‘ACCE should’ve observer status @ African Union’

Secretary-General of the West African News-media and Development Centre (WANAD), Prof. Alfred Opubor, has advocated for an observer status for the African Council for Communication Education (ACCE) at the African Union (AU).

In his address to the just concluded 2009 ACCE conference at the University of Ghana Legon, Accra, last weekend, Prof. Opubor, said that the group should seek for an observer status in the continental meet for African leaders.

Additionally, he advised, that ACCE should partner with the private sectors to boost its viability on the continent so as to contribute its quota in bridging the digital communication gap between professionals and the ordinary citizens.

This, he also said, would enable experts that made up ACCE members to communicate and impress the essence of the group and on repositioning of Africa through qualitativehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif communications education on the continent’s leadership.

Commenting at the forum, a Sierra Leonean communications scholar, Prof. Cecil Blake, who is of the Department of Africana Studies, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennyslvania, tracked the journey so far for the organization in a piece, entitled “How we got to Accra, Ghana today from Abuja, the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

He commended Nigerian chapter of ACCE for keeping the hope of the organization alive despite the seeming crisis that rocked it since 2003.

“Thanks primarily to the Nigerian chapter of the ACCE, the council continued to function at the national level, preserving at least its name. Signs of a protracted crisis for the council were detected at the Abuja convention,” he said.

According to him, the crisis resulted in a call for a framework that would create structures to seek redress for the increasing difficulties faced by the council at both the governing and operational levels.

“To compound the problem, however, the host country Nigeria manifested an intergenerational rift that became so apparent that it nearly marred the convention. The intergenerational rift required immediate attention,” he said, hence a peace and reconciliation committee was organized and thanks to its diligent work, the rift did not result in the collapse of the council at the national level, in addition to a council of elders formed and presided by himself.

He, however, prayed that ACCE will rise up with the current meeting and situate itself as the harbinger of ‘good’ as in moral communication, as the on-going to engage the African development problems with a strong and firm emphasis on African ethos and agency.

Blake also seek the manifestation of African governance, the reduction of blatant corruption grafts and personal aggrandizement, the rule of law which is neither absent nor strange in African tradition and culture, but require the collective robust attention of ACCE members, noting that Africa has a rich and lofty tradition of core principles that surpass even those enunciated by those outside of the continent who are using African brightest brains to detect how to govern Africa.

The African Council for Communication Education (ACCE), a non-profit-making non-governmental organization was formed since 1975 with funding and support from the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

ITRealms Online recalled that at inception, ACCE acted as an association of Heads of Schools of Journalism and Communication on the African continent, but later transformed into the only regional organization of Africanist communication scholars and practitioners on the continent, with headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya.

ACCE is a professional Pan African organization charged with the responsibility of promoting journalism, development of communication resources in Africa and creating awareness among African policy makers and planners on the role of communication in national development.

Its activities over the years include communication research, training, workshops, seminars, documentation, in addition to publishing books, monographs, a journal (Africa Media Review), occasional papers, as well as a newsletter (Africom). In July 1983, ACCE established the Institute for Communication Development and Research (ACCE/ICDR) whose main task is to implement the above activities.


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Internet agency sacks 3 registrars

Global coordinating internet agency, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has announced the sack of three registrars over breach of the Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) of May 2001.

ICANN gave the names of these fallen registrars to include South America Domains Ltd doing business as namefrog.com, Simply Named Inc (SimplyNamed.com) and Tahoe Domains Inc have not had their RAA renewed upon expiration for failure to comply with the requirements of the agreement.

According to ICANN, notice to this effect dated July 30, 2009 tagged ‘Non-renewal of Registrar Accreditation Agreement have been dispatched to the trio via fascimilie, courier and electronic mail.

A copy of the letter addressed to the chief executive officers of the aforementioned companies made available to ITRealms Online, read in part that their agreement with ICANn has elapsed due to the breach and inability to renew same.

The sack, ICANN explained was as a failure to provide a working Whois service in pursuant to and compliant with Section 3.3 of RAA.

