Liberalizing ICT, the Nigeria example

Features of the week:

REMMY NWEKE reports that the role of Nigeria’s government in facilitating growth in the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) sector through liberalization is worthy of emulation by other countries in the sub-region and continent wide.


AT the turn of the 21st century, one thing that seems to be going on well for African countries, has been the liberalization of the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), especially for Nigeria.

Emerging from what experts described as coming through the backwaters to a regional hub, Nigeria was recently commended by the Secretary General of the global telecom regulatory and United Nations (UN), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Dr. Hamadoun Toure, when he visited Nigeria at the first quarter of 2008, saying that he was proud of progress that Nigeria has made since liberalizing its telecommunications sector at the return of democracy in 1999.

An aspect of the liberalization that drives this evolution has been the positive regulatory frame work. And tracing the role of the regulator in Nigeria’s telecom revolution recently in Lagos at the Ninth Distinguished Electrical and Electronics Engineers Annual Lecture (DEEEAL 2008), the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the nation’s regulatory agency, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, noted that no modern economy could be sustained today without an integral telecommunications infrastructure.

Robust telecom begets economic growth:
Robust telecommunications network, he said, is important for the economic growth of nations and constitutes a base infrastructure that supports the world economy.

Describing communication as a vital aspect of human existence and effective telecommunications services, which enhances living standards and improve productivity as well as efficiency in other sectors.

“Thus communications and the technologies that support it, occupy a strategic position now more than ever in every aspect of human existence; and nations and businesses would become less competitive and lag behind others if they fail to avail themselves of this vital infrastructure of the Information age,” he said.

For Nigeria, ICT penetration in 1999 when the transition to democratic rule occurred was very low and less than 1 per cent of the population of the country, that had access to a telephone.

Comprehensive legislation:
Ndukwe pointed out that the new government led then by Olusegun Obasanjo, identified that this was a major hindrance to development of the nation and decided that there was an urgent need for transformation in the ICT sector so as to stimulate the economy and open up new possibilities across her business, political, social and economic spheres.

By year 2000, he said, Nigeria had only 400,000 connected telephone lines and 25,000 analogue mobile lines, while the total teledensity stood at a paltry 0.4 lines per 100 inhabitants.

“Connection costs were prohibitively high, and waiting time for fixed lines ran into years. Today, thanks to several factors which include government sector reform policy, an enabling investment climate, the worldwide trend of rapid development in ICT, and the huge potential of the Nigerian market, the story is very different,” he said.

This, he also said, was followed by comprehensive new sector legislation, the Nigerian Communication Act (NCA) which was enacted in 2003, repealing the 1992 NCC Act. The new Act was to further the full liberalization of the sector and provided the ground rules for the orderly development and governance of the telecommunications sector.

In the past eight years from 2000, NCC, he said, licensed several Digital Mobile Operators, otherwise known as the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Fixed Wireless Access Operators, Long Distance Operators, Internet Service Providers, a Second National Carrier and recently, Unified Access operators.

“All these have had the collective effect of ensuring full competition in all segments of the telecommunications market. They have also had the effect of promoting rapid deployment of telecom services, resulting in exponential growth in the number of telephone lines in Nigeria,” he said.

The chief regulator said, that between Nigeria’s independence in 1960 and the end of year 2000, the number of connected lines grew at an average of 10,000 lines per annum, stressing that since 2001 the telecommunications industry has witnessed an average growth rate of about 8 million lines per annum.

Strong regulator, strong growth:
As said by him, as at the end of October 2008, Nigeria had attained about 59 million lines, with 57.6 million strictly digital mobile lines, even as the teledensity figures soared from the 0.4 lines per 100 inhabitants recorded in 1999, to 42 lines per 100 inhabitants by the end of October 2008.

Ndukwe informed that the progress recorded in the industry was brought about by government liberalization of the sector and opening up of the market to private investment. Thus, the market reform has helped to accelerate investment flow into the sector, resulting in the rapid roll out of multifarious communications services.


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NiRA adopts brand protection strategies for .ng

Based on the avalanche of travails being meted out to Internet users by the ‘internet terrorist’ exploits, the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) has adopted strategies to protect brand names on the country code Top Level Domain (TLD), dot ng.

This was the position of NiRA through its president, Mr. Ndukwe Kalu, following a successful resolution of domain name controversy concerning telecommunications giant, MTN Nigeria Communications Limited and a purported staff of GS Telecoms.

It would be recalled that Mtn.com.ng was first registered in 2004 under GS Telecoms by a staff of the company then.

According to MTN, large sums had always been demanded for the return of the domain to telco, which it had resisted steadfastly. Thus, he said, the outcome was that for Nigerian MTN it is known with mtnonline.com, whereas a trip then to mtn.com.ng
showcases an expired parked page.

Consequently, Kalu noted that when the matter was reported to NIRA, proper documentation of the request was made and it took about 72 hours to get the domain redelegated back to MTN Nigeria, after giving the then contacts 48 hours to respond to the request and allegation made by MTN Nigeria.

“Today, Nigerians can be proud to visit MTN Nigeria on mtn.com.ng,” he declared.
Also, he pointed out that there have been similar cases of even domains held at ransom by web host entities for state governments especially when there is a change of government.

“We saw that in Imo state and some other states. Most recent is that of Edo State, but consistently, NIRA’s position is that domains cannot be held for any dispute resolution,” he said.

NiRA president explained that since domains are a matter of rights, only those who have rights to such domains could hold on to same.

“Any service provider who feels aggrieved as to non-settlement of commercial obligation can seek legal redress,” he advised.

