Glo may acquire NITEL

The tide may have favoured the Second National Operator (SNO), Globacom over the choice of who should buy over the moribund Nigerian Telecommunications Plc (NITEL).

This is coming as the South Atlantic 3 otherwise known as the West Africa Submarine Cable SAT-3/WASC, a submarine communications cable linking Portugal and Spain to South Africa with connections to several West African countries, including Nigeria and Benin Republic, is the top on the agenda of most of the contenders.

Investigations carried out by ITRealms Online at the weekend at the just concluded African Telecom Development Summit, Abuja, shows that among all the contenders, Globacom is the most favoured.

Some of our sources who commented on anonymity across the government’s departments and agencies, rooted for the Second National Operator to clinch the NITEL offer which date of sale has been reduced to less than 60 days.

It was also gathered that the landing of Glo-1, the submarine cable subsidiary of the SNO did not go unnoticed and could boost Glo chances if the offer of NITEL for sale reaches or gives the government the option of picking its preferred bidder, even as our sources affirmed this fact.

Our sources further expressed optimism that Glo stands a better chance to clinch NITEL, although it may have to contend with the mobile group of MTN and its India channel.

Globacom had few months back assured that if given the opportunity to buy over NITEL, it would not enthrone monopoly, but rather open up the telecommunications sector further with efficient management skills, embedded in its desire to deliver a world-class telephony to Africans and Nigerians particularly.

As said recently by the Head, Network Operations, Globacom, Mr. Aremu Olajide while in a chat with some newsmen in Lagos, “Glo will bring NITEL back to life, I can assure you,” he declared.

ITRealms Online recalls that about 21 days ago, the Federal Government through National Council on Privatisation (NCP) gave the new board of NITEL and the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE) a 60-day ultimatum to dispose the first national operator alongside its subsidiary, the Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTel).

NITEL was in late 2006 sold to Transnational Corporation Plc (TRANSCOP) with accompanied 51 per cent equity share by the Olusegun Obasanjo’s government under the guess of ‘preferred bidder’ but was revoked mid-year 2009 by the current administration of President Musa Yar’Adua.

However, the government cleared Obasanjo’s administration of any collusion in the aftermath of NITEL/MTEL, insisting that it was basically as a result of the inability of Transcorp team to deliver on terms and conditions of the Shares Sales Purchase Agreement (SSPA) including the exit of British telecommunications as the technical operator and failure to inject relevant fund amounting to N8.9 billion cash into NITEL within 100 days of takeover to cushion the effect of liquidity challenges in the first national operator.

According to the Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, government is keen at bringing back the lost glory of NITEL which invariably held back the escalation of the public-owned telecom giant.

The current board presided over by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communications, Mrs. Amunna Lawan Ali, comprises of the director general, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Dr. Christopher Anyanwu, head of the civil service of the federation Mr. Steve Oronsaye, acting managing director of NITEL to be appointed, director, information and communication at BPE, Mr. Ibrahim Kashim, while the Senior Special Adviser (SSA) on economic matters to VP, Mr. Sam Worlu would stand-in for Dr. Jonathan on the board of NCP as well as the managing director, NIGCOMSAT Limited, Mr. Ahmed Rufai.

For Globacom, which made its debut in 2003 with the launch of its mobile arm on August 29, there is need to remain in the forefront of revolution within the telecommunications sector and precisely the Global System for Mobile (GSM) communications after pioneering the per second billing (PSB), which has since become a niche for the operator in all its offerings.

In its first year of operation, Glo reportedly recorded one million subscribers and covering over 87 towns in just nine months, whereas the subscriber figure presently stood at over 22 million with coverage extending to over 50,000 cities, towns, communities and major roads. Glo prides itself as the 5th largest operator in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) mobile market as well as the fastest growing network in the region.

Some of those in the race for NITEL includes Emerging Market Telecommunications Services (EMTS) trading as Etisalat Nigeria, Omen International Limited (BVI), Summit Group, MTI Consortium, Finetek.Com/Ericsson Consortium, MTNL Limited India and Globacom Ltd. Also in the race are MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, Anas Network Services Limited, Telefonica Consortium, Metro PCS Communications Inc, Galaxy Backbone Plc and Brymedia (W.A.) Limited.

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Mobile phones and exam malpractices

Examination malpractices perpetuated via mobile phone’s Short Message Service (SMS) has continued to rise in Nigeria, among students, reports REMMY NWEKE.
Lately at Ikoyi part of Lagos, a young lady who identified herself as Mrs. Elizabeth Okonma entered a fast-food joint along the Awolowo Road, when she put up a call with her mobile phone to a number, which was discovered to be her daughter’s; to find out where she was and what was still holding her in the school, so that she could join her for a lunch and a ride home. Within 10 minutes, the young girl surfaced in her school uniform at the eatery, by that time the lunch has been bought and they simply ate and headed home.

As the nation commemorated eight years of the advent of Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), this August, one issue that comes to mind has been the adaption of mobile phones by Nigerian youths, especially the students positively.

