SIM card registration: ALTON seeks 60-day extension

THE exclusive body of telecom operators in the country, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), has reiterated its position over the planned registration of Subscriber Identification Modules (SIM) cards come March 1, this year, regardless of its support for the initiative.

Just as ALTON asked for extension of the commencement date to April 30, that is 60 days from the initial date, while 30 days should be given to new subscribers.

Apart from opposing the biometric system as suggested by the industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), ALTON did not propose an alternative, but went on to state that operators’ preference is not biometric due to poor power situation in the country.

“Lack of electricity could hinder the process,” part of the communiqué issued at the end of the executive meeting last Thursday, highlighted.

Arising from the meeting, ALTON also sought for extension of time for the commencement of registration of existing subscribers to start on April 30 and new subscribers have till the end of May within which to register.

“… The duration for registration should be up to between 6-month to 18-month for the existing subscribers and eternity for new subscribers,” ALTON communiqué entitled ‘The position of ALTON on the Registration of SIM card’ signed by its chairman, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo and dated Saturday, February 6, 2010 indicated.

The existing subscribers, ALTON said, should be given a minimum of 12 months instead of the six months by NCC from the day registration commenced and this is due to the literacy level of majority of the people and time. 

“After the 12 months without registration, extra three months for sub-suspension before the total disconnection,” ALTON opted.

The five-point communiqué further proposes incentives for operators to defray part of the cost of registration of new subscribers.

This, the group said, could come in form of administrative compensation such as reduction in Annual Operating Levy (AOL), numbering plan renewal fees, frequency renewal charges and other concession on this account.

Although ALTON was not emphatic if would head to the law court if the above propositions and concerns were not affected by NCC before March 1, the original date for resumption of the exercise nationwide.

In another development the National Association of Telecommunications Consumers (NATCOMS) has petitioned industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), expressing concern over the fate of the data to be collected from the exercise and at the same time proposing July for the commencement of the exercise.

NATCOMS National President, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo stated in a copy of the petition made available to ITRealms Online that its members have voiced out their concerns in the use of the exercise to collect their data, wondering on the integrity of such data and its management afterwards, thus warning against data abuse.

They noted that any failure to reassure telecom consumers could spell doom for the consumers in the industry.

“This may breed touting and other undesirable practices with dire consequences for the exercise,” he said, insisting that both the operators and vendors have been found by NATCOMS as not ready enough to commence the exercise, especially on the required human resources.

He maintained that the scope of the exercise is enormous, even as the equipment procurement and delivery are expected to take time to conclude, therefore deserves a good measure of time of extension as being suggested by ALTON.

“The human resources and logistics required needed to deliver the solution are simply mind-boggling and may not be readily met at this time,” he declared, stressing that some vendors are still putting together a solution.

“It is therefore our considered view that should arrangements not be fully in place, the Commission should seriously consider pushing the March 1, 2010 go live date, to say July 2010,” Ogunbanjo said.

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ICT: Shaky start, glorious ending (4)

The static govt website

The second quarter of 2009 was marked with series of issues by the government and for the government. The first was the expose that the Federal Government official website, NigeriaDirect, www.nigeria.gov.ng, was stale for over eight months running without holistic update.

ITRealms Online recalled that the site had about 20 former ministers dropped in the previous year, precisely on September 2007 by President Umaru Yar’Adua, as still occupying their positions at various ministries.

Good enough, the government through the Federal Ministry of Information and Communications led by Prof. Dora Akunyili, reacted to the newsbreak within two weeks to announce the debut of two websites, namely www.fmic.gov.ng and www.nigeriarebrands.com.

According to Prof. Akunyili in a press statement signed by the then Director, IT in the ministry, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote on May 19, expressed regrets over the dysfunctional official website, www.nigeria.gov.ng.

She attributed the inconveniences of the dysfunctional national portal to the public, due to a disagreement with the Internet Service Provider (ISP) contractor, which had taken longer than expected. “This unfortunate situation compelled the Ministry to launch a new website which became up and running ...,” she said.

Noting that as part of the re-branding Nigeria project, the FMIC recently launched a new website, www.fmic.gov.ng, which will avail Nigerians and foreigners’ timely and important information about the people and government of Nigeria, emphasising that it would help the government to have an interactive polling system to engage Nigerians through a seamless feedback mechanism on policies and programmes.

She also explained that the other website, www.nigeriarebrands.com, was purposely for the re-branding Nigeria scheme, which will contain all materials relating to the initiative.

e-inclusion in Nigeria

For the inclusion of rural communities and underserved into the foray of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) participants at the two-day Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO)-organized ICT forum at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, made a call to the 36 states of the federation in the country to streamline their efforts at ensuring digital inclusion, otherwise called e-inclusion.

One of the speakers at the event was the Managing Director, Galaxy Backbone Plc, Mr. Gerald Ilukwe, who summoned Commonwealth member states to embrace ICT as a platform for bridging the poverty gap in their regions. According to him, Galaxy Backbone Plc, a wholly independent company of the Federal Government was established to provide a common platform for the provision of network connectivity and transversal services to the public sector, facilitate digital inclusion of rural and underserved communities.

Galaxy, he said, is aimed at effectively providing connectivity for a socially inclusive and commercially vibrant Nigerian society, just as recalled that recently, Galaxy signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian Postal Services (NIPOST) for the provision of broadband connectivity to all of the 1,500 post offices across the nation.