The three-page notice signed by ICANN’s Director, Contractual Compliance, Stacy Burnette and sent to the affected three companies, the internet coordinating agency, stated that Section 5.4 of the RAA provide or apply upon expiration for renewal of accreditation in compliance with its obligatons under the RAA.

Based on failure to comply with Sections 3.3 of the RAA, ICANN said it does not intend to renew these registrars upon its expiration on August 5, 2009.

ICANN noted that failure to provide public access to data on registered names in pursuant to Section 3.3 of the RAA.

Section 3.3.1 of the RAA, ICANN said requires registrars “provide an interactive web page and a port 43 Whois service providing free public query-based access to up-to-date data concerning all active registered names sponsored by registrar for each Top Level Domain (TLD) in which it is accredited.”

ICANN said that such data requiring updated from registrars include the name of the registered name, the names of the primary nameserver and secondary nameserver(s) for the registered name; the identity of registrar which may be provided through registrar’s website and the original creation date of the registration.

In addition, ICANN said it expects to get update on the expiration date of the registration, the name and postal address of the registered name holder, the name, postal address, email address, voice telephone number and where available, fax number of the technical contact for the registered name.

Burnette recalled that on July 17, 2009, a reminder was sent to the affected registrars by email and fax that Whois service was not compliant with RAA requirements.

“Specifically, your registrar’s Whois service did not provide any Whois data when ICANN staff attempted to access Whois data regarding domain names sponsored by ‘you’,” part of the letter read.

Pointing out that “You were requested to correct this contract violation immediately and report back to ICANN staff when the violation was corrected. ICANN staff never received a response from you or anyone representing ‘you’ regarding this matter.”

ICANN said it never received any response from the affected registrars as at the date of the notice.


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DSTv introduces Access bouquet, adjusts subscription

Digital Satellite Television (DStv) service provider, MultiChoice Nigeria, has introduced a new bouquet on its platform, called DTSV Access, just as it adjusted fees of its compact and premium bouquets upwards, reports CHARLES OKOH.

Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria, Mr. Joseph Hundah said, the new bouquet was in response to the yearnings of aspiring DStv lovers to have access to high quality content at a subscription fee of N1,500 monthly.

Access, he said, would contain 27 world-class channels at inception and the number would be increased to 34 before December this year, stressing that the bouquet offer cuts across the major entertainment genres.

“The bouquet line up will cut across entertainment and movies, lifestyle, sports, documentary, children, music, religion, news and current affairs, among others,” he said, noting that the DStv Access is in keeping with the company’s consumer-centric philosophy to make available to a greater number of people in the country.

“We carried out extensive research and focus group discussions and discovered that a good number of Nigerians wish to have access to world-class information and television programming but these potential subscribers are hindered by their purchasing power. We decided to meet the consumers’ aspiration by creating yet another bouquet to further lower the entry barrier without taking away the value-added advantage that DStv is synonymous with,” Hundah said.

On the adjustment in its fees, Hundah said new subscription fees for DStv compact and premium, from September 1, 2009, take effect, even as DStv family remains at N2,500 monthly.

Explaining further, he said, the prevailing operating environment in country with attendant rising cost of providing service necessitated the adjustment in subscription fees.

“In the last four years, we have had to contend with the impact of fluctuation in the exchange rate, double digit inflation and rising cost of overheads. Within the same period, we have increased the number of channels on our bouquets by at least 10 without an accompanying increase in subscription fees. We have also discounted the cost of hardware considerably to meet the needs of many new subscribers,” he said.

Hundah also said with the impending launch of its High Definition Personal Video Recorder (PVR) decoder and system upgrade in the last quarter of the year, hundreds of thousands of Nigerians, will begin to enjoy high quality, entertainment as well as educative programmes.

“We are also looking at ways of reducing the cost of these programmes. The benefits of these measures we are taking will always be passed on to our subscribers,” he said.


