions with the major mobile operators.

However, NCC stopped the scheme, claiming that it had not authorised Lagos to embark on such a scheme and subsequently refused to allow operators to use the number on their networks.

Commenting on the development, industry experts noted that the issue should not have been allowed to reach the situation whereby NCC had to shut down the frequency considering its importance.

They opined that it should have been amicably resolved to the benefit of the citizens whose lives and properties were at danger due to the absence of a local emergency number code.

According to a telecom lawyer and Managing Partner, Abraham and Company, Mr. Mena Ajakpovi, NCC should not have stopped the Lagos State Government since it was a move to protect the lives of citizens

Similarly, President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, noted that there might be a great advantage if the NCC allowed the state government initiative to thrive alongside its national emergency code.

He likened the plan by the Lagos State Government to that of the fire service, where both the State and Federal governments have organisations that cater for the same problem.

But experts agreed that the regulatory body should have moved faster than it had done and implement a national harmonised code system.

Plans by NCC to implement a uniform number code for emergencies have been on for years with discussions dating back to 2002, one year after GSM was introduced in Nigeria.

The commission had even employed a special consultant on the scheme, but for some reasons, the regulatory body has not been able to implement a final programme.

Given that Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has appealed to the regulatory body to have a rethink on the matter and with Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, also getting involved maybe the matter may soon be resolved soon

Coscharis Group unveils locally-made computer brand

2008-07-16T19:40:00.000+01:00

Jonah Iboma

Coscharis Group on Tuesday unveiled its brand of locally made computers called Cosmos.
The Chairman of Coscharis Group of companies, Mr. Cosmos Maduka, said the entry into local assembly would not be a fluke as the firm was poised to redefine the market with highly reliable services and product offerings.
He said though Coscharis may appear to be late in making an entry into the local PC manufacture arena, the company is was well-positioned to make its mark in the industry by offering competitive products.
Cosmos Computers, he added, would be of very high standards and would address both individual and corporate market segments.
He said the firm was not unaware that some others were already involved in local assembly ahead of Cosmos, but added that the firm was ready to compete for its place in the large local market.

He explained that the dream to establish a local assembly plant had been on for quite sometime but noted that Coscharis finally decided to make entry into the market, after various surveys had proven that there was a huge untapped market for PC in Nigeria.
He said for a country that had a population of 140million people, the fact that only about 3million had access to computers showed that the market was hugely untapped and had the potential to attract more players in the manufacturing sector.

The Managing Director of Cosharis Technologies, Mr, Emecheta Ofondu, explained that already, the firm had secured agreement with many banks and firms other sectors of the economy on technology products supply. He said Coscharis was also working in partnership with a firm from Singapore to ensure that its products were of the standards required.
The Plant Manager, Cosharis Technologies, Mr. Seun Olofinjana, said the plant currently had a capacity to produce 50 computers per day, but added that this could easily be increased once the demand comes in.
He said the firm had enough room for expansion to handle the demands once they came in.
Coscharis Group has been in business in divers sectors of the economy such as auto sales and services, information technology and general goods and medicals and foods and beverages among others.

Glo, Kanu Nwankwo partner on heart care

2008-07-09T13:07:00.000+01:00

Globacom Limited and Kanu Heart Foundation (KHF) have kicked off a partnership on the generation of funds for treatment of people suffering from heart diseases through the deployment of SMS on the platform of Nigerians’ preferred network.

The two organizations said at a press conference that the partnership hopes to raise funds for heart surgeries. In raising the funds, the telecoms firm has developed a special coded number “33640” for SMS by those who wish to support the effort. Any Glomobile subscriber can send SMS (save, any character even a blank message) to 33640 and an immediate response from Glo follows. A sum of N50 will be deducted instantly from the subscriber’s air-time.

In his remarks at the heart-touching ceremony, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Globacom, Mr. Mohammed Jameel, said the second national carrier was a compassionate and truly Nigerian corporate citizen, stressing that this was responsible for the company’s collaboration with the Foundation in addressing heart-related challenges.

“Let me say that we are proud and delighted to be associated with this life-saving Foundation in its compassionate goal. We commend our patriot and Super Eagles’ captain, Kanu Nwankwo, who is also the chairman of the Foundation, for initiating this laudable project and ask other corporate institutions and philanthropic Nigerians to support him in realizing this vision,” Jameel said.