This, of course, he said, is different from a formal legal transfer of these rights in a sale or other transactions.

He cautioned domaineers, that the only space available to play in is the generic word market place with no infringement on Internet Protocol (IP) or brand rights.
Nigeria, he predicted, is truly on the path to a safe and happy Internet with these policies.

Kalu, also said that his group has established name server component that is of global standard by deploying Anycast.

In computing, a name server also called ‘nameserver’ is made up of a programme or computer server that implements a name-service protocol, which usually connects a human-recognisable identifier of a host, for example, the domain name ‘nira.org’ to its computer-recognisable identifier such as the Internet Protocol (IP) address (145.97.39.155).

“For the name server component, NIRA has put in place a global network of Anycast Name servers working with partners who have also served countries like the United Kingdom (UK), Germany and Canada to name a few,” he said.

He noted that one of the partners in the deployment of Anycast already works with domain managers with over 30 million domains.

“So, our Anycast servers would provide local Domain Name Servers (DNS) response in over 25 locations, 15 countries and five continents,” he said.

He explained that what this meant to an ordinary citizen is that anyone in London sending a query to the .ng ccTLD would be replied by an Anycast server in London and other cities mentioned, citing an instance, that in Nigeria, this would be first available in Lagos and subsequently in some other cities.

“This Anycast system and the associated diversity of the name server deployment far exceeds best practice and guarantees 100 per cent availability of the Nigerian Name Service,” he said.

Kalu also highlighted that the registry system component is based on COCCA, a system that has been tested to handle over 10 million records, and is currently in use for over 4 million records.

“It has been deployed with multiple redundancies to ensure that registration and zone update does not go offline. Our registry system is hosted locally in Nigeria with redundancy both in and outside Nigeria and supports real-time registrations.

This would make the .ng domain one of the few registries in the world supporting real-time registrations,” he said.

As said by him, the full local test has been on since October 1, 2008, with registrars joining in the test, with the system ready to go live.

Stressing that while the technical infrastructure was being put in place, registrars were being accredited to offer first class service to registrants.

“In all four Platinum, one Gold, seven Silver and 17 standard registrars were accredited to bring the number of pioneer accredited registrars to 29. Of these accredited registrars three have locations outside Nigeria, specifically in the United States (US), UK and Senegal with one being an the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) accredited registrar,” he said.


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Optimising your Google mail account (3)

label
At this point, you can click Archive; the message will disappear from your Inbox, but will remain listed when you click the ‘Mom’ label, or All Mail. You can also still search for your archived messages. All you’re doing when you archive a message is helping to keep the Inbox clutter down.
Read more about labels back to top.

Filters
If you don’t want to mark all your messages from Mom one-by-one, you can set up a filter. The filter will detect when your mom emails you, and automatically applies the ‘Mom’ label (and if you’d like, you can send the message straight to the Mom section and skip the Inbox). To do so, just follow these steps:
1. Open a message from your mom.
2. From the More Actions drop-down menu, select Filter messages like these.
3. In the ‘From:’ field, enter your mom’s email address.
4. Click Next Step >.
5. Check the Apply the label: box and select Mom from your Choose label ... drop-down menu (you might also want to apply some of the other options, like Skip the Inbox, which will send her messages straight to the Mom section and keep your Inbox clean).
6. If you’d like to add the label to existing messages as well as future ones, select the Also apply filter to x conversations below checkbox.
7. Click Create Filter.

Filters
You don’t have to limit your use of filters or labels to any single person or email address, though; that’s just the beginning. You can create filters to detect messages with certain words in the subject line, the body of the email, or messages sent to a specific person, and automatically perform any of the actions shown in the image above.


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UBA explains choice of Actimize

THE United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has adduced some reasons why it choose Actimize, an anti-fraud banking solution, saying it avails preventive mechanism against any manner of electronic fraud.

Group Head, Information Technology (IT) Risk Management, UBA Plc, Mr. Sam Okenye, made this disclosure in Lagos, at a one-day seminar organized by the Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), with the theme: Fighting Fraud with Technology, solutions for Nigerian banks.

He said that Actimize affords banks to have less personal contact with customers, yet executing its banking operations in line with global best practices.

“Banks should be able to monitor transactions,” he said, stressing that Actimize offers the ability to effectively screen all transactions, flowing from the various channels real time.

Also, he said, that Actimize affords the ability to prevent fraud on real-time and log suspicious transactions for investigations in addition to having the timely detect account manipulation by insider real time.

“It offers the ability to detect skimmed cards and subsequently stop fraudulent transactions real time as well as the ability to detect identity theft and prevent web-based transactions from scaling through real-time,” he said.

According to Okenye, Actimize offers his bank the opportunity to detect suspicious transaction and even capture this for further investigations.

By empowering investigations to focus on dealing with key exceptional issues, he said, was an encouragement for the bank.

He further revealed that UBA evaluated five software vendors before settling down for Actimize.

“Our search for the right solution led us to evaluate five vendors,” he declared.

Welcoming guest earlier, the Group Managing Director, CWG, Mr. Austin Okere, said the seminar was crucial because Nigerian banking institutions needed the right solution to battle fraud associated with real time banking services.

He explained that without the right technology solutions, Nigerian banks may end up going astray in effort at fighting fraud within the system, even to the extent of declining customers.

As said by him, the one-day seminar was organised in conjunction with world leaders Actimize, ISEC and RVR.

He noted that I-SEC Technologies, formally ICTS Technologies B.V, is a fully owned subsidiary of ICTS International N.V.; a world leader in aviation security for over two decades, which has pioneered the development of innovative security concepts and systems.

