NCS, CPN at war with INEC over DDC machines

The Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) with the backing of the computer regulatory agency in the country, the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) may be spoiling for war with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the deployment of Direct Data Capturing (DDC) machines and its attendant hiccups during the on-going voters’ registration exercise without recourse to it.

NCS blamed these hiccups on INEC’s leadership under Prof. Atahiru Jega, for ignoring the computer body and regulatory organ, preparatory to the deployment of the DDC machines till date.

They insisted that INEC’s hiring of non-professional as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) consultant cum advisor was at the root of the DDC machine challenges.

Giving insight to the position of NCS, its president, Prof. Charles Uwadia, said that INEC has violated the CPN Act 49 of 1993.

Prof. Uwadia listed the sins of INEC as far as the current deployment of Information Technology (IT) and DDC machines particularly to include the appointment of an ICT consultant and adviser; contracting three firms to deliver 132, 000 units of DDC machines for the forthcoming compilation of fresh voters’ registers without any recourse to the body and regulatory organ, CPN.

In addition, the computer society is against the fact that INEC conducted training for its supposed ad-hoc personnel who were not certified by either NCS or CPN via unknown and non-certified entity.

He recalled that on Friday, November 19, 2010, NCS had initially expressed its concern over the manner INEC was carrying on without recourse to the professionals; NCS and CPN

“We intimated you about our concern in the way and manner INEC was going about the very important task of applying IT for the 2011 elections,” he lamented, adding that they observed that the ICT Consultant cum Adviser engaged by INEC’s chairman is not a registered member of the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN).

“We had also observed that two of the contracting firms: Avante International Technology Incorporated and Haier Electrical Appliances Corps Limited are not registered with the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN),” NCS president decried.

NCS further stated that with the on-going, it is evident to IT professionals in the country that INEC has taken a stand to undermine the position and practice of professionals under Jega’s leadership.

“With these acts, it was clear to us that INEC had downgraded the critical issue of Computer Professionalism as regulated under Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) Act 49 of 1993,” they noted.

NCS reiterated its demands that all personnel carrying out core IT professional duties in the Commission should as matter of urgency be registered professionals as stipulated in Act 49 of 1993.

“That all persons to interface and operate the DDC machines must be trained and certified by professional institutions registered by CPN; That all contracting firms who are not registered with CPN should have their contracts revoked and that subsequently, only registered members of the Computer Profession should be considered for jobs involving computing machinery.”

The computer society additionally said that INEC should redress the identified lapses within one week; failing which legal action may be instituted by NCS against the Commission.

Just as NCS requested INEC to be transparent and fully unfold its strategies for deploying IT for the entire electoral process so that professionals could offer relevant advice where vital.

“We have since consulted our lawyers on the threat of legal action, and you will be duly informed on the next step,” he said, emphasising that events of the last couple of days have proved NCS’ fears and concern right.

“As you are aware, INEC commenced voters registration nationwide on Saturday 15 January, 2011; the exercise is expected to last for 2 weeks but has been extended by one week. As Nigerians, we are all living witnesses to the difficulties and challenges many Nigerians are having in participating in the exercise,” NCS boss said.

From the feedback received by NCS, mostly from members at various parts of the county the challenges and difficulties related to the DDC machines include “non-functioning fingerprint scanners, low sensitivity of fingerprint scanners, breakdown of the machines due to overheating, low level of battery backup, inability of INEC officials to properly use the machines or conduct basic troubleshooting in situations where the machines do not work.

Though, NCS blamed the bulk of the challenges on software, saying that even troubleshooting which could be carried out by certified computer professionals became a challenge, noting that lack of adequate training was a hindrance.

“We understand one of the contractors has not fully delivered its quota,” he lamented and called for adequate printer cartridges.

Most of these challenges, NCS said, could be categorized into hardware and software as well as operational.

“These are problems which we believe would have been largely prevented by proper specification of the hardware and software; appropriate testing and certification of the systems; adequate and appropriate training of personnel; and proper contingency and backup arrangement,” Prof. Uwadia said.

This situation, NCS believes, would have been mitigated if certified IT professionals have been fully involved in the planning and implementation of the whole exercise.

He emphasised that the voters’ registration exercise is fully situated within the IT domain and ought to have been treated as such.

“Unfortunately this has not been so. INEC, under the leadership of Prof. Atahiru Jega, has so far kept IT professional bodies; NCS and CPN, at bay for reasons best known to it,” the president submitted.

NCS is the acclaimed umbrella organization of all Information Technology professionals, interest groups and stakeholders in Nigeria.

Established in 1978 as the Computer Association of Nigeria, NCS is the national platform for the advancement of computer science and information technology and has membership across some Registered Interest Groups (RIG) including Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN), Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Internet Service Providers Association of Nigeria (ISPAN), and National Association of Computer Science Students (NACOSS).

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Challenges before Bickersteth @ NIRA

The Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) recently appointed its pioneer chief operating officer, Mr. Sola Bickersteth. REMMY NWEKE in this report examines the challenges before the new officer in moving forward.


Recently, the Executive Board of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) proclaimed the appointment of Mr. Sola Bickersteth as the first Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the registry.

NIRA is the custodian of the nation’s country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) .ng on behalf of the Nigerian internet community since its formation in 2005.

According to the President of NIRA, Mrs. Mary Uduma, after handing over the letter of employment to Mr. Bickersteth at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, signed by her in company of the chairman, Establishment Committee of NIRA, Mr. Sekiri Shehu Mohammed, and given to Mr. Bickersteth on behalf of the organisation.

Expressing delight on the development, she said, it’s a landmark step by NIRA with the support of the Internet community in the country. Noting that this was in actualization of part of the cardinal promises of the current board after it’s inauguration in August last year; to transform NIRA as a world class organisation in the management of .ng.

Mrs. Uduma said that the new COO, who had since Monday, January 10, 2011, resumed duty has the blessing of the board to steer the management of the organisation and commended the Establishment Committee for the mission accomplished.

“I wish to thank the Chairman Establishment Committee and his members for job well done. I also wish to thank all for the constructive contributions in perfecting the exercise.

Congratulations to the Board and to Sola,” she declared, noting that the emergence of Bickersteth as the COO was heavily contested by two other contenders.

Adding his voice to the development of hiring a pioneer Chief Operating officer by NiRA, the vice president of the association and Managing Director, General Data Engineering Services Plc, Mr. Sunday Folayan, congratulated the board and Sola for the journey so far.

He described the achievement as a milestone worth rolling out the drums and raising the roof!
“I wish Mr. Bickersteth success in this assignment, and I know he will make the best of it, knowing the stuff he is made of. All the best,” Folayan said.

NIRA was founded on March 23, 2005 as a stakeholder-led organisation, charged with the management of the nation’s Country Top Level Domain Name (ccTLD), dot ng.

NIRA’s establishment was literally the end of a long period of inactivity and dispute on the appropriate management of this important national resource. The peaceful resolution coordinated by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) saw stakeholders’ participation within Nigeria’s Internet community in its formation.

In his remark, Mr. Bickersteth said he was excited to be found worthy to occupy the position of COO of NiRA and the first at that.

“I am extremely humbled by your endorsement and do not take it for granted ....” he asserted.
Bickersteth also promised to put in his best effort towards helping NIRA to achieve its goal of a world class organization that the Executive Board will be proud of.

While soliciting for the continuous support of the board, he noted that without their increased support, “there is very little that I can achieve.”

In addition, he solicited for advice, reprimand, suggestions and prayers to make the effort worthwhile for all members of the Nigerian Internet community.

“Your time, service and contributions to NIRA shall not be in vain and it shall also be to the benefit our nation and indeed generations to come,” he prayed.

For Mr. Bickersteth, he is determined to contribute to the growth of Nigeria using Information and Communication Technology as a platform for societal development.

Reputed player in the Nigerian Information Technology (IT) and services industry, Sola Bickersteth, has worked until recently as the General Manager, Group Strategy and Business Development at Chams Plc and the Executive Director, Naira.com Limited.

Sola who spent about three years at Chams plc, between February 2008 – August 2010, had some four-year plus stint at Naira.com Limited as its Executive Director, lasting between January 2004 – January 2008.