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Swiss university unveils Transknowlogy in Nigeria

Vienna-based Swiss Management Center (SMC) University has announced its presence in Nigeria with the opening of its offering for top professionals and knowledge seeking executives in the country for obtaining a world class Masters and PhD certification online through the unveiling of Transknowlogy learning methodology.

Reputed for distance learning institutions, SMC Swiss University, which also have office in Zurich, said it has deployed state-of-the-art academic technology to bring the highest level quality education to its executive students around the world.

ITRealms Online recalls that in the first quarter of 2009, SMC University introduced Transknowlogy, an innovative approach to knowledge transfer.

According to the Academic Director, SMC University, Dr. Guenther Singer, Transknowlogy is a unique learning process, which motivates students to push their limits and to continually measure themselves against other students and their respective cultural backgrounds, despite virtualization.

“Transknowlogy is revolutionary insofar, as it offers students the opportunity to directly and practically deploy the knowledge gained, frequently resulting in sustainable business models and successful multi-million dollar projects,” he declared.

He pointed out that in the world of virtual learning, Transknowlogy compares to what is called Web 2.0 in the online communication community.

He explained that this new approach not only covers the interaction between professors and students, but also the relations between students and between students and administrators. “Transknowlogy empowers students from around the world to acquire knowledge, to develop and to measure themselves against other students and, most importantly, on the market,” he said.

Stressing that due to Transknowlogy, students from a wide range of different countries experience knowledge transfer in a global business context, meaning that they directly and practically deploy the knowledge gained in the course of their degree programmes.

As said by him, SMC University considers it natural for a learning institution with online students from all parts of the world to connect people, cultures and organizations. “Transknowlogy goes a decisive step further: just as new types of aircraft do not receive their certificate of airworthiness on the ground but only when compliance with airworthiness standards has been proved, SMC University students also have to demonstrate their practical abilities,” Dr. Singer said.

Further, the director enlightened that a group of students, including among others, the current Global Vice President of a well-known Italian sports car manufacturer and an experienced CFO, was challenged with the project task of designing and launching “The Ultimate Toy for a Boy”.

The group, he said, developed a 111-foot yacht which they called “One-One-One”, an original brand name referring to the vessel’s length.

SMC University, he pointed out that the programme required the students to not just prepare simple draft of a business idea or a business plan, but a complete conceptualization.

“And they did just that; the result was so impressive, that a company – Summit Marine – was established with the help of the SMC University network. The first One-One-One, worth ten million dollars, will go into production this year,” he asserted.

SMC was founded in 1985, but in 2002, the institution evolved into a university specializing in high-quality distance learning master and doctorate programmes for professionals in executive positions.


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Internet Society gets new BoT

The Internet Society has announced the election of new Board of Trustees (BoT), comprised of leaders from industry, academia, and the global Internet community.

Just as the Executive Director, Internet Address Registry for Latin America and the Caribbean (LACNIC), Raúl Echeberría, continued as a board member and was selected as the new chair of the Board.

The diverse and distinguished board membership reflects the Internet Society’s mission of providing global leadership in promoting the open development, evolution, and use of the Internet for the benefit of all people throughout the world.

Mr. Greg Wood of Internet Society informed in a press statement made available to ITRealms Online that the new members of the board with terms beginning this year are include the Chief Technology Officer at Neustar, Mr. Eric Burger, Founder of the Arab World Internet Institute, Mr. Khaled Koubaa, Internet Architectures Group of Cisco Systems represented by Mr. Philip Smith, Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, and co-founder Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Mr. Jonathan Zittrain,

In his acceptance speech, Echeberria, said he looks forward to working with the worldwide Internet Society community of members and chapters, as well as colleagues on the board, to continue the important work of the ISOC in promoting access to, and supporting the continued growth of, the Internet while preserving its core values.

During its first meeting, the Board formally thanked outgoing chair Daniel Karrenberg for his service over the past three years.

