ICT firms fault CBN on bank debts

Following the recent publicized list of bank debtors by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), some of the affected companies within the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector have insisted that the apex bank erred.

Those who reacted to the CBN’s list of debtors included Reliance Telecommunications Limited, trading as ZOOMmobile, Mobitel Limited and Omatek Computers Plc.

They were of the consensus that CBN committed major blunder by not taking time to verify the state of consumers’ accounts before publicizing the list.

According to some of the respondents, CBN needed to conduct a proper homework before that exposure, which has since ignited a lot of knocks from all sectors of the economy.

Already, CBN has acknowledged that there were some typographical errors in the publication.

ITRealms Online gathered that most of the affected ICT companies, for instance, claimed that whatever they were owing their respective banks was not a bad debt, just as others maintained that the figure given by CBN was not a true state of things, yet others said they have since cleared the debts in question and were surprised that the report reflected otherwise from the apex bank.

A fortnight ago, CBN Governor, Mr. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi had sacked the managing directors and chief executive officers of five banks along with their executive directors.

Those affected included Messrs Erastus Akingbola, Sebastine Adigwe, Okey Nwosu and Barth Ebong as well as Mrs. Cecilia Ibru of Intercontinental Bank Plc, AfriBank Plc, Finbank Plc, Union Bank Plc and Oceanic Bank Plc in that order.

However, replacements were immediately announced by Sanusi, namely John Aboh for Oceanic Bank Plc, Mahmud Alabi for Intercontinental Bank, Nebolisa Arah for Afribank, Ms Suzanne Iroche for Finbank, whereas Ms Funke Osibodu captured Union Bank Plc.

Also, ITRealms Online recalled that an estimated 28,023,079,047.08 billion was purportedly identified as debt owed Nigerian banks by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) entities in the country.

As stated by Central Bank of Nigeria, NITEL CDMA Project Account owed 3,593,779,589.40; Mobitel Limited - 1,380,781,422.64; Omatek Computers Limited – 1,649,380,634.77; MTS First Wireless Limited – 9,849,331,689; Communications Trends Limited – 1,127,361,164; Minaj Holdings Ltd – 1,634,717,063; NITEL – 7,829,277,000; Reliance Telecommunications Ltd – 800,896,080.76; Intercellular Nigeria Plc – 157,554,403.51, to name a few.

Responding to the CBN inclusion of his firm in the debtors list, the Group Managing Director (GMD), Reliance Telecommunications Limited, Mr. Tony Okonkwo, last weekend, said that the figure was not correct as the telecom operator is aware of only N307 million, which has even been structured for payment since August last year and has never defaulted.

He wondered why his firm should be listed or the loan classified as non-performing loan when there is an on-going understanding for repayment of the exact amount.

“We have never defaulted and so we cannot understand why it was classified as nonperforming when there is an understanding and as a responsible organisation we meet our corporate commitment with the bank,” he declared.

Equally reacting, Mobitel Nigeria, stated that its listing on the debt roll of the recent special report publication by Central Bank of Nigeria is shocking.

Chief Executive Officer, Mobitel Nigeria, Mr. Johnson Salako, expressed disbelief on the claims that Mobitel owed Intercontinental Bank, saying "With reference to Mobitel owing Intercontinental Bank, nothing could be further from the truth. The amount owed to Intercontinental Bank was N1.380 billion. After negotiation, a full and final payment of N1.0 billion was made on August 8, 2008," he asserted.

This, he insisted was duly acknowledged by a letter dated same day from Intercontinental Bank’s loan recovery unit.

Salako reiterated that all outstanding commitments to creditors, suppliers and staff had been fully settled during the acquisition process.

"We want to state categorically that we have fulfilled all our obligations with respect to outstanding payments to creditors, suppliers and staff during the acquisition process with signed documents of release obtained from each party. This settlement cost nearly N3.4 billion and was considered a wise and necessary investment needed to reposition the company for unencumbered future growth," he said.

And for the Group Managing Director of Omatek, Mrs. Florence Seriki, though expressed shock over the CBN publication, she promised to respond officially.

But as at the time of going to the press, ITRealms Online was yet to get Omatek response.

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NCC confirms plans to re-sale 2.3Gh spectrum

... Partners ATDI on summit

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reaffirmed its resolve to resale the controversial 2.3GHz spectrum as directed by President Umaru Yar’Adua, just as the commission said it has finalised arrangements with some stakeholders on the hosting of a one-day Africa Telecom Development Summit to be held in Abuja.