As Executive Director of Cosmos Technologies between 1996 and 2004, he led a team that pioneered the introduction of low cost satellite Internet deploying Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) in Nigeria and the setting up of the then Public Service Network, now known as ‘Galaxy Backbone,’ for the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

A graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Bickersteth bagged Bsc in Electronics and Electrical Engineering between 1986 – 1991 and was in 2009 at the Harvard Business School where he attended Executives’ Programme for Leadership Development (PLD) at Harvard Business School.

Sola has since resigned his position as member of the Executive Board of NIRA, having been elected in August 2010. He belongs to several professional organisations both locally and internationally.

As the General Manager, Development and Implementmentation at ChamsCity business unit; he designed and deployed required technical infrastructure; led group strategy and business development initiatives, overseeing day-to-day business and project management.

Prior to joining Panamsat, Bickersteth was the Director of eCommerce Solutions at Smartpay Nigeria Plc between 1998 and 2000, where he coordinated systems integration with banks, deploying eCommerce and web payment solutions in addition to supervising daily technical operations of the company.

Between 1994 and 1998, Bickersteth was the operations manager at Cosmos Technologies Limited and in charge of systems coordination and integration with clientele banks, organizing eCommerce and facilitating web payment solutions.

This came after he left MultiChoice Limited at its Port Harcourt office as the satellite installation engineer, where he saw to the installation of multi-point satellite television receivers, training and certification of technicians, sales and satellite TV business development.

Bickersteth’s professional achievements cut across the development of the world’s largest digital facility with Chams Plc, deployment of satellite communications hub with ViaSat Incorporated, growing electronic commerce solution within Smartpay Plc platform and exploitation of satellite internet solution using PanamSat Incorporated.

Mr. Bickersteth, a founding member of some key industry interest groups both in the country and continent-wise including the Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) and Africa Network Information Center (AfriNIC).

He also belongs to some industry groups namely, the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), Electronic Payment Association of Nigeria (ePAN) and Global Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) Forum (GVF) to name a few.

Interestingly, Mr. Bickersteth was in year 2001 honoured with the ‘Innovation in Technology award’; the international golden award in satellite technology in 2004, while year 2005 saw his recognition as a recipient of Emerging Leaders in Technology in Nigeria award, Top contributors to Nigeria’s economy in 2007 and Guinness Book of World records in 2009 for his input in building ChamCity as the biggest one-city cyber café with over 1024 personal computers (PC).

Bickersteth’s immediate mandate promises to achieve self-sustaining income for the day-to-day operations of NIRA; improving the existing staffing and developing them to be competent and discipline manpower for the organisation.

He also intends to set up professional business office or offices for NIRA with a target registration of 250,000 on .ng domains at the earliest. This, he said, would be structured in a way that there would be regular interface to increase the number of active registrars and actively promote the auction of second tier domains through the involvement of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and telecom companies in the promotion of .ng domain acquisition.

While collaborating closely with the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) to become more functional, Bickersteth plans to encourage authorities to license hosting of .ng domains via the conduct of regular industry training and certification programmes, thereby actively participating in international industry registry activities.

According to him, the ultimate aim is to substantially increase income from its present situation to world class self-sustaining organisation.

With the aforementioned expose of Sola Bickersteth as the pioneer COO of NiRA, a lot of expectation is on board, but given his experience previously, there is hope and enthusiasm that he is a worthy candidate for the position, especially after scaling the NIRA’s Establishment Committee recruitment session.

All eyes is now on Bickersteth.

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NIG demands amortised bandwidth access

Newly elected executive board of the Nigeria Internet Group (NIG), has demanded the amortization of the Nigerian Communication Satellite (NigComSAT) by the federal government to enable Nigerians gain improved access to appreciable bandwidth at a retail rate of about $30,000, about N4,500 per month.

This, the group said would boost businesses, especially the small and medium enterprises in the country.

The newly elected executive of NIG led by Mr. Adebayo Banjo made this known at the inaugural press briefing held last weekend.

Bandwidth is a data transmission rate usually set as the maximum amount of information transmittable per second along a channel, especially the Internet.

Adebayo said that NIG intend to seek and lobby for a retail rate of $30.00 (N 4,500.00) per month per Meg of bandwidth.

To this end, he said, NIG proposes options to stimulate the explosion of internet access that would bring about reduction in cost of bandwidth.

According to him, certain government owned assets could deliver bandwidth such as SAT-3 which has since been fully amortised.

NIG noted that NigComSAT should have its rates reduced to cover only the running expenses of the asset, stressing that in some instance like that of NigComSAT could be amortized since it was paid for with the tax fund by the government on behalf of the people of Nigeria.

“The cost for the satellite in the case of NigComSAT be given as a gift to the Nigerian people at large, and as such be considered amortised,” NIG president said.

On the possibility of non-workability of the aforementioned, he advocated, for a stimulus package, perhaps in a form of grant to privately owned submarine cables; Glo-1 and MainOne, to cover their invest cost and loans, in return government through the NCC to get a fix cost of bandwidth at the desired levels.

“Failing which a new submarine cable be donated by government, and handed over to a board of directors under the NCC to manage,” he canvassed, stressing that under this proposal, a suitable management could be structure for that purpose.

“Or sold at a discounted rate, with conditions on rates to an interested party,” NIG boss suggested.

Internet availability and use, NIG said, could only expand if the cost for bandwidth is brought down.

Banjo pointed out that the old Nitel once said that bringing down the price of lines would not translate into an increase in the number of lines or its availability.

Although the prices of lines where brought down following the use and availability went up to over 80 million.

“We don’t talk of 400,000 lines, we talk now of 80 million lines more than a 100 times what was previously available,” he said.

NIG, he noted, is a group with unique position as a non-profit, non-governmental organisation that does not represent, any operator or regulator but dedicated to promoting Internet and its use in Nigeria, thereby representing the Nigerian people at Large.

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Mastercard, Interswitch launch MasterCard Verve

Leading electronic payment and switching company, the InterSwitch Nigeria Limited and MasterCard International have consummated a partnership with the debut of MasterCardVerve debit card.

Confirming this in Lagos at a press meeting, Area Head, East & West Africa and Indian Ocean Islands at MasterCard International, Mr. Daniel Lanre Monehin, described the partnership as auspicious and something both companies have been working on for some times now.

He also said that the partnership was spurred by the entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerians at InterSwitch led by the Managing Director, Mr. Mitchell Elegbe, which afforded MasterCard the opportunity to leverage on local enterprise to see the partnership through.

Monehin further said that with the partnership, MasterCardVerve is a single card for Nigerians, which could be locally and internationally in making payments.

“It’s a fully Nigerian card,” he declared, stressing that it is a payment card that could be used in every payment channel across the globe.

He disclosed that Skye Bank has indicated interest in rolling out the latest payment solution for Nigerians, even as other banks are welcome to key into the new product.

Monehin noted that the conditions for customers to get the MasterCard Verve depend entirely on the executing banks.

Director, Payment Solutions, Interswitch, Mr. Charles Ifedi, said that the MasterCard Interswitch partnership is a milestone in the history of the company because it enables
Interswitch to provide cardholders with what they really deserved, which is more convenience at home and abroad.

The deal, he said, was based on the fact that Nigerians believe that anything can happen, hence very resilient and patient.

Expressing appreciated to Mastercard team for accepting the partnership, Ifedi noted it’s a partnership that began years back.

“We are basically aligning our operations to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s regulations. So expect very great things from this partnership,” he said.

Vice president for MasterCard, Middle East and Africa Mr. Michael Miebach said the event was the first of its kind between Mastercard and Interswitch which resulted in the MastercardVere debit card.

“This card in Nigeria is very significant to us,” he said, stressing that one thing about cash is that it’s very challenging and insecure to handle, so the partnership an alternative option.

Currently, he said MasterCard has 1.6m cards issued and about 22m transactions daily.

“This is the first global product of its kind,” he declared.

Emphasising that MasterCard Verve debit cardholders would be the first cardholders in Nigeria to have local and international acceptance and be able to access a range of value added services.

Equally speaking, the Group Chief Marketing Officer, Interswitch, Mrs. Tito Adeniyi-Aderoju pointed out that it has been a long journey that has gotten to its destination to the extent of going public.

She commended members of joint team from both Interswitch and Mastercard, while calling on Nigerians to embrace it.

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Internet Governance: Ewelukwa to address eCommerce

A Senior Teaching Fellow in International Trade Law with the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Dr. Nnaemeka Ewelukwa, has confirmed his participation at this year’s Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum (NDSF), which focus is on Internet Governance and Development in the country.

