President’s absence: Nigerians @ FB demand video clips

Worried by the over 50 days absence of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Nigerian Information and Communication Technology (ICT) stakeholders and internet enthusiasts have taken their concern to the largest social networking site in the world, the FaceBook (FB), demanding for a video clips if only to confirm his health status.

ITRealms Online recalls that President Yar’Adua purportedly travelled out of the country to Saudi Arabia on what his officials later told Nigerians was on a trip for usual medical check-up.

These concerned Nigerians who started this campaign with a mere Short Messaging Service (SMS) to who cares are soliciting to know from the government and its officials the where about of Mr. President.

While those carrying out the campaign on the where about of President Yar’Adua, soars, they were in unision in demanding video clips of the President alive, with the number of fans for the clamour increasing by the hour.

For the SMS’ making a round they earnestly asked where exactly is President Yar’Adua, just as they enjoined other well meaning Nigerians to inquire on the whereabouts.

Part of the SMS making a round read: “Where exactly is President Yar’Adua? Join in asking. Demand to know! Send to at least 10 pple.”

Whereas this SMS has continued to make more Nigerians really began to ask questions about the president and more affirmed they have received this kind of SMS twice.

Already, there are majorly four groups carrying out this campaign in the popular FaceBook, namely Where is Yar’Adua? Where is President Musa Yar’Adua?; 150m people who want to know where Yar’Adua is?; ‘Where is Umaru Musa Yar’Adua’ and Where is the President of Nigeria, Umaru Yar’Adua?

At present, the membership of groups have soared to 260, 26, 53 with common interest across their membership and 10 fans in the Where is Umaru Musa Yar’Adua with interest as non-profit, while the group ‘Where is the President of Nigeria, Umaru Yar’Adua?’ has recorded 151 followers with common interest largely drawn from the government officials.

The most worrisome point raised among the FaceBook fans was the fact that President Yar’Adua left for the check-up without formally handing over powers to his Vice President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan.

This, they agreed is unhealthy because, what happens in the case of any external aggression against Nigeria, who should give orders for the military, for instance, to come in defense of the nation, given that the ‘Commander in Chief’ has taken a French leave.

As much as all Nigerians across the various fan groups wished Mr. President well, they also want him to return to the country alive to carry on with his job, though they were emphatic that it was a gross error for him to have travelled out without formal handover note to enable VP Jonathan to act, rather than stagnating the nation.

According to the group ‘Where is the President of Nigeria, Umaru Yar’Adua?’ its motive is to draw the attention of the world to the plight of Nigerians, since the President of over 140 million people had reportedly gone missing.

“We were told that he went to Saudi Arabia for a checkup more than a month ago ...! And tasked Nigerians to join in asking for the whereabouts of Mr. President, they therefore declared Umaru Musa Yar’Adua missing,” the group asked.

They also argued that the nation cannot be sick or in comatose simply because Mr. President is sick, therefore, they canvassed for the best of information to really show Nigerians that their president is alive apart from the politicization of the office of the Vice President from taking over or even in acting capacity, while the ruling party looks the other way.

Mr. Ojuks Amadi expressed the belief the office of the vice president was created for a situation like this, and lamented the trend the politicking of the issue has taken.

“I strongly believe the office of the vice president was created for unpredictable times like what we have now. It worries me that we Nigerians politicize everything even when it´s detrimental to our national interest and security,” he stated in his FB’s wall.

For Ms Ulo Ume, at this point even a doctored video evidence could be desirable, stressing that it would, at least, show effort on the part of his whereabouts or on even his ‘abductors’.

“Effort to accord us with an explanation, effort that may begin to signify that the retards do realize that silence is unacceptable. Also give us a new basis and impetus for further developments and discussions,” she argued.


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ICT: Shaky start, glorious ending (1)

The year 2009 started on a shaky note but ended gloriously, reports REMMY NWEKE in this review.



THE Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector started on what some industry observers described as a shaky note in view of the fracas that erupted between Multimesh Communications Limited and the National Copyrights Commission (NCC).

It was disclosed that the misunderstanding was against the backdrop of the alleged piracy by Entertainment Highway Limited, right owners of the English Premiere League (EPL) and operators of HiTV, over rebroadcast rights.

Multimesh threatened Copyright Commission with court action:
This resulted in Multimesh threatening to drag NCC and HiTV to court, for unlawfully, and forcefully damaging its transmission equipment worth millions of Naira.

Multimesh, a Multichannel Multipoint Distribution Service (MMDS) operator. which hinges on wireless telecommunications offerings to deploy its Television (Tv) broadcasting. The company in a petition by its chief executive officer, Sir Godfrey Ohuabunwa, dated January 8, 2009 and addressed to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Mike Aondaokaa insisted that the raid by NCC was illegal.

