Watch out! Fully networked homes coming

Technology enthusiasts may be in for another resounding innovation as the global standard bearers in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), weekend announced a breakthrough that could offer an in-home, high-speed network capable of delivering room-to-room High Definition Television (HDTV) streams.

HDTV is reputed as a method of digital broadcasting that results in high-quality pictures and Dolby Digital surround sound, using the same amount of bandwidth, that is, about Six Mega Hertz (Mhz) as used in the analogue system, but HDTV could transmit more than six times the information as the analogue system, which translates to higher quality in picture and sound.

Currently, experts said that mere television pictures are made up of 525 horizontally scanned lines, whereas HDTV pictures are created by scanning 1,080 lines, which entails that twice the amount of lines multiply the amount of pixels; the small dots that create the picture.

Equally, current Tv sets have about 300,000 pixels, while the HDTV screen is composed of more than 2 million pixels. This, experts said, that having more pixels on your screen will also improve the sharpness of the pictures, hence allowing you to read on your television screen small text commonly found on computers.

Additionally, HDTV sets have wider, movie-theater like screens that more closely resemble human peripheral vision, which makes it more natural to watch.

This development came as the umbrella body of worldwide mobile operators, the Global System for Mobile Association (GSMA), has heightened its campaign to secure Digital Dividend spectrum to harmonized bands for mobile use, which is expected to be freed up through the switchover from analogue to digital TV advocacy.

However, ITU said at the weekend that the first global standard to offer in-home, high-speed network with capability of delivering room-to-room HDTV has been agreed upon by its member states.

The Chief, Media Relations and Public Information at ITU, Mr. Sanjay Acharya and Communications Officer, Telecommunication Standardization Sector, Study Group 15, (ITU-T), Mr. Toby Johnson, said in a press statement made available to Champion Infotel that the standard, published under the G.hn banner, promises high quality multimedia over power, coaxial, phone and other home network wiring. It will give up to 20 times the throughput of existing wireless technologies and three times that of existing wired technologies.

G.hn is the common name for the ‘next generation’ triple-wire home network technology standard being developed under the ITU, with the first recommendation for G.hn known as G.9960 receiving official consent on Friday, December 12, 2008.

Over 20 companies are participating regularly in a broad cross section of the communications industry including some of the world’s largest telephone companies, major communication equipment companies and some of the leading home networking technology companies.

ITU also said, the specifications would be used by chip manufacturers to build transceivers that could be incorporated into set-top boxes, residential gateways, home computers, home audio systems, Digital Video Display (DVD) players, TVs or any other device that might be connected to a network now or in the future.

Experts see this development as a door opener for silicon companies, anticipated to immediately commence the incorporation of the specifications into transceivers, which implies that G.hn-compliant products could be on the market as early as 2010.

Principal Analyst at market research firm In-Stat, Ms Joyce Putscher, was quoted in a press statement as saying that service operators have been looking for an international standard that encompasses multiple existing-wire mediums for video distribution.

“G.hn meets that requirement and it seems clear that with significant industry backing from service providers, semiconductor and equipment vendors, and the fast rate at which the process is moving to achieve a standard, we will see first equipment by 2010,” she said.

Director, ITU’s Telecommunication Standardization Bureau, Mr. Malcolm Johnson, said there is a clear market need for a unified networking approach and with G.hn, every wire in every home around the world could become part of a home entertainment network.

“This will enable seamless communication between computers, HDTVs and telephones over existing wires. I expect that this exciting new technology will also foster innovations such as energy efficient smart appliances, home automation and telemedicine devices,” he said.

Champion Infotel gathered that work on G.hn was started at the instigation of service providers looking to extend broadband and video services in the home. As well as the urge to offer greater speed in bundling complementary Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) where G.hn offers greater coverage, extending, for example, to areas of a house where Wi-Fi does not reach.

Meanwhile, GSMA is advocating vigorously for the Digital Dividend spectrum that will be freed up by the switchover from analogue to digital TV represents a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity for a significant reallocation of spectrum.

This, GSMA said, has the potential to bring affordable mobile broadband services and Internet connectivity to people all over the world.

“The mobile industry is lobbying hard for national regulatory authorities to reassign Digital Dividend spectrum for mobile use,” according to e-newsletter by GSMA.

Noteworthy is that at the World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC) in Geneva in 2007, the re-allocation of Digital Dividend spectrum was a key item on the agenda. After considerable debate, the 790-862 Mega Hertz (MHz) band was identified by WRC for mobile use in ITU Region 1 (Europe).

This band will allow mobile operators to provide a cost-effective, continuous, seamless broadband experience, allowing for improved rural coverage and better quality coverage in urban areas.

However, the WRC identification is a recommendation only and each national regulatory authority is now considering whether to implement the recommendation in its own market.

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Optimising your Google mail account (4)

This means you can automatically apply a star to messages from your mom that contain the word ‘cookies.’ Get creative. You can always go back and perfect your filters; just click Settings and select the Filters tab .

Search

If you’re worried that you won’t be able to find a specific conversation after you move it from your inbox, search has got you covered.
When you’d like to find a message, you can enter a word or phrase in the search field and click the Search Mail button. Your results will be displayed with your search terms highlighted in yellow.