Disclosing this, the Executive Director, DigitalSENSE Africa, the organizers of NDSF, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke noted that the theme for this year is on ‘Internet Governance and Broadband Evolution in Nigeria.’

She also said that Dr. Ewelukwa’s participation would be on a paper presentation entitled ‘The Legal Framework for E-Commerce and M-Commerce in Africa: Nigeria as a Case Study.”

She quoted an abstract submitted by Dr. Ewelukwa, as indicating that within the past two decades, there has been a phenomenal increase in the electronic commerce (e-commerce) mode of transacting businesses, with billions of dollars spent online globally every year by business people that meet in cyberspace to transact in various goods or services.

As said by her, while the United States and the European Union are currently market leaders in ecommerce, the increasing deployment of broadband internet in African countries like Nigeria, Rwanda and Kenya hold promises for these countries to also tap into this market may be the key to unlocking the full trading potentials of their citizens, and ultimately contributing to overall economic growth and development.

Also, she described as fascinating the rapid adoption of mobile commerce (m-commerce) in many African countries, of which Nigeria has through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently licensed over 15 companies.

Pointing out that with an increasing number of Africans now using their mobile phones to transfer money, it eases payments for goods or services electronically.

Equally speaking, Dr. Ewelukwa noted that while these technological innovations are very commendable, “it is important that they do not run ahead of laws that ensure their legal utilization and proper regulation in respective jurisdictions.”

Ewelukwa pointed out that his paper would analyse the legal framework for e-commerce and m-commerce in Africa specifically focusing on Nigeria, which according to statistics has the highest percentage of mobile phones with Internet access in the continent.

He wondered if Nigerians legally enter into online business transactions, what contractual communication validly undertaken through text messages are there to adequately and legally protect them from various risks associated with businesses using these modern forms of business communication.

“Are there other non-legal constraints that can impede the uptake of e-commerce and m-commerce in Nigeria,” he further wondered, stressing that these are some of the questions that will be addressed in his paper.

“It will be argued that a lot still needs to be done to ensure the stability of the legal and regulatory framework for electronic and mobile commerce in Nigeria, and give confidence to those that transact business through these means,” he said.

Noteworthy is that Dr. Ewelukwa is a Barrister and Solicitor as well as Managing Director of a London-based African Legal Consulting Limited.

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World Bank votes N10.8bn on broadband

A total of $71.5 million about N10,875,865,043.64 billion has been voted by World Bank for broadband development in the across Africa, reports CHARLES OKOH.

World Bank also said that three major projects across Africa have been earmarked to boost Information Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure and access.

The $71.5 million projects are aimed at buttressing services in Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe.

A press statement made available to ITRealms Online, World Bank said, Liberia and Sierra Leone would receive line of credits from $25.6 million and $31 million respectively. This, World Bank officials said would boost their ICT sectors.

The Democratic Republic of Sao Tome would receive a grant of $14.9 million from the Bank for its component of the Central African Backbone Programme.

The money, according to the World Bank, is part of a $300 million West Africa Regional Communications Infrastructure Program (WARCIP).

World Bank further said, the projects have two main components comprising technical assistance and capacity building.

“The first component will seek to create an enabling environment through provision of technical assistance and capacity building for legal and regulatory reform; and will develop public private partnership arrangements for the infrastructure to be developed,” part of the statement said.

Nigeria, this was seen as a boost to the continents efforts to stabilize the ICT sector across the region.

“We should see this as a step in the right direction for countries that have for far too long been left outside the range of international lenders,” said one Nigerian government official.

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Tizhe to chair Titans of Tech 2011

President of the Computer Professional Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN), Mr. Ibrahim Tizhe, has been confirmed as the chairman of the 2011 edition of the Titans of Tech conference cum exhibition billed for Lagos, between March 17 and 18, 2011.

Managing Consultant, Technology Africa, organiser of Titans of Tech conference, Don Pedro Aganbi, disclosed this at the weekend, observing that Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has indeed transformed the global economy and connected people and markets in ways never imagined.

He quoted CPN President as saying that the theme of the conference, ‘Promoting Economic Development Through Effective Cyber Security’ is timely as it would lend weight to existing efforts to increase awareness on the issues, challenges, opportunities in cyber security in Nigeria.

He noted that CPN, as the legal entity charged with the control and supervision of the Computing Profession in the country, would support initiatives that seek to boost the nation’s economic development through reducing the risk of conducting business transactions online. Mr. Tizhe explained that a better understanding of the concept would enhance the quality of government’s policy, enable the National Assembly to legislate appropriately, help service providers see opportunities for business development and jumpstart economic activities generally.

Aganbi further said, to realise the full benefits of the digital revolution, users must have confidence that sensitive information is secure, commerce is not compromised and the infrastructure is not infiltrated. This is why a forum on cyber security is imperative at this time.

“Cyber security is about building confidence and security in the use of ICTs. It is about protecting personal information by responding, detecting and preventing attacks. Cyber security is about decreasing cyber crimes” he said.

Pointing out that Nigeria clearly needs a comprehensive framework to ensure coordinated response and recovery by the government, the private sector, and individual users to a significant incident or threat.

Nigeria, he said, needs to conduct a national dialogue on cybersecurity to develop more public awareness of the threat and risks and to ensure an integrated approach toward the Nation’s need for security and the national commitment to privacy rights and civil liberties.

This is the purpose of Titans of Tech 2011 – to create opportunity for dialogue.

The two day Titans of Tech lecture and exhibition, now in its sixth year has been described severally as the biggest information technology (ICT) expo and lecture in West Africa. The second day of the conference is dedicated to the youths and it is tagged The Nigerian ICT Youth Summit.

The Nigerian ICT Youth Summit is designed to bring together under one roof youths and ICT professionals for intelligent discourse and to chart a course for the future of Nigerian youth.

Over 5,000 visitors, 200 delegates 24 exhibitors and 10 ten speakers from Nigeria, Ghana and Liberia are expected to grace the two-day Titans of Tech 2011 edition.

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Omo-Ettu, Cohen lead speakers @ Mobile Web confab

Nigeria’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector would today begin the hosting of a two-day conference on Mobile web.

This is coming as the President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Titi Omo-Ettu and Director of Google Ideas, Mr. Jared Cohen, would lead speakers at the two-day event, which holds at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Managing Director of the organizing firm, All amber, Mr. Matthew Dawes, disclosed this in a press statement made available to ITRealms Online, saying that the event is specifically aimed at high-level strategists.

According to him, Mr. Omo-Ettu, the President of ATCON, would deliver the opening address at the Mobile Web West Africa conference, this Wednesday, February 2, 2011.

He also said that Director of Google Ideas, Mr. Jared Cohen, has confirmed he would present the keynote address for the second day of the event.

Equally, he said that industry leaders InMobi, MapIT and Sponge have agreed to significant sponsorship packages and in doing so have joined Fontera, ConnectNigeria.com, the World Wide Web Foundation, the W3C Mobile Web Initiative, StartupsNigeria.com, Web Trends Nigeria and others in partnering with All amber.

Dawes noted that the extremely strong industry wide support for the event is attractive.

“Six key representatives from Google will attend Mobile Web West Africa, including business and product leaders from Africa, Europe and the USA,” he said.

Additionally, Mr. Dawes said that AppCircus Developer Competition would provide an opportunity for developers and start-ups to win prizes and foster business opportunities.

He further said that attendees would have the opportunity to gain and exchange knowledge on harnessing the potential of the mobile internet and applications on mobile devices in Africa.

The Mobile Web in Africa series of events is firmly established as the industry’s most progressive and interactive mobile-focused events, bringing together all the major stakeholders.

Other key contributors for Mobile Web West Africa include Obi Asika (Storm 360), Lola Masha (Google), ‘Gbenga Sesan (Paradigm Initiative Nigeria), Yomi Adegboye (MobilityNigeria.com), Russell Southwood (Balancing Act), Alex Meisl (Sponge) and Kenneth Omeruo (TechTrends Nigeria).

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W.Afritel gets June date in Lagos

The 11th edition of the West African International Telecom and Information Communications Technology Exhibition (W.Afri.Tel) would hold in June this year.

The organisers led by Mr. Mkpe Abang, Editor-in-Chief, IT & Telecom Digest, sole Nigeria Agent for W.Afri.Tel informed ITRealms Online at the weekend that the 2011 edition has been scheduled to hold over three days, from June 7-9, at the new Eko Expo Hall in Lagos.