Weeks later, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) led by its Director General, Mr. Yomi Bolarinwa, intervened and brought the misunderstanding to rest at a meeting held at the NBC’s headquarters in Abuja. its officials led by the Director General, Mr. Yomi Bolarinwa, extracted an agreement from the feuding parties, just as it was established that a contract had earlier existed between the two organisations since 2007.

This, industry observers, said gave credence to the claims by Multimesh that what transpired was a business dispute and not a case of piracy.

Omatek consolidates e-Xpress scheme:
Following this soon after was the plans by one of the nation’s Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), Omatek Plc to consolidate its e-learning initiative in the country, tagged Omatek e-Xpress programme, which would act as a one-stop shop, to ensure that ICT tools are readily deployed to schools and classrooms under a carefully structured learning environment.

“That is equipped with our 8” and 10” computers; internet connection to create virtual connectivity between students and teachers or lecturers. It also involves the deployment of a robust content and curriculum development,” Mrs. Florence Seriki, the group managing director of Omatek said.

The internet connectivity via the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) technology, she said, would offer hotspots around the schools, “thus creating an enabling environment for teachers and students to deploy their Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) for connectivity.”

… Unveils smart notebooks:
This development came as Omatek Plc, unveiled its latest and advanced version of smart notebooks, the eight and 10 inches categories. She said, the eight and 10 inches notebooks were initially manufactured for pupils, but demands spurred her company to advance on the qualities and features of the smart notebooks to be optimally useful for even the working class who want to look smart and still be mobile.

She noted that the initial batch of 8 and 10 inches notebook from Omatek has the same specifications, their hard-disc sizes have improved from 216 to 512 and from 512 to 1 Gigabytes. Whereas the batteries are normal computer batteries such that could last up to an hour or more, while the weight is lighter than before with strong Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) presence.

Epson opens office:
This is coming as Eposon opened its office in the country in the first quarter with a target of N592 million, according to the Accounts Manager, Epson Corporation, South Africa, Mr. Shaun Robinson, the company is targeting in 2009 financial year the sum of $4 million, (about N592m) from the Nigerian market.

Responding to questions at the ‘Exceed Your Vision’ seminar in Lagos, organized in collaboration with its main distributor in the country, Technology Distribution (TD) West Africa Limited, Mr. Robinson declared “our target for this year in Nigeria is $4 million.”

Just as the General Manager, Marketing at TD, Mrs. Chioma Chimere assured that given the avalanche of her company’s outlet through the dealers and resellers in the West African region, they would be equal to the task.

FOSS is truly free!
As the first quarter advances, Finland-based Nigerian Chief Technology Officer of WoodGong Communications, Mr. Sunny Odum advocated for the adaptation of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in the country, insisting that it’s truly free.

“Free and Open Source is truly what the name implies,” he said, stressing that in a developing country like Nigeria, there is need to tap into FOSS in order to alleviate poverty. Emphasizing that in the developing world it’s so scared to copy technologies from the developed world, “… Are we also not capable of using FOSS that we are even encouraged to rip and use, hook, line and sinker?” he wondered.

Speaking while presenting a paper recently on “Global Economic Turmoil, Free and Open Source Software and Nigerian Information Technological Development” made available to ITRealms Online, Odum said that people in the developing country like Nigeria needs not pay a dime on software if they adopt, adapt and develop FOSS.

FG, China enter deal return of NigComSAT-1:
Equally, the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and its Chinese counterpart reached a deal on the replacement of the nation’s failed NigComSAT-1, which was de-orbited early November 2008, even as the provisional completion date for the substitution satellite to return to orbit is this first quarter of 2010.

ITRealms Online gathered that in order to guard against lack of back-up in future, the Chinese authorities have reached another deal with Nigeria to split the NigComSAT-2 and 3 into phases, which is expected to mitigate the effect of any eventuality as regards to the satellite failure in the future.

Thus, China agreed on a phase out plan for the unleashing of NigComSat-2 and 3, which would be built into the new deal as part of strategies to avoid the dilemma faced by NigComSat-1 customers when the solar panel of Africa’s first communication satellite failed in November 2008.

ATCON urges work on NigComSAT-2:
The umbrella body of telecommunications companies in the country, the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), described the failed Nigerian Communications Satellite-1 (NigComSAT-1) as a technical tragedy, and urged the Federal Government (FG) to commence work on NigComSat-2.

National President ATCON, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, said that there is urgent need for the nation to start the processes on NigComSAT-2 immediately on learning about the failure of NigComSAT-1, which was reportedly parked after developing charging fault, prior to November 10, 2008 when the government owned up.

Ekuwem said that Nigeria must start process toward the actualization of the NigComSAT-2 without further delay and advised that before then, government must truly unravel the cause of the failure of NigComSAT-1, warning that the incident should not deter the government from investing in future satellite projects.