Also, he said, I-SEC Technologies, specializes in the development and implementation of unique, state-of-the-art technological solutions for the homeland security market, designed to meet financial market needs as well.


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24 subscribers win laptops in Multi-Links promo

CODE Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operator, Multi-links Telkom, last Friday in Lagos, delivered on its promise to customers by giving out another set of 24 laptops to subscribers who emerged successful in the company’s Lucky Draw Promo, just as the telco plans to launch the Evolution Data Only in Lagos, Abuja, Warri, Kano and Benin.

ITRealms Online recalls that the winners emerged from the draws organized to mark the semi final of the promo that kicked off in October; an initiative meant to reward loyal customers of the company.

At the last draw, weekend, 12 persons each emerged successful from different categories of the winners declared in October and November, 2008, totaling 24 subscribers.

The six different categories are N10,000, N5,000, N2000, N1000, N500 and N200, from where two winners emerged for each of the months till date.

Speaking at the event, Executive, Marketing, Mr. Ian McGregor, noted that Multi-Links appreciates the continued patronage of its customers in different parts of the country; pointing out that without them the company is nothing.

He also said Multi-Links always had the interest of its teeming customers at heart and promised that the management would not break a promise on this in its efforts towards expanding to the nooks and crannies of the country.

McGregor equally said that the company has resolved to offer top of the range, comprehensive telecommunications services to its customers notwithstanding their locations nationwide.

This, he explained, is why the company has embarked upon massive expansion drives to various parts of the country, noting that part of the new services would afford subscribers to benefit from Multi-Links Evolution Data Only (EVDO), which would soon be launched in Lagos and some other cities.

In his comment, the Executive, Corporate Affairs, Multi-Links, Mr. Tayo Ekundayo, said the firm believes strongly in letting what it does speak for itself.

“We pioneered CDMA network in this country in 1997 with the starting point in Lagos. We have leveraged on that and rolled out in other parts of the country. Most people never thought it was possible to have free calls; but we have been able to do this successfully.”

Ekundayo stressed that the company has an enviable record of an achiever and pace setter.

“We broke the record to be the first private telecoms company in this country in 1997. We started with TDMA, which later dovetailed to CODE Division Multiple Access (CDMA),” he declared.

Multi-Links is also the first telecommunications operator in Nigeria to introduce CDMA technology, a digital technology that enables the provision of more efficient and cost-effective wireless solutions. The company concentrated in Lagos until 2005 when it got Unified License that empowered it to spread to other parts of the country.

Barely two years ago, Telkom SA acquired 75 per cent of Multi-Links Telecommunications Limited. Telkom operates in 14 countries and it is the biggest first line operator in Africa.


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Innovation, key to positive economic growth – Progenics boss

MANAGING Director of one of the nation’s leading software house, Progenics Corp Limited, Dr. Tony Udoh has asserted that technological innovation has helped to change the face of the Nigerian business economy, especially in this century.

Udoh made this declaration in a speech at the just concluded second Lagos Enterprise Awards (LEAD), said that the essence of innovation is to positively affect the economy stressing that the context of Nigeria’s economy today is quite different from how it was some years ago.

He also said that most businesses have adopted a different way of thinking and working, one that combines analytical and creative thinking and focuses as much on implementation as it does on idea creation.

He equally pointed out that traditional budgeting, forecasting and reporting techniques are not only obsolete but also dangerous, cautioning that they are too slow, too detailed and too disconnected from this information age.

“Today’s managers should turn to innovative technologies in this volatile business environment. And those organization that remain wedded to a traditional and historically focused way of working will be left behind by forward looking organizations that have more skilled and more technology enabled organizations,” he said.
Some innovative technological advancement, Dr. Udoh noted have been made, facilitating lots of attention to now being paid to software usage.

“Though software industry is currently regarded as the least profitable among all the innovative technology initiatives in the country today, the software industry in Nigeria is presently making its weight in all the sectors of the economy,” he said.

Underscoring the impact of innovative technology in sectors of the economy, especially in the Capital Market, the Progenics boss, said, that the move of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) from an archaic manual call-over system to a fully automated system is a good example.

He further said that NSE’s decision to choose an indigenous company in the mould of Progenics Corp Limited is a reference point in the abilities of the indigenous software industry in the country today.

Therefore, he urged other business sectors in the country to shun the retrogressive practice of seeking foreign expertise, noting that it will not promote developmental technology in the country.


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DBI targets training of 1000 pros annually

EXECUTIVE Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe has said that the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) will be churning out over 1000 students annually from 2009 to meet the ever growing demand of the telecommunications industry in the country.

According to him, DBI will carry out training in other specialized areas such as economic analysis, financial planning, law, arbitration, mediation, interconnection, e-commerce, business management, human resource management and consultancy services.

He pointed out that a milestone was achieved on May 20, 2004 when the president, commissioned the ultra modern DBI building in Utako district of Abuja, established by the NCC, as an international centre for advanced communications studies.

“Its primary aim is to ensure that some of the technical manpower requirements for the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector are met with adequately trained and skilled personnel that can be recruited into the fast growing ICT market in Nigeria,” he said.

The NCC boss also revealed that the government Telecommunications Training Schools in Kano and Oshodi-Lagos, have been transferred to the commission by the federal government and they are currently being resuscitated to become campuses of the DBI.

“It is planned that from next year, the expanded DBI will be providing various training programmes for hundreds of graduates annually, to service both local and international ICT market,” he said.