SAP business soars in Africa
Director, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) business at SAP Africa, Mr. Derek Kudsee, declared that the firm’s activities on the continent has grown, especially the customer-base to 1,300 across.

Addressing audience at the one-day session for SME world tour of SAP, which stopped over in Lagos, Mr. Kudsee, said that based on this the firm developed two business solutions; namely the Business One, and All-in-One. Explaining that Business One is a product for small businesses that enable SMEs to discover day-to-day processes and work challenges, and noted that every small business has multiple business processes.

With fast growth and change, it’s no wonder that sometimes those processes don’t work together as well as they could. Hence, SAP Business One assists SMEs to integrate and streamline business processes. In addition to the fact that the entry level is the major thing and special attention, SAP come up with this product and usage depends largely on customer’s needs.

Kudsee pointed out that All-in-One product, is all-encompassing, even as SAP tend to serve as an alternative where local software providers are lacking.

ESET antivirus on the prowl:
In the course of the year, the Commercial Section of the American Embassy in Nigeria hosted stakeholders to its annual Computer, Telecommunications and Office Equipment (CTO) where the likes of Arit of Africa showcased its Essential Security against Evolving Threats (ESET) antivirus solutions among others at the expo and conferences.

As said by the Executive Director, Arit of Africa Ltd, Mrs. Ronke Okeremi, productivity level of professionals and executives got a boost with the advent of ESET antivirus and security software, which has been developed to eradicate the greatest threat of viruses and save valuable man hours.

For her, the compact and intuitive user interface to its minimal use of alerts, users receive the best possible proactive detection against viruses, malware and spyware without enduring excessive system slowdowns and alerts, reboots or annoying false positives by simply deploy ESET antivirus.

With the exclusive distributorship of ESET for Nigeria and Ghana, Arit boss urged financial institutions, insurance, oil and gas, government and other sectors of the economy to take advantage of this product.

SGF experiments on video conference:
And within the period under review, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Alhaji Madmud Yayale Ahmed, delivered a keynote speech at Galaxy Backbone-organized stakeholders’ two-day forum via video conferencing.

The event which was the 3rd public sector ICT Infrastructure forum was being put together in partnership with the National Economic Council and Nigeria Governors’ Forum as a 2-Day National Stakeholders’ Forum on NICEP, at the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The Manager, Corporate Communications at Galaxy Backbone Plc, Mr. Franklyn Ginger-Eke, forum enlightened state governments on the developmental opportunities represented by National Information Communication and Education Programme (NICEP), which is aimed at accelerating provision of connectivity for broadband internet, data, voice and video communications to rural areas and under-served communities including health and educational institutions at State levels.

Highpoint of the forum, he said, was the live broadcast of the keynote address by the guest of honour, Alhaji Madmud Yayale Ahmed, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation via video conference powered by Galaxy Backbone.

“As a leading enabler of digital inclusion in Nigeria, Galaxy has built and operates one of the most sophisticated state of the art ICT infrastructures in the public sector. Other value added activities that will take place during the forum includes the setting up of a Cyber Café with ten PCs so that interested participants who wish to get on the internet can browse within the venue,” he said.

There would also be a demonstration of an interactive distance learning mathematics class involving students of School for the Gifted, Gwagwalada broadcast live from GBB’s Interactive Distance Learning (IDL) studio at its Network Operation Centre located in the central business district of Abuja to the audience at Yar’Adua Centre, the venue of the 2-day national stakeholders’ forum.

146 cell-site deals for MTI
MTI Nigeria Plc last year told stakeholders it won over 146 deals for the execution of cell sites nationwide, which ran across four network operators, just as it unveiled three subsidiaries into the nation’s market, MTI Engineering, MTI UniTower and Mass Power.

Disclosing this, Vice chairman, MTI Nigeria Plc, Mr. Frank Kirkitie said at investor’s forum organized by the company in Lagos, these operators cut across MTN, Zain, Multi-Links and Siemens Networks, aside from the one being executed across the sub-region for the likes of Globacom, MTN and Zain.

Adding voice to this was the Managing Director, MTI Engineering, Mr. Selwyn Watkins, who said that his subsidiary, focuses on co-location build out, and won 91 sites deal out of the 500 Greenfield sites for MTN Nigeria, which amounts to 18 per cent of the total project.

For him, the 121 cell sites contract was from Zain out of the 400 basic co-location build out, which is the 30 per cent and Multi-Links awarded 10 sites with a further 20 sites depending on performance, while Siemens Network has given the company 24 sites with awaiting 50 sites.

2.3 GHz licenses won and cancelled:
At the expiration of the deadline for the National frequency in the 2.3 GHz Band, which closed on Friday, May 8, 2009, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) announced the successful emergence of three companies in the process, including Mobitel Nigeria Ltd, Spectranet Ltd and Multilinks Telkom Ltd.

Making this disclosure on May 16, then, Head, Public Affairs at NCC, Mr. Reuben Muoka noted that the offer for the licensing of four (4) slots of 20 MHz each in the 2.3 GHz frequency band which opened on April 30, 2009, ended at the close of banking business hours on Friday, May 8, 2009 for the winners to emerge.