Meanwhile other members of the board, are Hiroshi Esaki, Professor, The University of Tokyo,Ted Hardie, Director, Internet and Wireless, for Qualcomm’s Research and Development group, Daniel Karrenberg, Co-founder and Chief Scientist of RIPE NCC, Désirée Miloshevic, International Affairs and Policy Development Advisor at Afilias Global Registry Services, Alejandro Pisanty, Professor, the National University of Mexico, Patrick Vande Walle, Official of the European Commission and Bert Wijnen, Research Engineer at RIPE NCC.


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Abdus-salam advises on mobile phone usage

Consultant Radiation Oncologist at the Department of Radiotherapy, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Dr. Abbas Adesina Abdus-salam has advised Nigerians on how to optimize the use their mobile phones in the country.

Speaking at a forum in Lagos, last week, on “Health risks from mobile phones radiation” there are some few peculiarities about Nigerian situation that may warrant extra studies concerning the subject matter, hence there is need to adhere to some safety rules.

According to him, communication consumers in the country should use their mobile phones as sparingly as possible.

“Long calls should be reserved for landlines, while children’s use of mobile phones should be highly restricted and regulated,” he said.

In addition, Dr. Abdus-salam, said that mobile phones should not be used unnecessarily while driving.

“Use hands free whenever possible,” he advised.

Dr. Abdus-salam stressed that most Nigerians have no access to wired lines, thus giving rise to the use of mobile phones, culminating in ordinary calls that suppose to be made via landline is done through mobile phones.

“Most phone calls are made via mobile phones,” he said, warning that this may increase the overall exposure to mobile phone radiation to average Nigerian phone users compared to their counterparts in developed world.

“Because of poor services many Nigerians regularly carry on their persons several handsets. This may also create an additional source of extra and increased exposure,” he lamented, warning that Nigeria could be a dumping ground for used phones from elsewhere.

“These phones may not be functioning properly and may exceed regulatory limits like increased Specific Absorption Ratio (SAR).

Pointing out that Nigeria has become a major market for phones (usually dual Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) from grey markets in China with potentially poor regulatory compliance.

He noted that all available data have shown that over the last two decades mobile phones have moved into mainstream, even as no conclusive proof has been shown that it could lead to cancer.

However, he said, carcinogenesis is a long term process that may not become fully evolved for decades.

“It may, therefore, be too early to rejoice and finally lay to rest this controversy,” he said.

Calling for more stringent guidelines on the regulation of mobile phones, noting that so much is yet to learn to be able to fully rest assured about safety of mobile phone radiation.

He emphasized that the lack of consistency in regulatory guidelines for mobile phone handsets and base stations globally is a serious pointer to the confusion about the safety or lack of it of mobile phone radiations.


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Ndukwe bags double prize @ telecom awards

Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe has bagged double prize at the 5th edition of the Nigerian Telecom Awards, for his contributions to the revolution witnessed in the industry over the past eight years and exemplary performance as a public office holder.

While the Gold Award for Telecom Revolution was presented to Ndukwe by the former President Tejan Kabbah of Sierra Leone, the award for the Outstanding Public Office Holder, was presented by chairman, board of NCC, Alhaji Ahmed Joda at the occasion.

Speaking before the presentation, Alhaji Kabbah commended Ndukwe for the successes achieved by Nigeria in the area of telecom due to the institution of telecom regulation and the doggedness of the NCC boss.

He noted that during his regime in Sierra Leone, his country was able to set up a telecom regulatory body that contributed to the sanitization of the industry and made the environment a win- win sector in the country.

He also applauded the efforts of the organizers of the awards, the Nigerian Telecom News, led by its publisher, Otunba Biodun Ajiboye.

The awards, he noted, seeks to identify and celebrate excellence and breakthroughs in the telecom sphere on the continent, which has succeeded in Nigeria and has become a truly continental event.

At the occasion, held at the Oriental Hotel, Lekki-Lagos, and witnessed by prominent Nigerians , including the Esama of Benin, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, former Information Minister, Chief Alex Akinyele, former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Segun Osoba among others, the Governor of Lagos State, Chief Babatunde Fashola, SAN, was named the Exemplary Governor of the Year.

Equally, a number of individuals and corporate bodies, including banks, were honoured for their outstanding contributions to the development and continuous growth of the telecom sector.


