Telcos to deploy FDD on 38, 42 GHz - NCC

ITRealms:

Telecommunications companies eyeing to get a part of the forth coming licensing regime in the 38 Gega Hertz (GHz) and 48 GHz spectrum bands, should be able to deploy Frequency-division duplex (FDD) technologies, reports ITRealms.

The Deputy Director, Spectrum Administration Department at NCC, Engr. O.A. Yusuf made this disclosure while responding to questions during a one-day Stakeholders Consultative Forum on Licensing of 38 GHz and 42 GHz spectrum bands as well as re-planning of 23 GHz band in Lagos.

He stressed the purpose of the forum, saying that participants were to discuss spectrum plan, pricing scheme and licensing of service providers in the bands on offer in addition to re-planning of 23GHz Microwave Spectrum bands within the Nigerian telecoms industry in line with the global best practices.

Yusuf further asserted that the new frontier is broadband and in effort to ensure Nigeria take full advantage of the new licensing regimes available, and across channel plan, licensing model and pricing.

ITRealms recalls that FDD, is a telecommunications duplex indexing method which means that the transmitter and receiver operate at different carrier frequencies. The term is frequently used in ham radio operation, where an operator is attempting to contact a repeater station. 

The station, experts explained, must be able to send and receive a transmission at the same time, and does so by slightly altering the frequency at which it sends and receives. This mode of operation is referred to as duplex mode or offset mode.

Experts at Wikipedia said that uplink and downlink sub-bands are usually separated by the frequency offset. Thus, frequency-division duplexing could be efficient in the case of symmetric traffic.

In this case, they explained, time-division duplexing tends to waste bandwidth during the switch-over from transmitting to receiving, and has greater inherent latency, and may require more complex circuitry.

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Telcos considering selling African subsidiaries

ITRealms:

After some years of operations, many telecommunications companies are considering selling some of their African subsidiaries, largely due to concerns around sustainability and profitability, ITRealms reports

According to global technology research and consulting firm, International Data Corporation (IDC), these challenges have led some global telcos to reconsider their plans for the region. Africa may well be the next frontier for growth but a number of major players have encountered serious challenges around the profitability of their investments in trying to establish a sustainable and economically viable footprint on the continent.

Etisalat Group, for example,ITRealms gathered, entered into an agreement in 2014 that saw Maroc Telecom acquire its subsidiaries operating under the Moov brand in Francophone West Africa (i.e., Benin, Central African Republic, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Niger, and Togo). 

The deal also included Prestige Telecom, a company based in the Ivory Coast that provided IT services to Etisalat's operations in the six aforementioned countries. The move was spurred by the steadily declining revenues that Etisalat was pulling in from its international subsidiaries, with all of its West African operations (including Nigeria) contributing just 7 per cent to its overall revenues in 2014.

In another development, BhartiAirtel entered 15 African markets in 2010 after acquiring Zain's subsidiaries on the continent, and has since expanded into two more markets. 

However, after five years of operations, the telco is considering selling some of its African subsidiaries, largely due to concerns around sustainability and profitability. Indeed, Orange is currently in talks with BhartiAirtel to acquire four subsidiaries in Francophone and Anglophone Africa (i.e., Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, and Sierra Leone), ITRealms learnt.

"The poor level of infrastructure, particularly in relation to electricity supply – is one of the key challenges that telcos encounter when it comes to deploying and maintaining top-quality network operations in Africa," said the director of IDC's telecoms program for the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey, Paul Black.

"This issue has consistently affected the profitability of telcos due to the increased levels of capital and operational expenditure they must undertake in building and maintaining a passive telecom infrastructure. Some global telcos have also failed to adapt and implement strategies that have succeeded in other regions. Indeed, the majority of global telcos have been unable to localize their global strategies to suit the unique operating environments of the African market."

"The operational challenges facing telcos in Africa have driven growth in the continent's third-party telecommunications infrastructure management business, and IDC expects the pressing need for telcos to reduce their costs and increase their levels of control to sustain growth in this space," continues Black.

"In order to increase the likelihood of success, telcos wishing to pursue growth and expansion in the African market must focus on developing enterprise products and services that appeal directly to the wants and needs of the local market, and to small and medium-sized businesses in particular. Telcos looking to enter Africa should tailor strategies that have succeeded in other regions to the specific operating environments they encounter in Africa, while the mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) route should also be considered as a potential entry strategy," he concluded.