He explained that three companies, out of 41 applicants short-listed for the exercise, paid the fixed price of N1, 368,000,000 (One Billion, Three Hundred and Sixty Eight Million Naira only) for each of the four slots on offer, bringing the total sum realized from the spectrum sale to N4,104,000,000 ( Four Billion, One Hundred and Four Thousand Naira Only).

One of the applicants, Galaxy Wireless Ltd, he said, did not pay the full fixed price for the slot, and therefore, did not meet the conditions for the offer of license and congratulated the supposed three winners of yet another successful licensing exercise by the Commission.

While urging these winners to put machineries in motion to ensure quick deployment of high quality networks that will guarantee good quality and affordable services to subscribers nationwide, little did NCC knew that the licenses, this time around would be surrounded with controversies, which led to the cancellation by Prof. Akunyili, the Information and Communications minister.

This controversy no doubt attracted the attention of Mr. President, who ordered the Minister of Justice, Mike Aondokaa to investigate the issue and report back to him, followed by the seemingly long wait for President Yar’Adua to take his decision which eventually sticked to Akunyili’s path with the order to re-auction the band.

Uniquely, all the winners claimed due process was followed, despite the allegation by Akunyili in a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and subsequent questioning of the Executive Vice Chairman, NCC, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe.

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MainOne submarine nears completion

Chairman, Main One Cable Company, Mr. Fola Adeola, has announced the commencement of laying final high capacity fibre optic cable from Seixal, Portugal through the coast of West Africa to Ghana and Nigeria.

Adeola who spoke in Lagos, said the cable anticipated to go live in June 2010 is bringing the much expected international capacity into a region with explosive growth in tele-density in the past 10 years.

He also said they were pleased to achieve this major milestone within project timeline.

“We remain focused on delivering the project on schedule,” he declared.

Adeola recalled that Main One in November 2009 successfully completed the installation of the shore ends of the cable in Lagos, Nigeria; Accra, Ghana; and Seixal, Portugal.

He pointed out that the commencement of the end-to-end laying of the full stretch of the fiber optic from Portugal signifies the final stages of the ambitious project.

For the chief executive, MainOne, Ms Funke Opeke, “Now that the 7,000 kilometres trunk of the cable is being installed, we are pleased that our efforts over the last 18 months are coming to fruition.”

A wholly owned by African investors, Main One Cable Company has the support of African Finance Corporation, Nigeria; Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund, South Africa; FBN Capital, Nigeria; Skye Bank, Nigeria and Main Street Technologies, Nigeria which is the project sponsor.

She further revealed that Main One is building two landing stations in Accra and Lagos which will be complete next month.

“Equipment installation and end-to-end testing of the cable system will then follow, prior to service launch in June,” she said.

Additionally, she said, Main One would provide open access to 1.92 Terabits per second of capacity to the West African region at prices less than 50 percent of current wholesale capacity prices.

The international capacity that Main One is bringing into the West African sub-region will consolidate the explosive growth of telecommunications in the sub-region in recent years.

In addition to providing a major boost to Internet access, Main One will help to considerably minimise the difficulties of switching traffic between African countries and eliminate the inconveniences and added costs of first routing traffic to Europe.

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AdaptiveMobile, Nigerian operator enter security deal

Dublin-based AdaptiveMobile has finalized plans to partner one of the nation’s telecommunication operators on mobile security.

The chief executive officer, AdaptiveMobile, Mr. Brain Collins gave this indication in a press statement made available to ITRealms Online, weekend.

Mr. Collins was quoted as saying that the official announcement slated for next week in Barcelona, Spain during the 2010 Mobile World Congress, would also witness the presence of the Vice President, Marketing, Mr. Simeon Coney.

According to him, AdaptiveMobile works with the world’s biggest operators and protects 400,000,000 mobile subscribers, that is, about 10 per cent of the global mobile market.

There would be a ‘talk through’ on a major deal with a large Nigerian operator name to be announced at the show and discuss what they mean for each operator’s subscribers

Additionally, Mr. Collins is expected to give an overview of the latest and emerging mobile security threats targeting consumers and enterprise users and where those threats originate from.

“Discuss the contentious issue of parental control - how AdaptiveMobile’s technology is enabling operators to let parents set controls on what their children send/receive/browse,” part of the statement highlighted.

Collins would equally talk about the wider issues of the ‘clean internet’ and impact of the rise of smartphones and mobile computing on unsolicited content, the growing threat of mobile spyware, what it could mean for personal and enterprise security and what could be done to combat it. 

A hands-on demonstrations of how parents could use technology to protect their children from inappropriate content on across Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Service (MMS), electronic mail (Email), Web and Voice.

“The security implications of mobile spyware – see how a simple, invisible application can allow third-part access to a handset,” Collins was quoted as saying.

AdaptiveMobile is an acclaimed leader in mobile internet security market, with over 400 million mobile subscribers under protection worldwide.

The company provides a suite of security products that protect mobile operators and their subscribers with policy based content control, anti-virus, anti-spam and security management for parents, consumers and enterprise customers.

Though headquartered in Dublin AdaptiveMobile has offices in North America, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia. 

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Akunyili, others eulogize MTN on orphanage care

Information and Communications Minister, Prof. Dora Akunyili and the Chairperson, Committee on Nigerians in Diaspora at the House of Representatives, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa have commended MTN Nigeria for showing love to orphans and other less privileged members of the society.