It is not in contention whether young people and students precisely should own a mobile phone due to its usefulness, but another aspect that has become a sign of worry to stakeholders is the usage of this useful piece during examinations for malpractices.

There is no gain saying that the use of mobile phones by anybody, particularly the students cannot be over-emphasized due to its laudable advantages.

So, worried by this, some stakeholders in the nation’s education sector recently canvassed for the ban of mobile phones usage in examination halls, in order to curb malpractice.

According to those who spoke to ITRealms Online on the subject, including students and educationists, all concurred that there is need for such a ban to bring sanity into the educational and examination system particularly in the country to avoid further deterioration of the sector.

Head, French Linguistic at the Lagos State College of Education, Ijanikin, Dr. Olu Akeusola, told ITRealms Online that the usage of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has boosted education, but cautioned on the negative effect. As said by him, with the rise in technology advancement, students have taken examination malpractices at almost every stratum of education to another level.

Akeusola noted that some students have used this platform of owning a mobile phone, for example, to propagate examination frauds, stressing, “Some of them store answers on their phones and take this into examination halls.” Decrying the situation, he said, that some engage somebody at God know where, who sends answers to them while they are still in the exam hall through Short Message Service (SMS).

Outlining solution for the way forward, Akeusola advocated that students should be banned from bringing their mobile phones into the examination halls, pointing out, “No one should be allowed to leave the examination hall as soon as it commences, rather they should use the toilet or whatever they want to do before coming into the exam hall.”

Dr. Akeusola equally enjoined telecom operators to ensure co-operation with educational institutions and examination body like JAMB, to make certain that a solution is arrived at, stressing, that any culprit caught should be made to serve punishment and even be taken to court to serve as deterrent to others. He declared that the use of mobile phones in examination halls should be viewed as a serious crime against the state.

Also speaking, a 200 level student from Akwa-Ibom State Polytechnic, Ms Ndifreke Assam, said, “some female students actually hide their phones in their under-wears and when confronted by the invigilators claim they were only adjusting their sanitary towels to make it firm.” For her, securities should be tightened at the venue of exams using detectors to search students before they enter exam halls to ensure they enter the hall without their phones, warning female students of the health implication of putting mobile phones in their under-wears.

For a 300 level student, University of Ilorin, Ajibola Collins, the problem of malpractice through mobile phones could be attributed to students who want an easy way to scale the examination hurdles without stress. Additionally, Collins argued that it has become so rampant as most students no longer rely on their natural ability any more in scaling through examinations, due to improved technology, especially on GSM platform in solving their examination challenges with SMS and most of those who indulge in these activities are students who envisage it as the best possible option to pass at a sitting rather rot away at home because of the inability to pass examinations.

ITRealms Online investigations revealed that since the advent of GSM in the country, it has contributed to vast developments in the country.

Yet, apart from improving and accelerating productivity in various ventures, it has also led to ‘developments’ in the education sector, thus, easing the stress usually encountered by students in performing such tasks.

Therefore, the use of mobile phones in exam malpractices has made the ongoing efforts at curbing examination malpractice as yet another setback and even as no known perpetrator has been brought to book or conclusively trialed.

Described as e-cheating among the students, the cell phone technology seems to have provided a smart way to beat the effort of government and civil society groups to stamp out the menace.
Above all, it has been discovered to be rampant among students that sit for the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examinations using mobile phones, iPods in committing malpractice during the exams than in any other exam entity like the West African Examination Council (WAEC) or National Examination Council (NECO).

Not only are mobile phones used by secondary school leavers seeking admission into higher institutions, students of these institutions have been found to engage in such malpractices. It has become the order of the day for students, as some gather “it’s a normal thing”.

Hence, it has become an ‘epidemic’ in the nation’s educational system which needs immediate attention. Just as yearly, a lot of phones are seized from students whom despite all the warnings still smuggle their phones into exam halls, to boost their results eventually.

It was a drama-like scenario recently at Morocco Comprehensive Junior High School, Yaba-Lagos, as three young girls who received text messages to answers on Economics, Mathematics and English, refused to accept ownership of their mobile phones, while pointing fingers at the invigilator whom they said handed over the handsets to them.

The drama continued for over 30 minutes, as the two of the female candidates tried in futility to explain to the monitoring team supervisor and the invigilator how the mobile phones got into the hall, and whilst the argument rages, more answers found their way into the mobile phones through text messages.

Even as another student caught in the act by an invigilator while trying to send (expo) text to other candidates pleaded that he be allowed to help other students, after all, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) rigged the April 2007 presidential election and heaven did not fall.

JAMB registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, who arrived one of the centres on a tip off by a supervisor, used the GSM phone of one of the suspects to call and requested for answers in other subjects. The receiver apparently unaware of the situation, asked to be given some time to send the solved answers via text message.

Equally, some invigilators were accused of encouraging malpractices during examinations through allowing some candidates to cheat with the conviction that someone somewhere would assist their own children in terms of need too.

Parents are not left out in the menace as most are the driving force behind such acts, like in the case of a parent who was caught sending SMS to her daughter, she was willing to go to any length for her child to go to the university. She also expressed determination to make her aim realised.