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Glo, Shell partner on poverty alleviation

Globacom, the second national operator and multinational oil exploration company, Shell, have signed an agreement to take poverty alleviation and youth engagement in the Niger Delta Region to an unprecedented height.

ITRealms Online recalls that the two companies have for five years been working together to productively engage Niger Delta youths in telecommunications services business.

The signing of the new agreement on Telecoms Self-Employment Programme (TELSEP EXTRA) in Port Harcourt recently would engage more Niger Delta youths in economic activities that will enable them run two profitable businesses under one roof.

It is also envisaged that the renewed partnership will help in “creating sustainable youth owned and managed businesses thereby reducing rural-urban migration and youth restiveness”.

Shell officials disclosed, last weekend that the deal would assist in maximizing the over 75 base station erected under a special arrangement with Globacom in Shell’s operational areas in the Niger Delta.

At the same time, the youths would also be trained and monitored to engage in telecommunications services alongside any other productive economic activity which could be combined under the same roof.

Additionally, Shell stated that following the lessons learnt in the past five years and the recent SPC-Globacom partnership for the roll-out of 75 GSM base stations across the Niger Delta, “the 2009 programme aims to scale up the programme by taking advantage of the new mast sites to enhance livelihoods of community members through telecoms and other small businesses.”

It is expect that thousands of youths in the Niger Delta have over the years benefited from this partnership and both Shell and Globacom said they are committed to taking it to a higher level.


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Omenugha warns on negative use of SMS

Head, Department of Mass Communication, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Dr. (Mrs) Kate Azuka Omenugha, has warned on the negative use of Short Message Service (SMS).

She also said that the usage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), especially mobile phones’ value added service, otherwise known as Short Messaging Service (SMS) may erode the effort at inculcating into Nigerian students the right English spelling of words.

She sounded this note of warning at the African Council for Communication Education (ACCE) Accra-09, which took place at the Centre for Africa Wetlands auditorium, University of Accra, Legon-Ghana on Wednesday, while dwelling on the paper: Nigerian students’ use of information and communication technology – A blessing or a curse?.

Although she applauded the easy acceptance of the benefits of ICT’s value added service, especially the utilization of SMS on mobile phones, stressing that to a large extent, mobile phones have escalated the absolute disregard during written class work, more so for spellings.

“The use of abbreviations creating an impression of a ‘generation in a hurry,’ with the attendant distracting looks of the students,” she said.

Dr. Omenugha also said that notorious sounds of mobile phones either ringing or playing music have not been helpful during class engagement.

“This is quite distracting in the class and over the years we have set punitive measures to erring students,” she asserted, noting that some lecturers have complained of students calling them as late as 1am in order to take advantage of the ‘free air time’ offered by some of the popular telecommunications networks in Nigeria.

She noted that another lecturer had to contend with some explanation to convince his wife one the relationship existing between him and a female student who had the courage to call him at the ‘unholy’ hour because of free air time.

Omenugha equally decried the attitude of some students who choose to play computer games in the class or listen to music using their ear piece while lectures are going on, just as she disclosed that some students record answers in their phones and play back using the ear piece, both cleverly concealed.

In addition, Dr. Omenugha condemned the spread of students downloading information from the internet such as dictionary among others and using same in class work without being authorized.

“Some students given home works would simply download materials from the Net and submit the same to the lecturer. They do not care about plagiarism; neither do they bother with the synthesis of any read work,” she lamented.

She cautioned Nigerian students of the negative use of ICT, adding that this was not to say that they do not make positive use of ICT tools, emphasizing that examining some of the students’ answer scripts has showed that they seem very immersed in the ‘language’ of emails and text messaging which is reflected in their scripts.

Underscoring the fact that SMS or text messaging has become deeply rooted in Nigeria, with particular reference to students in higher institutions, Dr. Omenugha, said that most students have resorted to using abbreviation in written examinations.

Some of the abbreviations used by students could be seen as “Comm = communicate, Nig = Nigeria, pple = people, d = the; luv = love, tech = technology, info = information, comp = computer, & = and.”