ITRealms Online gathered that the board of NCC, chaired by Alhaji Ahmed Joda, met last week in Abuja to review the issues concerning the recent 2.3GHz frequency spectrum licensing process and the issues arising thereof.

Affirming this, Head, Public Affairs, NCC, Mr. Reuben Muoka, said that the Commission has noted the published directive to the Commission by Mr. President to conduct a fresh bidding round for the licenses on this frequency band.

Based on the foregoing, he said, the programme for the fresh bidding round for licenses in the 2.3GHz band, and other frequency bands, has been initiated by the board of the Commission, and full details would soon be announced.

“All stakeholders are advised to look out for public announcements in this regard,” he said, advising interested parties to forget the events of the past months and join the Commission in fostering a nation where telecom services are accessible and affordable to all.

“The Commission pledges its absolute commitment to due process, respect for law, and unequivocal commitment to openness and transparency, and has always been guided by these principles in all its licensing processes,” he said. Additionally, Muoka said the Commission solicited for the support and understanding of all stakeholders in the quest to sustain the gains made in the Nigerian telecom industry in the last nine years for the benefit of the Nigerian people and the future of the nation.

Meanwhile, NCC is partnering with a pan-African non-governmental organisation, Africa Telecom Development Initiative (ATDI) and West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA) as well as the African Business Round Table on a one-day Africa Telecom Development Summit.

The first edition of ATD Summit is expected to assemble key telecom personalities, including regulators, operators, equipment vendors and policy makers, is billed for Nigeria, at the Congress Hall, Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, on September 10, 2009.

A joint statement in Abuja by the Executive Secretary, ATDI, Mr. Ken Ugbechie and Head, Public Affairs of NCC, Mr. Reuben Muoka, said the Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), Dr. Hamadoun Toure, has confirmed his attendance as the guest speaker at the event.

Top Nigerian government officials are expected to attend the event designed to become an annual telecom forum to appraise the state of the industry in the continent as well as seek new ways to maximise the potentials of ICT for human and societal development.

ATDI is founded by progressive African professionals and business people seeking to promote a sound culture of progressive and sustainable telecom development on the continent.

The theme of this year’s maiden edition of the forum is ‘Telecom in the Service of Humanity’. The ITU scribe would open discussions at the event with the lead topic, titled “Sustaining the Gains of Telecoms Development in the Continent in the Past 10 Years,” the statement said.

The key sub-themes at the summit would dwell on Cyber Security, Food Security and Citizen Security, as well as carefully selected experts versed in the respective fields.

The summit which serves as a bridge between the policy makers on one hand and regulators, operators and consumers on the other will have in attendance governors, ministers and telecom regulators from Nigeria and other countries of the world.

Organisers of the summit are hopeful that it would provide a platform for African nations to share experiences, build synergies and fashion out strategies through which telecom could be widely deployed to aid economic development as well as forge effective integration of African nations in a globalised economy.

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Instilling knowledge through virtual libraries

Against the backdrop of the global new concept of the world as a global village, REMMY NWEKE examines the role of some ICT firms in redefining knowledge through virtual libraries.

In this day and age, libraries have evolved from the brick-and-mortar warehouse of physical books, journals and other such resources of yesteryears to today’s virtual store-house of information.

And being that the world has since emerged as a global village, Nigerian children stand little chance of competing with their counterparts from other parts of the world if not supported in terms of provision of fundamentals in the nation’s institutions and public enlightenment outlets like the libraries.

Notwithstanding the acute shortage of books in school libraries across the nation and where the books are available they are mutilated or stolen outright by desperate students who are unable to photocopy the parts they need for lack of money or unavailability of photocopiers in such public institutions. Hence, there is need to evolve a virtual means to make Nigerian schools and students globally competitive.

Virtual Library, thus, becomes an option for solution and has been defined by experts at wikipedia.org as the World Wide Web Virtual Library encapsulated as the first index of content on the World Wide Web (www) and still operates as a directory of e-texts and information sources on the web. Reputed to have been started by Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of Hyper Text Mark-up Language (HTML) used by the Web itself, in 1991 at CERN in Geneva, yet, for others, a digital library is a library in which collections are stored in digital formats as opposed to print, micro-form or other media and accessible from any part of the world at any time.

Equally of note is that years of neglect and financial starvation have left the nation’s public ivory towers on the brink of total collapse, with no luxury of time to bother about updating their stocks of books on most fields of learning. With a past as aforementioned and a future not assured of better funding, there is little or no hope Nigeria’s ivory towers could catch up with their peers across the world any time soon.

