Strategic Partnership: Etisalat marries Total for 95 outlets

Evan, CEO, Etisalat

In furtherance of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) entered on Tuesday, March 6, 2012, the acclaimed Nigeria’s fastest growing mobile telecommunications company, Etisalat and the first downstream operator in country, Total have closed deal on a strategic partnership.

The agreement ITRealms gathered would spur establishment of retail sales and service experience centres within Total stations to be managed by Etisalat.

The final part of the deal held on Wednesday, June 13, 2012 is a partnership that combines the strengths of the two leading organizations to provide world class products and services to their customers, according to the chief commercial officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Wael Ammar.

Chairman, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Hakeem Belo-Osagie, noted that the partnership between the two, would lead to joint initiatives to increase the market reach, ensure enhanced customer service and provide subscribers with easy access to Etisalat’s array of innovative products and services.

“Etisalat is recognized as being the most innovative and fastest growing GSM operator in the Nigerian market and we have been consistent in our over three years of operation in the country,” he said.

Etisalat, Belo-Osagie said, is proud to be working in strategic partnership with Total in executing this agreement which is in line with ambition to extend innovative products services to all frontiers of the country and ensure unparalleled customer experience.

Equally speaking, the Managing Director, Total Nigeria, Françoi Bossagol said, the partnership is to ensure customers satisfaction.

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Glo partners 6 banks on Verve M-PIN

IN supporting the federal government’s cashless policy, Globacom recently launched a robust mobile banking product - Verve M-PIN powered by Glo Txt Cash.

The Executive Director, Globacom, Mr Adewale Sangowawa at the launch of the product in Lagos, disclosed that Globacom was partnering some major financial institutions in the country in a bid to give more value to over 20 million subscribers who will now enjoy seamless financial transactions.

The banks include Fidelity Bank, First City Monument Bank, Mainstreet Bank, Stanbic IBTC, Sterling Bank, Wema Bank and Interswitch.

He said Verve M-PIN would offer subscribers, especially those who do not have bank accounts, a more convenient, secure and fast way of settling bills and making payments for goods and services. He said that mobile money service is a win-win proposition for customers, financial institutions and mobile operators, and encouraged Nigerians to take advantage of the values inherent in the Verve M-PIN product.

“With this product, customers will enjoy seamless financial transactions provided by our partnering banks on the Globacom platform to pay for bills like DSTV, LCC, PHCN, Startimes, Airline tickets, hotel bills, bank transfers and Glo airtime top-up for pre-paid and post-paid services…,” Mr Sangowawa noted.

He also revealed that the Verve M–PIN would enable customers to use mobile channels to perform tasks on the web, Automated Teller Machines or Point of Sale which would be powered by the super-fast submarine Glo 1 cable that offers robust internet broadband services.

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Huawei invests N605.1bn on R&D

Leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, Huawei has explained the decision to commit 11.7 per cent, about $3.758 (N605.1 billion) of its 2011 revenue worth $32.4 billion for Research and Development (R&D).

Disclosing this in a recent press briefing in Lagos, Managing Director, Huawei Nigeria, Mr. David Pan Fan, said that the reason is that as a solution provider, the company needs to constantly innovate.

Out of the total revenue, he confirmed to DigitalSENSE News that an estimated 1.2 per cent of it came from West Africa, which office is situated in Nigeria.

He also said that the vote for R & D is a strategic investment from Huawei, to augment its research and development capabilities and deploy resources globally, and implement a future-oriented business architecture that puts Huawei in a confidant position for sustained growth.

Hence, he said, Huawei, decided to boost its investment in R&D with 11.6 per cent of total annual sales revenues in 2011, which is a core pillar of company’s business strategy.

“Through this investment, Huawei is positioning itself to leverage high-growth areas and industry growth fundamentals for continued success,” he said.

Additionally, Mr. Pan Fan said that the company’s performance for the year under review has been very impressive.

According to him, Huawei was established in Shenzhen, China, and has grown to become a global ICT solutions provider running its business in over 140 countries worldwide.

“It becomes the second largest ICT solutions provider with the revenue of USD 32.4 billion in 2011, an 11.7 per cent growth over the previous year,” he said.

Mr. Pan Fan pointed out that in 2011, Huawei increased its investment in the enterprise and consumer business segments, and achieved all-around growth on the back of strong business momentum generated by the company’s successful transformation into a complete end-to-end ICT solutions provider.

On Nigerian market, Mr. Pan Fan said Huawei, which has operated in the country for 13 years, has become one of the most important players in the telecommunications industry that providing employment, expanding local investment and cultivating talents.

For Mr. Pan Fan who was accompanied at the press meeting by the Managing Director, Terminal West Africa, a subsidiary of Huawei, Mr. Tony Liang and chief technology officer, Huawei in the region, Mr. Adam Jiang, Huawei aspires to be a localized company by expanding its local investment.

“We have built a technical training centre in Abuja, which is the first one built by telecommunications solutions provider here. The training center has trained more than 5,000 telecommunication engineers for stakeholders,” he said.

Huawei, he said, would set up 3 Global Network Operation Centers (GNOC) and one of them to be located in Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of the nation.