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Nokia’s Ovi e-mail records 1m hit

Ovi mail, a subtle service from Nokia has hit 1 million mark within six months of its launch, according to the head, Consumer Messaging at Nokia, Mr. Tom Furlong.

He said, Ovi Mail has established itself as the electronic mail (e-mail) account for the developing world.

Specifically designed for on device set-up, he said, people could get their first email address and create and manage their accounts without any Personal Computer (PC) needed.

“More than just reaching a company milestone, this proves to us that there is a real appetite in the developing world for these types of tailored services,” Furlong said, noting that for the first-time email users, Ovi Mail provides a digital identity and thrill by its rapidly rising adoption rate.

The inspiration for Ovi Mail, he said, came from the growing number of people, mostly in developing countries, without access to a PC.

“The top five countries for Ovi Mail subscribers are India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and South Africa,” he said, stressing that since its inception in December 2008, Ovi Mail is available in more than 180 countries and supports 20 languages.

Ovi Mail is free to set-up straight out of the box and comes with spam filters to block unwanted emails.

“It is also accessible from a broad range of Nokia devices with the Nokia 2330 classic, Nokia 2630 and Nokia 5310 XpressMusic being some of the most popular devices used,” he said.

Furlong explained that to access Ovi Mail, simply go to the email setup wizard on Nokia NSeries 40 device including Nokia S60, N97, E63, E75, E66, E71 and E90.

Nokia is a pioneer in mobile telecommunications and the world’s leading maker of mobile devices.


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Svanberg assures on bank’s assistance for Sony Ericsson

The out-going chief executive officer at Ericsson, Mr. Carl-Henric Svanberg has assured that the Swedish vendor’s commitment to Sony Ericsson, its mobile handset deal with Sony would get support from banks.

Reuters reports that its loss-making handset joint venture with Japan’s Sony would receive support through an arrangement by Ericsson.

As said by the report, Ericsson has expressed its willingliness to arrange bank financing to support the venture rather than it rely on contributions from parent companies.

“The first thing you do as a company is not to run to your shareholders and ask for more money. The first thing you do is try to arrange normal financing,” Svanberg said, stressing that lending conditions have improved from six months ago.

He also said that Ericsson remained committed to providing financing for the JV if necessary and would not “leave them in the cold if they end up in that situation.”

Sony Ericsson’s share of the global handset market has sunk to around 5 per cent in recent times, but Svanberg said the unit remained an important part of Ericsson’s overall mobile strategy.

He declined to forecast when the loss-making unit would return to profitability, saying that there was no timeframe in place for when the unit would move back.

In another media chat, Svanberg said that mobile operators appear to have stopped cutting spending on network equipment, suggesting a recovery in the market was imminent.

“The whole world is suffering from decline that is bigger than anything we’ve seen... [but] it is not our impression that there is further cutting being made,” he said.

Svanberg will leave Ericsson to become chairman of UK energy giant BP in January.


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Haruna reiterates support for Omatek Ghana

The Ghanaian Minister of Communications, Hon. Iddrisu Haruna, has reiterated his commitment for continuous support of Omatek Computers Ghana Limited, to foster Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development in the country.

Giving this assurance recently during a tour of the company’s factory facilities in Accra Haruna said the support would come by creating enabling business environment and policies to encourage and aid the growth of information technology (IT) in the country.

He also applauded Omatek for its investment initiative in the country, noting that the move could lead to the establishment of allied industries that would further promote employment for the youths in the society and prosperity for Ghana through taxes.

Equally, the Minister eulogized the new chairman, board of directors, Omatek Computers Ghana Limited, Ms. Joyce Ayree, on her inauguration which coincided with his visit to the factory.

He described Ms Ayree as an achiever who will add value to the company as the new chairman.

Welcoming the Hon. Minister to the factory, Mrs Ayree said her inauguration was in line with Omatek’s resolution to continue to offer innovative products and solutions that will add value to the customers.