The EVC who was speaking recently at the 9th Distinguished Electrical and Electronics Engineers Annual Lecture (DEEEAL 2008) series in Lagos, also said that the NCC started the Digital Awareness Programme (DAP) as its contribution to the development of ICT knowledge amongst young Nigerians.

He said DAP is aimed at encouraging the appreciation and use of ICT in primary, secondary and tertiary institutions all over the country.

“A total of 119 education institutions have so far been provided with computers and internet facilities at all the locations, the rooms housing the computer labs are refurbished and stand-by power supply provided.

“Furthermore, in collaboration with the DBI, the commission has provided ICT training for the several hundreds of student from the schools that benefited from the DAP,” he said.

Ndukwe also revealed, noting that Advanced Digital Appreciation (ADAPT) introduced by NCC is aimed at bridging the identified ICT skills gap among lecturers in Nigerian universities and equipping them to be able to use ICTs for their work and for embracing web-based teaching and learning.


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‘Open Source to save mankind by 2020’

THE 2008 Open World Forum conference in Paris ended at the weekend with experts projecting a brighter future that Open Source software will save mankind by 2020, financially.

According to the authors of the report, “2020 FLOSS Roadmap,” made a number of predictions about the role of Free, Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) in the next 12 years with an estimated 80 per cent recommendations for the industry.

IDG News Service reports that the use of the French word “libre” as in free is in ‘unfettered’ terms to clears up the ambiguity in the English word “free,” which could also mean without cost.

The report also stated the optimism that by 2020 FLOSS will have entered the mainstream of the software industry and contributed to reducing the digital divide between rich and poor.

“Social networks will rely on ubiquitous, open cloud-computing services and will allow people to interact not just with friends, but also with governments and businesses,” the authors said.

Stressing that vendor lock-in worry will facilitate the use and acceptance of FLOSS, and such software will be at the heart of green data centres and other business models with low ecological impacts.

Investors, legislators, educators, electors and even consumers, the report projected will also have a role to play.

“Governments must favour open standards and open services,” they said, so as to make this prediction a reality.

Thus is not just a matter of ideology, but also of necessity if data is to be exchanged between different services and systems.

This, they further said, requires a stable and neutral legal context in which a clear definition of open standards and services could be made and imposed.

“Clear legal frameworks could also help avoid the proliferation of software licenses,” the report said.

Investors, whether state or private, should fund research leading to the development of strategic FLOSS technologies, and governments and businesses should set up academic and professional training programs to educate a new generation of software developers about FLOSS.

There are some risks ahead, said the authors, including experts from Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Spain and the US, although the majority of them are French.

Among those risks, is the use of cloud-computing capacity on the scale required by some government systems which will result in an over-reliance on a small group of powerful suppliers.

This, they warned, could signal a return to the era of monopolies in some markets, with the risk that entire countries could be held ransom by their service providers.
In addition, organisations unable to pay the price for these elite services could be left running on unreliable or unsecure, second-class systems.



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Anabel Mobile unwraps PS products

Anabel Mobile has unwrapped its Professional Series (PS) products in the market, just as it plans to set up a manufacturing plant in the country in the coming months.
This is coming as advances have been made for the commercial launch of the Anabel PS products on Friday, this week.

Speaking at the media launch, last weekend, chief executive officer, Anabel Mobile, Mr. Nicholas Okoye, said the firm is coming into the market with its proudly Nigerian PS products, namely the Anabel Professional Series (PS)100 and PS 200, which offer users the ability to synchronize with any brand of Smart phones.

According to him, Anabel Mobile PS products are of equal ranking with the likes of Blackberry and Apple iPhone devices among other smart phones in the market globally, noting that Anabel comes with a touch of African design.

“It’s stylish, user friendly and runs on Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0 and 6.1 version applications, thus enabling it to be compatible with any Personal Computer (PC) globally,” he said.

Okoye also noted that Anabel PS products come with value added services (VAS) and functionalities including push and pull email, which has been the hallmark of the high-end mobile devices and promises to give Nigerians the respect and focus that many international brands are short of.

Anabel Mobile devices, Okoye emphasized were designed to meet the desires of high profile people and business class precisely, who are engaged on advanced programmes and need forward-looking mobile devices for data analysis, communication and reporting, as well as for sharing large files whether data, voice, music or video.

He affirmed that Anabel was dully licensed by the industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), saying that the firm is the first Nigerian company owned by Nigerians to provide customized smart phones that are truly Nigerian and built to international standards.

Promising to revolutionize the way Nigerians use telecommunications products and services, Anabel Mobile, he said, comes as telecommunications products that are multifunctional devices for enhancing business and lifestyle.

Current market trends, Okoye said, revealed that increasing number of Nigerians are changing their media and communications habits.

“More than ever, Nigerians are turning to multifunctional communication devices to do their business and enhance their lifestyle,” he said.

Pointing out that Anabel Mobile, an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) company was set up with the goal of ensuring that Nigerians are provided with products and services that will keep them at par with the rapidly changing global technology environment.

“The market potentials for our products and services in Nigeria are awesome. Anabel Mobile is positioned and equipped to provide Nigerians with the devices to be bona-fide members of the global Information Technology world,” Okoye said.

At Anabel, they would ensure that the consumers actually experience these offerings by the telecommunications companies.

“What we provide are devices and services which are multi-functional, an all-in-one system that enables the consumer make convenient choices as per the particular services he desires to use with ease and conveniently,” he enlightened.