The commendations were given by the dignitaries following the donation of food, clothing and other household materials to various orphanages in Lagos and Enugu recently. Materials donated by MTN Nigeria to one of the orphanages were the largest single donation the orphanage has received from any corporate body since it was founded 10 years ago.

“I want to sincerely commend MTN for this wonderful gesture to these lovely children”  Professor Akunyili said at the Voice of Children International, Enugu, where MTN donated mattresses, pillows, disinfectants, mosquito nets, detergents, raincoats, nutritional drinks and other food and household items.

“MTN and the Voice of Children International are showing the world that, indeed, Nigerians are Good People from a Great Nation. We thank you for touching the lives of these young ones in our community; especially MTN for leading others in meaningful Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives,” said Prof. Akunyili”.

The minister, who physically handed over the gifts to the founder of the orphanage, Rev. Father Chidi Obinna, on behalf of MTN, urged the telecom company to make the donation a continuous exercise, and called on other corporate bodies to emulate the gesture.

At two other orphanages, the Guardian Angel Motherless babies Home, and the Cathedral of Good Shepherd Motherless Babies Home, both in Enugu, MTN donated different sets of food and household items for the comfort of the children.

The gifts were handed over by Mrs. Nwanneka Ekweremadu, the wife of the Deputy Senate President, in the presence of Ms. Nonny Ugboma, Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Mr. Austin Iyashere, Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs, MTN, and Mr. Daniel Nwankwo, Regional Marketing Manager, MTN.

Speaking at the presentations, Mrs. Ekweremadu and Rev. Father Obinna, expressed gratitude to the telecom company for coming to the rescue of the little children.

They prayed that God would continue to bless the company so that it can do more.
“For this laudable gesture shown to the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd Motherless Babies Home, we thank MTN and pray that God will touch the hearts of more people and organisations to emulate this gesture,” said Mrs. Joyce Chukwuma, wife of the Bishop of the Anglican Church, Enugu Diocese. 

At the Great Faith Orphanage Home in Bayeku, Igbogbo, Lagos, where MTN donated another set of food and household items, Honourable Abike Dabiri-Erewa commended MTN’s unrelenting commitment to public welfare. Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa handed over the items on behalf of MTN in the company of Mrs. Funmi Omogbenigun, General Manager, Corporate Communications and other MTN officials.

“We are touched by the welfare items that MTN has donated to us. No company has ever done it this big and if there is any sign that a company cares, this clearly shows that MTN is a company that truly cares. I pray that its business grows bigger so they can touch more lives and hospices in our country,” said Reverend Lateefat Aroyewun, the founder of Great Faith Orphanage Home.

“We have resolved to continue to assist orphanages and hospices across Nigeria to make the lives of their inmates better,” said Mrs. Omogbenigun. By the end of February 2010, we hope to have reached at least 20 orphanages spread across the six geopolitical zones of the country”.

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Samsung partners Storm 360 on Valentine

Leader in entertainment, recording and Events Company in Nigeria, Storm 360 has announced its intention to partner with Samsung Mobile a world class company for a special valentine concert holding on Sunday February 13 at the top class Lagos venue, The Landmark Village on Corporation Drive, near Oniru Estate Lekki.

This announcement came after Samsung had put smiles on the faces of 103 Nigerians at the Samsung Win- a milli- Promo held last weekend in Lagos where three lucky people won1 million naira each, 100 persons smiled home with a stylish touch screen Samsung handsets while 10 others each went home with LCDs, Liquefied Crystal Display.

A press statement made available to Daily Champion by the Head of Mobile Phones Divisions, Samsung Mobile, Nigeria, Mr. Peter Lee, said “this special event is being promoted and produced for the love of music and in addition to Samsung strong partnerships with Nigeria companies to invest in long term relationships”.

Mr. Lee further said tickets for the event are exclusively available online at www.naira.com or any Chicken Republic Outlets in Lagos from this weekend.

Notable musicians like multiple award winning Nigerian artist Naeto C, Sasha a Channel O 2009 award winner for the best female artist in Africa, Guitar man, Tosin Martins, Banky W, Timi Dakolo and many biggest names in the Naija Music scene in Hip Hop, Soul and RNB are expected to perform at the event.

In a related development, three Nigerians, emerged millionaires at the Samsung’s Win-a-Milli draw promo alongside 100 customers who went home with touch screen Samsung handsets and 10 others who went home with Liquid Crystal Display (LCDs).

The latest millionaires who emerged at the event include Messrs Opeyemi Olawale, Okoro Fredrick and Agu Nzeribe.

The promo, designed to reward customers and empower users of the brand to fulfill their dreams, according to the Head, Mobile Phones of Samsung Nigeria, Peter Lee.

He also said that the draw, which held in Lagos, Nigeria and attended by select dealers and officials of the electronic giant, saw three millionaires coming top.

Mr. Lee noted that Win-a-Milli promo was Samsung’s end-of-year gift for all its esteemed customers, pointing out that the initiative is in line with the company’s brand philosophy of providing succour to its esteemed customers.

In addition, he said, Samsung is offering customers various categories of prizes in the exciting promo, including 100 Samsung Dual-SIM phones amongst other consolation prizes.