Recent reports by a London-based education magazine, the Time Higher Education (THE), noted that none of the tertiary institutions in Nigeria was among the first 500 institutions in the world ranking. That could not have been a surprise, when most of the institutions have their libraries stacked with books printed in the 60s even for such dynamic courses as computer science.

This is one reason parents who have the wherewithal prefer to send their children abroad for higher education. So, it was not surprising too that about 60,000 visa applications were reportedly received every month by the British High Commission in Nigeria from students wishing to study in the United Kingdom (UK). 

It is, for instance, doubtful if Philip Emeagwali, the Nigerian born ‘father of the Internet’ would have attained that height if he remained in Nigeria. There are thousands of other Emeagwalis in Nigeria’s institutions today who only need the right environment and facilities to bring out the best in them.

That is why the evolution to virtual libraries is a major advancement that all lovers of Nigeria should be very excited about. Virtual libraries remain the only way to bridge the wide gap between institutions in the country and those in the developed world.

Virtual libraries break down international boundaries in the pursuit of knowledge. From the remotest parts of Nigeria, through virtual libraries, students, lecturers and researchers could access books and other academic resources in libraries in the United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada, Japan or just about any country in the world in a matter of seconds.  

The question now is if funds were the major barrier against institutions keeping up to date books in their libraries, how would they manage to build virtual libraries? This becomes a big issue considering that the very essence of a virtual library lies in its connection to the limitless information beyond its four walls.

Basically, in a virtual library, there must be functional computers, broadband internet, constant power, photocopiers and other related accessories, in addition to having alliance with other virtual libraries around the globe and subscriptions have to be paid.

That is where the Public Private Partnership comes to play and to say the least, this kind of collaboration is already achieving wonders across the nation with the recent co-operation between some institutions and MTN Foundation (MTNF).

MTN Nigeria Communications Limited through this foundation is literally enthroning the concept of virtual library as a shortcut to revamping the nation’s educational system and through which MTN Foundation, has made substantial investment in the establishment of virtual libraries in three of Nigeria’s most notable public universities. 

The foundation has so far under its flagship project, UniversitiesConnect scheme, donated fully equipped virtual libraries to the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). While a fourth institution, the University of Benin (UNIBEN), has just been approved to benefit from the project. 

Based on MTNF outline, each virtual library is digitized laboratory made up of 128 networked personal computers, broadband internet access, three servers, two high capacity printers and a sound proof 100 KVA generating set.

Also, MTNF’s virtual library is linked to over 5,500 virtual libraries across the globe and cover courses including Arts, Law, Medicine, Architecture, Information Technology (IT), Communications, Business Management, Education to name a few.

While books, case studies and journals covering the various fields, including pictures and graphs come in Portable Document Formats (PDF) and are downloadable by students as well as lecturers from any of the virtual libraries, whereas the rights to these materials have been secured and paid for by the foundation.

The establishment of these libraries entails huge investment and tends to make equal difference in the existence of the benefitting institutions. Thus, during the formal commissioning of Phase 2 of the project in ABU Zaria, the outgoing Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Abdulahi Shehu said that the library had increased the rating of the institution to 99 per cent by the National Universities Commission (NUC). 

In order to sustain the tempo around these virtual libraries, MTN Foundation came up with the plans to host regular workshops and interactive forum aimed at providing hands-on training for potential users of the libraries in the institutions where they have the facilities.

Speaking on this, the Corporate Services Executive, MTN Nigeria, Mr. Akinwale Goodluck, said, “it is MTN’s contribution to building a greater nation through the education of Nigerian youths.”

Some other companies have made commendable interventions in education in this country. For instance, MultiChoice Nigeria is providing resource centres in both secondary and tertiary institutions across the country. Cisco Systems Incorporated recently spent millions of Naira on its Cisco Network academy nationwide. The company provided free books and curriculum for students and also 75 per cent of the equipment and infrastructure used by the students.

At the moment, Cisco has full-fledged network academies in the University of Jos, University of Lagos, Lagos Business School and about 74 other institutions nationwide. Most of all, these are the kind of companies Nigeria needs to advance, especially the virtual library project by MTNF deserves commendation for the great promise it holds to literally bridge the divide between Nigerian institutions and those of the advanced countries of the world, even as more of this intervention is welcome anytime, any day.

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NCC, Police win case against Computer Plus

•On software piracy

The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) and the Nigeria Police have won the case against Computer Plus Limited over software piracy.

The case which took over five years to conclude due to pro-longed court process saw Computer Plus Ltd and its managing director, Felix Agbor, being found guilty on two counts charge of software piracy.