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MTN launches Bizlift scheme for retailers

CONSISTENTLY seeking new ways of maintaining its top notch position in the telecommunication market, MTN Nigeria, over the weekend launched a new scheme, Bizlift, with the aim of engaging, empowering and expanding its retailers, reports CHARLES OKOH.

Speaking at the Bizlift launch in Lagos, Sales and Distribution Executive, MTN, Mr. Mike Ikpoki said, the key objective of the scheme is to lift the business of the retailers as a way of rewarding them for their loyalty and establishing better business relationship between the MTN and the retailers all over the nation.

“MTN is driven by the desire to know and understand our retailers and creating enabling human interface so that there can be understanding between us and our retailers who are the vital link,” he said.

He also said the scheme is the outcome of a study that revealed the need to support the retailers through training on their activities.

As said by him, “This is our effort to make the businesses of our partners more profitable, broaden their market space by providing regional exclusivity; enable business portfolio expansion by offering more products and services and more importantly support their quest for growth through infrastructural support.”

Ikpoki said Bizlift is the telco’s show of commitment to the retailers, because they create the market for their limited trade partners, and run the last lap in its success story by getting its products to the end-users.

“They go where others stop and they stand for us in the rain and in the sun,” he said.

Ikpoki further said that MTN has devised a model by which they intend to achieve this.

“This we call the 3E’s of transformation, which is engagement, empowerment and expansion and we intend to engage retailers by involving them in training programmes, micro-enterprise building and business development schemes.”

In addition, he said that the empowerment initiative would involve providing access to funds, structured channel relationships, reward system and dedicated call centre, adding that expansion vision is designed to make their business more profitable, increase street visibility and provide efficient account management tools.


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Nokia 5230 draws music lovers together

Music lovers are in for more fun as Nokia rolls out its latest products, which is Nokia 5220 and 5230, writes ATIM IKPEME.

Both phones though very stylish still possess the ruggedness that Nokia phones have been known for over the years.

The Nokia 5230 Xpressmusic offers a lot of the same features as its little brother the 5220, but adds Third Generation (3G) and more memory capacity to its features.

Key features include dedicated music and Nokia Gage (N-Gage) gaming keys, Frequency Modulated (FM) radio with Radio Data Systems (RDS) which made its debut in the early 90s, by way of adding basic data and text service to FM radio.

Equally, Nokia 5230 comes with stereo Bluetooth, High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) which is a 3G packet-based mobile telephony protocol data, 2.0 mega pixel camera with flash and Nokia’s “Say and Play” voice activated music player.

Additionally, the candy bar style handset is compatible with the Nokia Music Store, which hosts more than 2 million tracks for customers to browse and buy and lets users side-load their content.

Nokia 5230 XpressMusic also comes a little bit more fully as it has the message voice reader facility, thus making it possible for users to listen to their messages when they want especially when such a person does not feel like reading the message.

It also comes with stored music which boast of music from different parts of the world, making it a whole delight for young music lovers as well as the old who love a little bit of present day music.


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Zinox, Intel introduce affordable Notebooks

NIGERIA’s leading computer firm, Zinox Technologies in collaboration with Intel Corporation, has introduced affordable Notebooks into the nation’s market.

This, ITRealms Online gathered was in fulfillment of Intel’s promise to assist Zinox Computers consolidate her skills in the manufacture of world-class quality systems.

Disclosing this, Corporate Affairs Manager at Zinox, Mr. Echika Ezuka, said that its a follow up to the admission of Zinox Technologies Limited into the exclusive Intel Champions Club to represent the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey, recently.

He also said that this collaboration has produced two world-class but low cost Notebooks known as the Zinox Classmate and the Zinox Smart Star Plus, to meet the computing needs of scholars, students and their lecturers.

These products, he noted was supervised and certified by Intel as well as powered by the very latest Intel Atom processor which is in very large demand globally.

According to him, the entry product, the Zinox Classmate Notebook is rated as the best Notebook for scholars and students due to its outstanding performance with an 8.9” screen, 1.6 GHz, 30GB storage, 512 MB RAM, 1.3 Mega Pixel Camera, Wi-Fi Antenna, with a choice of Win XP Starter Edition or Linux as operating system and a 1 year comprehensive warranty.


Already Zinox has a confirmed order of over16, 000 Units. “This durable sleek notebook is a success story,” he said.

Echika equally said that the Zinox Smart Star Plus is bound to be the cynosure of all eyes in the years to come with its superb architecture and robust configuration.

“This new generation Notebook is driven by the latest Intel Atom Processor and certified by Intel as a lead product for 2009 for highly mobile but knowledge acquisition focused citizens,” he said.

The Zinox Smart Star Plus, he noted is in a class of its own mostly with its 10.2” screen, 1.6 GHz, 1GB RAM, 60 GB HDD, 1.3 mega pixel camera, wi-fi antenna, 2 USB (2.0) ports, headphone and microphone jacks, 6 cell Li-ion battery, Realtek audio system, a 1 year comprehensive warranty and is priced below $400, about N35,000.

Commenting on the products, Executive of Intel Corporation in Nigeria, Mr. Robinson Babatunde, confirmed that Zinox is in a strong partnership with Intel who is committed to making Zinox Computers a huge success in Africa and beyond.

Mr. Babatunde also said that both world-class Notebooks from Zinox are certified by Intel and should be trusted.

Stressing that Zinox is a reliable and the largest Intel Premium Partner in sub-Saharan Africa, thus enjoys comprehensive support from Intel’s Research and Development, R&D team.

Equally speaking, the Head of e-Strategies at Zinox, Mr. Ben Ejimagwa, presented a graphic picture of the products’ power and architecture, which Zinox has been marketing after test running on the continent.