He also said that the readiness of his team heralds an unbroken run of the event that commenced in June 2001, thereby reaffirming W.Afri.Tel as the pioneer, most consistent and leading technology exhibition in the sub-region.

He said that W.Afri.Tel true to type gathers leading telecom industry companies, mobile phone operators, Internet Service providers, value services providers, equipment vendors, satellite companies and technology solutions providers, among others, from within and outside the sub-region, and indeed, across Africa, Europe, America and Asia, seeking to get prime spots.

While those making inquiries have made physical contacts and held discussions with the organisers, others, owing to distance and time, have taken advantage of the internet to make useful enquiries regarding space booking and exhibiting at W.Afri.Tel 2011.

“We have practically been inundated with enquires and requests, either by phone or by email; many others have had meetings with us with a view to booking and confirming their participation at W.Afri.Tel 2011,” he said, stressing that as a rule, spaces are allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

Companies that previously exhibited at W.Afri.Tel, he said, know of this policy and are already making focused efforts to confirm their bookings.

Since making its debut in June 2001 shortly before the full take off of GSM operations in Nigeria, W.Afri.Tel has taken place in June every year, thereby giving operators and vendors, experts and governments, regulators and manufacturers from across the world a platform to showcase their products, services and technologies as well as cross-fertilising ideas in building a robust telecom industry for Nigeria, and indeed, West Africa.

Equally speaking, Managing Director of Exhibition Management Services (Pty), organisers of W.Afri.Tel, Mr. John Thomson, said they have always put the West African sub-region on the cutting edge of technology.

“With the newest technologies, innovations, services and products are showcased at W.Afri.Tel first for West Africa. This year’s event promises to go even a big step further, especially as it marks the tenth anniversary of the commencement of GSM operations in Nigeria, a hugely successful revolution of which W.Afri.Tel predates its commencement, thereby confirming our commitment to grow this sector for all Africans,” he said.

W.Afri.Tel 2011 will be staged alongside the third edition of the West African ICT (WAFICT) Congress, organised by IT & Telecom Digest in conjunction with the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO).

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Ericsson supports China Unicom on GPON deployment

Leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators, Ericsson is supporting China UniCom’s first large-scale gigabit-capable Passive Optical Network (GPON) deployment.

Affirming this to ITRealms Online, Head, Corporate Public & Media Relations, Ericsson West Africa, Ms Omasan Ogisi, said that Ericsson is to supply the relevant equipment for over 10 provinces across China for the deployment of the service.

Additionally, she said the supply would enable high-speed broadband access for millions of Chinese subscribers.

The new deal, she said would meet the needs of millions of Chinese people requiring an enhanced experience when accessing internet and streaming real-time multimedia applications.

Under the contract, she said in a press statement made available to ITRealms Online that with Ericsson’s high capacity EDA 1500 GPON system, China Unicom would offer the highest speed and capacity broadband access on the market. The contract marks China Unicom’s first
large-scale deployment of GPON technology.

"The GPON infrastructure and smart management system will enable China Unicom to roll out fiber-to-the-home and fiber-to-the-building across the country faster and at a lower cost," she said, stressing that this allows the company to better meet the growing demand of data traffic and triple play services among Chinese consumers.

Head of Ericsson Region China & North East Asia, Mr. Mats H Olsson, noted that this deal is a milestone in the globalization of GPON; a new path China Unicom has taken reaffirms the potential of GPON in China and around the world.

"Ericsson is one of the few qualified GPON vendors in China, and we are proud to be powering China Unicom in its mission to stay ahead of the competitive broadband market with our industry leading solution," he said.

He also said that benefiting from its global GPON footprint; Ericsson has now become a mainstream broadband supplier in China, providing GPON to all three of the country’s telecom operators as well as some leading cable TV operators. Today, the majority of the provinces and regions in China are using Ericsson’s GPON solution.

He explained that Ericsson’s Deep Fiber Access is a complete end-to-end solution of passive fiber, outside plant components and active equipment along with a comprehensive service offering.

While he said, the EDA broadband access equipment portfolio provides simple, smart and scalable solutions for high-speed, multimedia rich, next generation IP-based networks.

The world’s leading operators have selected Ericsson’s innovative Deep Fiber Access deploying the EDA GPON, EDA P2P, EDA WDM PON and EDA DSL solutions in more than 145 FTTX and 110 copper-based networks around the globe.

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eWorld, eBusiness Life join forces on broaband summit '11

Two leading Nigeria industry entities, eWorld Magazine and eBusiness Life Communications Limited have joined force to engage stakeholders at the 2011 annual Broadband Summit.

Chief executive officers of the two organisation, Mr. Aaron Ukodie and Mrs. Ufuoma Emuophedaro, confirmed this in Lagos, saying that the joint event tend to chart the next growth road map for the industry, especially in the broadband.

They explained that the partnership was borne out of the need to channel their focus on a consolidated and common industry growth strategy capable of furthering build-up to the event and ensure mass participation by all stakeholders.

The summit which theme focuses on “Strategies for driving Broadband Revolution and Mobile Ecosystem,” they said is aimed at bringing ICT stakeholders together to map out ways of utilizing the expected abundant bandwidth and focusing on the most viable ways for Broadband deployment in Nigeria.

Further they said it would broaden the perspective and ensure that attendance to the event slated to hold in Lagos on February 24, 2011, is not divided.

Mrs. Emuophedaro said that working together on this event would make it more focused and achieve better result that would benefit the industry as a whole.

“It will also ensure that we do not work across purpose, but work together on a common goal,” she said.

She noted that with the landing of submarine cables on the shores of Nigeria and the expected deluge of internet related activities, stakeholders at the event are expected to point out ways to further ensure the profitable use of available bandwidth to boost economic and social activities in the country.

“They are also expected to proffer direction to the deployment of broadband services around the country,” she said.

Analysts have noted that with the reality of the availability of Broadband technology on ground, the country would have to look for ways of channeling available bandwidth and ensuring that it gets to the hinterlands. “The biggest challenge might be last mile deployment. But how do we go about it? This is one of the things stakeholders will tell us at the event”, Mrs. Emuophedaro said.

In the same light, Mr. Ukodie noted that with the partnership, all participants would also partner to move the industry forward as a body.

Mr. Ukodie, the major objective of setting up and operating a unified ICT infrastructure platform and a national network backbone is to realize the MDGs through the facilitation of digital inclusion of underserved areas and rural communities. This, she observed, will be one of the focal points of the event.

The event is geared towards brining key stakeholders together to examine current successes and chart a new course for the future of Broadband connectivity in Nigeria.

The duo added that the summit would look at ways of ensuring availability of Broadband services to consumers all over the country, while underlining profitability for service providers.

Expected speaker at the event are decision makers from both government and private sector drawn from the various sectors of the economy.

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Airtel honours 10 outstanding staffers

Airtel Nigeria has expressed satisfaction with 10 outstanding employees for exception performance.

The recognition came at the Employee Communications Forum held in Lagos with the presentation of the prestigious Airtel Nigeria Functional and Service Excellence Awards.

Five employees were presented with Airtel Functional Excellence Awards while another five went home with the Airtel Service Excellence prizes.

Disclosing this, Public Relations Manager, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Emmanuel Otokhine gave the names of the recipients in the Functional Excellence awards to include Olachi Oruye of the Technical & Network Assurance team in Technical Group; Chukwuemeka Adigwe, Payphones Acquisition, Usage & Retention (Marketing Group); Kehinde Adewusi, Web, Intranet & Interactive Systems (IT Services Directorate) Team member; Lucky Ubani of Regulatory Economics (Regulatory and Government Affairs Directorate) and Babatunde Olaniyan, Manager of Commercial Legal in the Legal Directorate.

On the other hand, the Airtel Service Excellence Awards went to Kathryn Edionseri, the Team Lead at the Lagos Call Centre; Oluwaseyi Temowo, Shop staff in Lagos Region; Iquo Inyang of Customer Query Resolution; Ifeoma Otaru, a Member of the High End Service Experience team in the Credit Control and Olusegun Ogunmefun of the Contact Centre, Forecasting & Planning team all of the Customer Service Directorate.

The award recipients were honoured in the presence of top Airtel principal officers, including Manoj Kohli, the Chief Executive Officer/Joint Managing Director of Airtel International; Inder Walia, the Group HR Director of Bharti Enterprises; Rajan Swaroop, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director; Deepak Srivastava, the Chief Operating Officer & Executive Director of Airtel Nigeria and Jubril Saba, Human Resources Director in Airtel Nigeria.