ITRealms Online gathered that in year 2007, JAMB confiscated about 1,948 mobile phones; last year, this figure increased to 3,039 and this year, it was reported that about 200 mobile phones were seized during exams by JAMB with evidence of prepared answers sent via Short Message Service (SMS).

This position of JAMB elucidated some reactions from industry observers, who argued that it is impossible for the figure to have just come down from over 3,000 to just 200, when the bulk of the untapped market in telecommunications, mostly GSM not only focused on the youth, but most of who are students.

However, efforts at confirming the true situation of things by our correspondent from JAMB proved aborted as the public relations officer, Ms Chinwe Ogbuka, refused to respond to queries or calls as at press time.

Above all, stakeholders must join hands to ensure that this absurdity is nipped in the bud, although some maintained that a revolution could only happen in the sector when the Nigerian nation begins to recognize hardwork rather than politicization of the educational system, for the mere reason that most of those in the helm of affairs have their wards schooling abroad.

Industry observers further advocated that a collaboration with the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), could see the mounting of relevant gadgets at exam centres, specifically to block SMS and even call within a given radius.

Experts said that such partnership would see that those perpetrators would not be successful in their mission, because their SMS even when sent could either hang on the network and deliver when the students must have finished his or her exam and stepped out of the vicinity or simply undelivered.

Equally important is the consideration of outright ban on mobile phones into any exam hall, because some of the sophisticated mobile handsets ‘jammer’ to block reception entirely, although there is need to legislate about this, because installing reception ‘jammer’ could be interpreted as denying one access to information and fundamentals of human rights, which include the right to receive information.

So, the sooner the industry regulators like the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and JAMB among others, team-up, the better for the two sectors and the nation at large.

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Niger State applauds Galaxy, NIMC on database centre

The Niger State Government has applauded the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and Galaxy Backbone Plc (GB) for their commitment toward the provision of reliable database centre for the country.

Giving this commendation at the weekend on behalf of the government of Niger State, the deputy chief servant of the state, Alhaji Ahmed Musa Ibeto, said during a courtesy visit to the Government House by the top officials of two organizations, said the current situation in which non-Nigerians infiltrate parts of the country to wreak havoc on Nigerian citizens was due to the absence of a national database.

The availability of a national database, he noted would help security agencies to effectively monitor illegal migration into the country in addition to other gains.

He assured his visitors of the state government’s support and safety of the project, affirming that it is a national asset which requires everybody’s attention and interest.

Commenting at the occasion on the activities of NIMC, its Director General, Dr. Chris Onyemenam, said that the team was an inspection tour of the NIMC Data Centre to learn the progress of work done so far by its contractor, Galaxy Backbone Plc.

He also informed the Governor that the project would serve as an Offsite Data Backup cum Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity facility of the commission upon completion.

“NIMC has the responsibility to establish, manage and integrate national identity databases across the country as well as ensure the databases is made available for a range of value propositions including the national driving license, National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), tax identity card and so on,” he said.

Onyemenam equally said that the series of ID cards presently in use in the country are not secure as they lack biometric identification matrix.

Also speaking, the Head, Federal Public Group at Galaxy, Mr. Frank Ugbodaga said that his organisation’s role as the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure company of the government affords the company a vantage position as the project contractors.

This, he pointed out would make certain that the project meets international standards and best practice of locating disaster recovery sites outside of 50 kilometres (Km) from the primary site.

“… but more importantly is the fact that we are looking at the Minna Data Centre location as a Disaster Recovery site for Government transversal projects like IPPIS, GIFMIS,” he said.

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Digital Sense Africa to host forum in Lagos

Arrangements have been advanced for the hosting of this year’s Digital Sense Forum in Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of the nation.

The Executive Director, Digital Sense Africa (DSA) Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke, disclosed this at the weekend, saying that the inaugural edition of the group’s based industry issues would be hosted in Nigeria in November this year.

She told ITRealms Online in Lagos that plans are up for the event scheduled to hold at the Golden Gate Paradise, Ikoyi-Lagos on Thursday, November 5, 2009.

This year’s theme, she disclosed, would focus on ‘Internet Governance – Creating Opportunities for All Nigerians’.

She also said that plans have been advanced to host similar themes in the sub-region, which is intended to co-locate with an industry-focused expo, which this year, she said, would attract notables in the nation’s Internet Service Providers (ISP) community, who would use the platform to showcase their brands and services by engaging end users.

Exhibiting ISPs, she said, would be handy to explain to Nigerians at the event how their products would facilitate penetration and improved competition for the benefit of ordinary internet users in the country.

She therefore called on members of the Internet Service Providers Association of Nigeria (ISPAN), Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) who have commenced mobile internet services to take full advantage of the forum and expo to expose their various products to the Nigerian populace have become increasingly hungry for seamless internet service, among others.

Additionally, she said, the forum and expo would attract co-location companies, thereby availing subscribers and potential cyber café operators an avenue to interact and discussion subjects that could move the country forward, especially on Internet governance in line with the global internet forum otherwise refer to as IGF, which would be holding later in the year in Egypt.