He pointed out that these privileged Notebooks are outstanding in performance because they run on the latest Intel Atom processors, urging all buyers to always insist on Intel powered Notebooks because of their robust nature, future scalability and after sales support.

Ejimagwa further said that Zinox Technologies Limited is the largest IT Company in Sub Saharan Africa in terms of capitalization, innovation, creativity, sustenance of business and has an unparalleled after sales support.

“With over 13 branches nationwide our customers and mostly first time IT product users can enjoy reduced total cost of ownership as our local offices can attend to their user challenges locally without spending thousands of Naira traveling from one city to the other just to get support,” he said.

Zinox Technologies Limited launched in 2001, received the ISO 9001: 2000 QMS Certification in 2006, and has won all Industry Awards both locally and internationally. Zinox is the only Microsoft OEM Partner in West Africa and remains a pride of Nigeria in this knowledge challenging century.


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Etisalat unveils bumper promo

THE fifth Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) in the country, Etisalat Nigeria, is offering its subscribers 20 per cent free airtime in Bumper season promo.

This, according to the Vice President Marketing of Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Wael Ammar, could be used both on and across the networks.

’With 20 per cent extra credit value for all recharge cards above N500 bought, the telco explains that this implies subscribers would get 20 per cent more talk time for free each time they recharge their phones with N500 and above,’ he said, stressing that the bonus airtime could be used at anytime, on any network.

The promo tagged ‘Recharge, Be in Charge’, he said was very much in line with the company’s commitment to ensure that all aspects of its business revolves around the customer.

‘We are keen to ensure that our customers get even more for every naira spent on our network during this season of blessings and good tidings. This is why we are offering this 20 per cent bonus to them during this time,’ he said.

Explaining that when customers and potential customers on the Etisalat recharge with N500, their talk time will be credited with N600.

‘Every N1000 recharge on our network automatically gets their talk account credited with N1,200. When they recharge with our N2, 000 recharge card, they will be credited with a whooping N2, 400 and when they recharge with the N5, 000 card, their accounts are credited with N6, 000 worth of credit. For us, there is no better way to show our customers that they are right at the centre of our business,’ Wael explained.

Further, Mr. Wael pointed out that the special position of the customer in the heart of Etisalat’s business, saying ‘Not only have we so far offered our customers opportunities to choose special numbers and get free airtime for life and also to choose their homezone and pay 20 per cent less at such location, they are now getting even more each time they buy and use at least N500 worth of recharge cards.

As we have promised at Etisalat, we are keen to get people talking and this is another practical demonstration of us doing just that.’


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MTN, empowering youthful talents via Project Fame

AS the first edition of the MTN Project Fame West Africa ended last weekend, the ultimate goal comes to mind, to empower youthful talents with the initiative.

Although the first edition saw the emergence of Nigerian Inyanyan Mbuk coming out of the academy as the star winner last Sunday, the high point will always remain the episode that preceded the finals.

Just the last four, lined out in their resplendent glory with all the attention on them, the live audience as well as millions of viewers across the West African sub-region, not a few tears flowed in the audience, as even their teachers just managed to hold back theirs.

It has really been an incredible journey for the group of young men and women picked up in a talent hunt programme that has become a testament of how money can be spent well to build up the nearly forgotten of the society.

They came from different backgrounds with very little history; at least even if they had any, not the star busting profile they carry now. From that obscurity they have become bearers of bulging newspaper clippings and video clips from television appearances.
Just the four of them: Praise Adejo, Annette Cookey, Nii Ankra and Inyanyan Mbuk.

Looking at them with a very excited crowd showering praises and adorations, all kinds of remarks were coming from the judges and teachers.

“Going into the studio to record you, you guys will make us proud as black people,” music teacher Ben Ogbeiwi said.

Looking quite satisfied and with a smile of accomplishment, former NTA Programmes Director, Mr. Peter Igho enthused: “I was here the night all of you came into the Academy. Tonight, I saw what came out of it.”

There was yet another comment: “Just looking at you is enough to know that whatever money has been put into this show is well spent on you.”

After an eclectic performance by Nii, someone remarked: “You are a performer who knows how to hold the audience and make them scream. You are in total control anytime you are on that stage.”

“Inyanyan, you are a true musician. We can listen to you all night. You are the main show man,” another said after watching Inyanyan spin his act on stage.

The beauty of that Saturday night wasn’t just that the following day would be the real history unfolded but also for the fact that these statements were coming to people that were very ordinary and picked across West Africa just over three months ago. Just ten weeks, the Project Fame crew and teachers among them, Joke Silva, Principal of the Academy, Ben Ogbeiwi, Music Teacher, Gogo Maji, Voice Coach, and Performance Coach Jennifer, had turned the inmates into some well rounded personalities that have become the cynosure of every good comment.

Just in one single file facing the audience they won everybody’s heart and the following day would also know their place in history. How time flies for ordinary folk!

Project Fame is the second major collaborative work between Ultima Communications of Nigeria and Endemol of the United Kingdom. The first major work is Who Wants to be Millionaire that has become a major TV hit across the country.

Seated in the audience as the final unfold were three faces represented by the kind of history they associate themselves with, including the culmination of something quite big and unexpected.

These figures include the chief executive officer of Ultima Communications, Mr. Femi Ayeni, Peter Igho who has worked with Ayeni since his NTA days and Kola Oyeyemi of MTN, sponsors of Project Fame who are also sponsors of Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

They were there from the beginning and developed real faith in each other to demonstrate that any product could really be made a good one. Not only that, they seem to be working on making stars out of the ordinary folks and remove the needy from that position of perpetual want. Who Wants to be a Millionaire has raised some millionaires in Nigeria and has also made a big star of Frank Edoho whose anchoring of the programme seems to be for keeps.