All the recipients were presented with mouth-watering gift vouchers and commendation letters signed by Rajan Swaroop, the company’s Chief executive officer.

Speaking at the occasion, Rajan Swaroop, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, stated that the mobile operator’s decision to reward the outstanding contributions of top performing employees is in consonance with Airtel’s commitment to raising the bar of employee engagement and motivation in recognition of the critical role and importance of employees in the realisation of its vision.

While praising the awardees for their passion and commitment, he reiterated the company’s commitment to creating a world class Nigerian company that will be targeted by top talent, loved by more customers and benchmarked by more businesses. He added that Airtel Nigeria will always create exciting reward schemes to delight and reward all its employees.

The Airtel Employee Communications Forum, a quarterly initiative, also provided the company an opportunity to share its operating plans for the quarter with all staff just as it created a platform to get feedback from personnel in different units of the business.

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Glo reduces price of internet modem

The second national operator, Globacom has reduced the price of its Third Generation (3G) Internet modem from N8,500 to N5,000.

Officials of Globacom said that the latest reduction in prices of the modern makes it the most affordable product of its kind in the market, just as the modems are available in all Gloworld
Shops nationwide and some selected dealers.

Head of Glo 3G and Blackberry Sales, Wunmi Jewesimi, confirmed this, saying that the company also reduced the monthly rental fee for its Always Max plan and increased the data volume for the package.

Details of the revised offer, Jewesimi said, shows that subscribers of Always Max package would now enjoy a 25 per cent reduction in rental fee as they would henceforth pay just N7,500 instead of N10,000 charged previously.

In addition, Jewesimi said Glo has reduced tariff while the data volume for the package gives all-day internet access for 30 days, which has been increased from 5 Giga Bytes (GB) to 6GB.

Also Jewesimi said Glo’s data volume on the G300 pack with 90 days validity has been increased by over 100 per cent, which is from 4GB to 9GB.

“This enables subscribers to the package to download much more than they did before now at no additional cost,” the head of 3G said.

According to Jewesimi, the revised packages offer more value to the customer and are the best 3G internet packages in the industry in terms of value and pricing.

“The Always Max subscriber makes a savings of N2,500 every month and is able to do more with the increased data volume. The G300 customer has also been empowered to do much more with the additional 5 gigabytes,” Jewesimi said.

Other packages on the Glo 3G Plus High Speed Internet offer include the Always Min package which gives the user a month all-day access to the internet for N5,000, the Always Day pack with a fee of N500 for all day access for 24 hours and the G100 which has a monthly fee of N6,000 with 100 hours, all day access.

There is also the Flexi pack which is in two categories: the G Work package attracts N6,000 monthly charge with 8a.m to 9p.m access for 30 days and the G Leisure which has a monthly fee of N5,000 for 30 days access from 8p.m to 9a.m every day and all day during weekends.

Equally, Jewesimi noted with this high speed internet experience available, users of Glo 3G modems are guaranteed effortless browsing and download on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and much more.

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Internet Solution spends N1.6bn on data center

Internet Solutions (IS) West Africa has said it invested $11 million, about N1,672,550,033.57 billion in the past two years of its operation in Nigeria in building data centres.

IS is a joint venture between Nigerian shareholders BSML and Dimension Data.

Making this disclosure in Lagos, the Managing Director, Internet Solutions for Africa, Mr. Derek Wilcocks, in the main time, the company has invested an estimated 11m in Nigeria in effort to build out data centres for corporate Nigeria.

He noted that Internet Solutions, a leading internet and communications service provider said they are gearing up for more investment into the Nigeria’s Information and Communications industry.

Wilcocks also said that for public and private sector organisations a new technology tagged ‘S-curve’ is on the table.

“From 2010 and beyond we will really begin to see rapid and simultaneous incremental developments coming and businesses have to adjust to take advantage of these,” he said.

Wilcocks stressed that key dimensions effective businesses manage their information are areas like content where the sheer volume and incredible richness of information is changing the shape of the Internet itself, forcing organisations to rethink everything.

These, he said, comprised five Cs, namely content, carrier, collaboration, community and commerce.

Wilcocks noted that collaboration and community involves blogging and social media, companies have to take online communities more seriously.

On commerce on the internet, he said, this has exploded with Africa and Nigeria leading the world in areas like mobile banking and cloud providing infrastructures, platforms and applications in a flexible and on-demand manner is at the heart of the future business strategies of giants and start-ups alike.

Equally speaking, Managing Director, Internet Solutions West Africa, Mr. Steve Herridge, said his firm is already responding to these trends in order to more effectively meet clients’ requirements by investing even more in the Nigerian and West African market.

“We are very keen to introduce innovative and relevant services to the Nigerian market that are already being deployed in other parts of the world. Our MPLS VPN (Virtual Private Network) service using our cloud capabilities are already available to the Nigerian business and other services like WebEx a unified conferencing and content sharing collaboration tool are already well on their way to being deployed later this year.’

Mr. Herridge further said that all of these investments demonstrate Internet Solutions commitment to the West African market and especially Nigeria.

According to him, most importantly is for IS assist local clients to take advantage of the global trends stemming from digital content, online collaboration, online communities, electronic commerce, and cloud computing.

“It is our belief that the Nigerian market offers a lot of value to the investor looking to operate within the African telecommunications market. We know that the market penetration of Internet Access in Nigeria will continue to grow and we are positioning ourselves to be prepared for the world beyond just mere connectivity,” he said.

Internet Solutions prides itself with over 27 years experience as an independent company, culminating in operations in over 50 countries worldwide and with more than 11,000 staff, ITRealms Online recalls that Dimension Data was acquired in the last quarter of 2010 by NTT Docomo of Japan for US$ 3.2 billion and delisted from the London Stock Exchange.

NTT is the second largest telecommunications operator worldwide, employs more than 200,000 people and has revenues exceeding US$ 110 Billion per annum. NTT’s investment in Dimension Data represents a major capital inflow for Africa and demonstrates a strong commitment to the future of the information and communication technology market in Africa.

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Cisco boosts borderless network solutions

Cisco Nigeria has launched new range of switching, routing, security and wireless portfolios products and services across all the functional elements of its borderless network architecture, reports CHARLES OKOH.

These included the high-performing and density catalyst switch, adaptive security appliance firewall and compact ASR 1000 router in their classes; new entry-level 802.11n wireless access points for smaller businesses; and new and enhanced smart services offerings.

Presenting these products to customers in Lagos, the General Manager, Cisco Nigeria, Mr. Richard Edet, said last week that Information Technology (IT) managers want to use the network to support the needs of the business, adding that business is changing and IT mangers are under increasing pressure to make the network available to anyone, anywhere, anytime and on any device, especially in a secure, reliable, seamless manner.

“This is precisely the challenge that the Cisco borderless network was designed to address. This third expansion of the borderless networks portfolio is designed to help customers reach new levels of innovation and participation by engaging their customers and employees to create entirely new ways of doing business,” he said.

Also, he said, a new network and application velocity network service was announced to accelerate application performance physically and virtually.

The new products and professional and technical services, Edet said, extend the borderless networks portfolio to address the growing need for high-performance, reliable and secure application delivery from a smaller number of consolidated data centres to a growing number of wired and wireless endpoints, while optimising overall resource utilization and footprint.

Cisco, he said, is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate, adding that this year celebrates 25 years of technology innovation, operational excellence and corporate social responsibility by the company.

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Olufuye joins UN-IGF Working Group

The President of the Information Technology (Industry) Association of Nigeria (ITAN), Dr. Jimson Olufuye is to represent the World Information Technology and Services Alliance in the United Nations’ Working Group on Internet Governance.

Confirming this, the Public Policy Director at (WITSA), Mr. Anders Halvorsen, said that the appointment follows the outcome of his organisation’s meeting on December 21, 2010.

Olufuye who also is the vice chairman of WITSA for sub-Saharan Africa was formally appointed by the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) as a representative to the new working group on Internet Governance.

“As one of only five business representatives globally, Dr. Olufuye will play an instrumental role in influencing the recommendations from the working group, which will be presented to the CSTD at its 14th session in Geneva on May 23-27,” he said.

Additionally, he would participate in both working group meetings, taking place in Montreux, Switzerland on February 25-26 and in Zurich on March 24-25, this year respectively.