ITRealms Online recalls that in 2003, NCC got tip-off on a number of companies reputed in software piracy, including Computer Plus Ltd.

A press statement from Microsoft Nigeria endorsed by the Public Relations Manager, Mrs Ndidi Uwadoka quoted the Director-General of NCC, Mr. Adebambo Anthony Adewopo as saying that the tip-off was followed by a test-purchase carried out which confirmed that the company was pre-loading computers with unlicensed copies of Microsoft software.

“With this proof in hand, a warrant was issued, the reseller’s property was raided by the police and the managing director was charged,” he said.

According to Adewopo, after a lengthy court process, the defendants, Computer Plus and Felix Agbor, pleaded guilty on May 15, 2009 and were convicted and sentenced to a six-month prison term with the option of a fine. Noting that though Mr. Agbor, opted to pay the fine the criminal conviction will remain on Computer Plus and Mr. Agbor’s criminal record.

“The kind of software piracy that Computer Plus carried out is not uncommon,” he said, pointing out that in an effort to make their sales offerings more attractive and compelling, resellers sometimes illegally pre-load software onto a computer when it is being sold – either including it as “part of the package” or “at no extra cost”.

He equally said that while pre-loading software onto a computer for a customer is not an illegal act, every item of software loaded should always be legally licensed.
“In this case, the proof of license documents, like a genuine Certificate of Authenticity and hologram CD, were not provided during the test purchase and evidence gathered during the raid confirmed that Computer Plus was in fact dealing in pirated software,” he said.

Also speaking on the matter, Licensing and Compliance Manager for Microsoft Nigeria, Mr. Serge Ntamack, said, piracy is not a victimless crime.

“On the contrary, many people and businesses suffer at the hands of these criminals. Honest resellers lose out on sales, businesses lose out on productivity, software companies lose out on revenue and governments lose out on tax revenue, which could be re-invested into the country,” he highlighted.

Stressing that this could not be over-emphasized, adding there is a need to respect copyrights and the laws that protect intellectual property.

“Piracy is a crime, just like theft, tax evasion and fraud. And criminals will be brought to book when they are caught,” Ntamack explained.

As said by him, people and businesses in Nigeria who utilise unlicensed software are putting themselves in a precarious position when it comes to their own security.

He cited an example, saying that unlicensed software users cannot get the latest security updates and patches, leaving their systems vulnerable to viruses and potential computer hackers.

“If anything goes wrong with their systems, they are left without any technical assistance to resolve the problem. The risks far outweigh the cost benefits of using pirated unlicensed software. It’s just not worth it,” he said.

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FABS boss canvasses virtualisation

Chief executive officer of Mauritius-based Footprint Africa Business Solutions (FABS), Mrs. Karien Bornheim has recommended virtualisation of platforms for Nigerian-based businesses.

This is coming as FABS has engaged a Nigerian media communications agency, TopComm.
Speaking in a chat in Lagos, last week, Mrs. Bornheim who was in the country on a business trip, said that by adopting virtualisation, businesses could optimise any platform they may wish to deploy in terms of software solution.

She also identify complicity in the Nigeria’s public sector deployment of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), especially with respect to software application, hence creating confusion on what and how to deploy a given service that could lift the administration of governance through technology.

“They don’t know what exactly they really want. Also, the people change very often and it is difficult to make decision that could spur growth and enable the catering for clients better,” she said.

According to her, FABS utilizes the platforms of world class software providers such as the IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Novell, Red Hat among others to deliver a quality service to its customers in virtually all parts of the globe.

Pointing out that in most cases, especially at this moment of meltdown, organisations do not really have to buy new software, stressing that usually, what her firm does is to embark on health-check of the environs followed by recommendation, which often times include training, upgrading so as to meet up with global best practices.

“We have our own expertise in our bid to deliver and we would not give any customer a product that is not certified,” she declared.

FABS, which has extended its presence to Lagos, Abuja to name a few, she said, provides business solutions to its teeming patrons across the continent of Africa from its operational headquarters in Johannesburg and hopes to capitalise on its relationship with TopComm to secure a foothold into the nation’s market.

“FABS has been engaged with TopComm in an informal manner over the past 12 months and has seen a marked improvement in its footprint in the Nigerian market,” she said.

Bornheim expressed optimism that the partnership would also stimulate opportunities for FABS as a global business solutions provider to make the desired in-road into the abundant and vibrant Nigerian market.

“We truly believe that the combined strengths of TopComm and FABS will enable both companies to grow exponentially in Nigeria,” she said.