“No nation shies away from challenges. We should proceed to NigComSAT-2 provided we unravel the cause of the failure of NigComSAT-1,” he said.

Main One, Pioneer Consulting in strategy deal:
One of the Nigeria’s cable service provider, MainOne Cable Company Limited in the year just ended entered a deal with a United States-based telecommunications consulting, engineering and market research firm, Pioneer Consulting.

Chief executive officer, Main One Cable, Ms. Funke Opeke, said the consulting firm was hired as an integral part of the Main One management team, to supervise the implementation of the network. “It will provide expert advice while tracking the design, engineering and implementation of the project,” she said. While the Managing Partner, Pioneer Consulting, Mr. Howard Kidorf, was optimistic his team would deliver on the project.

Zain produces 20 millionaires @ Valentine promo:
Also, Zain Nigeria in the first quarter of 2009 introduced a Valentine Millionaire promo which produced 20 subscribers on the network within one month. With the concept of at least, 5 millionaires per week, the promo, the telco said, was designed to give many Nigerians and especially subscribers on Zain network a lift financially, despite the current global meltdown. It was introduced to provide people with the wherewithal to celebrate Valentine Day, as said by the Head, Corporate Communications, Zain Nigeria, Mr. Emeka Oparah.

1m handsets lost annually:
One revelation that took front seat in the year just ended was the proclamation that telecommunications subscribers in the country lost an estimated 1 million mobile phones annually, according to the chief executive officer, NetVisa GSMSecured Nigeria Limited, Prince Emeka Uchendu.

Uchendu, who gave this insight in Lagos while preparing for the commissioning of the nation’s Central Equipment Identity Registry (CEIR), as President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was billed to perform the official launch on Tuesday, January 27, 2009, at the Yar’Adua Conference Centre, Abuja, the federal capital territory. He assured that registration of stolen phones would be free-of-charge.

He confirmed that the initiative conceived by the government through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), received the blessings of the global operators group, the GSM Association (GSMA) and Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) among others.

Uchendu said that the commissioning would pave the way for the full implementation of the project by all mobile operators in the country, through enabling telecom operators to be wary of stolen phones and block same when eventually it is appropriately reported by their owners.


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Naijapals.com achieves 260,000 users

Nigeria inclined online forum, the Naijapals.com has achieved 260,000 active users, according to the founder, Mr. Samuel Odofin.

In a chat with ITRealms Online at the weekend, Mr. Odofin said that the forum has witnessed steady growth since its debut in 2008.

ITRealms Online recalled that as at February 2009, Naijapals.com active users was about 150,000.

“… So fast we are now over 260,000 strong members and with very interactive web 2.0 platforms, indigenous and foreign people are able to share views on the same platform; the discussion forum section is very active as well and we currently serve about 9.2 million pages a month,” he said.

Odofin also plans to advance this membership to about 17 million before end of 2010 while strategising to make unique users 210,000 each month as well.

“So, it’s getting pretty interesting and the community is moderated by other users who has been there enough to earn my trust as a worthy moderator and as such, it just run automatically by the people,” he said.

With this development, he hopes to put his Information System (IS) strategy knowledge into experience with Naijapals, while promising to have some bigger projects in the near future.

Naijapals.com, he said, has become a very popular entertainment and social channel for Nigerians in Nigeria and abroad.

As said by him, naijapals.com has a database of all Nigerian universities and over 7,000 schools all together, in addition this database affords old school mates to meet easily, hence it is based on advanced formulas for finding new friends.

He pointed out that Naijapals.com, was affixed on the programme he built up in 2007 in order to keep the people together, stressing that Naijapals.com, has two major features, a debate, which he described as “’fight park’ and ‘confessions.’”

Noteworthy is that Odofin had in 2006 emerged finalist at the Stockholm challenges with Biotechnology - The Food Solution (BFS) www.odofin.com, which was selected for finals.

A year before then, Odofin had at the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS-05), bagged the WSIS world summit youth award in Tunisia.


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21st Century Tech gets kudos on CSR

Leading fixed telephone operator and integrated information and communications technology solutions provider, 21st Century Technologies Limited, has been awash with commendations from government and organistions on its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) over the years.

A press statement made available to ITRealms Online cited the recent recognition by the Lagos State Government to 21st Century Technologies on CSR.

The Lagos State Executive Governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) was quoted as saying that the firm has proved in its investment pattern as well as job implementations to be a truly socially responsible company, which warranted the award.

The award was received by the Chief Executive of 21st Century Technologies, Mr. Wale Ajisebutu, who expressed appreciation to Lagos State Government and particularly, the governor, for the people-oriented projects being implemented in the state.

Still in the euphoria of this, 21st Century Technologies recently received a certificate of appreciation from Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria.

According to the bank the telecommunications giant was being appreciated “in recognition of her supportive role as a valued service provider to Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria over the past 10 years.”