Search box

If your search is a little complicated -- maybe you’re trying to find a message from your mom, about a restaurant, and you remember that she sent it to you and your brother. Just click Show search options. You can enter all of these criteria (and then some) to refine your results.
And there you have it. If you’d like, you can read up on more tips for using search operators to find your messages.
Instant Communication

Chat
As you’re looking around, you’ll probably notice the Chat box in under the links in the left navigation bar.
Chat allows you to talk to your Gmail contacts (those who use Gmail, Google Talk, or even your AIM buddies) in real-time, directly within Gmail.
The status icon to the left of your contacts’ names indicates whether they’re available (green), idle (yellow), busy (red), or offline (grey). You can also add a note, by clicking the Set status here link, which will show under your name in your friends’ Gmail.

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Omatek supports Kano ICT park

OMATEK Ventures Plc, has given its support to the Kano State Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Park by forming an alliance with the state government in the promotion of the park.

Disclosing this recently, at the Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN) Chief Executive Officers’ (CEO) summit, in Kano, the Special Adviser to the Governor on ICT and Education, Alhaji Bashir Galadanci, said, the Kano ICT Park would serve as an avenue to improve on ICT infrastructure in the state, while developing and encouraging patronage of locally manufactured computer products like Omatek that are of same quality with the foreign brands. 

Progenics bags Best Software award @ ‘08 LEAD

ENTERPRISE technology solutions provider, Progenics Corp Limited, has bagged Best Software Company of the Year, 2008 awards at the just concluded Lagos Enterprise Awards (LEAD) held in Lagos.

LEAD, a premier enterprise award that promotes initiatives, leadership excellence and the culture of economic advancement in the continent, is to recognise and reward innovators of excellent ideas and organisations that are leading lights in the enterprise.

The awards was instituted as a public-private-partnership (PPP) project by the immediate past governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed in 2006, via a deal between the State Government’s Ministry of Commerce & Industry and Sainte Paul International, as event organisers.

Speaking at the ceremony after receiving the award for his firm, the chief executive officer, Progenics, Dr. Tony Udoh, said that the expertise and professionalism of his company over the years has made it the solution provider of choice for the financial, oil and gas as well as public sectors of the economy.

This, he said, could be seen by the surplus specialized application solutions from the company’s stable like the GovAc; premium e-government solution and Symbols - a complete range of solutions for investment management and financials.

Additionally, he said, that Progenics has SymbolsM, which is an integrated solution for the micro-finance institutions, as well as the elaborate technical superiority exhibited by the company in the complete automation of the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

“Our efforts in Information Technology (IT) solutions in the country and beyond have always stood us out as solution providers of choice, so, there is really no surprise that everyone would want to recognise our achievements, rather, it is more of a challenge for us to always stay on top by doing what we do in the best possible global standards,” he said.

In a related development, the management of Progenics said it has concluded plans to formally open an international office in the United States of America (USA).

Making this known recently at its Lagos office, the management of the company said that the idea behind the new office is to properly define the international identity of the company as well as position it to offer enterprise IT solutions to a greater number of international clients.

Sources close to Progenics, said the office is expected to be open before the end of the year.

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Ahead of New Year with Glo’s triple offer

WHEN the Second National Operator (SNO), Globacom Limited, announced its own New Year, penultimate Thursday, December 4, 2008, most Nigerians including a good number of media practitioners were taken aback. But listening to the Executive Director, Human Resources of the telecom giant, Mr. Adewale Sangowawa, while disclosing the latest packages, the message seems to have gone home perfectly.

“Today, we have invited you our friends to be witnesses as we mark the beginning of 2009. Yes, for us at Globacom, year 2009 begins today. The obvious question then is: how can that possibly be, considering that we still have 23 days to go to the end of the current year?” he enthused.

For him, the occasion of the announcement was historic in the sense that it comes with plenty of goodies for Glo subscribers, thus he proffers an answer; “In our tradition of being the first, we have chosen to enable our subscribers to celebrate year 2009 ahead of the pack. This, we have done through three special packages. While two of these are entirely new offers …, the third is our Win ‘n’ Rule promotion which has now been made bigger with a lot more offers and opportunities for many more subscribers to win.”

According to him, with the Glo’s New Year package, it is now a lot easier to win prizes in the promotion. Just as he noted that in addition to the 500 cars earlier offered, fantastic prizes including motorbikes, generating sets and bicycles could also now be won by subscribers, maintaining that the Win ‘n’ Rule promo has remained, so far, the biggest by any corporate organization in the country.

“You will recall that when we launched the promotion a few months ago, we said that it would take several years for that record to be broken. We have now bettered ourselves by further enhancing the offer and increasing the opportunity for many more Nigerians to benefit from it,” he declared.

The Win ‘n’ Rule promo, Sangowawa said, is just one of the several promotions Globacom has held since it launched operations in August, 2003 and factually, winners have emerged from the nooks and crannies of this great country, as “Students, teachers, civil servants, drivers, artisans, members of the armed forces, traders and other categories of Nigerians have all benefited from these schemes by winning generous airtime, generators, motorcycles and different brands of cars.”