She revealed that over the years, her company has come to discover that although most companies may not necessarily buy a new software application, some still prefer to deploy open source suite.

“In Open Source, the license is free, but the support service is not,” she said, stressing that Linux environment is the way to go.

She cited an instance with East African countries where open source application has become an official software backed with a government decree.

She further said that FABS is keen in management of IT application to make certain that solutions deployed are well managed based on chosen projects.

However responding, the General Services and Strategy Manager at TopComm, Mr. Seyi Jawando, affirmed the determination of his firm on ensuring that the strategic partnership benefits from the competence which TopComm is known for.

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Cisco unveils ‘Small is Big’ contest-09

Cisco Systems Nigeria has given a boost to the nation’s small businesses with the introduction of its ‘Small is Big’ contest.

This, the company said, would provide small business the relevant stepping stone for one of such businesses in the country to gain a heightened programme support from Cisco.

The Marketing Manager, Cisco Systems Nigeria, Ms Owen Nwelih, informed that through this initiative, Cisco aims to help small businesses in Nigeria to gain greater agility and efficiency in working with customers who are increasingly expecting to do business on the move, on the Internet and via video.

The programme, she said, which is on-line, six-week contest entitled ‘Small is Big’, where the winning business would be entitled to receive Cisco small business products comprising routing/switching, wireless, security and voice solution.

She explained that the programme is built on the $100 million global strategic initiative launched earlier in the year by the company, which focuses on small business networking and communications solutions for companies with fewer than 100 employees.

“The number one priority for small-business owners in Nigeria is to grow their companies, not become technology experts. Small businesses learn about and implement technology in a very different way from large enterprises. Recognising this, Cisco has transformed the way we communicate with small-business customers with a customized SME-specific website and marketing campaigns that focus increasingly on business capabilities and benefits of complete solutions rather than on products and technologies,” she said.

As said by her, it is incredible to know that for as little as $2,000 depending on their basic infrastructure and information technology (IT) equipment, a small medium enterprise (SME) could acquire a full suite of equipment to enable mobilization of their workforce, no matter where employees are using a wireless connection, extend full communications to home workers with secure access to the company network and also afford them the use of their laptops or PCs as full-featured office phones.
Cisco, she said, plans to give away this equipment to one lucky SME in just about six weeks.

The ‘Small is Big’ contest, she said is open to all small businesses in Nigeria with between 10 and 250 employees.

Entrants, she said, could enter by logging onto http://www.cisco.com/web/EA/index.html. The business selected at random after the closing date will be entitled to receive Cisco small business products comprising routing or switching, wireless, security and voice solutions worth $5,000 USD.

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Zain, MTN partner NetVisa on anti-phone theft scheme

Leading mobile phone operators in the country under the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), MTN Nigeria and Zain Nigeria, have joined forces with the anti-mobile phone theft network service provider, NetVisa Nigeria Limited.

ITRealms Online gathered that while Zain connected to the network just before the inauguration of the service about three weeks ago, MTN hooked on to it about a fortnight ago.

This much was confirmed by the Corporate Services Executive at MTN Nigeria, Mr. Wale Goodluck, at the weekend to ITRealms Online.

“We have connected,” he declared.

Also, ITRealms Online learnt that with this connection by the operators, it would allows both firms to offer their subscribers a service whereby if they report their phones stolen, such phones would be rendered unusable in any mobile network in the country.

This would be possible as Netvisa would keep a database of the International Manufacturers Equipment Identity (IMEI) of such phones and make them available to operators to bar them from their networks.

Commenting on the connection of the two operators, the Executive Director, Industry Relations, NetVisa Nigeria Limited, Mr. Abubakar Grema, said that it was great that Zain and MTN were now part of the service.

As said by him, with the two largest networks now ready to offer mobile owners the mobile phone anti-theft service, subscribers should now adopt the attitude of writing down the IMEI numbers of their mobile phones as it is the primary means by which their stolen phones could be identified by mobile network operators.

“It is a great development to now have both MTN and Zain on our network. As you know, these two operators account for about 65 per cent of mobile phone subscribers in Nigeria and this means that as things stand, most Nigerian phone users can now benefit from the service offered by Netvisa,” he said.

Grema also said, that in the coming weeks more operators are expected to be hooked on the Netvisa network to offer same services to subscribers.

Emphasizing that all the 11 mobile service operators have now been trained on the delivery of the service and what is left is for them to hook on NetVisa network.