But back to Femi Ayeni who is the author of what may have become real magic process. When the search started months ago, not many had the faith he had running across the Sub region in search of students for the Academy. Like he did when he wanted to start the Millionaire show, he was the only one who knew what he was looking for.

He tends to do things out of the ordinary and sees what others cannot see. Many people disagreed with him on the choice of Edoho for the Millionaire show. But look at Edoho now. And quite a number also disagreed on the choice of Murhi International Complex Ogba for the Project Fame show.

But the show succeeded largely at the Murhi venue and once again Ayeni has succeeded in making that hitherto unknown place a showbiz Mecca.

Let’s not forget that Praise, Annette, Nii and Inyanyan made it to the finals, however, prizes must be given. The First Prize went to Inyanyan, followed by Nii, Praise and Annette in a very grueling contest that could try anybody’s nerves.

But the beauty of the show however, was that MTN had made arrangement for all four of them with each leaving with a huge sum of money and a car apart from Annette who got the sum of one million naira. Inyanyan would also have an international recording contract to launch his career.

MTN Project Fame West Africa has once again demonstrated the kind of raw talents available across the sub region. All that is expected of the political leaders is to put good governance in place in order to put the energies of their own people to good use.


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NiRA announces date for commercial services on .ng

The Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), has announced its readiness to commence automated and commercial services come January 1, 2009.

President, NiRA, Mr. Ndukwe Kalu, made this disclosure at the inauguration of an eight-man Auction Committee for the nation’s country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) name dot ng.

The committee which has the Vice President, NiRA and Director, Licensing at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Chairperson, Mrs. Mary Uduma and Publisher, Technology Times, Mr. Shina Badaru as deputy chair, also has NiRA’s Treasurer and Managing Director, Resort Saving & Loans Plc, Mr. Bimbo Olayinka and another director of NiRA and Head, Information Technology (IT), Aluko, Oyebode & Co. Ms Yetunde Johnson to serve as members.

Equally to serve in the committee are three of the newly accredited registrars; Messrs Omoniyi Ewete, Eugene Ohu and Destiny Amana, while Registrar Laison officer of NIRA, Mr. Emmanuel Amadi is secretary to the committee.

According to who was accompanied by the deputy chairperson of the Auction Committee, Mr. Badaru at the press meeting Friday, NiRA is now set to deliver on the key component of its mandate by going commercial.

«Come January 1, 2009 NIRA would commence automated and commercial service,»he declared.

Kalu also said that with the proposed commercialization of .ng, Nigerians all over the world and other interest in the .ng open domain would be able to register .ng domains with instant results.

Registrations, he said, would be possible through any of the NiRA accredited registrars, which currently numbering 29, with more to be accredited as requests come.

The registrars, Kalu said would offer online payment systems, thus instant domain registrations with domains visible 1 hour later.

He reiterated that as apart of the patriotic appeal to every citizen of this country, Nigerians have every reason to go for .ng domain.

Explaining that .ng domains would be one of the cheapest cctlds and second only to .com for the generic top level domains (gtlds) in pricing.

He stressed that as a virgin domain, many brand names are all available for proper name registration.

«All this makes the .ng domain a key domain of choice,» Kalu asserted.

While pointing out that it has not been an easy journey, he said, NiRA was born following the intervention of the immediate past president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

«The Internet community in Nigeria came together as one in the formation of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) to manage the country code top level domain (ccTLD) .ng,» he said.

Recalling that with the election of an executive board on May 1, 2007, «the stage was set for the realization of the .ng dream.»

Mr. Kalu further said that on January 16, 2008, NIRA signed an agreement with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to formally take over the management of the .ng ccTLD and by March 2008 the board had released for debate and input over 14 policies to guide the operations of the .ng ccTLD.

«After months of debate, the final policies were released on July 10, 2008,» he said.
Noting that with the release of these crucial policies the technical committee and the Registrar Accreditation committee went into action.

«While the registrar accreditation committee was charged to evaluate and recommend registrars for accreditation, the technical committee was tasked with putting in place a world class infrastructure that would meet the yearnings of Nigerians and registrants and the demands of the released policies,» Kalu outlined.


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Glo enhances Win & Rule, unveils 2 more promos

In furtherance to reposition itself, the Second National Operator (SNO), Globacom Limited, last weekend, said it has enhanced the Win and Rule promotion with introduction of two more offers.

The two new promos from Glo stables include the Classic Plus N2009 and Glo Time zone.

Executive Director, Human Resources at Globacom, Mr. Adewale Sangowawa, said that the Glo Win and Rule promo has been enhanced to enable more Nigerians and subscribers precisely to win more prizes.

“It has now been made bigger with a lot more offers and opportunities for many more subscribers to win,” he said.

Apart from the 500 cars earlier offered, he said, fantastic prizes consisting of motorbikes, generating sets and bicycles could be won by subscribers.

Insisting that the Glo’s win and rule promo is the biggest by any corporate organization in the country till date.

Explaining the two new products, Glo’s Director of Marketing, Mr. Jagatjit Singh said that the telco’s is offering 2,009 worth of benefits is awaiting its new subscribers on the prepaid platform who activates between today, Monday, December 8, 2008 and January 31, 2009.

“This is Globacom’s special way of celebrating year 2009 with our subscribers ahead of pack,” he said.