He also said that Globacom had before now spent over N4 billion in consumers’ reward packages, which is informed by the operator’s desire to positively affect the lives of its subscribers, insisting that Globacom is committed to the provision of quality telephone services and is equally enthusiastic about empowering Nigerians, wherever they may be, based on two facts.

“Our passion for the Nigerian stems from two facts. One, Globacom is a Nigerian company and is therefore in a good stead to feel the pulse of Nigerians. Two, our company has enjoyed tremendous goodwill and patronage from Nigerians. Immediately after launch, Nigerians embraced the network as their own and within the first year of operation, Globacom became the fastest growing Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) network in Africa. This support continued in the outgoing year and we are signing off the year with a subscriber figure of 22 million,” Sangowawa said.

As the year 2008 comes to an end, Sangowawa recalls that Globacom recorded some milestones, based on the fact that it was the year Glo took a major step towards the realization of its vision of becoming the biggest and best telecom company on the continent.

“By rolling our services in Benin Republic and winning a GSM license in Ghana. It was the year we launched our Third Generation (3G) plus commercial services, the first network to do so in West Africa,” he said enthusiastically, stressing that within the year under review, Glo also commissioned several phases of its Optic Fibre Cable backbone to cover the Onitsha-Awka, Enugu-Awka, Owerri-Enugu, Eket and Umuahia routes. The facility, he explained would offer a better alternative for bulk voice and data transmission requirements.

“As we have often stated, these successes are all attributable to our subscribers. And so, today, we celebrate the customer yet again in an unprecedented manner with these three offers. For us, it is yet another opportunity for saying ‘thank you’ for their patronage and loyalty,” the executive director said, assuring that Globacom would continue to reward loyalty and give back to the Nigerian society for the tremendous support it has given the company. He was unequivocal that Glo would remain committed to its vision of providing innovative products and services to enable customers on its platform to continue to rule their world.

Throwing more light on the three offers, the Globacom’s Director of Marketing, Mr. Jagatjit Singh, said the Classic Plus N2009 Offer, Glo Time Zone and enhanced Win ‘n’ Rule promo, were all meant to appreciate customers.

On the ‘Classic Plus N2009’, he said, that this entails N2,009 worth of benefits to be given to every new prepaid subscriber who activates his or her line between Monday, December 8, 2008, and January 31, 2009, saying this is Globacom’s exceptional way of celebrating year 2009 with its subscribers ahead of time.

As said by him, subscribers would get free airtime worth N39 on activation accompanied with 22 free Glo to Glo Short Messaging Service (SMS) worth N110, even as the customer would be entitled to N200 bonus on usage of N300 every month for six months, making N1,200 free airtime for Glo to Glo calls. Singh also noted that the operator is offering N110 worth of Glo to Glo SMS every month for six months, totaling N660. Hence these amount to a total benefit of N2,009.

On the ‘Discount Time Zone,’ customers would be entitled to discounts of between 10 per cent and 95 per cent for Glo-2-Glo calls made, depending on the time of the day the call is made.

“Calls made between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m. would attract 95 per cent discount, calls made between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m. will have 40 per cent discount, while calls between 8 a.m. and 12 noon will be at a 10 per cent discount. Those between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., Glo is offering callers 20 per cent discount, while 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. will attract 10 per cent discount. Subscribers who call between 10 p.m. and 12 a.m. will enjoy a 30 per cent discount. This discount is applicable from the pear rate of the existing tariff plans,” he outlined.

Mr. Singh additionally said that the discounts are applicable nationwide and that Glo Time Zone does not limit subscribers to specific zones. This, special offer is applicable to all prepaid subscribers across the country and valid from December, Monday 8, 2008 to January 31, 2009 with exception of commercial telephone operators.

The third offer, Mr. Singh said, is the Win ‘n’ Rule promo, which has been on for some months now, enlightening that the promo is now bigger and better as it has been expanded to give many more subscribers the opportunity to win prizes.

“To the 500 cars earlier on offer, Globacom has added generating sets, bicycles and motorbikes,” he said, stressing that subscriber would 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 N1,000 qualify for generating set.

Singh also explained that recharge for the car prizes have been adjusted, saying that to qualify for a Mercedes Benz draw, the subscriber would recharge N20,001 and above, while for the BMW 3 Series, recharge of between N10,001 and N20,000 is required, even as “For the Peugeot 307 car, the subscriber is to recharge between N6001 and N10,000, while recharge of between 2,001 and 6,000 is required for the Nissan Sunny. The last car on offer, Kia Rio, requires recharge of between N1,001 and N2,000 for the customer to qualify for the draw.”

According to him, Glo by these offers is empowering its subscribers to celebrate year 2009 ahead of others with N2009 worth of benefits, saying, “So a new customer buying the Glo Classic SIM which is sold for N200 is buying a SIM packed with N2009 worth of value.”

Singh explained that although the N2009 benefit offer is meant for new subscribers, existing Classic customers could still migrate to the new package by calling 121. Just as, he said the latest additions to Win ‘n’ Rule promotion are meant to celebrate the Yuletide and Eid-el-Fitri and reward customers for their loyalty and patronage.