He further said both GSM and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators would be offering the service and that the scheme would also be available for other value-added services.

Netvisa, he said, had already established all that was needed for any subscriber to report the loss of their phones and get them barred from any network in Nigeria.

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Starcomms lifts Police with Internet access

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operator, Starcomms, has lifted the public relations office of the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters with one year free Internet access.

Starcomms said, the access was offered as part of its corporate social responsibility to help the office handle official messages and general complaints emanating from the public nationwide.

This gesture was a follow up to the donation last year of a complete computer with Starcomms izap to the office with one year free internet access. The facilities have helped the Police to promptly address public communication on a daily basis.

The presentation of the latest offer was made by the duo of David Babalola and Kenneth Ekwunife, recently.

A letter of appreciation from the Police Force to Starcomms and signed by the Assistant Force Public Relations Officer, Ramoni Lawal SP, on behalf of the Force PRO, the security agency reiterated its reliance on Starcomms’ facilities for its operation.

“Your kind gesture truly, is seen as your contribution to policing in Nigeria and a manifestation and demonstration of your positive attitude to charity. Apart from the larger number of the Police Commands and Department that will benefit from this gesture, your company has through this gesture impacted positively on Nigerians for whom this office has been the only hope for addressing numerous complaints against Police and members of the public.

“You have set the pace for others to emulate and we are very appreciative of the good work you are doing and pray that God will continue to guide you and keep your company strong and successful in all your business endeavours,” the letter read in part.

According to the Starcomms officials, partnership of this nature has formed part of a larger Starcomms’ CSR undertaken to lead the industry in supporting crime fighting in the country.

ITRealms Online gathered that apart from the donation to the PR office last year and this year’s renewal, the company also supported the Nigeria Police, FCT Command with 1,000 highly subsidized Virtual Private Network (VPN) lines donated to the command in 2007.

This was in response to the distress call from the former Police Commissioner for the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Haruna John.

In addition, the Starcomms donated EVDO mobile internet connectivity, raincoats, reflective jackets and torch lights to further assist the police in the discharge of its functions.

Further, ITRealms Online recalls that last month, Starcomms was honoured with the White Hat award by Spamhaus, an international organization whose mission is to track the Internet’s spam operations in recognition of the company’s fight against Internet crimes and its zero tolerance to spam.

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ZOOMmobile, Harris root for telecom device forum

Top companies in the nation’s information and communications technologies (ICTs) industry have lent their weight to the meeting of major stakeholders involved in the development, distribution and management of end-user telecommunications devices and services.

The Telecom/Device Forum is being put together by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Communication Week Media and has been slated to hold next month September in Lagos.

A press statement endorsed by Mr. Chike Onwuegbuchi, a senior associate editor, indicated that leading supporters of the event include Harris Stratex, Valucard, ZoomMobile, eTransact, IHS and Galaxy Wireless.

He said these companies would join the leadership of the NCC, Nigeria Interbank Settlement System and top government functionaries to present valid forecasts of developments in the telecom industry and examine the driving forces behind these developments especially in e-payment and emerging technologies.

With the theme “Telecom Industry Fuelling the Future of e-Payment System” the forum is designed to give both the layperson and the professional an update of emerging technologies, e-payment and handheld devices and related business trends and events.

Head, public affairs, NCC, Mr. Reuben Mouka said that the forum would bring key actors in the industry to meet, discuss, suggest and chart a roadmap for the future of communications industry in Nigeria.

He also said, Nigeria is witnessing a telecom revolution, which has resulted in impressive growth of landline and mobile connections.

“The sweeping revolution has continued to impact on all facets of the national economy. As a matter of fact, there is no sector that does not rely on telecommunications one way or the other,” he said.

Equally commenting, editor, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, Mr. Ken Nwogbo said the meeting is expected to attract stakeholders including regulators, top government functionaries, bankers, major switching companies, device manufacturers and suppliers, network operators, software vendors, distributors and retailers, as well as internet service providers, media, broadcasters and the general public.

Nwogbo, further said, the forum is an opportunity for companies to flaunt their products and create heightened visibility while underscoring their support for Nigeria content in the telecommunications industry.

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75% Nigerians use email – Obijiofor

A Nigerian-born Senior lecturer at the School of Journalism & Communication, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, Dr. Levi Obijiofor, has said that about 75 per cent of Nigerians are mostly interested in utilizing electronic mails (Email) among other Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) tools.

He spoke at the 2009 African Council for Communication Education (ACCE) in Accra, which held at the Centre for Africa Wetlands, University of Accra, Legon, on “ Perceptions and use of Internet & e-mail technologies by Nigerian university undergraduate students.”