“Please join me in congratulating Jimson on this important appointment,” Mr. Halvorsen declared.

He listed members states and other stakeholders that constitute the working group on improvements to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) to comprise Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Egypt, El Salvador, Finland, Ghana, Greece, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Lesotho, Lithuania, Pakistan, Portugal, Russian Federation, Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tunisia and the United States of America.

Although one nomination from the Group of Eastern Europe is still outstanding, he noted that the Business Community has Ms Marilyn Cade, CEO and Principal, mCADE LLC - ICT Strategies, Mr Patrik Faltstrom, Distinguished Consulting Engineer, Cisco Systems –Sweden, Mr. Jimson Olufuye, President Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN) & Vice-Chairman WITSA (Sub-Saharan Africa), Nigeria, Mr Christoph Steck, Public Policy Director, Telefonica South Africa, and Ms Theresa Swinehart, Director - Global Internet Policy, Verizon.

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DCC bags outstanding VPN award

The communications subsidiary of the Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), the DCC Networks has bagged ‘The Most Outstanding Corporate Virtual Private Network (VPN) of the Decade’ at the West African Digital Awards held recently.

Head, Marketing Communications for CWG, Mr. Chidi Okpara said that this is an indication that DCC Networks has continued to wax stronger beyond a decade.

He also said that this has been achieved by making key statements through the provision of innovative technologies to the financial institutions, telecoms, oil and gas as well as government establishments.

The company, he said, has strength to lead the pace within the industry which earned it some recognition at the recently held West African Digital awards.

He said that over the past decade, DCC Networks has provided solutions and services in the Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT); Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN) and Systems Integration using Cisco solutions, power solutions and managed services with a 24 by 7 help desk that provides first level support to her customer.

He pointed out that in response to customer’s needs and with the spirit of innovation CWG and its subsidiaries including DCC have sustained this commitment.

DCC, he said, has evolved into a business providing fibre optic solutions to corporate Nigeria with key Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) partners comprising Gilat Satellite Networks, Cisco Systems, Avaya Communications and Helios Towers to name a few.

Reacting to the award, Head, Business Sales at DCC, Mr. Sylvester Ekpo, dedicated the award to their customers who believed in them and up till date regard them as trusted advisers in their journey towards technology innovation and advancement.

He also promise that DCC would continue to deliver excellent services to all its customers now scattered across major cities in Africa.

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INEC’s voters’ registration exercise 2011: Understanding the role of Information Technology

Remmy Nweke: The year 2011 began for a lot of Nigerians on the controversies surrounding the decision and readiness of the nation to have credible elections enshrined in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

This follows the award of contract for the132,000 Direct Data Capture machines to be used in the registration of voters nationwide, which commenced January 15 and due to end last Saturday, January 29, before the National Assembly held sessions last week to endorse a shift by one week, according to proposition of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)- led Prof. Atahiru Jega, the chairman of INEC.

Noteworthy is that INEC awarded three firms the contract to supply the 132,000 DDC machines, namely Zinox Technologies Limited - 80,000 units at $1,771.73 per unit. While Messrs Haier Electrical Appliances Corp Ltd was awarded 30,000 units at $1,699.60 per unit and Avante International Technology Incorporated got 22,000 units at $1,699.60 per unit; which brings the total figure to about N34.5 billion when matched with the exchange of 1 United States Dollar to N150, which precisely amounts to about N34,517,640,000 billion.

Expatiating on this development, the Chief Press Secretary to INEC chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, in a press statement made available to newsmen to announce the award of the contract, noted that a unit cost is inclusive of all taxes and charges, while the machines were to be delivered in 35 days from the date of award, which became public on November 7, 2010 of which reports have it should elapse on December 12, 2010. Although some instances of public holidays in both Nigeria and China culminated in moving this date forward before December 20.

As at this time, only Zinox was said to have met the deadline while Haier was reportedly made some supply, whereas Avante’s supplies were missing till date.

Idowu also explained that the reason for Zinox’s contract sum to be slightly higher was because the company being a Nigerian firm is expected to pay the Value Added Tax (VAT) to the government.

Apart from the controversy on the total cost of conducting the General Election come April 2011 worth N87.7 billion, including the procurement of the DDC machines, INEC succeeded in getting the National Assembly to approve another N6.6 billion for the one-week extension; to cushion the effect of accessories supply for the DDC machines, logistics, and stipends for officials made up of 240 members of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) and some 900 other key personnel.

Although the first two days of the voters registration exercise suffer set back due to some obvious challenges linked to the inability of INEC to organize capacity building for the 240 NYSC ad-hoc staff.

Despite the fact that it was rumoured initially that INEC would deploy members of the National Association of Computer Science Students (NACOSS), which report said is over 5,000 nationwide.

Preempting discrepancies in the deployment of the DDC machines, one of the contractors, Zinox, obviously in the spirit of Nigerianness, took a decision outside the contract to recruit and deployed a total of 74 supporting staff to ensure that INEC has smooth seal with the on-going voters’ registration using the Direct Data Capturing (DDC) Machines nationwide.

It would be recalled that voters registration exercise commenced countrywide last Saturday, with DDC machines which is running on Linux operating system supplied by a different entity.

Computer experts, however, attributed the slowness of the machines to the kind of operating system. An operating system (OS) which is an interface between hardware and user as being responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of a computer, which acts as a host for computing applications run on the machine.

While Linux is an operating system that was initially created as a hobby by a young student, Linus Torvalds, at the University of Helsinki in Finland. Linus had an interest in Minix, a small UNIX system, and decided to develop a system that exceeded the Minix standards. Linus began his work in 1991 when he released version 0.02 and worked steadily until 1994 when version 1.0 of the Linux Kernel was released. The kernel, at the heart of all Linux systems, is developed and released under the General Public License (GPL) and its source code is freely available to everyone. It is this kernel that forms the base around which a Linux operating system is developed.

The Group Corporate Communication Advisor, Zinox Technologies, Mr. Echika Ezuka told Business Champion that the deployment of 74 supporting staff to aid INEC was simply an act of patriotism as that was not part of the contract to supply 80,000 DDC machines, which was completed almost a week before the registration commenced.

He explained that Zinox had deployed two (2) Information Technology (IT) engineers for each of the 36 States and Abuja.

“These 74 support personnel were not part of the contract but a gesture from Zinox to ensure that the DDC technology does not overwhelm the INEC operatives,” he said, stressing that Zinox has caused to be published full page color advertisements in all national dailies designed to give vital tips, with graphic details on the DDC machines beginning from, Monday, January 17, 2011, just two days into the voters’ registration exercise.

He noted that the exercise started nationwide with INEC assuring Nigerians that it had the capacity for an effective voters’ registration, even as he highlighted the fact that the DDC machines, the technology backbone for the exercise had a shaky start in some areas due to the inability of INEC personnel (NYSC ad-hoc staff) to install the machines appropriately.

“The first problem was related to the capacity of INEC personnel to install the equipment properly. In most places the personnel adopted a trial and error strategy that was time wasting and frustrating,” he said.

Additionally, he said that the problem was related to slow finger scanning arising from the way that INEC calibrated its software to achieve high quality finger print, stressing that INEC has given its word that both problems would be fully addressed in full course.

He expressed the belief that as the exercise continues INEC staff began to master the DDC technology, most of these challenges began to disappear paving the way for a hitch free exercise.

Commenting on the on-going voters’ registration exercise with DDC machines, former President of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Deacon Ojinta Oji-Alala urged Nigerians to be patient with the technologies.

According to him, technology driven processes require practice and experience to get it right.

Ojinta who reviewed the exercise by midweek of the first week, said that he was confident that it would succeed but required the public, the governments and the officials of INEC to remain focused on the objectives of achieving a free and fair election through the exploration of modern technology.

He appealed to the public to show resilience through maturity, patience and effective participation, emphasising that the finger printing process has become a challenge and the way to get about it was for the INEC officials to follow strictly the guidelines provided by INEC and the equipment manufacturer as well as tips published by the likes of Zinox.

He warned that excessive dirt, sweat and grease might affect the effectiveness of the scanners, asserting that “Everyone who goes for scanning must ensure that their fingers are dirt free.”

Oji-Alala further urged the INEC operatives to ensure that the scanners are always placed on a flat surface while scanning and should never be cleaned with chemicals as this will damage it.