The certificate was endorsed by the Group Head, Procurement and Vendor Management, Mr. James Berry and Country Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Christopher Knight.

Reacting to the certificate of appreciation, Mr. Ajisebutu, acknowledged the fact that Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria has proved to be a responsible and responsive corporate giant in the banking industry in the country.

In addition, the Lekki Peninsula Phase 1 Residents Association, eulogized 21st Century Technolgies “in recognition, acknowledgement and appreciation of the company’s contributions towards the development of Lekki Peninsula Phase 1, Lagos.”

In a letter made available to newsmen in Lagos, the chairman of the association, Chief Kayode V. Aderinoku, noted that the company among others acted on corporate social responsibility, rehabilitation of streetlights on Admiralty Way, and maintained the streetlights for a long time.

ITRealms Online recalls that these commendations and recognition came even as 21st Centur y Technologies grabbed the Best Integrated ICT Solutions Provider of the Year award at the eighth edition of NITTA 2009.


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StartupsNigeria launches 2.0 website

Startups Nigeria.com, a blog that reviews and analyses web startups in the country has launched its 2.0 website.

Disclosing this at the weekend, one of the key strategists at StartupsNigeria.com, Mr. Loy Okezie, said that the website also covers technology cum mobile products and services in the country that are making an impact in today’s new web space.

“I am very excited to announce the official launch of the new Startups Nigeria platform (SN 2.0), built on an open source software and developed by a United
Kingdom (UK)-based software development and management company.

According to him, SN version 1.0 was a technology news blog founded at www.startupsnigeria.com that reviewed tech startups and web applications from Nigeria.

He also said that the current website is a technology community built under a robust platform that connects people with internet startups, companies, entrepreneurs, investors and students within Nigeria’s emerging start-up industry and beyond.

Okezie explained that the difference between the version 1.0 and 2.0 is that SN2.0 offers a more robust application functionality, similar to Facebook and Twitter that affords users into the activities of entrepreneurs and startups in real-time thereby allowing them to connect with the web products and services they like easily.

“With SN2.0, you can share web and mobile 2.0 ideas, learn more about web, mobile applications and start-ups, showcase web and mobile 2.0 products and innovations, connect with potential investors, find business and technology-related jobs, find business and tech partners, find answers to startup-related questions, and lots more,” he asserted.

In the future, he said, Startups Nigeria hopes to become a technology and start-ups incubator and help fund financially viable start-ups from Nigeria and African entrepreneurs.


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‘Computing gone beyond PC’

President Intel Corporation, Mr. Paul Otellini has said that “personal computing” has gone beyond mere PCs to nearly every kind of electronic device, reports CHARLES OKOH.

This is coming as he unveiled several innovative technologies and designs that spanned Intel’s PC and other growth businesses, including netbooks, smartphones, CE devices and connected embedded technology.

“Computing is no longer confined to your computer, it’s everywhere,” Otellini declared.

Advances in connectivity, intuitive user interfaces, immersive content and computer chip performance, he said, have allowed computing to move into new areas.

“Computing moving into all manner of devices and experiences all around us improves our personal productivity and enjoyment,” he said in a press statement made available to ITRealms Online.

Otellini also said computing is being integrated into every relevant aspect of people’s lives, whether they are on their computer or smartphone, watching TV, in the car or out shopping, a seamless personalized experience tailored to individuals’ interests, needs and social networks will deliver the information, entertainment and experiences people want, whenever, however and wherever they want.

He cited advances in mobile device applications, 3-D content, smarter phones and TVs, and areas traditionally not associated with computing such as home energy management and digital signage.

He described how bringing the world of simple and useful “viral” applets to Intel Atom processor-based devices will further bring this vision of “personal” computing to life, creating new usage models and a unique and powerful distribution channel for software developers, revealing a beta version of a software app store saying Intel and its partners expect to expand the stores over time to include applications for other large categories such as PCs, handheld CE devices, smartphones, CE appliances, TVs and other devices based on future Intel processor families.

As an example of new ways to connect computing devices in the home, Otellini also unveiled a product called the Intel Wireless Display. Using a laptop powered by select all new 2010 Intel Core processors and enabled with this display technology, an individual can quickly stream videos, photos and other content from the PC to the HDTV over a WiFi connection.

“Computing in the home is rapidly expanding beyond the PC, the TV will continue to be a focal point of the home while becoming smarter, much in the way phones are evolving into smartphones. New user interfaces and forms of connectivity will change the way we interact with entertainment in the home.”

Intel’s CEO also touched on one of the most buzzed about topics at CES – 3-D stereoscopic content – and said that creating 3-D content requires a “ton of computing power.” Powerful microprocessors will play a central role in the transition to 3-D content creation.