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Zain’s Rewardz promo hooks 1.5m subscribers

LEADING mobile operator, Zain Nigeria has announced that its Rewardz programme, which began barely three months ago, has registered over 1.5 million customers.

In a press statement to ITRealms Online, the Public Relations Manager, Mr. Emmanuel Otokhine, said customers who have joined the Rewardz programme will begin to reap the fruits of their labour as they have now accumulated over N80 million worth of ‘rewardz’ points which can be redeemed immediately from the Zain’s Rewards list of fabulous prizes.

He also said those who have attained the Silver and Gold membership status in the Rewardz scheme programme are now enjoying special discount rates at select Zain ‘Rewardz’ Points such as Marcopolo, Victoria Island, Lagos and the VIP Lounge of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos and other locations in other parts of the country, while some other customers are swapping their points for instant airtime reward.

The points gathered in the Zain Rewardz scheme also allow customers redeem other prizes, including: return tickets to Dubai, the United Arab Emirate, a weekend in Obudu Cattle Ranch in Cross Rivers, Plasma Televisions, refrigerators, airline tickets, and iPods, among others.

The points also give users an opportunity to enjoy special discounts and privileges such as 30 per cent discount on accommodation at the Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island; access to Airport VIP Lounge and priority check-in at the international wing of Murtala Mohammed Airport; enjoy discounts at exclusive restaurants and receive first-class priority service at all Zain Shops, amongst other benefits.

On the success of the scheme, the statement also quoted the Chief Commercial Officer, Mr. Shamel Hanafi, as saying that the loyalty scheme programme was created to reward customers for their loyalty to the Zain network.

He explained that beyond providing telecommunications service to its customers, the operator seeks creative ways to delight them and the Rewardz programme is not just an industry first, but it is unique and designed to give the customer reason to believe in them.

He, therefore, urged customers who have not yet signed up for the offer to do so by texting REWARDZ to 797 or ‘yes’ to 797 as they also stand to reap immense benefits from the on-going Zain Talk for Love promo.

Zain customers who choose to participate in the scheme could earn points by using airtime through voice calls, SMS (short message services) or data download/upload.

The prizes to be redeemed by customers are determined by the number of points earned.

For every N10.00 spent on any Zain service, a customer earns a REWARDZ Point.

Usually the points will be added after 24 hours. The number of REWARDZ Points earned could be verified by sending an SMS containing the word: POINTS to 797 or by dialing *141*797*2#.

Under the terms of the programme, customers can choose to accumulate “REWARDZ points” and “Level Points” and therefore, redeem big tangible rewards.

To redeem any item in the ‘Zain Rewardz Catalogue’, customers are required to SMS “RD” followed by space, then, “PRODUCT CODE” of the item(s) of choice to 797” for instance. by sending RD 0000 to 797.

Customers who redeem non-GSM items will receive “Voucher codes” via SMS which they can present at designated Zain ‘Rewardz Partner Stores’ to receive their item of choice. All vouchers are valid for up to six months.

On the other hand, Zain will send SMS to customers who redeem GSM related items such as airtime, SMS and data bundle, confirming the transaction and their phone number would be credited directly with the right amount of airtime redeemed.

Registered customers are classified into Bronze, Silver and Gold categories depending on the number of points (‘Level Points’) they have earned or accumulated.

By default, all newly registered customers are placed in the Bronze category and can move to other categories as they use more airtime. Level point of 3000 will earn the customer a Silver card while 6000 points is required to reach the Gold category.

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MainOne submarine nears completion

Chairman, Main One Cable Company, Mr. Fola Adeola, has announced the commencement of laying final high capacity fibre optic cable from Seixal, Portugal through the coast of West Africa to Ghana and Nigeria.

Adeola who spoke in Lagos, said the cable anticipated to go live in June 2010 is bringing the much expected international capacity into a region with explosive growth in tele-density in the past 10 years.

He also said they were pleased to achieve this major milestone within project timeline.

“We remain focused on delivering the project on schedule,” he declared.
Adeola recalled that Main One in November 2009 successfully completed the installation of the shore ends of the cable in Lagos, Nigeria; Accra, Ghana; and Seixal, Portugal.

He pointed out that the commencement of the end-to-end laying of the full stretch of the fiber optic from Portugal signifies the final stages of the ambitious project.

For the chief executive, MainOne, Ms Funke Opeke, “Now that the 7,000 kilometres trunk of the cable is being installed, we are pleased that our efforts over the last 18 months are coming to fruition.”

A wholly owned by African investors, Main One Cable Company has the support of African Finance Corporation, Nigeria; Pan African Infrastructure Development Fund, South Africa; FBN Capital, Nigeria; Skye Bank, Nigeria and Main Street Technologies, Nigeria which is the project sponsor.

She further revealed that Main One is building two landing stations in Accra and Lagos which will be complete next month.

“Equipment installation and end-to-end testing of the cable system will then follow, prior to service launch in June,” she said.

Additionally, she said, Main One would provide open access to 1.92 Terabits per second of capacity to the West African region at prices less than 50 percent of current wholesale capacity prices.

The international capacity that Main One is bringing into the West African sub-region will consolidate the explosive growth of telecommunications in the sub-region in recent years.

In addition to providing a major boost to Internet access, Main One will help to considerably minimise the difficulties of switching traffic between African countries and eliminate the inconveniences and added costs of first routing traffic to Europe.