The Foundation’s coordinator and trustee, Deacon Abia Onyebuchi, said at the moment that there were an outstanding 1000 cases waiting for funds to undertake heart surgery. He said there was a critical case of a child who would die in the next four weeks if there was no immediate intervention for treatment.

According to the Foundation, each open heart surgery requires at least N2 million to be carried out. “It even costs far more if a transplant is involved and usually it is difficult to even get a free heart. In some congenital or acquired cases, as the Foundation has experienced, some victims’ hearts irreparably damaged,” Deacon Onyebuchi stated.

Nwankwo in his remarks expressed confidence in the capacity of Glo to drive this project and thanked Globacom Chairman, Dr. Mike Adenuga, Jr. for his immense contributions to sports development particularly and humanity generally. “He is a father to us footballers,” he said, adding that he had from outset been a part of the Glo family.

In 2002 when the foundation did its pilot edition in Enugu by flying in surgeons from abroad, 10 of the patients survived and three unfortunately could not make it. Between then and now, the Foundation has sponsored 300 open heart surgeries of sufferers from all parts of the country. The beneficiaries were flown either to India, Israel, UK or USA for treatment.
Meanwhile, the association is shopping for outlets where the cost will be cheaper so that many more patients could be accommodated. The first surgery carried out by the Foundation cost N6 million and the lucky beneficiary was Baby Enitan Ebisola, who is now grown up and was present at the kick-off ceremony of the Glo-KHF joint venture.

The Foundation has also concluded plans to build a cardio-vascular centre that will cost N450 million on completion once funds are sourced. The centre is billed to provide free heart tests for visitors.

MDAs urged to comply with circular on Galaxy Backbone

2008-07-08T21:57:00.001+01:00

Jonah Iboma
All heads of ministries, departments and agencies of the Federal Government have been urged to ensure full compliance with the circular issued by the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to patronise Galaxy Backbone Plc on telecommunication and information technology infrastructure matters.

Galaxy Backbone is a public firm set up by government to provide infrastructure for use by its agencies in order to reduce public sector expenditure on ICT.

According to a statement released on Monday by the firm, SGF, Ambassador Baba Gana Kingibe, gave the directive last week during a two-day interactive session between the firm and various government establishments and referred to a circular issued in 2007.

The circular had as reference number; SGF. OP/1/S.3/V11/870 dated June 18, 2007 titled “Guidelines for the procurement and implementation of bandwidth, network connectivity and other ICT infrastructure by Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies.”

Kingibe, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties, Office of the SGF, Dr. Safiya Mohammed, reiterated the need for compliance with the circular by all concerned, while delivering the keynote address at the event.

He said that the current administration had decided that there was an urgent need for a more strategic and coordinated approach to the acquisition and deployment of ICTs in the public sector.
According to the SGF, the circular containing the guidelines for the procurement of connectivity and other ICT infrastructure services by government organisations from Galaxy Backbone, a public enterprise of the Federal Government, was issued “against the background of two earlier observations made in the life of this administration regarding the huge expenditure made projects across the Public Sector and the significant amount of overlap in functions among the various government organisations involved in the ICT sector.”

YS Technologies unveils multimedia systems

2008-07-08T21:56:00.000+01:00

YS Technologies, a new entrant into the information technology sector, has unveiled its range of computers and plasma television to the public.
The products consist of 15, 17 and 19-inch, panel personal computers and 50 and 63-inch high definition plasma TVs.
According to the Chief Executive Officer, YS Technologies, Mr. Oluyomi Soyinka, in a statement on Tuesday, the 15 and 17-inch computers called Elegant and Classic series, respectively, are designed to be foldable, easy to carry and allow users to save space on their desk.
He said the computers also offer all-in-one solution as both the central processing unit, motherboard and associated devices like the disc drive were all built into the liquid crystal display screen.
He said, “The products are well designed such that owners could easily carry them about whenever they wanted.”
The 19-inch executive series, he explained, was a combination of the functions of a PC and TV, allowing a user to make maximum use of space and technology.
He said, These products are basically multimedia systems. Often people want technology products that can easily be used as a television and a computer. The YS Executive Series is the answer to this. The design helps an owner to combine the power of a panel PC and the joy of watching television.”
Soyinka added that the products were the result of research into the Nigerian market and were made of some of the latest technologies adding, however, that they come at very competitive prices in the market.
He said the plasma television sets despite offering some of the widest screens, were very light and come with automatic control as well as high colour purity.
He added that though the products were all made abroad, plans were on to commence local production within a very short period. He said a local assembly plant was currently being planned for Lagos.
He said his years of experience in the IT industry had made him acquire the needed experience on what Nigerians needed.