Otellini also said there are select powerful PCs available today that are expanding 3-D content creation from Hollywood studios to living rooms. To prove his point, he demonstrated how an individual could do real-time creation and editing of a 3-D video with the horsepower of an Intel Core™ i7 processor-based PC.


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eWorld’s broadband forum holds in March

Nigeria’s first broadband forum is to open in March this year.

The forum, slated to hold for two days in the first week of March, is aimed at drawing a roadmap for broadband band development and usage in the country.

Stakeholders are naturally upbeat that 2010 will usher in the broadband revolution, but as it is commonly known wishes alone do not do the job.

The Forum is being packaged by eWorld magazine, with support from industry stakeholders.

Chief Executive Officer and Managing Editor, eWorld Magazine, Mr. Aaron Ukodie said this has become imperative to nurture the modalities for its successful evolution in the polity.

“There are grey areas that must be looked at; a pathway that leads to fruitful deployment, especially on the national and users end must be well articulated” he said.

Ukodie noted that though the expected berthing of a number of undersea cables in the New Year signals a good prospect for broadband hope, the last mile end must be put in perspective.

Already, he noted that Glo 1 has berthed on Nigerian shore awaiting activation, while WACS and MainOne are making speedy sail towards Nigeria, SAT-3, the old horse awaits its competitors.

According to him, plotting the pathway early enough in the year ensures that stakeholders do not grope in the various tasks in achieving the expectations of Nigerians.

“A headache-free e-business and all the expected e-transactions are premised on the coming developments,” Ukodie noted, stressing that Nigeria’s broadband hope is in line with the focus of several developed countries, such as the United States, which is exploring the broadband route for economic revival.

He pointed out that there are however questions that are begging for answers if the expectations are to be realized, and these are some of the reasons for the Broadband forum. Additionally, he cited an instance that there is need for effective regulations to drive broadband networks and service provisioning, the last mile gap in broadband services, where is the Broadband’s mass market potentials, investment options: co-location, managed services to name a few.

Ukodie also raised question on whether the rural dwellers will savour the benefits of broadband, the roadmaps; 3G-4G; From First Generation to Next -Generation Broadband, LTE, Wimax, HSPA, Fibre Optic among others.


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110 winners emerge @ LG xmas raffle draw

Estimated 110 winners emerged at the weekend at the first batch of the raffle draw of the LG Mobile Christmas bonanza, which held in Lagos.

The promotion which commenced on December 7, 2009, would run through January 31, 2010 and is aimed at affiliating the brand with the festive season by giving consumers the opportunity to win LG branded products but also qualifies them for a raffle draw where cash prizes of over N3m and LG products such as Flat Panel TVs,
Air conditioners, refrigerators, home theatre sound systems, microwave ovens and Digital Video Display (DVD) players are up for grabs.

Speaking during the raffle draw, General Manager, LG Electronics, West Africa Operation, Mr. Steve Koh, noted that to participate in the promotion, consumers who purchase LG mobile phones within this period would receive instant gifts alongside tickets which qualify them for raffle draws.

He explained that LG saw the yuletide celebration as another opportunity for the electronic giant to once again bond emotionally with consumers.

“We recognize the power of love in the lives of our consumers which makes us respond to their yearnings thereby creating an emotional bond with Nigeria,” he said.

Some of the winners who emerged from the first raffle draw included Joy Ehidimen, Akuma Daniel and Gift Nwannebu who won a sum of N100,000 each while Fabiyi Olawunmi, Agbo John, Mary Ichakanu and Samuel Chukwu went home with 29” LG TV sets, respectively.

Winners of LG Air conditioners, refrigerators, home theatre sound systems, microwave ovens, DVD players and mobile phones also emerged during the raffle draw.

In the second raffle draw to take place next month, Mr. Koh said, more winners would emerge as three consumers would walk away with N1m each as well as other consolation prizes.

He said, all LG phones ranging from the latest BL40 Chocolate Phone, BL 20, KS660 nicknamed Bi-Sim, KF500 popularly called cookie, GD900, KM900, KM335, KS360, GW300 to GB110 and KP105 are backed up with a one year Pan African Warranty and distributed by LG Electronics’ authorized distributors nationwide, including First Choice Mobile Care Limited.

Speaking after receiving her prize, Miss Joy Ehidimen expressed gratitude to LG Electronics for giving her the opportunity of winning N100,000, which she disclosed was the first time in her life of participating in a promotion and emerging as a winner.

Also speaking Mr. Manish Dhami, manager, LG Electronics encouraged customers who did not emerge as winners in the first raffle draw to keep their fingers crossed as they still stand a chance of winning in the next raffle draw scheduled for February 2010.


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Orphanages commend Glo on Xmas gift

Over 10 orphanages across the country have commended the management of Globacom for celebrating with them during the just ended yuletide season. Globacom which prides itself as the second national carrier made donations to some orphanages during the Xmas.