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G&D, ARM partner on anti-theft mobile solution

Specialist for security technology Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) and ARM TrustZone technology have announced a strategic partnership for the development of highly-secure mobile phone platforms.

With this partnership ARM TrustZone technology, which creates a protected area in advanced systems-on-chip, and the highly-secure MobiCore operating system developed by G&D, sensitive applications such as electronic payment and online banking via mobile phone will be efficiently protected from security threats. As a first step the two companies will develop a joint prototype.

Commenting on the agreement, the head of the New Business Division at G&D, Dr. Kai Grassie said “We will be working with ARM to develop the security architecture for the next generation of mobile phones. This will enable people to access highly valuable services with convenience and security.”

On his part, executive vice president, marketing, ARM, Ian Drew said “ARM TrustZone technology is already an integral part of the ARM Cortex - A series processors which are currently being deployed in smartphones by many of the industry’s leading handset manufacturers.

This collaboration with G&D will enable us to make rapid progress towards enabling secure transactions in next-generation mobile devices.”

Acceptance of mobile applications such as banking, ticketing and payment solutions rests on the security of device and background systems involved. For this reason, both companies have been working on innovative security concepts.

The interplay of TrustZone and MobiCore ensures that if online services require security-sensitive functions such as entry of user name and password or data output on a display, these functions are transferred to the MobiCore high-security operating system running in the TrustZone protected area of an ARM application processor.

As the security-sensitive functions are executed, MobiCore maintains control of the secure area of a system-on-chip. Users can therefore be certain that the data they have entered, such as their username and password, cannot be manipulated by malware on the phone during a payment transaction.

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Microsoft: Fighting piracy through enlightenment

FOR a first time visitor to the popular Computer Village, Ikeja in Lagos, a cursory look at the rowdy nature of the environment makes it appear like a huge unorganized market for petty traders, reports CHARLES OKOH.

But the very opposite is the situation of the place, as the market remains the single largest assemblage of dealers of computer and its accessories in the West African sub region. It is a market that attracts patrons from far and near as hundreds of thousands of people visit there on daily basis.

For many this market has attracted for itself the notoriety as a hub for dealers of fake and pirated items. From hardware to software the story is the same.

A minute stay at the police post right in the market would expose one to a graphical detail of what obtains in the market. It is either a customer has dragged a trader to the police for selling fake items or for swindling them out-rightly.

Again the case of the market is another example of lack of effective monitoring and supervision on the part of the regulatory authorities. From whichever gate one enters the market what confronts a potential customer first are traders who openly offer to sell to you all kinds of pirated software at ridiculous prices.

Half-hearted measures by regulatory agencies aimed at tracking the activities of these dealers have not yielded any dividend. Investigations have shown that it is the market unions and association leaders who actually pay and organize efforts at arresting some of these traders.

Aside the vendors who form human walls as you walk in there is a huge industry of piracy going on underground. For genuine manufacturers, the Computer Village remains a graveyard for intellectual property.

It is against this backdrop that Microsoft initiated its Clean Dealer Programme two years ago to address the problem of lack of information on the part of the end users.

Going a step further, the multinational company has concluded arrangement to establish an information centre at the market where its partners as well as members of the public seeking information could access them either on the internet or through its staff at no cost to the consumer.

Addressing the media last week, its Channel Distribution Manager, Mrs. Uzo Okpaka said the company has introduced three categories of partners namely, registered or transactional, certified as well as gold certified partners.

Mrs. Okpaka who was speaking alongside the company’s System Builder Channel Partner Account Manager, Mr. Sam Adeyemi, said the partnership is graduated depending on the level of interest of the dealers.

“The transactional partners are those who just want to buy and sell for instance, Windows 07 and nothing more but when they begin to invest in resources and training people for competencies, they move up to the other levels and they have dedicated resource from Microsoft just as we give them as much information on our business because they form a significant part of our business” she said.

She said currently about 83 per cent of software are pirated in the country, and Microsoft, with this effort is driving genuine software into the Nigerian market as some of these dealers are not aware that they stand to gain more selling genuine products.

“We are thinking of ways of assisting and rewarding customers who are ready to go all the way with us. These partners are ready to sign legal documents to deal with genuine and we reward them for this,” she said.

Mrs. Okpaka said, so far, 20 partners have signed just as she called on those who have not to do so.

She said the measure is also aimed at increasing visibility and accessibility to the end users who, according to her, do not really intend to buy counterfeit but because they lack the necessary information and education on how to go for genuine products.
On how the company monitors the activities of these clean dealers, she said the agreement signed with them allows Microsoft access to their shops for auditing without prior notice.

“We do not have to go there physically, we can send somebody to go there and buy a copy and bring to us to test and see if it is genuine, these are some of the things we do to ensure that they keep to the agreement,” she said.

Lamenting the impact of the unwholesome practice of piracy, she said it has telling effects as it has denied the nation employment opportunity for its teeming youths as well as depriving her of a huge income by way of tax.

She said the company has also introduced free anti-virus for consumers to download online, provided the software is genuine Microsoft product.

On his part, Mr. Adeyemi said there are several engineers at the village who have not used genuine software, saying doing this exposes the hardware to severe damage in the long run.