According to him, this was the outcome of a study he recently conducted at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), stressing the fact that about 75 per cent of Nigerian undergraduates are merely interested in using the internet for electronic mail purposes, it cannot be different from the larger population usage of email in the country.

He told the panel B session on ICT and New Media presided over by Dr. Hopeton Dunn of the University of West Indies, Jamaica, that based on the uses and gratifications theory, which viewed media audiences as active consumers of media contents, who make conscious decisions about what type of media and media content to expose themselves to, the UNILAG students, actually made conscious decisions about aspects of the Internet technology that would satisfy their needs.

Though cautious on the extrapolation of the study, Obijiofor said the students use e-mail to gratify their needs which include the maintenance of regular contact and communication with friends, family, peers, teachers to mention a few.

Obijiofor also said that the Internet has enabled Nigerian students to satisfy needs related to special information, business, entertainment and the desire to keep up with the news.

“E-mail communication was the primary reason why the students used the Internet,” he said, based on the study, noting that reliance on the Internet for e-mail communication also implies on the limited use of the various applications and resources available on the Internet.

“This implied that students’ Internet use is driven by a very limited goal, thus challenging uses and gratifications theory,” he declared and pointed out that a total of 142 students took part in the research.

Although Obijiofor noted that a large number of Nigerian students have Internet access, only a very small number use the Internet more frequently.

As such, in terms of perceptions of the Internet, more than half the students perceived the Internet as the most effective medium of communication, while more than two thirds of the students expressed optimism about the usefulness of the Internet.

However, a majority of the students believed that the Internet would expose young people to morally inappropriate contents, hence, these perceptions suggested that the students recognize the “good” and “bad” aspects of the Internet.

On the adaption by gender and Internet use, he said that more female students than male students use the Internet less frequently per week.

The objectives of research, he outlined to include identification of the primary reasons why university students use Internet and e-mail technologies; understand the needs which the students seek to gratify through the use of the Internet and e-mail; understand the extent of their use of these technologies; how students perceive Internet and e-mail technologies and determine the extent to which gender influences students’ Internet use.

Obijiofor pointed out that out of 142 students who completed and returned the questionnaire, 137, which amounted to 96.5 per cent said they had access to the Internet, while five (5), which is about 3.5 per cent did not answer the question, even as male top the respondents with 77 students, that is about 54.2 per cent, whereas the female scored 65, which is 45.8 per cent.

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HiTv signs MoU with ETB

The management of the pre-paid digital television provider, Highway Entertainment Nigeria Limited, trading with the name, HiTV, last weekend signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with one of the nation’s surviving banks, Equitorial Trust Bank (ETB) to make the acquisition of HiTV decoders and subscription easy for customers.
Deputy General Manager, Corporate & Commercial unit of Equitorial Trust Bank, Mr. Wale Ogunrinde, made this disclosure in a press statement made available to ITRealms Online.

As said by him, a swell time awaits lovers of European football in the country as ETB has taken up the provision of a unique platform to acquire HiTV decoder and subscription without stress on its pre-paid cable services.

The offer, he said, comes with zero equity contribution, no hidden charges and free decoder, pointing out that the collaboration is on the heels of recent HiTV exclusive license to broadcast Champions League in addition to the existing premiership.

Ogunrinde also noted that the company has introduced two exciting bouquets for the enjoyment of the whole family.

“While football lovers will have the opportunity to watch Premiership, UEFA Champions League and CAF Champions League matches among other exciting entertainment channels in the Premium bouquet, Subscribers to the HiTV Classic bouquet  will have the opportunity to watch exciting programmes including Discovery World, Fox News, Hi-nolly among others,” he said.

According to him, the deal tagged: ETB/HITV Subscription Finance Scheme, the MoU signed with HITV affords the financing of HITV facility for customers and non-customers of the bank with repayment spread over six months.

He further said the package was targeted at all the bank’s customers and non-customers most of whom are ardent sport enthusiasts especially football, which cuts across all categories of Nigerians and non-Nigerians alike.

“ETB is desirous of making HiTV affordable to low level income earners who will be able to watch live matches of their darling teams; Arsenal, Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid etc from the comfort of their homes” They will also watch their heroes; Mikel, Ronaldo, Eto, Igwe, Messi, Inesta, live” he said.
Additionally, he said, with the rising interest of Nigerians in European football and clubs the scheme would make it extremely easy for Nigerians to watch matches in the comfort of their homes with payment arranged over a period of time.