Reiterating that the promotions were another way of showing appreciation to Glo’s customers for their patronage and support throughout the year. “Globacom has done extremely well this year, with a subscriber base of over 20 million. This was made possible by our subscriber’s patronage and we want to say thank you to them. The promos also relate strongly with the festive spirit of sharing and we believe it will positively impact on the lives of our subscribers,” Singh said.

As the triple offer get underway, some subscribers have begun to receive their rewards, while yet many more are praying without seizing that the enhanced Win ‘n’ Rule promo alongside two others shall be their portion.

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Thailand to host Catholic communicators

THE World Catholic Association for Communication otherwise known as SIGNIS, has announced the dates of the next SIGNIS World Congress to be held in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

The Congress is usually a gathering of communication professionals from all over the world.

A press statement from SIGNIS indicated that the congress has been scheduled to hold from October 17 through 21, 2009, with the theme “Media for a Culture of Peace: Children’s Rights, Tomorrow’s Promise.”

This came at the end of its meeting in Rome, recently, the SIGNIS-World Board of Trustees also celebrated the 80th anniversary of the association by confirming its mission in the new communication era and refreshed its management team with the appointment Mr. Alvito De Souza as the new Secretary General of the body.

The SIGNIS Board of Trustees, which met in Rome from November 20 to 26, 2008, also confirmed the dates and venue for the SIGNIS World Congress 2009.

According to the press statement, the 2009 Congress is intended to highlight the need to promote children’s rights and a culture of peace and encourage communicators to make children’s rights a priority in their work.

The meeting also marked the opening of the SIGNIS 80th anniversary celebrations. SIGNIS organized a joint seminar with the Fondazione Ente dello Spettacolo, member of SIGNIS in Italy, which celebrated 80 years of the Catholic film magazine Rivista del Cinematografo, and SIGNIS Services Rome, which turned 50 years, at Vatican Radio on Monday 24 November.

The seminar was attended by Mgr Claudio Maria Celli, President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Fr. Federico Lombardi, Director of Radio Vatican and CTV and Head of the Vatican Press Office, Cardinal John Foley and Dr. Maria Elisa Marzotti of Save the Children.

Speaking at the event, Archbishop Celli praised the contribution of SIGNIS, in “assisting Christian communicators in living out their vocation in solidarity with one another” and pointed to two challenges facing Catholic communicators.
“The first is trying to better understand our modern cultures and how the new communications technologies are influencing and informing them.

“The second challenge is the need to focus more efforts on the formation of Catholic communicators so that they become not only professionals in the use of new technologies but also well grounded Christian communicators who understand the culture, context and trends, and are better able to adapt to the new communications panorama in order to share the Good News of Jesus Christ through their testimony and work,” he asserted.

In this respect the Archbishop said, “We are not promoting schools of fundamentalism”, but “real dialogue” and “proper respect”.

In the framework of the 80th anniversary celebrations, two SIGNIS meetings took place on November 23: the European meeting of the SIGNIS Media Education Project (SIGMEP-Europe) and the film seminar “Face for the Faceless”.

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Nokia 5800 XpressMusic on the high sea - Official

NOKIA Nigeria, last weekend, confirmed that its 5800 XpressMusic series is currently being shipped to the country.

Affirming this, the Communications Manager, Nokia Nigeria, Mrs Ngozi Ife Anene, said that the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic would be available in the country, later this month.

She said that the latest in Nokia’s XpressMusic range, the Nokia 5800 is an affordable music device with a touch screen interface for the mass market.

Aimed at putting music into the hands of millions, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Mrs. Anene said, offers all the music essentials including a graphic equalizer, 8 Gega Bytes (GB) memory for up to 6000 tracks and supports all main digital music formats, and a 3.5mm jack.

“Built-in surround sound stereo speakers offer the industry’s most powerful sound,” she said.

Mrs. Anene also quoted the General Manager, Nokia Nigeria, Mr. Philip De La Vega as saying that when it comes to music phones, people all over the world want a device that is a great music experience and still works really well as a mobile phone, without sacrificing features.

“The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic delivers on this and allows consumers to quickly and easily access and share the content that is most important to them with the people that are most important to them,” he said.

Mr. Philip equally said that the product made of the most of touch screen technology, delivers easy and fast access to all music, video and photos through a one-touch ‘Mediabar’ drop down menu.

“The media bar also offers a direct link to the web and to online sharing, because the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic supports flash content, individuals can surf the entire web,” Philip pointed.

He explained that the innovative ‘Contacts Bar’ allow people to highlight four favorite contacts on their home-screen and, through a single touch, track a digital history of recent text messages, emails, phone logs, photos and blog updates.

For the best screen resolution available on a mobile phone, the 3.2” widescreen display brings photos, video clips and web content to life in vibrant color and true clarity. With a 16 by 9 aspect ratio and 30 frames-per-second playback and recording, the device is ideal for VGA quality video recording and playback.

The Nokia 5800 XpressMusic also features a 3.2 mega pixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and, with a single touch, images or videos can be shared via a favorite online community, such as Share on Ovi, Flickr, or Facebook.