She further said that the forum would enable Nigerian internet community to articulate their views so as to ensure that Nigeria voice is heard at the global session, also slated to hold later in November.

Mrs. Nweke recalled that IGF is considered an important development of the two-phased World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) which held in Geneva in 2003 and Tunisia in 2005.

This important outcome, she said, was reaffirmed by paragraphs 37 and 38 of the Tunis 2005 Commitment, which states in part, “… goals can be accomplished through the involvement, cooperation and partnership of governments and other stakeholders, that is. the private sector, civil society and international organizations, and that international cooperation and solidarity at all levels are indispensable if the fruits of the Information Society are to benefit all.”

In addition, the paragraph 38, she pointed as stating that aforementioned efforts “should not stop with the conclusion of the Summit … emergence of the global Information Society to which we all contribute provides increasing opportunities for all our peoples and for an inclusive global community … we must harness these opportunities today and support their further development and progress.”

The Tunis Summit of 2005 paved the way for the IGF mandate of which paragraph 72 of the Tunis agenda, the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General was charged to convene a meeting with regards to the new multi-stakeholder forum, known as the IGF.

“In this mandate encourages different stakeholders to strengthen engagement, particularly those from developing countries,” she declared, emphasizing that Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind in the scheme of things, especially with the fourth edition of IGF, which has been brought to African continent.

“We must take advantage of this to mobilize African nations and Nigeria in particular given her population which is over five out of the 53 countries on the continent,” she pointed.

Digital Sense Africa is a public engagement and enlightenment initiative of Remnek Kommunications Ventures, a group of ICT analysts and professionals with continental media affiliates.

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Etisalat unveils Easynet suite

The fifth Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Etisalat Nigeria, has launched its Easynet suite of data services into the market.

Easynet, Etisalat said avails subscribers on the network to have access to top quality Internet services combined with a vast portfolio of data plans and devices.

Additionally, Etisalat said the Easynet suite of data services includes a branded Universal Serial Bus (USB) modem, software interface and a data-only Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card.

According to the Chief Marketing Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Wael Ammar, the newly launched Easynet is one of the superior services that would position the operator as the go-to-shop for all mobile data requirements, thus meeting the customer need with regards to price, convenience and usability.

Easynet’s data suite, he said, offers a three-tiered plan that would enable customers obtain monthly-prepaid subscriptions and use up to 3GB.

“With this plan, subscribers can check and send emails, visit their favourite websites, chat online seamlessly and much more,” he said.

As said by him, “The introduction of our data service package, Easynet, reflects Etisalat’s continuous drive to expand our value offerings with a view to broadening the business and personal horizons of all Nigerians. At Etisalat, we are very committed to investing in quality products and services that will easily bring the world within reach of all Nigerians once they purchase any of our unique and innovative products.”

He pointed out that Easynet comes with unique and easy to use features that guarantee immediate access to the service.

In line with its avowed desire, he said, is known for the simplicity of its products and services, just as the Easynet service could be purchased and activated immediately at the point of sale.

“Installation is user-friendly and seamless. Subscribers can recharge the SIM from the comfort of their system and manage costs with the unique balance notification system. The product also comes with an auto renewal system, which removes the stress of revisiting the shop for service renewal,” he said.

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Multi-Links Telkom keen on QoS

The Chief Sales and Marketing officer, Multilinks-Telkom, Mrs. Dipuo Msimang, has said that the organisation believes there is need to match claims with quality of service on offer, reports CHARLES OKOH.

Mrs. Msimang said this during a business meeting held in Lagos last week, with its partners to showcase new solutions to facilitate their operations.

She also said the telco, annually takes its esteemed customers and their spouses on vacation as a way of familiarizing and exposing them to new strategies in the industry.

“We do not make noise because there is need to match this with quality and wherever we go, our subscribers will feel our impact,” she said.

Introducing the partners to the new Blue Broadband Service, EVDO Rev A, Mr. Kayode Arije, of the Project Management Unit, said with this technology network broad internet speeds are available to customers to satisfy their internet needs.

“Multi-Links Telkom has developed a broadband service tailored to take care of the various needs of the Nigerian internet market ranging from professionals, mobile executives to students,” he said.

On the benefit of the product, he said Blue Broadband allows connection to the internet everywhere; download and run video clips in real time; highest EVDO data downloads currently available in the industry as well as instant access to the internet.

Others are; download of streaming, music, heavy files, photos, and email with incredible ease and quickly download complex files, load web pages and view attachments at high speeds of up to 900 kilobytes per second (kbps).

The product packages, according to him, are time based service; volume based service and monthly subscription based service

For the time based service, time available are 50 hours, 100 hours and 250 hours at the cost of N3,400, N5,600 and N9,900 with validity periods of 30; 30 and 60 days respectively.

The volume based services, comes in 250, 500, 1,000 and 3,000 megabytes at the cost of N2,300, N4,400, N6900 and N15,000 respectively with a 30-day validity.