Based on his understanding, INEC calibrated her software to achieve high quality finger prints and this resulted in slow scanning. Insisting that there is nothing wrong with the actual Direct Data Capturing (DDC) hardware, either the laptops produced by Zinox or the printers from Hewlett Packard (HP) for the exercise.

He pointed out that Zinox being an indigenous computer manufacturer deserves commendation for supplying 80,000 out of the 94,000 DDC machines that INEC has so far deployed for the exercise, noting that its natural for Nigerians to blame even software problems on the hardware branded Zinox.

Speaking on Kaakaki programme on African Independent Television (AIT) monitored in Lagos, the Chairman, Zinox Technologies, Chief Leo-Stan Ekeh declared that no amount of manipulations by evil doers or theft of the Direct Digital Capture (DDC) machines, which earlier began at the Airport with the messing of pallet containing 20 DDC machines, would influence the outcome of 2011.

This, he said, would amount to a mere waste of time for the perpetrators as it would not in any way affect the outcome of the 2011 elections.

He explained that the data being collected by the DDC machines would still be merged and evaluated at the backend of INEC prior to insertion in the database servers. This, Ekeh said, would give the ample time to discover and remove the likes of double registrations among other irregularities eventually.

He maintained that Zinox met with the deadline for supplying of 80,000 DDC machines, days before the curtain was drawn, while attributing the delays experienced at the registration centers the software, which was Linux, an open source.

The scanners, for example, he said, were calibrated by INEC to achieve a high resolution of the finger prints and this led to initial delays that INEC has swiftly rectified. Enlightening that the DDC equipment are installed out there in the dusty harmattan and the hot sun; conditions Zinox boss said wear down most electronic appliances.

He pointed out that these machines were allowed to run up to 10 hours at a stretch on batteries, which is an unusual contraption in most parts of the world, while batteries are supposed to be back-ups but here they are the main supply of power because of the peculiar energy situation in the country.

He further said that the set of hardware were of the highest international quality with the extra strength to stand the rigors of the Nigerian setting.

While commending INEC for being passionate about producing a credible voters’ register for the country, Ekeh said that Nigerians should support the growth of local institutions by being patient and totally cooperative.

He said that Nigerians must support INEC and help all the patriotic efforts that INEC has put in place to materialize. He said that Nigeria has derived invaluable benefits from the fact that the Nigerian company, Zinox, was the first to deliver of the 3 companies contracted to supply the DDC machines. He said that thousands of Nigerians have acquired new competencies in Information Technology and logistics through the assembling and distribution of 80,000 machines. He said that the hundreds of Youth Coppers engaged by INEC for the registration would form a new crust of IT savvy manpower in Nigeria in spite of their shaky start. He urged Nigerians to show appreciation for the tireless hours of work that fellow Nigerians are contributing to nation building by being supportive and not negative.

Mr. Leo Stan Ekeh expressed deep gratitude to the governments and people of Nigeria for the opportunity given to his company to show that Nigerians can also perform to match world class standards. He urged all to take advantage of the learning opportunities embedded in the voters’ registration to bring about a new Nigeria in education, power, and governance. Above all, he said, that this should be a reversal point for all those who are skeptical of Nigerian competence in enterprise management.

For the President, Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Prof. Charles O. Uwadia on the on-going Voters Registration exercise by INEC, recalls that on Friday 19 November, 2010 during which NCS intimated the nation through the media about its concern in the way and manner INEC went about the very important task of applying IT for the 2011 elections.

They specifically expressed worries about a number of steps and activities taken by INEC among which were the appointment of an ICT Consultant /Adviser the Commission’s chairman who is not a registered IT professional in the country, to NCS and to the IT education regulator, the Computer Professional Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN), specification for contracting three firms to deliver 132, 000 units DDC machines for the forthcoming compilation of fresh voters registers and other electoral process for 2011.

They were precise in observing that two of the contracting firms Messrs Avante and Haier were not registered with CPN as required by law.

“They are not registered with the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN).

With these acts, it was clear to us that INEC had downgraded the critical issue of Computer Professionalism as regulated under Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) Act 49 of 1993,” he Uwadia decried.

Additionally, NCS said that the manner of conducting training for personnel who were deployed to manage or handle the DDC machines for just two days prior to the exercise was not professionally acceptable to the society.

NCS, therefore demanded that all INEC’s personnel carrying out core IT professional duties in the Commission as matter of urgency should be registered professionals as stipulated in Act 49 of 1993.

“That all persons to interface and operate the DDCM must be trained and certified by professional institutions registered by CPN,” he said in addition to the fact that “all contracting firms who are not registered with CPN should have their contracts revoked.”

Subsequently, NCS said that only registered members of the Computer Profession should be considered for jobs involving computing machinery and called on INEC to redress the identified lapses within one week; failing which legal action would be instituted by NCS against the Commission.

They insisted that INEC must be transparent and fully unfold its strategies for deploying IT for the entire electoral process so that professionals could offer advice where necessary.

Above all, the issue of capacity building for the NYSC ad-hoc staff was supposed to be overtaken by deploying members of NACOSS, on what went wrong as being projected prior to that is undoubtedly a slap on the nation’s education given the number of the NACOSS membership, of which most of them are certified computer literate.

And allowing professional under NCS and CPN room to contribute their quota is key to its success as it was gathered that over two letters written to INEC chairman in this regard has not received any response let alone action. Of course not with unrecognized IT Adviser, who from all intents and purpose should think that NCS has come to take his job.

A stitch in time saves nine as we journey into the General Elections in April.

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Juwah tells operators ‘It’s no longer business as usual’

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Eugene Ikemefuna Juwah, recently met with newsmen in Lagos and responded to some industry issues. Senior Reporter, REMMY NWEKE, was there for ITREALMS ONLINE and reports that Juwah spoke on a number of issues including on incentives for mobile operators for conducting registration of Subscribers Identification Module (SIM) card among others.

Excerpts.

What would be the direction of NCC under your leadership?

I am aware that most of you have been seeking to speak to me individually on the focus and direction of the Commission under my leadership. I also have been eager to speak to you but as you may be aware, there are issues that needed more urgent attention since my assumption of office.

You know that shortly before I arrived, a totally new structure was introduced in the Commission. On arrival, I needed to be properly briefed, and I needed to galvanize and stabilize the workforce.

So, I took time to interact with the staff at different levels to acquaint myself with the on-going activities and programmes of the Commission, and mobilized the senior management to focus on the new direction of the Commission under our leadership.

Can you lead us into some of the issues that confronted you on assumption of office?

Part of the issues that confronted me on arrival is the delay in the approval of the 2010 Budget of the Commission. While working with the National Assembly on that matter, we worked hard to ensure that we promptly submitted our 2011 budget before September 30, 2010.

The issue of Quality of Service (QoS), also became very urgent and I promptly set up a Task Force to focus on the matter. This was the focus of the first meeting I convened with the CEOs of operating telecom companies on October 8, 2010.

One of the major achievements of that task force was the fast tracking of the regulation on QoS which has been longstanding. With this regulation, every service provider will now be held properly accountable by telecom consumers and the regulator.

SIM card registration:

I also need to mention to you that another important issue which needed my immediate attention was SIM Card registration for which we immediately published the draft regulation for industry consultation. We sort to manage a situation where SIM cards were still being sold in the streets, several months after the Commission set the May 1, 2010 date for operators to commence registration. We want to ensure that all new SIM cards are registered by the operators as mandated and we expect them to render regular account of the numbers registered.

We are now finalizing arrangements to commence registration of all existing SIM Cards from February 2011.

Having said these, I need to share with you, the major focus of the NCC under my leadership and this will guide our short, medium and long term actions, programmes and projects.

What is the new focus for the Commission?

Given the circumstances, exigencies and urgencies required to achieve spread of basic telephony services in the country, the Commission’s focus in the last ten years was directed at growing teledensity with the massive deployment of mobile telephony.

The result of this was the current impressive statistics of over 80 million active lines and more than 110 million connected lines. Teledensity is now above 53 per cent. So, it is safe, therefore, to say we have achieved appreciable voice mobile telephony penetration.

While sustaining this growth, I wish to indicate here that in the next five years, our regulatory focus shall be directed at six key areas: (1) Consolidation and Integration of mobile Wireless Services; (2) Fixed Line and Broadband Deployment for National Development; (3) Enhanced Competitive Market, Enhanced Choice for the Consumer; (4) Vigorous Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement of Regulations and Directions; (5) National Connectivity for Accelerated Growth; (6) Enhanced International Relations;

Can you expatiate on some of these key agenda?

