Task force key for utilization of IPV6--- says Rudman

 ITRealms

 

The Managing Director, Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) and Vice President, Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), Mr. Muhammed Rudman has called for the formation of a joint task force that will ensure  the deployment and utilization of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPV6) across stakeholders, ITRealms reports.

Rudman took this position on the 2^nd day of 2015 DigitalSENSE Africa Media organized event titled: IPV6 and Broadband Penetration, a Nigeria IPV6 Roundtable, in commemoration of the World IPV6 Day.

He chronicled the events leading to the emergence of IPV6, while informing participants that IPV6 which has about a zillion IP spaces was designed because the IP spaces on the IPV4 which has 4.3 billion IP address spaces was about to be exhausted and there was need to ensure that there is continuation of internet usage globally.

He said that Nigeria in particular and Africa in general, still have an abundant unutilized IPV4 addresses and therefore are very hesitant to migrate to the latest version of IP addresses. Consequently, he made an advocacy for a joint task force to ensure that all core stakeholders including internet service providers migrate to the IPV6, adding that the latest technology comes with devices like security devices, high speed and capacity which were lacking in its predecessor, ITRealms gathered.

He stated that Nigeria will continue to lag behind if there is no application of force especially from the regulatory body like the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), even though it does not assign addresses. Besides government he saud should make sure that equipment supplied to it are IPV6 compliant, even as he informed participants which included industry stakeholders, students and the press, that the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is responsible for allocating IP addresses, saying that South Africa has continued to maintain a dominant position in the utilization of IP addresses in Africa with about 22 per cent of IPV6  addresses allocated to it and Nigeria coming third from a distant 7^th  position on the IPV4 which, Rudman admitted, was an indication of great improvement.

The Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, while stating that the issue of migration from IPV4 to IPV6 is not a regulatory matter, called for advocacy from stakeholders to enlighten and sensitize the core stakeholders to migrate to the latest version, saying that IPV6 is faster and more improved than IPV4.  

Mrs. Nkem Nweke, the Executive Director, Operations, DigitalSENSE Africa Media, publishers of  DigitalSENSE Business News, ITRealms and NaijaAgroNet, the organizers of the event, had earlier welcomed the guests while thanking Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Microsoft Nigeria, Etisalat Nigeria Phase3, and other partners too numerous to mention, for their immense supports, ITRealms reports.

Cyriacus Nnaji/ GEE

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NDSF 2015 opens, as Gusau charges regulators on net neutrality study

ITRealms:

The two-day annual Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum on Internet Governance for Development (IG4D) and IPv6 Roundtable kicked off in Lagos with the chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Hon. Dr. Ibrahim Shehu Gusau, calling for an industry-based study on Net Neutrality in Nigeria, reports ITRealms.

Gusau who also led high level delegates at the event to declare the forum open, beckoned on industry regulators within the ICT sector like the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to initate a policy study on this begging issue of net neutrality with the trend on how it could affect Nigerians, especially the Internet, so as to have a defined reasonable traffic management policy dealing on all the associated concerns arising from net neutrality with its attendant usurping of services to end-users in the country.

While reassuring on readiness of the National Assembly, especially the House of Representatives to do all their power to encourage a level playing ground, the Committee chairman expressed hope on the forthcoming 8^th session to even thrive to achieve more than the outgoing 7^th session.

Gusau also commended the role being played by DigitalSENSE Africa Media Limited in annually staging the forum, which he described as significant role endeared to multistakeholderism in its role to ensure Nigerians are enlightened enough to be able to key into the global competitive of the Internet.

According to him, by successfully organizing the Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum on Internet Governance for Development for the past seven years, shows commitment in leveraging the values of ICT to enlightenment and education across board and multistakeholderism approach.

“The Forum by God’s grace has become a sin qua non, in other words an essential condition; a thing that is absolutely necessary for internet community in Nigeria as industry stakeholders-based  approach to gather annually to jaw-jaw on latest issues on Internet and Internet-related matters for individuals, groups and national growth and development,” he said.

Gusau, who also presided over the forum opening session, noted that the signing of the Cyber Bill into Law by the immediate-past President, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on May 15, 2015, was a plus for the National Assembly.

“I think Mr. President and indeed the National Assembly deserve an applause, and we will continue to do more in that regard,” he said.

Recalling that in 2011, at a forum by DigitalSENSE Africa Media Limited at the Golden Gate Ikoyi Lagos, I promised Nigerians that Cyber Security Act will come into play before the end of 7^th session of the National Assembly and by signing this into law by former President Jonathan; that promise has come to fulfillment.

However, he said that the theme: ‘Net Neutrality and Nigerian Internet Users’ passes for the network neutrality, Internet neutrality, or net equality principle that Internet service providers or government should enable access to all content and applications regardless of the source, and without favouring or blocking particular products or websites.

Further, he said, this principle applies to the ISPs and governments to treat all data on the Internet equally, not discriminating or charging differentially by user, content, site, platform, application, type of attached equipment, or mode of communication. 

The term was coined by Columbia University media law professor Tim Wu in 2003, as an extension of the longstanding concept of a common carrier.

Some of the agitations arising from the debate on net neutrality, he pointed to include bandwidth throttling; data discrimination; deep packet inspection, End-to-end principle; Internet Protocol (IP); Net bias, Net Neutrality law; Search neutrality and Tiered Internet to name a few.