Some of these orphanages include the Gidan Bege Orphanage, Jos; Stella Obasanjo Children’s Home, Abeokuta, Chim’s Motherless and Destitute Centre in Aba, Uwanse
Motherless Babies Home, Hephzibah Homes, Badagry,

Also were precious Pearls Orphanage, Idimu, Abuja Children’s Home, Ogun State Children’s Home, Ondo Children’s Home, Akure, Wesley Guild Motherless Babies Home, Ilorin and the Onitsha-South Local Government Motherless Babies Home, Onitsha, Anambra State.

Speaking during a visit by Glo team recently, the Assistant Manager, Gidan Bege Orphanage, Jos, Mr. Yusuf Umar, while receiving donations comprising cash and other gift items from Globacom’s Manager for the region, Mr. Olaoye Oyekanmi, noted that the orphanage currently accommodates over 200 children.

Mr. Umar also said the donation is a kind gesture coming from a truly indigenous Nigerian company in order to put smiles on the faces of orphans during the just concluded Yuletide season.

“We wish to thank Glo very much for its generosity. The fact that donations were given to 20 selected orphanages in several states across the country demonstrates that Glo is a truly national company that is dedicated to sharing goodwill to all Nigerians irrespective of ethnic or social background,” he said.

Equally commenting, Glo’s team leader at the Jos visit, Oyekanmi said that the operator decided to pay a visit to the orphanage in order to remind and re-assure the children that Glo cares about their welfare.

“These children are not here through any fault of theirs. It is therefore our corporate social responsibility to assist them in whatever little way we can so that they can know and experience the true meaning of Christmas,” he said.

At the Stella Obasanjo Children’s Home in Abeokuta, the Director of Social Welfare in the Ogun State Ministry of Women’s Affairs and Social Welfare, Mr. S. J. Akinruntan, commended Globacom for its donation to the orphanage.

He assured that the gifts would be put into judicious use to the glory of God and the benefit of children at the Home.

The Matron of the home, Mrs. Olabisi Odedunmoye also expressed appreciation to the
chairman of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga for extending his love and care through the gifts items at this festive period.

“We are most grateful to Dr. Adenuga for this act of generosity for which he is well known and for blessing the children in this Home at this season when the less privileged need to be loved most”, she said.

At the Chim’s Motherless and Destitute Centre in Aba, Abia State, the Proprietor of the orphanage, Chief S. Nwokolo received the Glo team led by Mr. Valentine Ossai, Manager for the region.

Chief Nwokolo thanked Glo and expressed gratitude for the donation which he said made a big difference in the lives of the children.

Responding on behalf of the children at the orphanage, Miss Adaugo Chinwendu said the children were more than overwhelmed by the fact that Glo singled them out to be remembered at this special season.

“We are very grateful for what you have done for us. May the Almighty God bless you and remember you in your various needs just as you have remembered us”, she said.

In Calabar, the Glo team also paid a visit to the Uwanse Motherless Babies Home where various gift items were donated. The Matron of the orphanage, Mrs. Helen Usan received the gifts on behalf of the children. She said the kids were obviously excited by the company’s gesture and thanked the management for deeming it fit to spread joy, happiness and good cheer to the less privileged at Christmas.

The orphanages that benefited in the Glo Xmas donation circuit are Hephzibah Homes, Badagry, Precious Pearls Orphanage, Idimu, the Abuja Children’s Home, Chim’s Motherless and Destitute Centre, Aba, Ogun State Children’s Home, Ondo Children’s Home, Akure, Wesley Guild Motherless Babies Home, Ilorin and the Onitsha South Local Government Motherless Babies Home, Onitsha.

Others are the Motherless Babies Home, Calabar, St. Anne’s Orphanage, Effurun, Edo Orphanage Home, Benin, Nigerian Red Cross Motherless Babies Home, Enugu, Greater Grace Orphanage, Lokoja, Gidan Bege Home, Jos, Adonai Orphanage and Motherless Home, Kaduna and the Ministry of Social Welfare, Sports and Culture, Sokoto.


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Coollink partners Star Satcom on YahClick

DETERMINED to deliver affordable, world-class broadband internet connectivity to underserved users, Coollink, a subsidiary of AIM Group and Star Satellite Communications, a subsidiary of Yahsat, have signed a service partnership agreement to offer “YahClick”, a satellite broadband service in the country.

As part of the agreement, Steam Broadcasting and Communications will provide YahClick Internet connectivity and bring reliable broadband internet at affordable prices.

A press statement made available to ITRealms Online said “the service will address the broadband requirements of home users, institutions, non-governmental organizations and enterprises across industries such as oil and gas companies, financial institutions, construction, manufacturing and hospitality to name a few.”