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FG pledges support for Anabel Mobile

Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. (Mrs) Dora Akunyili, has pledged government’s support for the work Anabel Mobile has been doing to put Nigeria on the map of countries that are producing mobile devices.

The Minister who received Anabel’s board and management team in her office at Radio House, Abuja, noted that the objectives and vision for mobile communications in the country, expressed pleasure that Anabel, a Nigerian brand, was leading the drive to design and manufacture mobile devices based on the requirements and desire of the Nigerian consumers.

She also said that Anabel should not limit itself to Nigeria, urging the mobile company to expand across Africa to demonstrate to the world the entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerians.

Prof. Akunyili expressed optimism that Anabel Mobile is a clear example of what re-branding Nigeria is all about.

“It’s about redefining our place in the global community and celebrating what is great about us as a people,” she said.

In his remark the Chief executive, Anabel Group, Mr. Nicholas Okoye commended the government liberalizing the telecommunications market in the country, reaffirming the determination of his company to set up a manufacturing facility in Nigeria before 2013.

Presently, Anabel is engaged in contract manufacturing off shore which is a global practice carried out by all known brands around and pledged to carry the spirit of
‘Good People, Great Nation’ beyond the shores of Nigeria with the Anabel range of world class mobile products.

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ATCON, AITEC partner on ComBIT-09

The Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and continental event managers, AITEC, are partnering in the organization of ComBIT 2009, which holds at the Lagoon Restaurant, Victoria Island, Lagos in November.

Disclosing this at a press meeting in Lagos, the National President of ATCON, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, said that his group and AITEC are determined to develop the event into the region’s top showcase for the computing and telecommunications industries.

“AITEC was the natural choice as our partner in this endeavour as they have a solid track record of organising highly successful Information and Communication Technology (ICT) events across Africa since 1990,” he said.

Ekuwem also said that working with AITEC at the three-day event with the theme “ICT for Development” comprised of a half day conference and three-day exhibition.

He emphasized that the partnership has afford the collaboration to develop a world-class industry event that would do justice to Nigeria’s leadership role in the region’s rapidly developing ICT market.

“AITEC is delighted and proud to be working with ATCON to create an industry event that will have a major positive impact on the development of the market in Nigeria and throughout the region. In these times of financial cut-backs it’s vital for all private sector and government organisations make the right purchasing decisions,” he said.

As said by him, the mission of the partnership is to create a highly competitive market place through the expo with leading local and international suppliers represented.

“We will empower the region’s ICT professionals to make those effective decisions.

In addition, the show will save them the expense of travelling to international trade shows to keep abreast of latest developments in IT and telecoms technology by bringing a wide range of international suppliers to Lagos, so they can meet them on their doorstep,” he explained.

ATCON, he said, is delighted with the support received so far from the founder and chairman of AITEC, Mr. Sean Moroney, for his deep personal interest and contributions to the partnership.

In addition, he revealed that ComBIT-09 would be playing host to Deutsche Messe, organizers of CEBIT shows in Hannover, Germany as observers.

Equally, ATCON insisted that the consumer SIM card registration should be voluntary and not mandatory, noting that the proposed monthly subscription by those who are registered for the service must be treated as an insurance or savings.

“In other words, should a subscriber phone not be stolen during the period of registration for the service, the consumer is entitled to some financial benefits at the end of the registered period,” he said, stressing that the SIM pack should be seen as a value-added service given by the operator.

“There is no need for an interface company to be inserted between the operators and the consumers,” he said.

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Ndukwe to deliver keynote @ Telecom Device forum

The Executive Vice Chairman and chief executive officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, would next week Tuesday deliver the keynote address at this year’s Telecom Device Forum as industry support for the high profile event continues to grow.

Telecom Device Forum is a technology round-table designed for key actors in the telecommunications, banking, e-payment channel providers, device manufacturers, network operators, software vendors, distributors and retailers, as well as internet service providers is slated for September 22 at Golden Gate Restaurant in Lagos.

A press statement from the organizers made available to ITRealms Online, weekend, indicated that Ndukwe’s address would show how the sweeping revolution has continued to impact on all facets of the national economy and how all sectors rely on telecommunications one way or the other.

According to the organizers, the choice of Ndukwe is appropriate as he inspired the tremendous growth and transformation of the country’s telecommunications landscape earning the agency, a reputation as a transparent agency.

The press statement endorsed by Rueben Mouka, head, public affairs, NCC and Ken Nwogbo, editor, Nigeria Communications Week, organisers of the event said that 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.

The event which has as its theme, the “Telecom Industry Fuelling the Future of e-Payment System” is a high level forum where key actors in the industry meet, discuss, suggest and chart a roadmap for the future of communications industry in Nigeria.

The forum to be presided over by the chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (Alton), Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, would also have the regional director, D-Link West Africa, Dr. Chris Uwaje dwelling on a technical presentation on the security of the e-payment system.

Kyari Bukar, the managing director, Valucard Nigeria, providers of a high-quality, world-class, e-payment processing infrastructure and Ken Aigbinode, executive vice chairman, ZOOMmobile, pride of Nigeria telecommunications industry respectively will present the various angles of their sectors.

e-Transact, the first online real-time payment system that allows individuals and corporate account holders to pay for goods and services purchased from merchants without stress will also x-ray the working of the e-payment system.