On consolidation and integration of mobile services, the current mobile network in Nigeria is not fully optimized. The nation can derive more value from an enhanced and optimized mobile network, especially with an improved Quality of Service.

The Commission will encourage the upgrade of mobile networks to include 3G data overlays for the implementation of application services including but not limited to mobile payment, estate agency and other entertainment services using the Internet as a plank.

We want to achieve this by implementing the key performance indicators for quality of services that can be possibly monitored independently by the Commission with zero tolerance for non-compliance.

Such wireless network will also deliver enhanced and integrated services to such other national projects such as the Emergency Communications Centres being implemented by the Commission in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.

What of the fixed line and broadband deployment for national development?

It has been said that Nigeria missed a great opportunity for her inability to massively deploy fixed lines when other development-focused nations of the world did.

While it is true that mobile phone has attained high penetration and usage, for many homes, businesses and companies, there still exists a yawning need for basic fixed line access with its numerous advantages. Also, the premium nature of mobile services contributes to the issue of its affordability compared with fixed lines.

This has led to some despair in many circles about the ability of this nation to catch up with the robustness of a fixed network complemented by mobile. As a matter of deliberate focus, we shall strive to bring fixed lines back to homes, schools, offices, and businesses.

To achieve this, plans for massive deployment of broadband infrastructure will be explored by the Commission.

We are therefore currently working out the details on how to implement this desirable project which would bequeath the nation with an accomplished and robust telephone network for national development.

This means that the nation will expect more licenses coming out from the Commission, while investors are being informed of new opportunities that the Nigerian market present.

Can you give us the number of licenses so to expect before the end of this year?

No, as it is we cannot say categorically that this is the figure or number of licenses to expect from the Commission until the process takes off and even concludes. But be assured that more new licenses will be issued this year.

Most of the industry groups like the Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and Association of Licensed Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ALTON) have severally noted that registration of SIM cards by the operators is a diversion of their competence and resources. So, they were expecting incentives for their members, especially the operators in this regard?

As far as the Commission is concerned there is no incentive for any kind for the SIM card registration. Before then, there was a meeting at the office of the National Security Adviser to the President and all the operators where invited. In fact, it was only chief executive officers (CEO) meeting; if you are not a CEO, you are not allowed into the meeting and the modalities where spelt out and they know it and there is nothing like incentives for them for now.

As a follow-up, the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators are dying is NCC planning any form of bail out for them?

NCC has chosen the path of technology neutrality and CDMA is a technology and business decision. So, for now, there is no bail out for any operator using any form of technology. They have the opportunity or option to deploy any other technology which they think is more favourable to their business decision.

On the enhanced competitive market, enhanced choices for the consumer?

There is need to enhance the competition in the market place today. Competition brings about the best in all the operators. Competition also breeds best atmosphere for the consumer.

Enhanced competition in the market and availability of choice is a statement of intention to fight for the interest of the consumer. Cost has always been the greatest complaint of the average consumer in Nigeria.

We shall make efforts to ensure that costs continue to drop. In a true competitive environment, there is no reason why prices will not drop. When you have true competition, prices will drop. We will continue vigorously pursue programmes that will deepen competition and bring down prices, such as introduction of more operators and programmes such as number portability. We want to address this through strategic actions aimed at improving competition and accountability of the service providers to the consumers of their products and services.

In this regard, we shall improve on some areas of outreach between the service providers and consumers to ensure that consumers are fully aware of their rights. Such issues like deployment of more customer care centres by the operators, as subscriber bases increase, will be pursued with more vigour.

On vigorous compliance monitoring, enforcement of regulations and directions?

We have observed a major lapse in the disposition of the service providers towards compliance to regulations or directions issued by the Commission. This is as a result of a combination of factors, including sanctions for none compliance that are not commensurate to the degree of breach. This is prevalent in spite of the fact that same service providers are fully consulted during the processes of formulation of the regulations.

In some cases, factors attributable to the harsh operating environment have put the regulator at the long end of wielding the big stick. It would therefore appear that the service providers have taken this soft approach towards enforcement and compliance to regulations for granted in the discharge of their responsibilities to the nation, the Commission and the consumers.

We need to state clearly that it will no longer be business as usual. As we move into the next focus of regulation with emphasis on compliance, the Commission under us, will give a lot of emphasis on compliance monitoring and strict enforcement of extant regulations and directions. Since these regulations were products of wide consultation, it is incumbent on the Commission to see to their full compliance.

A lot of consumer issues prevalent in the industry today are as a result of tardy compliance to regulations instituted by the regulator. The situation must change and all the stakeholders in the industry will need to inject a new corporate governance approach towards compliance to existing regulations and directions.

Why NCC set up Compliance department?

To give a push in this aspiration the Monitoring and Compliance Department recently set up by the Commission is being equipped with the human and material resources needed for effective performance of their jobs in line with the new focus of the Commission. Regulations and directives of the Commission will not only be obeyed, but seen to be obeyed.

In cases where regulations are not equipped with adequate sanctions to compel adherence or recompense, we are going to look at those regulations with a view to effecting reviews as quickly as possible.

How do you intend to achieve the national connectivity for accelerated growth?

One of the key milestones in the measurement of the attainment of the vision statement of the Commission is in the reduction of distance to access to telecommunications services for every Nigerian.

Achieving national connectivity through deployment of fibre rings across the nation and cascading broadband and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure will form our road map in promoting availability and access for national economic and social development.

The programmes and projects of the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) secretariat, the Wire Nigeria (WIN) project and the State Accelerated Broadband Initiative (SABI), will form the plank for this major focus aimed at accelerated access provisioning in Nigeria. These projects will be restructured to give them more verve to achieve these objectives within realistic timelines. General roll out of broadband access will be encouraged as we focus in this area.

Essence of open access model?

We are currently working with some international consultants to implement a structured approach for a regulatory framework for optic fibre deployment including an exploratory review of the relevance of the “open access model” to Nigeria.

The “open access model” is a framework for infrastructure sharing where fibre optic cable carriers share the infrastructure used in the deployment of their fibre cables. This model can be designed to bridge the gaps in broadband deployment through central deployment to mid and small sized operators at subsidized pricing. The model provides services to operators on a fair and non discriminatory basis.

Without a robust national connectivity, the nation will not derive maximum benefits from the availability of major submarine fibre cables with landing points in Nigeria, and many others expected to land in the nation’s shores. This is why that Commission will intensify efforts to achieve appreciable national connectivity in the next five years.

How to enhance international relations?

Under our administration, we shall give more vents to our international relations and interactions. The benefit of this focus translates in the attraction of investments, projects and good image to the country.

With our population and positioning in Africa, the visibility of our country, especially within the international telecom decision making bodies and organizations need to be enhanced. In this direction, we will reconstruct our approach to international telecom relations with a view to sharpening our visibility and playing in the main stream of international relations for the Commission and country.

It is also in this direction that our delegation met recently in Mexico at the 10^th Plenipotentiary Meeting with the Secretary General of the International Telecommunications Union, ITU, Dr. Hamadoun Toure, for the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) in Nigeria to be conferred the status of Centre of Excellence.

Our roles in such sub-regional bodies like West Africa Telecommunications Regulatory Assembly (WATRA), will be enhanced as the pioneer of such organization as we now have some Nigerian companies rolling out services across the Nigerian borders.

The role of NCC under your leadership?

What I have tried to do here is to give some few areas of focus. This is by no means the complete portfolio of our focus. You know our role is to also advise government on major issues in telecommunications and ICT development. We shall continue to work with government as a major stakeholder.

You may be aware that the Ministry of Information and Communications is currently reviewing the National Telecommunications Policy. Some of our programmes will be guided by the recommendations of the new policy when it is launched.

There are some ideals with which this Commission is known, such as transparency, openness, fairness, firmness, and forthrightness. We will continue to cherish those ideals because they are an integral part of the credo of the Commission.

Appeal to stakeholders?

I also want to use this opportunity to request your support for all the programmes and activities of the Commission.

We will continue to work with the media as a partner in achieving our goals because you form a critical stakeholder in our regulatory activities. I will also request you to be very objective in your coverage of the industry.

So, I invite you to share in our aspirations to create awareness among all our stakeholders, especially the consumers of telecommunications services in the country.

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