The statement also indicated that with YahClick’s affordable, reliable and high-speed internet, schools and colleges can benefit from faster communications services and provide students with access to local, regional and global information as well as facilitate distance learning services offered by educational institutions.

It also said the service can aid hospitals’ and community clinics’ usage of telemedicine services, which means the transfer of medical information via telecommunication technologies for the purpose of remote consulting, medical procedures and examinations.

According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Yahsat and GED of Mubadala, Jassem Al Zaabi; “The appointment of Steam Broadcasting as a partner in Nigeria is strategic due to their audience and market reach.”

He also said “through their ownership of local businesses and local media in particular, the radio stations COOL FM and WAZOBIA FM, the AIG Group has a strong history of communicating with the public.

“This will enable YahClick to make a powerful entry into the Nigerian market, particularly the consumer segment,” he said.

Also speaking, the CEO, AIM Group, Amin Moussali, said “the strategic partnership with Yahsat would enable his firm provide the Nigerian public with much needed, affordable internet services.

“We have a strong presence in all the major cities of Nigeria and we will with YahClick make satellite internet accessible to a wide segment of the Nigerian population for whom satellite internet was previously a dream,” he said.


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Titans of Tech focuses on broadband

THE 2010 edition of Titans of Tech conference cum exhibition will hold April 14 to 16 in Lagos, according to the organisers, Technology Africa.

The Managing Consultant, Technology Africa, Don Pedro Aganbi, confirmed this in Lagos weekend, and said that the focus of the 2010 edition is on broadband, along with efforts to promote wide spread availability and boost adoption.

He explained that the term broadband commonly refers to high-speed Internet access, defining broadband service as data transmission speeds exceeding 200 kilobits per second (Kbps), or 200,000 bits per second, in at least one direction namely downstream or upstream.

Factors such as lower prices, enhanced home support and better communication of benefits, he said, will fuel broadband growth in 2010 and thus urged telecommunications service providers to brace up to promote broadband use particular in the light of reducing voice revenues.

He pointed out that the rise of consumers’ adoption of personal devices, home networking, and broadband, combined with the increasing importance of the Internet in media, retail, banking, and healthcare, means that every consumer-facing industry must better understand the intricacies of technology adoption and use.

Titans of Tech, which is in its fifth year, he said, would this year provide excellent networking with West Africa’s leading telecommunications service providers and the corporate world of enterprise network managers and business users.

“The event will exhibit a full range of broadband services, data solutions and equipment. It will also provide an excellent platform to hear from the foremost companies, about their strategies and regulations, to compete in this current economic situation,” he said.

Stressing that apart from direct interaction, the expo will provide a unique opportunity to explore the latest ICT products and services, from the leading companies.


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Starcomms appoints three management staff

Leading Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) service provider, Starcomms Plc, has announced the appointment of three senior staff into its management.

Appointed are Mrs. Charlotte Courtenay, Chief Finance Director, Mr. Tushar Maheshwari, Chief Commercial Officer and Mr. Lalit Verma, Chief Technical Officer.
Mrs. Courtenay who holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics, Philosophy & History and a UK chartered Management Accountant has over 15 years work experience in a cross section of organizations, which spans various capacities in telecommunication and other Sectors.

Prior to her appointment in Starcomms, she was the finance Director, Zain Communications Ghana.

She also worked as Finance Director, ED & F, Man Ltd subsidiary in Ivory Coast, Chief Financial Officer for Millicom International Cellular SA subsidiaries in Senegal, Sierra Leone & Democratic Republic of Congo.

She is responsible for account management and return on investment.

The new Commercial Officer, Mr. Maheshwari has over 20 years work experience, out of which 13 years have been in blue chip telecom companies in Africa, Asia and South Central Asia. His career is highlighted by strong management and operating performance, and an impressive record of commercial and business development contributions.

Tushar holds an MBA from Institute of Management Technology, one of India’s top 10 business schools and a Bachelors of Commerce from Delhi University.

He has attended various senior management programs at leading institutions.

He is a speaker of international repute and has been invited to speak in leading conferences like AfricaComm, GSM Middle east, GSM World Congress and Leaders in Telecom. While the new Chief Technical Officer, Mr.Verma holds a B.Tech with distinction from Delhi College of Engineering and M.Tech (Integrated Electronics & Circuits) from IIT-Delhi and is a veteran of telecom business with over 30 years of experience holding key positions.

These includes; Business CTO at Reliance Infratel, Senior Vice President – Corporate Planning at Reliance Communications, Senior General Manager – Technical (CDMA Business) at LG India and Deputy General Manager – Business Development at Escorts Communications.

Chief Executive Officer, Starcomms Plc, Mr. Maher Qubain was quoted as saying that the appointments were necessitated by the continued desire of the company to enhance service quality and ensure return on investments to shareholders.