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Main One gets landing rights in Nigeria, Ghana

NIGERIAN Main One Cable Company (MOCC), has gotten the certification of the governments of Nigeria and Ghana to land its undersea cable.

The licenses recently presented to the management of Main One on behalf of the governments of the two countries by the telecommunications regulators in those countries, namely the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and Ghana’s National Communications Authority (NCA).

Company sources said, the licenses confer on Main One Cable Company the right to land its intercontinental undersea fibre optic cable in Nigeria and Ghana.

Champion Infotel recalled that Main One Cable Company has since begun work on building its undersea fibre optic cable from Portugal to Africa. The first phase of this project spans 6,900 Kilometres and will extend from Portugal to Ghana and Nigeria with an additional 6,000 Kilometres extension to South Africa and Angola in the second phase.

Confirming this, the Chief Executive Officer, Main One Cable Company, Ms. Funke Opeke, said the development represents a major landmark for the continent, as it’s the first time ever that a private sector driven undersea cable network is receiving landing licenses.

According to her, the exciting development, sets the stage for her company to land its undersea fibre optic cable, in both countries, even while negotiations are ongoing with other countries along the coastal route earmarked for the undersea cable.

She stressed that it’s a unique promise that would boost Internet access across the African continent.

“This lies in the huge improvement in bandwidth which we will be driving even while reducing costs phenomenally,” she said.

Opeke disclosed that her firm employed the combination of Dense Wave Multiplexing Technology (DWMT) of 1.28 Terabits per second and two fibre pairs. Main One will deliver far more capacity to the region than any existing or proposed undersea projects even while bringing costs down to about 20 per cent of what is currently obtainable from SAT 3 or satellite service operators.

She noted that the project would provide open access to regional telecom operators and Internet Service Providers (ISP).

Additionally, she explained that Main One would serve as a major boost to Internet access on the continent, even as it would considerably minimize the difficulties of switching traffic between African countries and eliminating the inconveniences.
Opeke underscored the fact that costs of first routing traffic to Europe would be reduced drastically.

“We will also enhance job creation and local content development through skills transfer in ICT and particularly networking technologies,” she said.

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Tailor, NNPC staff, others win @ Glo concert

LUCKY recently smiled on three lucky Glo subscribers at a concert held in the oil-rich city of Port Harcout, as three of them went home with brand new Peugeot 307 XT, a Nissan Sunny and Kia Rio respectively.

Other lucky residents of the city won motorcycles and bicycles at the enhanced Glo Win & Rule promo which was drawn at the Port Harcourt edition of the Rock n Rule concert.

Among the winners at the concert include a staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), Eleme, Mr. Bode Amao who won the Peugeot 307, while Azubike Gift, a student of University of Port Harcourt went home with a Nissan Sunny as well as Mr. Zaphanel Phillibus, a tailor at Old GRA, Port Harcourt who won the Kia Rio.

In his reaction, Amao said he had been on the Glo network for five years now and had always held the belief that luck would one day smile on him through Globacom.

For Azubike Gift actually had mother luck trailing him all the way, as he had given up hope and was on his way out of the event venue at College of Science, Rumuola when he heard a call on his mobile phone informing him that he had won a prize.

Zaphanel Phillibus, who won the Kia Rio, was also lost for words, but disclosed after the event that it was as if he was watching someone else winning the car.

“I was shocked that it was me that won the car. This is too good to be true. Since my number was called, I have been asking myself over and over again if it is indeed true. He said he would like the prize to be presented to him at the University of Port Harcourt in the full glare of other students,” he said.

Mrs. Grace Nwokeforo who won the bicycle, said Glo is the best, stressing that she would give the bicycle to her son who would definitely be happy to ride it.

Globacom’s Head of Promotions Unit, Tonye Briggs said that the company decided to enhance the Win and Rule promotion by making it easier and bigger.

He further said that the qualification process was simplified and made more attractive to allow more Nigerians to participate and win great prizes.
Apart from the over 300 vehicles left to be won in the promo, Glo has also added 1,000 motorcycles, 1,000 generators and 1000 bicycles.

Glo, he noted, has reduced the lowest threshold for qualification from N500 in two weeks to N200 in one month.

“We have decided to reward Nigerians in general and the youths in particular by offering great prizes to Glo subscribers even at the venues of the ongoing Rock ‘N’ Rule concert,” he said.

He explained that all that is required by Glo subscribers attending any of the Rock ‘N’ Rule concert is to send “Win n Rule” to a designated short code, 30005.

“They are also required to have recharged with a minimum of N200 within 30 days before the day of the draw. The promo is open to new and old subscribers, saying that other draws will also be held in other locations apart from the Rock n Rule venues,” he said.

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‘Wale Goodluck solicits media support for MTN

THE newly appointed, Corporate Services Executive for MTN Nigeria, Mr. Akinwale Goodluck, has solicited for media support so as to make his tenure a success.

Speaking at the maiden media parley, last weekend in Lagos, Mr. Goodluck who was accompanied by Head, Communications at MTN Nigeria, Mrs. Funmi Omogbenigun, and a team of External Communications officials led by Mr. Andrew Okeleke, expressed thanks to the media for the support given his predecessor, Mrs. Amina Oyagbola, who has since been moved to Human Resources.

