Juwah tasks MTN Ambassadors to be exemplary to youths

ITRealms:

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Eugene Juwah has tasked MTN Ambassadors to be of exemplary to the youths, especially in Nigeria, reports ITRealms.

Juwah who played host to MTN Ambassadors who are mainly musicians at his office in Abuja recently, said the musicians themselves have become a standard for the youth of the country.

“You have made the country proud by your creativity, you have shaped the entertainment industry” declared, stressing that through effective oversight of the Commission, the industry has been able to engage the youth through the promotion of the entertainment industry by way of talent shows which have seen the emergence of artists who now become role models for the teeming youth.

“… Your shows have enriched lives significantly” he told his visitors, urging them to remain steadfast.

ITRealms also gathered from a press statement endorsed by the Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, who quoted Dr. Juwah as recalling that the telecommunications sector has been variously described as the first genuine platform to take over virtually every aspect of human development since the revolution began with the Digital Mobile Licences 2001.

He equally told his guests that Nigerian entertainment industry has gone beyond this shores, citing an instance of his visit to Atlanta, Georgia, USA recently with some Nollywood producers and actors to attend a seminar where Professors and other experts from the USA and Canada came specifically to understudy, analyse and talk about the growing entertainment industry in Nigeria and the influence on other sectors and cultures.

Juwah further revealed to ITRealms that recently the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI) in collaboration with George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia and Howard University hosted the seminar with a view to providing global best practice in marketing and distribution of movies, training on digital movie production and editing among others.

The NCC, he said, is in the vanguard of doing the best for the entertainment industry including Nollywood, just as a studio is being built at DBI Cappa-Oshodi campus in Lagos to cushion the practice of Nigerian entertainers.

Also speaking, Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Mr. Okechukwu Itanyi also told the visitors that the telecom industry is a platform for propagating the ideals of entertainment through video streaming, SMS and caller tunes to mention but a few.

“The industry has ensured the success of these platforms, it has empowered Nigerians and the NCC is looking forward to the emergence of more stars who will reach out to the younger generation and show good example through mentorship” Mr. Itanyi said.
For the Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, until his appearance on a radio programme recently to explain the link between telecoms and the Automated Teller Machine (ATM), many people did not know that the ATMs were linked to telecoms networks.

Ojobo said the entertainment industry has made Nigerians both home and in the diaspora proud.

He cited the advent of Project Fame as part of the telecoms industry’s intervention to improve the standard of the entertainment industry and empower the youth.

Mr. Ojobo cited his encounter at an event in JFK Arts Centre in Washington DC where youth of all nationalities came specifically to savour Nigerian artists and learn about the culture of the people of Nigeria displayed through music, drama and the arts.

The visiting MTN ambassadors including Sir Shina Peters, Chidinma, KCee, Praize and Nyanya equally called on some other Directors of the Commission including Ms Josephine Amuwa (Director, Policy Competition & Economic Analysis), Mrs Maryam Bayi (Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau) and Ms Ayo Sofolahan (Director, Projects).

+Remmy Nweke +MTN NIGERIA +MTN Uganda +MTN South Africa +Tony Ojobo  +NgComCommission 

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Data services, next frontier – Juwah

DigitalSENSE Business News:

The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Dr. Eugene Juwah has declared that data services is the next frontier of service offering that deserves attention of all stakeholders in the telecommunications sector in Nigeria, report DigitalSENSE Business News.

Dr. Juwah told DigitalSENSE Business News at his opening address at the 76^th Edition of the Repackaged Telecoms Consumer Parliament, Thursday tagged “Data Service Delivery: The Way Forward” in Lagos, that the time voice was on the top of agenda for investors.

According to him, with an increasing demand for data, service providers have no choice than to improve on their data machineries to ensure Nigerians, for instance would enjoy the best of data.

He pointed out to DigitalSENSE Business News that it is a known fact that Nigeria today is the fastest growing telecommunications market in Africa since the deregulation of the industry. 

“The transformation of Telecom industry has led to more Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs), employment, and efficient business transactions among others,” he said, emphasizing the importance of ICT in the development path of a nation.

For a country of about 180m people as at 2014, Juwah told DigitalSENSE Business News that with over 130m subscriber base, Nigeria cannot afford to be contented. 