“Where there is no appropriate information the wrong information will spread very fast and if you look at the cost of buying a pirated copy it could be N200 today but the effect in six months would be very high. If you load your PC with pirated copies you are open to a lot of high cut out period,” he said.

He also said the company has made its products cheap for the Nigerian market so as to encourage the people saying that with fake software the effect is too devastating to contemplate.

“Why would a person invest so much on a computer only to risk it with fake software? Most of those who patronize these people really do not know the difference because if they do they would definitely not want to risk their computers,” he said.

Some of the partners present pledged their preparedness to maintain their relationship with Microsoft because for them it has been of huge benefit to their companies.

On his part, Mr. Rotimi Adepoju of Jetlink Limited, said they do not deal in pirated products, adding that as a company policy, the management is determined to graduate their rating with Microsoft.

For Daniel Nwankwo of Headstone Technologies Limited, using pirated copy is like introducing a virus into one’s system, warning that that the effect can be fatal.

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ITAN institutes ICT excellence awards

The Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN), in keeping with its national leadership role in promoting and facilitating the growth of the ICT industry, has established its ICT Excellence Award programme, reports CHARLES OKOH.

The 2010 Awards are slated to be held on Thursday April 22, 2010 at the IT Public-Private Forum (ITPPF) 2010, Abuja.

A press statement to ITRealms Online endorsed by its Chief Operation Officer, Mr. Oluwole Owolabi, said the 2010 Awards will utilize the same selection procedures established for the previous awards.

“We request the assistance of all ITAN members to nominate well-qualified candidates. Each member is allowed to nominate a total of four candidates, regardless of category, in the following award categories, Public Sector Excellence; Private Sector Excellence; Digital Opportunity; and National IT Champion,” part of the statement said.

The report also stated that the deadline for forwarding the nominees to the ITAN Secretariat (coo@itan.org.ng) is February 25, 2010.

“We hope and fully expect that all ITAN members will participate in the 2010 Awards Programme; its success will be a direct result of our members submitting high-quality nominations. All members are urged to begin the process of nominating candidates immediately.”

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KASU, 3 others benefit from CAI refurbished PCs scheme

Four institutions have been named beneficiaries of the Computer Aid International (CAI) refurbished personal computer scheme, just as the non-governmental organization (NGO) calls on the government to enhance its partnership in making PC affordable to Nigerians.

These include the Kaduna State University (KASU), National Research Institute for Chemical Technology (NARICT), Zaria, Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic, Zaria and PANAF Nursery/Primary and Secondary School, Barnawa, Kaduna.

Programme Officer, CAI West Africa, Ms. Anne Musyoki made these disclosure in Kaduna at the end of her recent facility tour of partnering organizations. According to her, over 25,000 computers have been shipped into the country by CAI since 2008, at about 60 per cent cheaper in acquiring a brand new PC, which she noted is critical information and Communications Technology (ICT) penetration being prophesied by government.

She explained that CAI usually acquired its systems as donation from corporate organisations in the United Kingdom (UK) who are changing their IT systems to newer ones, stressing that the PCs are then refurbished and shipped as donation to largely developing countries though countries such as Canada are also beneficiaries.

“More than 100 countries have benefitted from CAI computer donation since 1998 that the NGO was set up,” she declared. Ms Musyoki pointed out that government remains the chief catalysts to make computers affordable and available to the greater number of the populace.

She noted that affordable computers are the keys for digital inclusion and government must encourage organisations that are making affordable systems possible.

Such partnership, Musyoki said would boost the confidence that continuous partnership between CAI and its increasing number of beneficiaries will help in closing the country’s digital divide.

“The advantage is the cost of the procurement of these computers from Computer Aid International.  A computer from CAI cost about N14,000 while an imported brand new system or a locally assembled one cost from N70,000 and above,” she said.

Also speaking, the Vice Chancellor, KASU, Prof. Ezzeldin Mukhtar Abdulrahman observed that his institution is convinced that the partnership with CAI would make computers readily available to students and equally make “our staff to have systems at homes for their children.”

KASU is a distribution partner for CAI in Kaduna and help to ensure distribution of the systems to targeted organisations and individuals.

For the KASU’ Linkages Officer, Rilwanu Abdulsalami, CAI has helped the institute to increase its capacity for computer training for students and lecturers.

“With them, the PC-student ratio is six students to one PC in KASU. You will get to know that in institutions that have opted to go for systems distributed by CAI through us a lot of savings have been made and ploughed into other areas of development,” he said.

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Zain dangles N.4m for Val promo

Leading mobile operator in Nigeria, Zain has announced the introduction of Talk for Love Promo, a promotion that is specially designed to reward Nigerians during the Valentine season offering alongside the sum $3,000 (about N444,000).

The promo, which began last Monday, would provide an opportunity for several Nigerians to win fantastic prizes such as airtime, dinner at a fabulous restaurant and an all expense paid trip to Dubai with $3,000.00 travel allowance.

The Talk for Love promo, which is open to both pre-paid and postpaid customers, will empower Zain customers to reap immense benefits as they share expressions of love and affection during the Valentine season.

Speaking on the new offer, the Chief Commercial Officer of Zain Nigeria, Mr. Shamel Hanafi said, that the promo reinforces Zain’s brand promise of ‘a wonderful world’, stressing that the offer is specifically designed to reward customers for being a part of the Zain Network.