According to the Director, subscribers on Glo network would get airtime worth N39 on activation and 22 free Short Messaging Services on the network only.

The customer, he also said, would be entitled to N200 bonus on usage of N300 every month for six months, which adds up to N1,200 free airtime for on net calls, just as such customers would have N110 worth of Glo to Glo SMS every six months, totaling to N660.

“These amount to a total of benefit of N2,009,” he said.

On the Glo’s Time Zone, Singh said that it does not limit subscribers to specific zone of the country by comes with discounts that are applicable nationwide.

“This special offer is applicable to all prepaid subscribers across the country and valid from December 8, 2008 to January 31, 2009 with exception of commercial telephone operators,” Singh said.

He stressed on win and rule promo that subscribers would only qualify for draws for any of the items depending on the amount of recharge made in a month.

“Those who recharge between N200 and N300 will qualify for bicycles, those who recharge between N301 and N500, will qualify for motorbikes, while those who recharge between N501 and N1000 will qualify for generating sets,” he said.

Further, he said that to qualify for a Mercedese Benz draws, subscribers will have to recharge N20,001 and above, while BMW 3 Series attract recharge of between N10,001 and N20,001.

“For the Peugeot 307 car, the subscriber is to recharge between N6001 and N10,000, while recharge of between N2,001 and N6,000 is required for the Nissan Sunny,” he explained, noting that the last car on offer, Kia Rio requires recharge of between N1,001 and N2,000.


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Downtime costs huge sums of money – Expert

Sales and operations services manager for Africa at the American Power Conversion (APC) by Schneider Electric, Mr. Olivier Delepine, has asserted that downtime costs huge sums of money for companies who refuse to adhere to professional advice.

Speaking recently, Delepine said that one hour of downtime could cost companies hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“In tough financial times like these, no one can afford this. Organisations that rely on uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems to protect critical applications should be aware of the fact that the reliability of their UPSes is greatly boosted with the proper services,” he said.

Delepine, said both random and identifiable threats could affect the availability and workability of systems.

Identifiable incidents, he noted, could be addressed through proactive preventive service programmes, random events, which require reactive services that provide quick response.

This, he said, ensures that equipment get the care it needs to operate efficiently and without interruption.

“Proper care and regular maintenance will save you headaches, time and money as well as prolong the life of your equipment,” he advised.

Delepine pointed out that as insurance for total peace of mind, customers should receive expert services as a priority, thereby benefiting from guaranteed and adapted on-site response times, in addition having privileged access to service support.

Equally, he said that customers would benefit from a 24 hour emergency helpline; and have access to genuine parts.

Stressing the need for a cost effective programme to improve investment efficiency including regular preventative maintenance, he said, “This should improve effectiveness of the system and kill downtime, while extending the life of the equipment.”

According to him, companies must insist on professional expertise that delivers outstanding services in order to reduce the mean time to repair and save costs to get immediate return on investment.

Meanwhile, APC has announced that its Back-UPS RS 1200 and 1500 with integrated Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD).

These new models, the firm said, introduce an advanced LCD panel that provides status information, including more than 20 status indicators that give available runtime, load and a power event counter.

Additionally, the firm said surge protection, battery backup, automatic voltage regulation (AVR) and management software make the Back-UPS RS 1200 and 1500 LCD ideal solutions for protecting home and business users from data loss caused by power problems.

Manager for English Speaking Area and Service Centre West and Central Africa and Indian Ocean at APC by Schneider Electric, Mr. Paul-Marie Dable, said, that his firm has continued to make great strides in the advancement of APC’s Back-UPS family to meet the evolving needs of consumers.

Besides, he said, the standard features the new Back-UPS RS models offer, include the advanced LCD display which help consumers easily access the critical information they need regarding the status of their unit and power.

He added that the Back-UPS RS 1200 and 1500 LCD offer high performance protection for homes and business computer systems.

These new units, he said, provide abundant battery back up power, allowing users to work through medium and extended power outages with runtimes of up to 131minutes, depending on the units’ load.

According to him, with eight outlets, six with battery backup and two with surge protection only, he said, the Back-UPS RS also safeguards equipment from damaging surges and spikes that travel along utility, phone cable lines.

“The Back-UPS RS series features AVR, which adjusts low voltages to safe levels, so consumers can work indefinitely during brownouts. In addition, APC’s PowerChute Personal Edition software gracefully powers down the computer system automatically in the event of an extended power outage. A distinctive feature of the new BR 1200 LCD and BR1500LCD is the liquid crystal display (LCD) visual indicators and audible alarms, which makes it easy for the user to operate the unit,” he said.

APC by Schneider Electric, prides itself as a global leader in critical power and cooling services, provides industry leading product, software and systems for home, office, data centre and factory floor applications.

Dable noted that APC backed by the strength, experience, and wide network of Schneider Electric’s Critical Power & Cooling Services, delivers well planned, flawlessly installed and maintained solutions throughout their lifecycle.

Stressing that through APC’s unparalleled commitment to innovation, offers pioneering, energy efficient solutions for critical technology and industrial applications.

ITRealms Online recalls that in 2007, Schneider Electric acquired APC and combined it with MGE UPS Systems to form Schneider Electric’s Critical Power and Cooling Services Business Unit, which recorded 2007 revenue of $3.5 billion and employed 12,000 people worldwide.

APC solutions include uninterruptible power supplies (UPS), precision cooling units, racks, physical security and design and management software, including APC’s InfraStruXure architecture the industry’s most comprehensive integrated power, cooling, and management solution.


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