Three cable thieves arrested in Lagos Island.

2008-07-07T19:40:00.001+01:00

Jonah Iboma

Three members of a four-man NITEL cable vandalism gang were arrested by avigilante team in Lagos Island in the early hours of today, Thursday, June 19,2008. According to a statement signed by the Public Relations Manager,Lagos Zone, Mr. Ig Nwangwu, those arrested, all men – Onyebuchi Anazodo, 21, Steven Aleke, 18, and Monday Ebube, 27 – cut the high-capacity, optic fibre cable linking Lagos to the rest of the country. He said so far, this was the fourth occasion the same cable would be cut by cable thieves since this year. On each of those occasions, NITEL sustained losses running into millions of naira in inconvenience to its customers given the loss of traffic as a result of the disruption of their service and then the cost of repair or replacement of the affected cable. While expressing regret the inconvenience would have caused its customers, he said the firm was hopeful to restore service on the cable very soon. The external line plant network of NITEL in Lagos Zone has a long history of vandalism and theft. This is perpetrated by persons who cut, cart away and sell the cables (on the cheap) to some receivers who, in turn, re-sell them to jewelers who smelt and forge them into forms of jewellery. NITEL and the security agencies are on trail of some of the smelting works in different parts of the country in the bid to ascertain their link with the spate of vandalism of(particularly) telecommunications and power cables all over the country. The vigilante arrangement is part of the community policing system recently evolved to supplement the regular patrol of NITEL cable routes by the police and other agencies.

Chams to deploy 2,500 access service terminal kiosks the nation

2008-07-07T19:39:00.000+01:00

Jonah Iboma

, Chams Nigeria PLC will soon deploy about 2,500 access service terminal in all the 774 local governments in the Nigeria, with a focus on states capitals.
The firm explained that this was in order to ensure that Information Communication and Technology services were readily available to many Nigerians, especially, people living in the rural areas, front liner in card based transaction business
This product, which is first of its kind if successfully deployed would allow people across the nation no matter where you are located to have access to telephone, internet access, multimedia e-mail, recharge card vending, e-Visa, e-premium, information portal, fees/bill payment, airline ticketing and reservation, advertisement, online booking and many more.
The hardware which is a perfect balance processes communication and technology, according to Demola Aladekomo, Managing Director, Chams Nigeria PLC during the unveiling of the new product in the just concluded card expo held in Lagos last week will go a long way in solving the problem of digital divide between the rural dwellers and urban centers which has remained unabated.
“This is a first from Chams. Our target is all the 774 local government in the next one year. The new product has state of-art-technology has the capability to support transactional cardbased services, e-commerce, web-browsing, and e-mail. It is rigorously tested, easily serviced and utilizing the latest in computing and network technologies” Demola who has great passion for e-commerce told the capacity audience in attendance.
The Marketing Manager of Chams, ....earlier in his address told the gatherings who were excited about the new technology that the introduction of this production was informed by the fact that CHAMS sees an extensive network of well located public kiosks as an important part of present administration’s effort to bring IT to everyone.
“With kiosks in public places, PCs in libraries and community centres, schools, Airports and shopping malls we aim to provide easy online access to all. Today, some 75% of households still do not have PCs at home. The convenience offered by a pervasive network of kiosks, much like our ATM network, cannot be under-estimated. And, these kiosks are capable of delivering a whole host of new and exciting services” he explained.
While commending their Canadian partners for aligning with the vision of the company, he noted that Chams has finally come to stay in e-business in Nageia, adding that the company has the capacity support Nigerian e-commerce businesses.
For the vast majority of businesses that conduct businesses on the Internet, he assured that some of their major concerns have been borne of the need to improve in many areas including; Market Presence, Customer proximity, Customer loyalty, Service quality, Profits, Cheaper delivery, Channels, Elaborate processes, Iniitial Start-up & Operating Costs, Adapting to Changing, Business needs, among others.
“We are glad to inform you that all these needs have been addressed by simply deploying our CAS
This is where I can see us in Chams as playing the role of supporting businesses with a readily available e-Commerce platform to deliver their online services. By making it easy and affordable, our services can potentially benefit businesses, particularly the smaller ones who feel that they are not quite ready or not quite IT savvy. These businesses will be able to give e-Commerce a try without having to make a big investment themselves” he added.It is encouraging, according t him, to see private sector players coming forth to contribute towards Chams objectives of making Nigeria a truly an electronic commerce