Telecom Device Forum is proudly supported by Harris Stratex Nigeria, Valucard, ZoomMobile, Globacom, Nokia, e-Transact, First Bank and Zenith Bank.

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ETSI unveils new electronic standards

European watch-dog on Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) application standards, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), has published a multi-part standard to facilitate secure paperless business transactions throughout Europe, in compliance with European legislation.

The standard defines a series of profiles for Advanced Electronic Signatures (PAdES) for Portable Document Format (PDF) documents – that meet the requirements of the European Directive on a Community framework for electronic signatures (Directive 1999/93/EC).

ETSI, reputed for supporting European Commission Action Plan seeks to build on existing experience in this area and further improve the efficiency of cross-border use of electronic signatures.

A press statement from ETSI indicated that open technical standards provide an ideal means for ensuring the required interoperability such that, for example, a document created and signed in one Member State could be validated in another.

The standard also recognizes that digitally-signed documents may be used or archived for many years – even many decades. At any time in the future, in spite of technological and other advances, it must be possible to validate the document to confirm that the signature was valid at the time it was signed – a concept known as Long-Term Validation (LTV).

The new standard was developed by ETSI’s Electronic Signatures and Infrastructure (ESI) Technical Committee in collaboration with Product Document File (PDF) experts.

PDF is defined in a standard (ISO 32000-1) published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), so the ETSI activity included reviewing and documenting how ISO 32000-1 can satisfy the European Directive.

The statement endorsed by the Events & Communications officer at ETSI, Mr. Paul Reid, explained that this resulted in PAdES standard, which its technical specification (TS) 102 778, also introduces a number of adaptations and extensions to PDF to satisfy the directive’s requirements.

“ETSI plans to feed these European-specific elements back into ISO for inclusion in the next release of the PDF standard, ISO 32000-2,” he said.

PAdES, he explained, is complementary to two other Electronic Signature concepts also developed by ETSI’s ESI committee, both widely recognised within the European Union and suited for applications that do not involve human-readable documents: Cryptographic Message Syntax Advanced Electronic Signatures (CAdES) and XML Advanced Electronic Signatures (XAdES).

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Benin produces 8 millionaires @ One9ja game show

The ancient city of Benin, last week, produced eight millionaires in the on-going One9ja game show by the fifth Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Etisalat Nigeria.

The game which is on its fifth edition, saw a total of N11 million won during the game show, following the four other game shows previously held in Kaduna, Lagos, Abuja and Enugu states, where N44 million have been carted home by subscribers on the Etisalat network.

Emerging as the highest winner at the Benin show, Mrs Amaka Ezendu took home two million and fifty thousand naira, followed by Samuel Chukwudi, Ernest Ogbemudia, Glory Eiwone and Ilozulike Chimezie, each winning one million one hundred thousand naira respectively, while Ejoke Aisire, Okonkwo Blessing and Esther Ofefagha went home with one million naira each.

Some of the consolation prize winners of N50,000 include Bobi Zion Onoriode,  Roselyn Ogbemo, Henry Ijeoma, Ese Onojetah, Odjus Utuyorume.

The Director Segments and Marketing Strategy, Etisalat, Seki Akande, said at the event that Etisalat customers are the heart of its business.

“With this promo, we are not only rewarding our old and new subscribers, we are also giving every Nigerian an opportunity to experience our world class products and services, built from 33 years of operation in different climes. The 9jillions promotion represents the biggest cash prize winning in Africa and thus serves as a veritable platform to reach out to our subscribers” Akande said.

The Director revealed that 4,320 high-end mobile phones were given to lucky subscribers during the first phase of the promotion, which ended recently and explained further that the regional one9ja game shows will hold in more cities in the coming weeks before the last phase, while the grand finale holds in October, where one lucky subscriber will walk away with the grand prize of one million dollars.

“All a new or existing subscriber has to do is use up to N1,000 in a month, then send his location and name to #5123 to qualify for a chance to participate in the grand finale”, she said.

The star-studded event witnessed performances from artists such as DJ Zeez, Earthquake, Bigiano, Timaya, Banky W, Sean J and Flavor. The popular comedian, MC Gordons, was at his best as the MC of the day.

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Lagos honours Glo on youth development

The Lagos State government has honoured Globacom, the second national operator (SNO), with the Jam Feast Award, for its outstanding role in inspiring Nigerian youths towards educational and personal development.

The award, which was endorsed by the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs. Adebisi Sosan and the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Mrs. Omolara Erogbogbo, gave recognition to Globacom as a force in ideas generation for the youth through its popular slogan – Rule your World.

Presenting the award to Globacom recently on behalf of the Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mr. Olalekan Iginla-Azeez, the technical consultant for the project stated that the award was given to Globacom in recognition of its high sense of corporate social responsibility, and for its positive role in the cultural and educational development of the young people of Lagos State.