“Under the scheme, customers get a pro-forma invoice from Highway Entertainment Limited detailing the cost of the decoder with 12 months’ subscription, installation and other logistics,” he said, stressing that the customer could simply walk into any branch of the bank, pick and complete the bank’s asset and acquisition form, open a current or savings account with the bank and the bank will make payment to HiTV.

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Interswitch, Precise Biometrics strike N42m deal

Precise Biometrics and Interswitch Limited, have entered into a partnership deal for fingerprint recognition solutions worth €200,000, about N42 million.

Managing Director, Interswitch, Mr. Mitchell Elegbe, said in Lagos, the aim is to supply fingerprint recognition with Precise Match-on-Card to bank applications.
The partnership, he said, is already engaged in a first project, which would provide license sales at a minimum of €200,000, about N42,000,000.

He noted that through this partnership Precise Biometrics and Interswitch aim at building and promoting biometric Match-on-Card solutions for the banking segment on the continent.

The solutions, he also said, would initially target Nigeria, which is the most populated country in Africa with more than 150 million inhabitants.

He recalled that Nigerian banks are migrating from magstripe cards to the more secure chip cards in order to gradually eliminate the incidence of magstripe fraud in the banking sector.

The new chip and Personal Identification Number (PIN) cards comply with global EMV standards and government had given the banks a deadline to replace all magstripe cards with chip-based smart cards by June 2009.

He explained that to enable banks migrate faster, Interswitch has introduced the Verve card into the market, just as the new card has both international and local security features.

Interswitch’s partnership with Precise Biometrics, he said, affords it the opportunity to provide finger print recognition and Match-on-Card features on its card offering Verve.

“These features will further ensure that bonafide cardholders can make card present and offline transactions. With fingerprint recognition and Match-on-Card, banks, governments and organizations can increase internal security through personnel verification and KYE (Know Your Employee),” he said.

Interswitch, Elegbe said, is pleased to enter into this partnership as Precise Biometrics is the leading provider of biometric Match-on-Card solutions, he believes that the joint efforts and technological know-how would have great commercial potential in the West African region.

Unlike existing biometric solutions, Elegbe pointed out that due to fluctuations in power and communications, do not accurately match fingerprints on network devices, external servers or databases, while Precise’s Match-On-Card solution works seamlessly to ensure to eliminate this problem.

“Interswitch decided to collaborate with Precise Biometrics because of the potential to jointly provide accurate payment identification and authentication solutions in Nigeria,” Elegbe declared. 

Equally commenting, the chief executive officer, Precise Biometrics, Mr. Thomas Marshall, said his firm is delighted to have come to an agreement with Interswitch, which would place Precise Biometrics in a prime position to capture the rising biometric opportunities within the financial sector in the sub-region.
 
“The partnership is strengthened by our ongoing National ID card projects and we have substantial commercial expectations for the partnership in 2010 and onwards,” Mr. Marshall said. 

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Galaxy supports ‘09 Digitest for capacity building

Galaxy Backbone Plc (GBB) has supported this year’s edition of Digitest with the donation of 20 pieces of Personal Computers.

The Chief Education, States & Other Services at Galaxy Backbone Plc, Mr. Yusuf Kazaure, said at the formal presentation of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools to the Board of Trustees (BoT), Digital Peers International (DPI) in Abuja, weekend, that the essence of the donation was to give a boost to the activities of the organization which is in tandem with current call for rebranding of Nigeria.

He also noted that Galaxy Backbone believes Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is in its DNA by virtue of operational mandate, which made it mandatory for GBB to drive the digital inclusion of underserved communities and rural locations.
“Indeed, our vision is to be the leading enabler of digital inclusion in Nigeria and Africa,” he asserted.

Kazaure also said that Galaxy’s partnership with Digitest over the years is firmly in support that the ICT camp for women and the youths would provide a veritable platform for empowering the young generation of Nigerians for positive contribution to national development.

He said this underscores the company’s commitment to drive the digital inclusion of underserved communities in the country and also supports the use of ICT for capacity building to improve our educational standards. Finally, it is a significant corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative which empowers the young generation of Nigerians through ICTs.

The Executive Secretary, Digital Peers International, Mr. Olubodun Festus Gbenga in his response said DPI is an NGO that organizes an annual ICT based camp and competition for children tagged DIGITEST, which creates opportunities for children and youths to be taught on “how to develop content on the Internet and to write interesting programs with emphasis on the development of quality youth leadership, promotion of role models on youth issues and inculcating godly values in the children.”

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