“ICT remains a priority of the Federal Government and an important sector in the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan administration for strong, inclusive, non-inflationary growth using ICT as the major driver for transformation.  Mr. President requires us to ensure that ICT facilities are extended to all citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,”Juwah said.

Pointing out that Internet and broadband have been globally acknowledged as the foundation for the nation’s transformation to a knowledge-based economy, he stressed that the path to an efficient broadband service in Nigeria has been a long and difficult one. 

DigitalSENSE Business News further gathered from Juwah that Internet connectivity has come a long way from a single international submarine cable system with 340GB total capacity installed in 2001 (SAT3) to four cable systems with international bandwidth capacity of over nine Terra bits in 2012.

Despite progress made, Juwah told DigitalSENSE Business News that Nigeria is still a far cry from achieving what is considered global broadband standards even among other developing countries.

He lamented the kind of service being offered by most service providers, describing it as “worrisome” especially those service providers who sell to their subscribers, all in the name of 3G, while some even canvassed to have 4G but nothing has changed in data services. 

“Consumer experience is nothing to write home about,” he decried. 

Some of the dignitaries at the repackaged Lagos Telecom Consumer Parliament include the chairman of NCC, Mr. Peter Igoh, Executive Commissioners, His Excellency Okey Itanyi, Engr. Ubaka Maska, Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau (CAB) at NCC, Mrs. Maryam Biyi and Deputy Director, Dr. J.O. Atoyebi, Director, Public Affairs, Mr. Tony Ojobo, Commissioner Dr. Mike Onyia among others.

+Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) +Isimeme S. Sado @NGRCommTech +NgComCommission
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Pix: Juwah, Igoh and Itanyi at the TCP in Lagos.

NCC has nothing to hide says Juwah

DigitalSENSE Business News: 

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Eugene Juwah has declared that the Commission has nothing to hide, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

Welcoming a delegation led by the Chairman, Daily Trust Newspapers, Alhaji Kabiru Yusuf who paid him a courtesy visit, Juwah made this declaration.

Juwah who was making reference to a recent story which appeared in Daily Trust “we at NCC are very receptive to the press who report what we do. We always tell the truth because we have nothing to hide.” Stressing journalists should always seek opinion from various stakeholders including NCC, especially if they have to publish contentious issues. 

Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo in a press statement made available to DigitalSENSE Business News quoted the EVC as saying that misconceptions come from reporters who do not crosscheck with the Commission, advising that such situation does not augur well for the newspaper, those who read it and those reported.

The EVC further said that “we are always available to work with the media, so please always seek our own side before you publish.” 

According to him, NCC is a key government agency but “we do a lot of things not only for government but Nigerians and investors, “adding that now that we have an interface, we can always discuss issues and come to a reality.”

He explained that on the issue of some of the problems in service provision by operators, that there are drop calls which affect quality of service and this has come about because operators mostly in Abuja have had the misfortune of not expanding their infrastructure particularly the Base Transceiver Stations (BTS)  in the last five or more years, because they have been denied permit by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to do so, apart from the high cost of acquiring land in Abuja.

“But the NCC has intervened on their behalf and in a question of months, the situation will improve significantly,” he said, pointing out that without adequate site permit, it will be difficult to have robust services.

Earlier, the Daily Trust Chairman, Alhaji Kabiru Yusuf, said the visit was to strengthen friendship, asserting “it is not enough to just get reports and publish same. We have to come and see things ourselves.” He later invited the EVC to come over to Daily Trust and field questions from members of the editorial Board for further public enlightenment.

He was accompanied by Alhaji Umar S. Abdullahi, Alhaji Aliyu Akoche, Alhaji Abdullahi Ahnaibu. While members of NCC include Mr. Tony Ojobo, Director, Public Affairs, Mr. Okoh Aihe, Special Assistant on Media to the EVC, Mr. Reuben Muoka, Head Public Relations Unit and Mr. Sonny Aragba-Akpore, Head Media Management Unit.

+Remmy Nweke +Remmy Nweke (ITRealms) @Tony Ojobo @NGRCommTech @NgComCommission #Nigeria

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Johnson, Juwah commend DigitalSENSE Africa on IG4D, IPv6 2014

ITRealms:

The Honourable Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson and the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Eugene Juwah, have commended the management of DigitalSENSE Africa Media Limited, for consistency in hosting the Internet Governance for Development (IG4D) and the Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable to educate Nigerians on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry issues.