He also said the advertising phrase “Rule your World” popularised by the company is a daily reminder to the youth to go beyond all physical boundaries and excel in every area of endeavour they wish to explore in order to make their dreams come true.

“By this inspirational phrase, Globacom directly connects with the youth thereby encouraging the future generation towards achieving excellence in education, innovation and entrepreneurship in the spirit of self discovery”, he said.

The award was won by Globacom for its outstanding contribution in the telecommunications category.

The Lagos State Jam Feast Award ceremony featured hundreds of students drawn from secondary schools across the state who were exposed to training to build their self esteem, promote value re-orientation, wealth creation, inculcation of positive family values and the spirit of societal development.

The next Award which will be on the theme, “Invention and Entrepreneurship towards Self Discovery for Future Living”, is expected to hold in December this year.

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NIG, ITAN want Kalu immortalized

As the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector mourns the sudden death of the President of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), Mr. Ndukwe Kalu, the Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) has called for immortalization of his name, reports CHARLES OKOH.

This is coming as the Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN) has described late Kalu as one of the special few intellectually endowed Nigerians worthy of emulation.

Press statements from both industry groups endorsed by their presidents, Messrs Lanre Ajayi and Jimson Olufuye, were full of eulogizies for the late Mr. Kalu.

According to Ajayi, NIG is saddened with the news that one of its own and President of NiRA, Mr. Ndukwe Kalu, whose sudden death occurred last week.

NIG, he said, conveyed its sincere condolence to the entire Nigerian Internet community, NiRA and Amsco Telecom where late Kalu was the chief executive before his death as well as his immediate family.

Describing Kalu as a gem that has gone too early in life, NIG recalled his impeccable input at various Internet gathering and especially the evolution that befell the localization of the hosting of the Nigeria’s country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) name, .ng.

“This achievement must not be forgotten in a hurry and thus we advocate the immortalization of the ideals and patriotic believes of Mr. Ndukwe Kalu,” he urged.

Equally in his condolence on Kalu’s demise, ITAN president, Olufuye said that the end of everyone is death and has struck again, taking away “our very dear Kalu Ndukwe.” ITAN noted that Kalu was one of the few special Nigerians who believe in Nigeria and are ready to pay the supreme price by sticking out their necks to serve relentlessly in an environment where the overworked and overstressed for peanuts.

“I join the IT family to condole his family. It is a transformation we never thought would happen now but what can we say other than to pray for the family for the comfort of the Holy Spirit and the assurance of eternal abode in the bosom of the Lord,” he said.

The ITAN president quoted 1 Thess.4:13-14, saying that Kalu has only taken a deep sleep from earth, but hope to see him in eternity.

He enjoined Nigerian IT professionals to emulate Kalu as his legacy was apparent for all to see in NIRA, IT Policy Review to name a few.

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Nigeria, 42 others to benefit from HIPSSA – ITU boss

A total of 43 out of 52 African countries, including Nigeria, would directly benefit from the Harmanisation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Policies in Sub-Sahara Africa (HIPSSA).

The Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Dr. Hamadoun Toure, made this disclosure Friday at a press conference to bring to a close the African Telecom Development Initiative (ATDI) Summit, which held in Abuja.

Highlighting a couple of areas where ITU has been playing concrete role in sustainability of the gains of telecommunications development on the continent, Dr. Toure, who was accompanied by the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe and Head, External Affairs & Corporate Communications at ITU, Mr. Luiz Fernando Ferreira Da Silva, said that HIPSSA is being implemented with the support of the European Union (EU).

This, he said, would directly benefit 43 African countries, aimed at developing and promoting harmonized policies and guidelines for the ICT market.

He also said that HIPSSA would facilitate the building of human and institutional capacity in the field of ICT through a range of targeted training and knowledge-sharing measures.

In addition, Toure said that ITU through its current flagship project, the Connect a School, Connect a Community, to be launched at the upcoming ITU World Telecom 2009 in Geneva, would provide a set of new communities with access and education.

“We hope that the project would act as one-stop-shop for ICT access,” he said, noting that unlike a number of programmes managed by other organizations in the past, ‘Connect a School, Connect a Community’ do not promote dial-up or low-speed internet access, but instead focuses directly on broadband.

He emphasized that ITU with this project is focusing on giving access to communities via ICT centres for isolated, rural and marginal urban areas.

“We are placing particular focus on groups such as women and girls, indigenous people, persons with disabilities, and youth and children,” he asserted.

According to him, ITU Telecom World expo represents an unrivalled opportunity for the ICT industry to showcase new products and services, and debate the crucial issues that will define tomorrow’s ICT landscape, in an environment that features a unique and unparalleled level of top public sector attendance.

He pointed out that the advent of financial crisis has led ITU to strengthen this aspect of the event, to promote active participant by Head of States and Government, thereby creating an exclusive and privileged opportunity for communications at the very highest level between the public and private sectors.

“We expect to welcome over 30 Heads of State and heads of government, along with C-level executives from any of the world’s most exciting Information and Communication Technology players,” he said.

Stressing that it is crucial at this period of world’s economic recovery that Africa’s ICT development brings together leaders from both the public and private sectors.