Of course, more than ever before the House of Representatives and at large the National Assembly, is aware of the need to enact most germane and enabling laws that are meant to induce more competition, innovation, local content as well as checkmate excesses especially in the social media through cyber laws, so that population of netizens in Nigeria will continue to swell positively.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) 

 

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Pix: Captions for NDSF Day-1:
1. Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum on IG4D 2015 ... L-R: Executive Director, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN), Mr. Gbenga Sesan, Country Manager, OLX Nigeria, Lola Masha, and Head, Legal and Regulatory Service at Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mrs Yetunde Akinloye, at a two-day Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum Series 2015 on Internet Governance for Development (IG4D) with theme "Net Neutrality and Nigeria Internet Users" held at Welcome Center Hotels Ikeja-Lagos, yesterday 4th June, 2015.
2. L-R: Head, Legal and Regulatory Service at Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mrs Yetunde Akinloye, Representative of Director-General,  National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Preye Itonyo, Executive Director, Operations, DigitalSENSE Africa Mrs Nkemdilim Nweke, Country Manager, OLX Nigeria, Lola Masha, Chairman, House Committee on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Federal House of Representatives (FHR) Hon. Dr. Ibrahim Shehu Gusau (Forum Chairman), Group Executive Editor, ITRealms, Mr Remmy Nweke, during a two-day Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum Series 2015 on "Net Neutrality and Nigeria Internet Users" at Welcome Center Hotels Ikeja-Lagos, yesterday 4th June, 2015.

BOI repositions, launches SME Mobile App

ITRealms:

Bank of Industry (BOI) as part of its contribution to digital technology and the internet of things has launched a Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) digital product offerings, to drive leading edge business processes worldwide beginning with its SME Mobile App, ITRealms reports.

The mobile application, ITRealms report, is available on various app stores online, offers customers the benefits of speed, mobility and convenience that come with it and has the capacity to involve SME Accounting Application (SAAPP), Online Loan Application Portal, Loan Application Tracking System and SME Customer Portal.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, BOI, Mr. Rasheed Olaluwa, quoting Nigeria Communications Commission’s report in a key note address at the occasion, said the number of internet users in Nigeria has grown to 83.3 million as at February 2015, and the number of active mobile subscribers increased to over 145.5 million, giving Nigeria a teledensity of over 85 per cent, based on a population figure of 170 million.

“These developments imply that we live in a digital and mobile world. At BOI, we have repositioned our systems, processes and services to take advantage of this new digital and mobile world to offer our customers the benefits of speed, mobility and convenience that come with it.”

According to Olaluwa, the Mobile App is easy to use in view of its user-friendly features that make it pleasing to the eyes and fun to browse, and also serves as a power house of SME-centric information and loan application cum tracking tool, while the simplified nature of the SAAPP App makes it easy to use by SME’s, and structured financial statement which could be generated simply by expenditures as well as other sundry payments and receipts. Easily understood user manuals are provided alongside the App and a 24/7 support platform created to assist users who might require such service. 

He further disclosed that the SME Mobile App could be downloaded free from Google Play Store for Android phones and tablets, App World for Blackberry and App Store for iPhones and iPads, and the SAAPP as well is being deployed to SME customers via BOI branded, licensed and secured flash drives and also programmed for installation on a maximum of three devices per business entity and is available at a pocket-friendly price of N20,000.00.

ITRealms also gathered that on 2 March 2015, the Bank of Industry upgraded its banking application from Equinox to a more robust version called Rubikon, which provides a strong platform for the automation of its processes to deliver improved services to customers.

Remmy Nweke & Daniel Nsolibe

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Breaking News: Sepp Blatter, FIFA forced to resign

ITRealms

The longest serving President of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), Mr. Sepp Blatter, personally on Tuesday announced his decision to resign from the office he won for the fifth times, reports ITRealms.

This is coming as allegation upon allegation bribe scandal over FIFA under his watch linked with some 14 senior members of FIFA for accepting about 10 million dollars in bribes from the South African government among others. 

ITRealms recalls that for over a week now, moreso before the last FIFA election a few days ago, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States have beamed its searchlight on FIFA over corruption. 

However, the former FIFA President while announcing his resignation disclosed he will summon an "extraordinary congress" of the football governing body to pick his successor. 

According to him, "I only want to do the best for FIFA and my institution. I decided to stand again as the best option for football. The elections are closed but the challenges we face haven't come to an end. FIFA needs restructuring. Although FIFA have given me a new mandate, it doesn't seem to be supported by everyone - fans, clubs; those who inspire FIFA like we do."

Blatter's reign in FIFA has been on for 17 years.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) 

 

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Marwa quits PDP, may join APC

ITRealms:

Former military governor of Lagos State, Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa (retd) on Monday formally resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), just as speculation is high that he may join the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC), reports ITRealms.

In a press statement in Abuja by Gen. Marwa’s media aide, Bello Zubairu and made available to ITRealms, affirmed that the former Nigerian Ambassador to South Africa “decided to quit the PDP on personal grounds."

ITRealms recalled that before the emergence of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Gen Marwa was the governorship candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in Adamawa state and after the merger of CPC and other opposition parties to form the APC, thousands of his supporters from several local government areas of Adamawa state were technically denied the opportunity to register in the new party then.

Zuibairu was silent on whether Marwa will be returning to the APC, it however stated “the retired General will be making public his next line of action in the coming days.”

Marwa therefore, appealed to his numerous supporters and well-wishers who have been calling him for direction from across the country to await his next move.

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