Fashola appeals to NCC over 767 emergency response number

2008-07-07T19:38:00.002+01:00

The Lagos State Governor Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on has appealed to the Nigerian Communication Commission not to shut down the 767 Emergency number frequency. The telecommunications regulatory body had threatened to shutdown the emergency number saying that it was not inline with its plans to have a single national emergency number. Fashola who spoke at an interactive session with members of the Organized Private Sector to mark his first 400 days in office at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa pleaded that the NCC should have a rethink of its plans to first shut down the operation of the frequency before listening to complaints about a previous commitment on the frequency. In a statement signed by the Senior Special assistant to the governor on media, Mr. Hakeem Bello, the Governor said he discussed the issue with Vice President Jonathan Goodluck on Tuesday in Abuja. He said the availability of the Emergency Response number had helped in rebuilding the confidence of residents of Lagos in the Nigeria Police. The Governor explained that whatever contending issues are there to be discussed could be tackled and discussed between the contending parties while the frequency continues to provide its life saving assistance to the public. He informed that the State Government would soon launch the second phase of the Security Trust Fund and some equipment which have been purchased for the Police. He expressed his appreciation to members of the Organised Private Sector who contributed to the Security Trust Fund, adding that the Nigeria Police is doing a wonderful job in securing the lives of the entire citizenry and that they need every encouragement to continue to do a good job. Governor Fashola reiterated the determination of the government to ensure that law and order take precedence in the state as it would not compromise on the zero tolerance it has for planlessness. He said the State has not placed any embargo on the development of new bank branches but has been insistent that at all areas where such branches would be constructed all town planning laws must be strictly followed. He challenged everyone to ponder over the fact that structures built by the colonialists over a century ago are still standing while those recently constructed by Nigerians are easily giving way, pointing out that it is due to failure to adhere to strict planning codes.

Etisalat hosts distribution partners, assures of sustainable relationship

2008-07-07T19:37:00.002+01:00

As part of preparations for commercial service rollout, Etisalat has held an interactive engagement with its Distribution Partners where both sides restated unwavering commitment to make Etisalat products and services available and affordable to Nigerians.
Etisalat said it was keen on providing a platform for sustainable and viable partnership with its strategic partners in every aspect of business, stressing that the driving goal was to satisfy the customers at all times. The meeting which held in Lagos, was the first public engagement with the distribution partners, and it provided them immense opportunity to know more about the Etisalat brand.
Specifically, the interactive session exposed the distributors to the company’s pedigree of innovative technology, successful roll out in tough conditions, as well as the values of simplicity, optimism and care as its driving forces.
In his presentation, Vice President (Marketing) Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Wael Ammar, said the engagement with the partners again demonstrated Etisalat’s belief in making the customer the centre of its service. This it does by ensuring a careful and objective selection of its strategic partners to deliver quality services to its customers.
“Our purpose in Nigeria is simple: Etisalat will offer the Nigerian people innovative technologies to enable them reach both their personal and business goals. Therefore, our Distribution Partners are critical to us in the entire value chain”, he stated.
Ammar assured the distributors that the process of appointing them was transparent because Etisalat places premium on efficient and effective distribution backbone as central to its offerings in Nigeria. “In the regions where we operate, the Etisalat network has always been, and will continue to provide a distinctly strong backbone for high quality telecommunications services. This is what we have come to replicate here in Nigeria”, he added.
The distributors commended the management of Etisalat for the interactive engagement, stating that it has given them a sense of belonging. The distribution partners assured Etisalat that they were ready to work towards achieving the company’s goals of offering high quality telecom services to Nigerians.