He expressed optimism that his tenure would see heightened co-operation from Nigerian media.

While promising them of an open door policy so as to enable the two to work together, he commended Nigerian media, especially those in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) session for always being there for MTN wherever they go.

Champion Infotel recalls that with effect from November 1, 2008, Mr. Goodluck succeeded Mrs. Oyagbola, as the Corporate Services Executive of MTN Nigeria.

As the Corporate Services Executive, Akinwale would have oversight for Regulatory/Government Relations, Commercial/Legal, Company Secretariat, Corporate Communications and the Corporate Social Responsibility function.

Since joining MTN in December 2001 as Commercial Legal Advisor, Goodluck has held positions of increasing responsibilities culminating in his latest appointment.

Until his new appointment, he was General Manager, Regulatory Affairs, with primary responsibility for regulatory compliance, license obligations, regulatory risk management, government relations, legislative monitoring, industry relations and business support.

Before now, he was General Manager, Commercial Legal with responsibility for the management of contractual obligations of MTN, litigation management and dispute resolution as well as oversight of all commercial transactions as General Counsel.

Goodluck had worked at Nigeria’s pioneer investment bank, NAL Merchant Bank where he acquired considerable expertise in legal advisory services, corporate finance and financial services.

Thereafter, he joined the services of The Law Union, a firm of barristers and solicitors, with primary responsibility for the Corporate and Commercial Law Group of the firm.

He is an acknowledged resource on issues pertaining to the legal and regulatory framework of the oil and gas, telecommunications and banking & financial services sectors.

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Zain rolls out commercial service in Ghana

ZAIN has roll out its commercial services in Ghana with the launch of the first true 3.5G network in the continent outside South Africa.

Zain Ghana’s network will promises to offer its customers ultra high-speed internet access and for the first time in Ghana the ability to make video-calls and use rich multimedia content including the ability to send video clips, music and pictures at the touch of a button.

Zain’s 3.5G network will give Ghanaians a new lifestyle option, thus marking the launch in the country’s capital city, Accra with the disclosure that Zain has invested over US$ 420 million to date in rapidly rolling out the network across the country.

The launch of its Ghana operation brings the number of countries in which Zain’s award winning ‘One Network’ service coverage map to 17.

‘One Network’ Zain’s borderless mobile service is available to over half a billion people across the Middle East and Africa - an area greater than the United States of America.

One Network offers Zain customers favourable rates, free of roaming surcharges for cross-border communications.

Ghanaian Zain customers now have access to One Network service and can travel freely with their phones through Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Nigeria, Niger, Tanzania and Uganda.

The company said there are plans to make the service fully operational in all other Zain countries by the end of the year.

Zain Group CEO, Dr Saad Al-Barrak said, “We welcome Ghana to the Zain family. Ghana is important to Zain and we have invested heavily in bringing the latest technology to create the best network in West Africa. Through our pan-African presence and synergies in human resources, technologies, marketing and best business practices we assure the people of Ghana they will receive world-class telecommunication services.”

Speaking about the addition of Ghana to the Zain’s ‘One Network’, Mr Chris Gabriel, CEO of Zain Africa said “With thousands of people crossing Ghana borders daily from Burkina Faso and other Zain ‘One Network’ countries such as Nigeria and Niger, the One Network service will have a positive socio-economic impact on many as affordable cross-border communications offers the opportunity for loved ones to stay in touch, as well being an impetus in stimulating economic activity, improving the livelihoods of many communities.”

A press statement made available to Champion Infotel endorsed by Public Relations Manager, Zain Nigeria, Mr. Emmanuel Otokhine, noted that prior to the launch Zain Ghana undertook a highly successful pre-registration campaign allowing aspiring customers to be the first recipients of a Zain mobile number.

The operation will have numerous Customer Contact points including walk-in Centres that will be open till 8pm and Call Centres which are open 24 hours, seven days a week. “The state-of-the-art Call Centre will offer service in English and two of the most widely spoken local groups of languages in West Africa, Akan and Hausa,” he said.

He also quoted the Country Manager for Zain Ghana, Mr. Philip Sowah, “Customers are the driving force behind the organization, therefore, customer care is one of the key pillars of Zain.

“Our goal is to focus on offering them appealing products, with a level of service that is second to none. Zain personnel have undergone extensive training in many areas and we are all keenly looking forward to the challenges ahead,” he said.

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‘Poor electricity may stall digital revolution’

EXECUTIVE Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, has warned that poor electricity supply in the country may stall the digital revolution in the country.

According to him, based on the present state of electricity supply, the nation cannot attain its full potential in the digital revolution.

Ndukwe gave this caution while speaking in Lagos, recently, noting that growth of subscriber lines should also go side by side with improvement in the public electricity power supply situation in the country, stressing that it is the wireless deployment that has contributed to over 99 per cent of the new subscribers added to the telecommunications network since 2001.

"Unlike fixed wire-line systems, wireless systems require electricity to power the terminal equipment, and to work efficiently. Computers, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connectors, table top units, more telephone sets, base stations/cell sites, switching centres, microwave transmission stations and all the other Information and Communications Technology (ICT) equipment, infrastructure, systems and terminals must have good power supply to work well," he said.