Both spoke at the two-day 2014 edition of the Nigeria DigitalSENSE forum series held at Welcome Centre Hotels in Lagos with the theme “Internet Governance, eBiz and Open Access in Nigeria and IPv6 and Broadband Penetration.”

Mrs. Johnson who was represented by the Assistant Director, Computer Services at the ministry, Engr. Olufeko Olufemi, applauded DigitalSENSE Africa for the role it has played over the years, especially in the last six years.

She urged other reputed organizations to emulate DigitalSENSE Africa and encouraged industry stakeholders support for such a forum as Nigeria DigitalSENSE, because government and her agencies cannot do the job of public awareness for instance, along, more so on Internet Governance as part of the bottom-up process.

Also speaking at the event presided over by the Head, Computer Sciences, University of Lagos, Prof. Charles Uwadia, the EVC of NCC ably represented by the Deputy Director, Projects at NCC, Mr. Bashir Idris, in his keynote commended DigitalSENSE Africa for providing the relevant platform to address very topical issues such as the theme of this year’s forum across the many topical issues and developments across the ICT industry in Nigeria in recent times.

“We believe these are healthy for the quest to create the needed awareness among the stakeholders and beneficiaries of the potentials that abound in the industry,” he said.

NCC, he said, has plans to be very present and visible at the international level of discussions on all issues surrounding the ICT industry, stressing that the reason for this is to ensure that NCC impacts on discussions and decisions on global trends and regulations that evolve in the dynamic ICT space.

“This is why we are now paying more attention, and participating in the activities of the International Telecommunications Union, ITU, which is the global regulator of the telecom industry,” he said.

The Internet Governance Forum, he emphasised, is particularly of interest to NCC, which have currently raised a team in the Commission that is taking part on all the Internet Governance Forum discussions taking place around Africa and beyond.

“The reason is to ensure that our interest as a nation is fully represented at these discussions and to also ensure that we have first hand knowledge of how best to exploit the potentials that abound on the Internet,” EVC said.

Pointing out that as is in many issues where the global community has different views and interests in a technology platform, Internet Governance has become an issue of discussion over the years.

“It is yet to be seen if the world would gravitate to accept common laws regarding access and use of the Internet,” he said.

Welcoming participants earlier to 2014 edition of NDSF on IG4D, the Executive Director, Operations at DigitalSENSE Africa, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke, said the platform was created and nurtured to date as a think-tank platform where Nigerian internet stakeholders converge annually to raise and address germane issues concerning the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector with particular reference to Computing, Internet Governance-related issues towards helping to further advance Nigeria in the ever-rapidly advancing phenomenon of global ICT.

This year’s forum on  ‘Internet Governance, eBiz and Open Access in Nigeria.’ offers Internet Service Providers (ISPs), telecom operators, value added service providers as well as all other stakeholders, the enabling ground to articulate a stand on Internet governance issues and accurately align NDSF on IG4D position into the national, regional, Africa and global agenda.

“It is pertinent at this juncture, to remind all young internet users particularly, to always be mindful of what they post on the internet because everything posted on the net is traceable to the author. Therefore, you are passionately advised to mind the stuff you post and the language with which such materials are posted on the internet for global consumption,” she asserted, stressing that this is important because the result of what people send or share online for the consummation of the global village remains their permanent signature and model of image which will definitely rub off on such an individual in all their future contacts.

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Day1 - IG4D Forum 2014: L-r Representative of Executive Vice Chairman (EVC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Eugene Juwah represented by Mr. Bashir Idris, chairman, Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum on Internet Governance for Development (IG4D 2014) Prof. Charles Uwadia, Executive Director, Operations, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke, the Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson represented by Engr. Olufeko Olufemi taking the nation anthem held at the Welcome Center Hotels, Lagos

Day2 - IPv6 Roundtable 2014: L-r Chairman, Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable 2014, Engr. Titi Omo-Ettu, Executive Director, Operations, DigitalSENSE Africa Media, the organisers, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke, guest speaker and chief executive officer, Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) Mr. Muhammed Rudman held at the Welcome Center Hotels, Lagos.