She also said the tour of the factory will enable the Minister to take informed decisions especially in the area of government policies and granting incentives, having been taken through the production processes in the factory.

She, however, restated the need for government to consider putting into policy the application of zero per cent duty on Completely Knocked Down (CKD) components for Omatek Computers, to encourage local production.

“Granting a special concession on the importation of Completely Knocked Down Computer components with zero percent duty will help us to continue to maintain quality production by meeting up with the MOQ required by the high class manufacturers, thus bringing down the cost of computers. This is the only way to compete with the Foreign Brands, especially since we purchase our parts from the same high class manufacturers,” she said.


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Ghana’s Vice President tasks African communicators on MDGs

The Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, Mr. John Dramani Mahama, has tasked African communication educators to stress the value inherent in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for the growth of the continent.

He also lamented the fact that Africa has continued to suffer for lack of information despite the progress made in the political development on the continent.

Mr. Mahama gave these charges in his address at the opening of a three-day meeting of the African Council for Communication Education (ACCE) 2009, last week, at the Centre for African Wetlands, University of Ghana, Legon, on the theme: “Communication Education and Practice in Africa – A Social Contract for the 21st Century?”

He also said that participants should spare a thought for Africa’s MDGs and the role that communication could and should play in helping the continent to realize them by 2015.

“For Africa, they (MDGs) constitute a major component of the social contract between governments and the people they serve,” he asserted.

According to him, the development challenges facing African governments are still
quite tremendous, although strides have been made in literacy but illiteracy rates are still very high in many parts of the continent.

Although the growth of media on the continent have improved, he said, there are nevertheless various access restriction that is dragging Africa backward.

“Even though we laud the proliferation of the media more than 60 per cent of Africans live in rural areas with restricted access to most forms of media mainly because of transportation and electricity challenges,” he said.

Mr. Mahama pointed out that continental expert groups like ACCE has a role to play in ameliorating these conditions, noting that in the past, Africa has provided advisory services and consultations to governments, institutions and organizations in the formulation of national communication policies and communication strategies.

“In the coming years as you regroup and revitalize your organization, I hope you will again provide these valuable services,” he charged.

The vice president emphasized that currently, Ghana has over 60 newspapers with over 150 Frequency Modulated (FM) radio stations and more than 10 local television channels.

“… Thanks to a new version of the social contract which emphasized liberalization of the airwaves, the right to information and to free speech,” he said and later declared the event open.

Speaking at the occasion, the Vice Chancellor, University of Ghana, Prof. Nii Boi Tagoe, described the conference and its theme as timely which suggest that communication, as a discipline and as a human activity as well as a tool is an inspirable component of all developmental discourse.

“Indeed, communication issues transcend time and space,” he said, stressing that at this digital age, characterized by incredible achievements in science and technology, which have improved the quality of various aspects of human life.

“The gains of advancement in information and communication technology (ICT) are immeasurable, and have made the world what is now known as a global place, a global market or more popularly a global village,” Prof. Tagoe enthused.

The aforementioned, he said, are some of the products and services, which could be put online for sale, but where identities of the world’s peoples are in perpetual contention.

Also speaking, chairman of the occasion and Executive Director, Ghana Chamber of Mines, Ms Joyce Aryee, described the theme as a very apt key to communications growth in Africa.

Africans, Aryee noted, are known for communication or interactive, hence she charged participants to harness this further to get the African citizens to feel empowered and hold government accountable through good governance.

She looks forward to a day when the clerics of all religion would sit at the feet of communication educators to learn how to interact effectively for the unity and peace on the continent.

Welcoming participants to the conference earlier, the Acting Director, School of Communication Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, Dr. Audrey Gadzekpo, said the meeting was a rebirth for Africa and African communications educators as a means of moving forward at this century.


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Glo launches in-flight services on Emirates

The subsidiary of the Second National Operator (SNO), Glo Mobile in collaboration with Emirates Air, has made yet another history in the West African telecommunication industry by launching commercialized in-flight roaming services.