Galaxy Backbone: Setting the stage for nationwide govt ICT network

2008-07-07T19:34:00.001+01:00

By Everest Amaefule and Jonah Iboma
One of the current challenges in the use of information technology in government in Nigeria today is the fact that various institutions in the three tiers often embark on projects independently.
The development has created a situation where projects are often duplicated and resources wasted. It was once reported that a particular government secretariat had over 15 VSAT installations serving separate ministries. Often, these infrastructure are under-utilised and public funds are wasted in maintenance and support.
But this situation is soon to be a thing of the past, as the Federal Government through the Galaxy Backbone Plc is set to roll out a network that would cater for the information technology and communication needs of government institutions including ministries, departments and agencies
The Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone Plc, Mr. Gerald Ilukwe, announced this in Abuja during the two-day “Public Sector ICT Infrastructure Forum” organised by the company in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary to the Government of Federation last week.
The Federal Executive Council had in 2006 approved the establishment of Galaxy Backbone, as a public firm to consolidate and integrate all the disparate existing government-owned networks into a holistic government-wide network. Prior to this time, various ministries were constantly going top government officials to seek approval to implement IT services.
The need to address the problem made government set up a committee which recommended the setting up of Galaxy Backbone, as an infrastructure firm to deliver such services to government.
In this capacity, the company was mandated to manage all national databases and transversal applications and services for all Federal Government institutions as well as rural communities.
In effect, it will provide data management services, Internet and associated data communications as well as voice telecommunication services deploying Internet Protocol technology.
But the need to extend this service beyond the Federal Government has been heightened as more states and local governments adopt the use of IT for service delivery
Ilukwe said the deployment of these services to government organisations if successfully done, would save tax payers about $70m per annum by 2011. This amount represents what the institutions pay or would have paid in excess to commercial operators for these services.
In a presentation made at the event, the Director General, Department of Home Affairs, South Africa, Mavuso Msimang, noted that his country also had the same problems being faced by Nigerian government institutions today.
According to him, in order to address the problem, the South African government set up what it called the State Information Technology Agency as a private network that focuses primarily on providing effective and efficient information technology products and services to government at the federal, provincial and local government levels.
Iluwke said Galaxy would achieve immediate roll out through two projects – the National Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure Backbone – and the National Information, Communication and Education Programme – which had been integrated into the Galaxy network.
The network rollout has been planned in three phases, Ilukwe said.
While phase one will involve connecting the MDAs and the Federal Secretariat, Abuja ; the second phase will involve the 36 States.
The third phase will involve integrating 5,000 sites in rural communities and third party customers.
Others expected to benefit from the network are Local Government Areas, post offices, state capitals, tertiary institutions, international airports and border posts.
NICEP, which was originally conceived by the merged Ministry of Communications was aimed at Internet service provision, interactive distance learning, telemedicine, virtual private networking, broadcast carrier services, rural telephony and video conferencing services.
Participants, especially from states and local government already see the need for such a network as some of them said they were seeking ways to cut down on the high spending on bandwidth.
Ilukwe said this and other problems could be addressed by Galaxy Backbone, as it was not a profit making firm but a commercial entity that has been set up to address government IT infrastructural challenges
But there are still challenges that need to be surmounted if Galaxy is to achieve its objectives. Currently, while the firm has a vision and capacity to service all tiers of government, its mandate by law does not yet cover this.
This is a point that Ilukwe noted himself. However, the advantages that accrue through the service could sway more government institutions to look in that direction. Also, many states and local government s lack the needed manpower and expertise to make full use of IT. This would mean that a synergy with Galaxy might become imperative.
Also, experts believe that give the South African experience, Nigeria must find ways of ensuring that it moved in that direction.