Ndukwe said unless this vital source of energy is always available and reliable, the people may not be able to fully enjoy the benefits that the digital revolution offers especially in the remote and rural areas of the nation.

The EVC also said the NCC is now a model telecommunications regulatory institution in Africa and that in the past few years, it has played host to various representatives from African telecommunications regulatory authorities on study tours.

He said the commission’s intention is to continue to partner with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and other agencies in furthering the exchange of experience and expertise necessary for global best practices regulation in the region.

Dr. Ndukwe said the NCC facilitated the establishment of the West African Telecommunications Assembly (WATRA), which has continued to be active within the African Telecom Union (ATU) and ITU.

"With its current growth pattern and position in Africa, Nigeria through the NCC, remains committed to facilitating the growth of the nation’s telecommunications sector, and taking its leadership position in telecommunications development in Africa," he said.

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Zinox covers coal city with Wi-Fi

COME January 2009, residents of Enugu, the coal city capital of Enugu State, would be welcomed into the New Year with the coverage of Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) access powered by Zinox Telecommunications Limited, a subsidiary of Zinox Group.

The Group Corporate Affairs Manager, Zinox Technologies, Mr. Echika Ezuka, told Champion Infotel, that the deployed Wi-Fi is currently undergoing test run in the state capital.

He explained that the deployment would afford those living in Enugu to connect to the internet wherever they may be, within the State capital, free of charge for six months.

“With this development, the knowledge driven Governor of Enugu State, Barrister Sullivan Chime, has delivered on his promise to the people of Enugu State whom he has severally assured that his works shall speak for him,” he said.

Ezuka also quoted the Commissioner for Information, Enugu State, Mr. Chuks Ugwuoke, in a press statement made available as noting that the Governor is a man of few words and has severally assured the good people of Enugu State that the state will become a knowledge driven society by the time he completes his tenure.

Ugwuoke said that access to the internet and the World Wide Web (www), is the first phase of Gov. Chime’s action plan.

Equally, Ugwuoke noted that the developmental benefits of a knowledge driven society advised the government to enter into partnership with Zinox Telecoms Ltd to deliver the first of its kind super Wi-Fi otherwise known as Zinox Wireless Cloud all over Enugu, the Enugu State capital.

“We have the commitment of Zinox to deliver, test run, and commission world class infrastructure soonest, and I think you should allow them sometime as we just completed all documentations,” he said.

In addition, Mr. Ezuka said the partnership with Enugu State government is to deliver digital democratic dividends to the populace of the state.

According to him, Zinox is encouraged by the fact that few of the new state governors are now taking interest in empowering their citizens with access to the information highway, which he described as the freedom to succeed.

Enugu State, he pointed out would become a national model like Yobe State by the time “we commission this facility which is our launch pad for the Eastern part of Nigeria.”

Stressing that Zinox Wireless cloud is the only way to promote cost effective knowledge democracy in a state, as there will be equal access for the poor and the rich to the global knowledge domain.

“This is the way to go if we must build world-class capacity to achieve the objectives of Vision 20:2020,” he declared.

Ezuka emphasized that Zinox is pioneering super wi-fi in Nigeria and assured that on the first day, at least, 8,000 people in Enugu state capital are billed to connect to the Internet without hassles, thus unleashing the boundless potentials of the internet.

This deployment, he further said, would pave the way for entrenching of e-governance platform in the state, including e-Learning, e-Security, tele-medicine for effective rural health management, e-agriculture to name a few.

Mr. Ezuka disclosed further that Zinox presently owns her own hub and would in the New Year invest over N3 billion in the first phase of deploying transponders for the secure and cost effective bandwidth ring for the country in the firm’s new move to deliver knowledge democracy nation wide.

The management of Zinox, he said, believes that the desire to develop Nigeria would remain a pipe dream if nothing urgent is done to promote world-class capacity building, tagged knowledge democracy by Zinox.

The Chairman, Zinox Group, Dr. Leo-Stan Ekeh, was equally quoted as saying that the e-Strategy team of his firm has been working on some new inventions that would liberate creative but disadvantaged Nigerians and position them on the global scene.

“I can assure you well in advance that 2009 shall be a technologically rewarding year for Nigeria,” he said.

Launched this year, Zinox Telecommunications Limited, boasts of over 300 corporate clients in her portfolio and of uncommon technologies.

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3 more winners emerge in Fantastic Bonanza

THREE more subscribers of the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operator, Visafone Communications Limited, last weekend, emerged winners in the telco’s Fantastic Bonanza, which began few weeks ago.

The latest winners including Pastor (Mrs.) Florence N. Toby with 07025634889, Ibadan-based Mrs Zainab Salami, 07026808481 and Mr. Emeka Igenaka, 07026457078, emerged in the draw for weeks 16, 17 and 18 in that order.

The trio won brand new Kia Rio car respectively in the third draw of the ongoing Visafone Fantastic Bonanza - 12 cars in 12 weeks promo.

This brings to eight the number of winners that so far emerged in the promo which commenced on October 13, 2008 , is expected to end on January 4, 2009.