CyriacusNnaji/GEE

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Chairman Zinox Group urges Buhari on free wireless Internet

ITRealms:

 

The Chairman/CEO, Zinox Group, Mr Stan Leo Ekeh, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari, to make available about N1billion to the telecommunications companies in Nigeria in order to provide free internet service for Nigerians, ITRealms reports.

Ekeh was speaking at the formal launch of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) in Lagos. He stated that the President would have succeeded in writing his name in gold if he could provide wireless internet access to millions of Nigerians that voted for him during the election, adding that free internet access will ameliorate the high degree unemployment and suffering currently ravaging the nation.

Stan who said he played key role in transforming Nigerian Newspapers from analogue to digital, added:

 “I have a long history with GOCOP as someone who began his career online. Future wealth belongs to online platform because it provides veritable opportunity for the poorest man to become super rich. Online can help one alter existing equation whereby the rich becomes richer,” Ekeh stated.

He added that with the present state of the economy which is affecting the youth adversely, there should be a window for temporary measure to cushion such effects and that was the reason Yudala went into collaboration with Airtel to offer thousands of online marketing job opportunities to Nigerian youths under Yudala which currently boasts of 14 outlets in the country, saying that online will soon become the highest employer of labour in the country.

He cautioned those who go outside the ethics of the profession to destroy people’s characters and reputations

On his part, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media, Femi Adeshina, in his keynote titled “Let your light shine” said online publishing can no longer be ignored, it can make or mar government as witnessed in Nigeria in the recent past. He said association of online publishers will bring credibility to the platform even as he assured government support to the group.

Adeshina said that in the past the public hardly believe what is posted online until they verify and confirm such story from the traditional newspapers but with the coming of GOCOP on board there will be sanity in the industry.

The President, GOCOP, Malachy Agbo , ITRealms gathered, had earlier welcomed the guests to the event, saying the role of the media in information dissemination cannot be overemphasized, adding that among other factors GOCOP was formed to bring sanity to the online platform even though he said self regulation may pose a difficult challenge, the group will do its best. He added that the association will leverage on the Cyber-law that was signed at the twilight of the immediate past administration to ensure stakeholders play according to rule of online publishing..

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Pix: from left,Special Assistant to President Buhari on Media, Femi Adeshina, Former Chaiman of The Punch Newspapers & Chairman of the  occasion, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola and Cairman/CEO, Zinox Group & Guest Speaker, Stan Leo Ekeh

Nigeria must take advantage of 58m Internet users - Ajayi

ITRealms

The National President, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Engr. Lanre Ajayi, has called for the optimization of the 58 million Internet users in the country, reports ITRealms.

He said even though Nigeria has more than 58 million active internet users which is more that the population of many African countries, stressing that with availability of infrastructure little content is being placed in there.

Currently, he said, what is seen online are a few e-commerce and government services,adding that every business should be online, declaring, “it is time to rise up for everybody to benefit from the internet.”

Ajayi, ITRealms gathered,made this known in  a goodwill message at the 2015 Edition of the annual Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) Conference and Exhibition whichhad the theme: “Internet Penetration, the Way Forward” and held at the Golden Gate Restaurant, Ikoyi, Lagos at the weekend.

He revealed that the evolution of NIG began in 1995 when the internet usage was still at its infancy and acknowledged the contributions of Engr. Olawale Ige, the then Minister of Communication for his contributions to the growth and development of NIG. He said that while the internet use in Nigeria has been upbeat, only 50 per cent of the job has just been concluded, calling on Nigerians to support NIG to achieve better internet penetration.

Engr.Ajayi pointed out that even though Nigeria internet awareness began late the coming on board of NIG brought great impetus to the development and promotion of the internet through advocacy, conferences and exhibitions, ITRealms learnt.

The immediate past NIG president, Engr Adebayo George Banjo,had earlier welcomed guests to the occasion stating that the Conference and Exhibition has been with the group since inception and called for support.

ITRealms informs that this year’s conference and exhibition is germane because of the theme which aims to achieve internet penetration and  an improved internet service.

Cyriacus Nnaji/GEE

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Pix: Lanre Ajayi