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Digital Sense forum’10 gets April date

The Nigeria Digital Sense Africa forum has announced that the 2010 edition of its annual gathering of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) stakeholders in the country with focus on Internet Governance, would take place on Friday, April 16, this year.

Disclosing this in Lagos, at the weekend, the Executive Director of Digital Sense Africa, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke, said that this year’s theme of the forum planned for Golden Gate Ikoyi-Lagos, would centre on ‘Five Years of IGF, the Way Forward for Nigeria.’

She said that following the feat of the 2009 edition of the forum, it has become necessary to ensure that this year’s edition is held in good time so as to make certain that those stakeholders planning to be at this year’s Internet Governance Forum, would represent the interest of the nation’s internet community.

Mrs. Nweke also said that plans have advanced to ensure that this edition advances the objective further beyond what was achieved last year.

According to her, Nigeria Digital Sense forum offers stakeholders the needed platform to articulate a stand on Internet Governance and accurately align the nation’s position into the global Internet Governance Forum holding in Vilnius,
Lithuania between September 14 and 17, 2010.

She maintained that the forum was initiated as part of efforts at consistently galvanizing opinion and enlightenment on Nigeria’s position on the global annual Internet Governance Forum, which is in its fifth year.

She recalled that the 2009 edition, was graced by the Federal Minister of Information and Communications, Prof. Mrs. Dora Akunyili and Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, who were ably represented at the event presided over by chairman of the pioneer Internet Service Provider, Linkserve Group, Chief Chima Onyekwere.

In addition, she pointed out that the acting President of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) Mrs. Mary Uduma, president of the Nigeria internet Group, Mr. Lanre Ajayi, his counterpart at the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, while the chief executive of the Nigeria Internet Exchange Point Limited, Mr. Mohammed Rudman made presentations at the occasion as well as the Executive Director, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN), Mr. Gbenga Sesan among others.

As said by her, Mrs. Uduma dwelt on ‘The Role of NiRA’ in creating internet opportunities for Nigerians, while at the same time representing the Regional Manager, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), Ms Anne Inne Rachel at the occasion.

Digital Sense Africa is an initiative of Remnek Kommunications Ventures; Information and Communication Technology (ICT) analysts, public relations consultants, with continental media affiliates as part of its enlightenment strategies to engage Nigerians for sustainable deployment and utilization of technologies in order to make sense out of the revolution.


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‘Beacon of ICT awards target best practices’

Promoters of Beacon of ICT Awards have said that they intend to honour organizations and individuals who contributed the most to put Nigeria and Nigerians in the global information and communications technologies (ICTs) map in 2009.

They said that Beacon of ICT awards is merit-centric aimed at rewarding best practices and recognize outstanding contributions.

Instituted by Communication Week Media Limited, publishers of Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, an independent weekly ICT newspaper, covering the know-how of e-business, broadcasting, courier, computing, telecom, ICT career and any other related businesses.

According to the editor, Ken Nwogbo, the awards are free and have been designed primarily to recognize government and business organizations as well as individuals for their creativity and excellence in the application of ICTs and solutions to provide efficient and high-quality services to Nigerians.

“Awardees will be chosen by Nigerians who recognize and appreciate the guiding lights of the organizations and individuals as well as the symbols of hope they raise,” he said. Stressing that voting lines for the various categories has opened since November 2, 2009 and will close 6 pm, Monday, March 15, 2010.

“We are inviting the general public, especially users of ICT products and services to vote for nominees they feel deserve the awards under specific categories. The nominees were painstakingly selected by distinguished members of our selection committee consisting credible industry experts and ICT users. Send your nominations to info@nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng” he said.

Also, Nwogbo said, these awards will encourage organizations and individuals to continue to strive for excellence in all of their business and customer transactions, through implementation of innovative and improved ICT based services.

The flagship of the awards is the “Beacon of ICT Man of the Year” to honour the accomplishments of a leading ICT personality who has actively and consistently demonstrated initiative, creativity, support, commitment, and leadership in ICT and who has efficiently used ICT to achieve optimum results.

As said by him, there would be the “Digital Governor of the Year” to reward a smart governor who has used ICT to improve the state by reducing service time, unwanted processes, and other redundancies.

The awards categories, he said, are available on online at www.nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng or on the printed copy of the newspaper till the deadline.

He underscored the fact that Beacon of ICT awards aim to evaluate and recognize standards of excellence in the country’s quest for growth and development in the use of ICT and encourage public and private and institutions to use ICT for development in general and improved public/citizens services in particular.

Additionally, he said, the awards hope to motivate other stakeholders in effective utilization of ICT for citizen’s services and ensure that ICT professionals are provided a benchmark for recognizing and validating outstanding contribution

“All these because ICTs have become indispensabhttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=14346350#le tools in improving the efficiency and quality of public service and also emerging as the key to growth and competitiveness in an increasingly globalized economy,” he said.


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