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SAP names Ekajeh regional manager

Leading providers of business software, System Applications Products (SAP) has announced the appointment of Mr. Noble Ekajeh, as its regional manager for West Africa.

Mr. Ekajeh, a Nigerian information and technology professional, who assumed the duty from September 1, will oversee all functions of the business whilst driving SAP’s footprint expansion in the region.

Ekajeh began his career in August 1993, as a district manager, handling the West Africa business for American Power Conversion (APC) in France.

In March 1999, he was appointed Business Development Manager for Compaq West Africa, from where he rose to the position of Personal Systems Group (PSG) Country Manager for Hewlett-Packard overseeing the change locally arising from the merger between HP and Compaq globally.

He joined SAP from ATM Consortium Ltd where he was managing director from July 2004 to date.

Responding to his appointment, Ekajeh expressed commitment to focus on the West African market by SAP and looks forward to expanding with the team, the scope and depth of its business in the region.

Commenting on the choice of Ekajeh, the managing director, SAP Africa, Mr. Pfungwa Serima, expressed satisfaction with his personality and over 13 years of experience in the IT industry at both the local and international levels which places him on an excellent position to deliver on company’s expectation for the region.

On the SAP World Tour West Africa, which took place in Lagos, he said, “this appointment bodes well for SAP Africa as it further entrenches our commitment to West Africa, which forms a significant focus of our business as we continue our ambitious growth trajectory in Africa.”

In addition, ITRealms Online gathered that in the coming weeks, Mr. Ekajeh is expected at the continental office for an in-house induction exercise to further familiarize him with modules of SAP in South Africa before fully assuming office.

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Telecom investors can’t ignore Nigeria – Akunyili

Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. (Mrs.) Dora Akunyili, has declared that the nation’s telecommunications revolution is a success story despite all the challenges therein, saying that today, a quarter of Africans using mobile phones are Nigerians.

She also said that the avalanche of telecommunications induced trade has made Nigeria indispensable to any serious investor who wants to relate with Africans, especially given that a quarter of African mobile users are Nigerians.

Speaking while receiving the Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Dr. Hamadoun Toure, who paid her a courtesy visit in Abuja, Thursday, Akunyili noted that the Nigerian telecommunication sector has already become a success, even as government is determined to sustain the tempo.

She noted that presently, Nigerian mobile subscriber-base has reached 68 million, and there is room for growth in the years ahead.

She assured that her ministry would work with the telecom regulator in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), to ensure that quality of service would continue to improve.

“We’re going to work with NCC to ensure that quality of service improves,” she declared.

Akunyili pointed out that most Nigerians carry more than one mobile phone basically due to poor quality of service among telecom operators.

She also informed the visiting Sec-Gen of ITU that a Nigerian subscriber is worth about 10 subscribers in the developed world, because a Nigerian would prefer to skip a lunch and make calls than stay without reaching out, which is unlike those in developed world who would like a call to be very short.

So, Nigeria is happy about the growth and in the next few years, this would grow, stressing that Nigeria and Africa is proud of Dr. Toure’s election even if he wants a second term.

“Your election calls for celebration and you are showing the world that colour is not a barrier to good leadership. Just like Obama is doing in the United States,” she said.

Speaking earlier, Dr. Toure told the Minister that he was in the country to attend the 2009 edition of African Telecom Development Summit and wanted to use the opportunity to appreciate the government, especially her ministry.

He said that ITU is working on a number of fronts with collaboration of other stakeholders by playing its role of proffering solutions.

“I am pleased to see Africa is contributing to the world’s economy,” he said, adding that the progress made in Nigeria could not have been achieved without the support of the ministry and government of Nigeria.

“We need private sector, good governance and fair regulator to ensure sustainability,” he said.

Emphasizing that in the last five years, Africa has increasingly grown its quota in the world telecom space and was happy at the summit that opened in Abuja that various ministries were well represented, which indicated the importance of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to this government.

A few years ago, Dr. Toure said, calls from this part of the world was not counting, but today, most of the calls made in Africa revolves around Nigeria.

As said by him, telecom industry the world over, is booming, hence resilient and even as two-third of jobs created presently are in ICT, just as Nigeria has over 41 per cent of African telecom market.

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ICT sector mourns Ndukwe Kalu’s demise

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector in the country is mourning the sudden death of the President, Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), Mr. Ndukwe Kalu, which occurred last week.
Kalu reportedly passed on Tuesday in his office in Lagos at about 6.00 pm after attending to some official matters.
A family source informed that Kalu, who steered NiRA to a historical peak recently when he concluded the transfer of Nigeria’s country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) name, .ng, precisely on May 13, 2009 with the global coordinating internet agency, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
He was reported not to have shown any sign of ailment before he was eventually found dead.
Kalu was found face-down on his office table by some staff as they wondered why the office window was not shut while the rain was on.
“So, we moved closer and saw him being wet by rain, we felt that was unusual and quickly rushed in only to discover he had gone,” one of the staff said.
He was immediately rushed to a hospital where he was confirmed “brought in dead.”

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