Speaking at the draw, the Assistant General Manager, Marketing & Strategies, Visafone, Mr. Clifford Onyeike said that to win in the promo, all any customer or potential subscriber needs do is to buy and activate a Visafone handset and then ensure recharge with, at least, N400 every week to qualify for the weekly draws.

‘For old or existing subscribers, all you need do is recharge with at least N400 weekly,’ he said.

Meanwhile, in the past weeks, other winners picked at the second raffle draw in the series, were Tawa Longe, Sikiru Sule Ayo and Bukola Thomas.

For Sikiru Sule Ayo, a meat seller at Yaba market in Lagos, he was the cynosure of all eyes as a team of Visafone management and staff drove to the market to present him with his prize; a brand new Kia Rio saloon car.

Also speaking, Head, Corporate Communications at Visafone, Mr. Toni Kan Onwudi, said they look forward to making more Nigerians happy in the coming weeks and enjoined subscribers and yet to be customers of the telecom operator to ensure they are part of this promo.

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Delepine advises on UPS batteries

EXPERT in appliances power solution, Mr. Olivier Delepine, has advised Nigerians on when to change their Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) batteries.

Speaking in Lagos recently, he said, that people should watch out for their UPS batteries in order to ensure consistency in meeting their power needs and avoid data loss.

According to him, “If your uninterruptible power supply (UPS) is around three years old, it is the perfect time to check its batteries.”

Delepine, who also is the sales and operations services manager for Africa at APC by Schneider Electric, noted that UPS batteries typically last between three and five years and wear out over time, causing a loss of power capacity and runtime.

“The frequency of battery usage, along with the heat and humidity of the environment has an impact on the overall life expectancy of the batteries,” he explained, stressing that a properly maintained and sized UPS reduces the risk of business downtime caused by data loss and equipment failure.

He pointed out that it is quite simple to determine how old the battery of your UPS is.

“The year of manufacture is identified by the third and fourth digits of the product serial number, which is typically labeled on the back of the UPS,” he said.

Offering an example, he said, a UPS with the serial number of PB0416510513 was manufactured on the 16th week of 2004.

“APC provides upgrade options and battery replacement solutions for both in-warranty and out-of-warranty UPS products, whether you need new batteries, prefer the security of keeping your model under warranty, want to take advantage of the newest features or need to trade-up to a higher VA product,” he said.

Further, he said, that when replacing the batteries for any APC UPS’, customers to should take note of the five reasons why it is important to only use a genuine Replacement Battery Cartridge (RBC).

“The use of a non-APC battery may result in lower run time, damage the UPS, create a hazardous condition, or void UL, CSA, VDE and other safety certifications on the UPS.
Warning that the use of a non-APC battery will void APC’s equipment protection policy, noting that APC recycles used batteries and almost 100 per cent of the battery lead content is reused.

“Each RBC includes a one-year warranty,,” he declared.

APC, he equally said, supplies the appropriate instructions for the UPS, along with any needed wires and connectors, stressing that all connections are made with high current gas-tight crimps for high reliability.

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

According to the firm, its services are backed by the strength, experience, and wide network of Schneider Electric’s Critical Power & Cooling Services, in the delivery of well planned, flawlessly installed and maintained solutions throughout their lifecycle.

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Charging devices through ‘talk’

A variety of off-grid devices use the wind, the sun or fuel cells to power up small electronics, according to researchers at the Texas A & M University.

ZDNet UK reports that the researchers at this university have made the initial step towards letting people charge their mobile phone by just talking into it, eliminating the need for batteries or cords.

This, the report said, would be made possible with ‘piezoelectricity’, in which a mechanical force is converted to electricity.

Some cigarette and barbeque lighters use this, so when a button is punched, pressure on a crystal within produces voltage, creating a spark.

The report also indicated that in principle, the pressure needed to produce this voltage, and power a device, could come from sound vibrations.

Crafting such piezoelectric electronics would require sensors with a specific size of crystal or ceramic material.

Equally, researchers at Texas A&M University said they have taken an early step by identifying a sweet spot at which a crystal could produce energy.

The capability of barium titanate crystals to harvest power doubles when they’re about 23 nano metre (nm) in size, according to the researchers’ analysis, led by Mr. Tahir Cagin.

He pointed out that a human hair, by contrast, is about 100,000nm wide, however, it could be years or even decades before scientists and entrepreneurs apply the findings to consumer products, Cagin said.

“There are limitations to how much power you can generate at a given size,” Cagin said, stressing that an iPod or mobile phone may require nano-sensors at a scale and composition different from what his research suggested.

For now, Cagin said, at least, wind-up radios, shake flashlights and other devices that use kinetic energy for power are available.

Products under development include a dance-powered iPod charger that could be worn on an arm, and M2E Power is building motion-powered gadget chargers that could come to market in 2009.

On a larger scale, people are increasingly using piezoelectricity for off-grid, ‘green’ power. Dancing feet produce electricity at a nightclub in the Netherlands, and a San Francisco nightclub could follow suit.

The journal Physical Review B this autumn published Cagin’s research, in which engineers at the University of Houston also participated.

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