Globacom’s Eket optic fibre goes live

2008-07-07T19:32:00.000+01:00

National telecom operator, Globacom, has said that it will on Tuesday connect the Eket-Port Harcourt axis to its high capacity optic fibre telecommunication transmission backbone.
The Eket-Port Harcourt line is the first on the Glo optic fibre network in the South-South part of the country.
The operator had recently commissioned the Abuja-Minna, Onitsha-Awka, Owerri-Onitsha and Enugu-Awka legs of the project.
Globacom’s optic fibre cable is an advanced and reliable transmission network that offers a much faster transmission of data, voice and broadband Internet and multimedia services than copper.
It is expected that the inauguration planned for Eket would lead to a major improvement in the quality of telecom services in Akwa Ibom and Rivers states and adjoining communities.
The Eket section of the optic fibre backbone is expected to connect residents of the oil rich Akwa Ibom and Rivers states to world class telecommunication services and bigger business opportunities.
The fibre cable network which is built in various rings already covers many parts of the country. Already completed are the Lagos – Abeokuta - Ibadan route; Lagos-Ijebu-Ode-Ore-Benin-Sapele-Warri-Kaima (Yenegoa junction) - Port Harcourt route; Port-Harcourt-Aba-Owerri-Enugu, Onitsha-Awka route and the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano and Abuja-Minna routes.

AfriGrowth drives business values through mentorship

2008-07-07T19:30:00.002+01:00

The 2008 version of AfriGrowth Youth Mentoring Programme ended in Lagos on Wednesday with participants receiving certificates from the event organisers, AfriGrowth Foundation, at a one-day workshop organised in Lagos.

The 2008 event brought together 24 young people (mentees) who participated in a one month long mentoring programme in Abuja and Lagos.
It was designed to formally give participants knowledge about the lives of successful Nigerians in the corporate world and thereby empower them to succeed in life.

Speaking at the workshop, President, AfriGrowth Foundation, Mrs. Dayo Keshi, noted that the mentoring programme started in 2005 with a pilot and that it had made its impact as many young people who participated in it had successfully taken their first steps in life by learning that honesty, handwork and dedication to good causes was rewarding
“We have continued to receive fantastic reports from our mentees on their progress and we are happy with the success and progress that are making. This has served as a morale-booster for us as a foundation to want to reach out more to young people through our mentoring programme,” she said.
She explained that since its inception, over 80 young people have been successfully mentored by respected and successful Nigerians in the business, civil society, government and corporate sectors in the nation’s economy.

The Managing Director, Chams Nigeria Plc. Mr. Demola Aladekomo, said that it was important for young people to have a clear focus I life as to what they intend to do with their lives.
Aladekomo, who chaired the one-day workshop, encouraged participants to be dogged in their determination in order to overcome every challenge that may confront them in their cause of attempting to achieve their dreams.
He promised to continue to support AfriGrowth’s mentoring programmes in the future.

STARCOMMS extends service to Shagamu, Ijebu-Ode

2008-07-07T19:25:00.000+01:00

Starcomms Limited, Nigeria’s foutrh largest telecommunications operator has extended its network coverage to Shagamu and Ijebu Ode in Ogun State.
The roll out, the company said in a statement on Thursday, was coming on the heels of the networks earlier promise of ensuring that subscribers on its network have increased network coverage to use their lines.
Since it started its mass rollout of service following the acquisition of unified access licence in 2006, Starcomms, has taken its service from Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt and Maiduguri to some key cities including Ibadan, Rano, Aba, Onitsha.
The firm recently added Asaba, Benin, Kaduna, Zaria and Abeokuta to its network. With the rollout in these cities, Starcomms now covers the 15 key cities of Nigeria.
It also said plans were at an advanced stage to link other cities and towns this year.
Starcomms said that the drive towards the South West market was to enable more Nigerians enjoy the company’s array of innovative products and value-for-money services.
According to Chief Executive Officer, Starcomms, Mr. Maher Qubain, the company’s roll out in Shagamu and Ijebu-ode is based on the fact that the art of communication should not be the preserve of a few, but the preserve of all.

“We promised our subscribers when we launched our 0708-2 range of mobile numbers that we will soon cover the length and breadth of Nigeria, Shagamu and Ijebu-ode roll out is another step in that direction,’’ he said.The CEO further stated, “Starcomms would be showcasing and offering its entire product category – Mobile, Talkie, Data, Tele-center Value Added Services, for customers to experience and enjoy our unique services and value propositions. The customers can approach the various authorized dealer outlets and Showroom to purchase the product of their need. The Mobile service would enable customers stay connected within and outside the two cities, thus, creating a high mobility on the 0702-8 number range. Customers can also enjoy low rates with Starcomms Fixed Wireless Desktop phones, ‘Talkie’