“Zain Nigeria is joining millions of Nigerians to celebrate the Valentine season, a period where lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine’s cards, presenting flowers or offering confectionery. We, at Zain Nigeria , have created this offer in a bid to spread joy, happiness and goodwill during this special season,” said Hanafi.

To participate in the promo, Zain customers are expected to send an Short Messaging Service (SMS) containing a three letter key word, ‘YES’ to the short code, ‘797’, SMS is free. Upon sending this SMS, customers will be automatically registered to participate in the Zain Talk for Love promo. New customers are required to buy a new Zain SIM card.

This keyword YES to 797 also automatically registers customers for the Zain Rewardz Loyalty Scheme programme.

Speaking on the benefits of the Talk for Love offer, Hanafi said that the promo will produce 200 daily winners of N5, 000 airtime, 100 weekly winners of a Zain valentine’s pack and dinner for two at a fabulous restaurant in the winner’s location and 10 final winners of an all expense paid trip to Dubai with $3,000.00 travelling allowance each.

He also added that for a Zain customer to be eligible for the promo, he/she will have to use a minimum of N100 daily; N800.00 weekly and N5, 000.00 through the promo on calls/text/data to stand a chance of winning a wonderful valentine experience.

The Zain Talk for Love promo ends on March 15, 2010.

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Harris Stratex now Aviat Networks

To mark the third anniversary of the merger with the microwave communications division of Harris Corporation and Stratex Networks Incorporated, Harris Stratex Networks Inc. has announced a change in its name to Aviat Networks Incorporated.

Aviat Networks has offices across Africa, including Nigeria.

According to a statement on a Lagos-based PMM Newswire, the company’s ticker symbol will also change to AVNW and its common stock will continue to trade on NASDAQ.

The new brand represents a culmination of the company’s transformation over the last three years from that of a specialized microwave backhaul equipment supplier into a world-class provider of advanced internet protocol (IP) wireless network solutions, with a comprehensive portfolio of migration solutions and lifecycle services.

Aviat Networks, the statement said, is ideally positioned to help operators successfully evolve their existing networks toward an all-IP broadband future, expand into untapped rural and remote markets, and capitalize on the explosive growth of mobile data traffic around the globe.

President and CEO of Aviat Networks, Mr. Harald Braun, said the unveiling of Aviat Networks marks a significant milestone in the evolution of our company.

“The Aviat brand embodies our commitment to quality and innovative products, highly individualized services, operational excellence and industry leadership. In markets around the world, advancements in wireless network capacity have often been constrained because carriers are grappling with operational network limitations and cost-related challenges that historically haven’t been sufficiently addressed by telecom equipment vendors,” he said.

Mr. Braun further said that instead of ‘handshake’ assurances that do little to mitigate the perceived risk of IP migration, operators need practical and innovative solutions that help them bridge seamlessly from the legacy network of today to the network that will fuel their success in the future.

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Starcomms introduces tracking service

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Starcomms Plc, has introduced tracking service for its subscribers in the country tagged ‘StarTrack.’

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Starcomms, Mr. Maher Qubain, said that the location based services are deployed in most part of the world by many telecommunications companies to assist their subscribers identify the whereabouts of their friends, family and members among others.

He said that product branded StarTrack, is a new service which allows subscribers (locators) on the Starcomms network to know the whereabouts of their friends, family, team and loved ones via Short Messaging Service (SMS) at every point in time.

“This service will however be enjoyed with the consent of the subscribers being located (locatees) to allow the locator, a registered Starcomms subscriber to track such a person,” he said.

Qubain explained that with the aid of StarTrack, subscribers would be able to keep up with their buddies wherever they are in school, at the club, the cinemas, in the mall or at their office and hook up with them.

In addition, he said, this service is very useful for families, especially when parents need to know the whereabouts of their wards that may not be far from home.

“The parents can easily know when they are in their school and ensure their safety and wellbeing without making phone calls or sending SMS to them directly,” he said.

To enjoy StarTrack, he said subscribers would be required to register for the unique service by sending an SMS including “REG & name to 33391, and then add buddies by adding them via SMS: ADD & name & Starcomms number and send it to 33392.”

And to locate loved ones, he said, subscribers could send an SMS ‘FIND & name or number to 33392.’

This service, he pointed out, uses the mobile network locations of the cell sites, therefore, the subscriber’s location would be indicated as the respective cell site location as in the vicinity of the cell site address with time & date of the Starcomms phone radiating last when the query was sent.

“Subscribers can also request for the complete list of those that can be tracked by sending SMS: LIST to 33392 while the list of those that can locate a subscriber can be requested for by SMS ‘WHO to 33393,’” he said.

Mr. Qubain expressed resolve by the telco to use the services to continually affect the lives of its subscribers by ensuring that significant value added services are offered them.

“StarTrack represents this resolve of ours,” he asserted.

The Chief Commercial Officer, Starcomms, Mr. Tushar Maheshwari also said they are aware that subscribers cannot be everywhere all the time.

“But the need to be in close touch without necessarily interfering in each other’s activities makes StarTrack the service of choice. Lovers can catch up with each other without calling; parents can track children without any exchange of voice or SMS,” he said, stressing that the service is apt for folks who always are on the move and at the same time who love to safeguard their feelings.

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