Head, Gateway Division in Globacom owners of Glo Mobile, Mr. Ibrahim Fadipe said the revolutionary service affords subscribers on its network to use their mobile phones and smart phones to send and receive text messages and make and receive phone calls during flights on all Emirates fleet from Nigeria to over 70 international destinations worldwide.

According to him, the ability to use mobiles during flights has become a revolution in today’s telecom world.

“Glo introduced this service as a representation of its continuous efforts to provide its subscribers with the most up-to-date technologies that enables them to stay in touch with their businesses and loved ones wherever they are,” he said.

Fadipe stressed that in-flight roaming is already available to Glo subscribers on all Emirates flights out of Nigeria and would soon be available on some other major airlines.

The service allows Glo subscribers with an international roaming subscription to stay in touch with others during flights by using their handsets.

Equally, Fadipe said, Glo is delighted to have pioneered the in-flight roaming service in the West African mobile space, noting that Glo would continue to break new grounds as it intensifies plans to build the biggest and best telecommunication network on the continent of Africa.


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Experts allay fears on phones, base stations radiation

Experts in the Information and Communications (ICT) sector in Nigeria, last weekend, maintained that there is no known effect of electromagnetic radiations from base stations and wireless networks, report CHARLES OKOH & GERALD OKOLIE.

Those who commented on the subject included the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecomm Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr Gbenga Adebayo and Dr. Abbas Abdus-Salam of the Department of Radiotherapy, University of Ibadan.

They were in agreement that the fears of some Nigerians on the effect of electromagnetic radiations from base stations and wireless networks are yet to be scientifically justified.

Equally, they were in tandem in saying there is no sufficient evidence to show that they are harmful.

Dr. Ndukwe told participants at the forum on Mobile Phones, Base Stations and Health concerns held in Lagos, that in the past the fear had been with the use of mobile phone sets but it has now shifted to base stations.

The NCC boss said that presently there are 15,000 base stations in the country, and that the figure still falls below what is required to cover the nation, stressing that the radiation emitted from the installations is smaller than the one from television antenna, and other household appliances like microwave oven, television sets, computers and the likes.

Also speaking, chairman ALTON, Mr. Adebayo, said base stations are required to transmit and receive radio signals from mobile phones and other wireless devices, without them it would be impossible to make or receive calls and maintain the call as people move around.

“The system of mobile communications sustains our calls by handing us (our mobile phones) over from the current base station to the next one in the vicinity. If there is no base station in a vicinity, subscribers cannot be connected, and that underscores the need to have these installations near us in order for us to be connected with mobile phone services,” he said.

On its safety, Adebayo said the emissions from base stations and other household appliances as well as those from cellular phones fall under the category of non-ionizing radiation which are safe for humans.

The ALTON boss pointed out that much of the apprehension is caused by either lack of information or outright misinformation in some quarters.

“There is no known conclusive scientific evidence at present to indicate that radiation from mobile phones and telecommunication masts could cause such dangerous diseases as cancer among humans,” he stressed.

In his contribution, Dr. Abbas Abdus-Salam of the Department of Radiotherapy, University of Ibadan, stressed the need for caution, saying that even though there are no conclusive evidence yet, subscribers should be careful of the quality of handsets they use as well as restrict the time used making calls.

Dr. Abdus-Salam said since most of the researches relied upon were carried out abroad and given the peculiar environment where all kinds of equipments come, in there is a need for the people to avoid low quality phones and that children should be restricted on the use of mobile

Earlier in his address, the convener of the forum and chief executive officer of ITWorld International Magazine, Mr. Enyi Moses, said the decision to organize the public forum follows increasing public interest in mobile phones, base stations and radiation.

He said while available scientific evidence does not show that any health problems are associated with the radio waves from mobile communications, some people still express their worries.

These worries, he said, have been addressed by World Health Organisation (WHO) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“As with many new technologies, concerns have arised about the effects on health from using a mobile telephone. So far, the World Health Organisation Task Force on EMF (Electromagnetic field) effects on health has no definitive conclusion on the veracity of these allegations,” he said.


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