The Lagos GNOC, he said, is expected to be put into use by July this year, assuring it would add great value in the training of telecom experts in the country.

Other corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects by Huawei includes the MAU (UNILAG) ICT scholarship, charity funds for the less privileged and school buses donation are some of the community-assistance initiatives funded by Huawei in Nigeria.

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GOTv comes to town

GOTV, a pay television service on the latest Digital Video Broadcast (DVB-T2) technology has come to town in Lagos.

Speaking at the event, the General Manager at GoTv Nigeria, Mr. Mayo Okunola, says the new pay-TV service provides is a low cost product to accommodate low income Nigerians and still enjoy the GOTv offering that utilizes the latest DVB-T2 standard technology which leapfrogs the outdated T1 system that is still being utilized by some pay television operators to launch digital services -thus providing Nigerians with only the latest and best digital technology available worldwide.

He also made know a promo offering, a three month subscription included with GOTv setup box for N8, 000 and N9, 500 for the GOTv plus package. While the N8, 000 package offers 26 channels, theGOTv plus package gives about 34 channels. “I think Nigerians, especially Lagosians would lash on the N9, 500 subscription plan,” he said.

GOTv provides television lovers with a dramatic improvement on picture and sound quality and an exciting channel line-up. It offers subscribers the most advanced technology and broadcast system in Africa and the rest of the world to date, and currently the only digital television pay service on DVB-T2 technology in Nigeria.

GOTv subscribers, Okunola says, would have access to news, children’s programming, documentaries, series and movies.

The channels, the general manager says, were carefully selected to cater for a variety of different tastes and cultures, adding that the line-up is designed to ensure that viewers enjoy improved pictures and sound quality that is synonymous with digital television.

Some of the channels that would be available to GOtv subscribers include AfricaMagic Movies, AfricaMagic World, AfricaMagic Yoruba, AfricaMagic Hausa, E! Entertainment, Discovery World, eTV Africa, Select Sports, Al Jazeera, CNN, Channel O, Disney Junior, Kidsco, Sound City , to name a few.

“The Pay-TV service does not require a satellite dish and there is no installation cost. All it requires is a GOTv decoder and a stub or grid antenna,” Okunola explained.

ed one of the most dominant players in the space.
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Michael Dell in Nigeria, reiterates commitment

Michael Dell with Austin Okere of CWG during his visit to Nigeria.

THE founder and Chief Executive Officer of Dell Incorporate, Mr. Michael Dell reiterated the commitment of his firm to the Nigerian market.

Mr. Dell who was in Nigeria last month aside impressing the recent visit was in fulfillment of a promise made to the chief executive officer of the Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), Mr. Austin Okere, to visit Nigeria, two years after, also used the opportunity to meet with local business partners.

DigitalSENSE News gathered that the visit which took place on Friday, June 15, 2012, may not be unconnected with Mr. Dell’s promise made in September 2010 when Computer Warehouse Group visited the Dell Executive Briefing Center (EBC) in Texas with some customers from Nigeria, including Ecobank International.

He also noted that the appointment of a Nigerian, Mr. Nnamdi Orakwue as the Executive Director, Strategy and Operations by Dell was a good boost in actualizing the trip to the most populous nation on the continent of Africa.

To the Dell community in Nigeria, he pointed out that the visit was to demonstrate the commitment of his company to the market than the fulfillment of his promise.

He equally gave an insightful presentation about the current strategic focus of Dell, and the acquisitions that have been made to support the strategy, including acquiring Equalogic, Compellent, Wyse and Perot Systems.

The aforementioned companies are the technology platforms upon which Dell intends to launch into the Enterprise and Cloud spaces.

Mr. Dell later had a closed-door session with selected partners at local Dell office at Mulliner Towers, Ikoyi-Lagos, including Austin Okere, Founder and CEO of the Computer Warehouse Group, the acclaimed largest Systems Integration company in West Africa; his counterpart at Dataflex, Mr. Andy Nwani; the chief executive officer, Equipment Hall, Mr. Gbolahan Olayomi, and Mr. Emeka Maduibuike, Managing Director of Systemtech Group.

Mr. Dell was quoted  as saying that a major plank of the Dell Partners’ strategy has been the ‘Try & Buy’ concept which has worked very well.

This was preceded by a welcome address by the Country Manager, West Africa, Dell, Mr. Chuks Ulu-Udensi.

Speaking, Mr. Okere of Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) explained his company has taken advantage of the opportunities of these platforms to provide virtualization solutions to major customers in Finance and Oil & Gas sectors such as First Bank of Nigeria, UBA, TotalElf, and Ecobank International for their global operations coving Accra, Lagos London, Paris, Lome and over 30 other countries.

As a result, he emphasised CWG is now considered one of the most dominant players in the space.

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Samsung Galaxy S3 enters Nigeria

The latest in stock of Samsung Electronics, the Galaxy S III smartphone is now available in Nigeria, according to the Head, Corporate Marketing, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr. Donald Etim.

He said at the unveiling in Lagos that the Samsung Galaxy S III has been designed to respond intuitively and naturally to human use and interaction.

He said that this came a few weeks after its European launch, adding that the much expected device is now available at Samsung Brand Shops at The Palms Shopping Mall in Lekki and Ikeja Shopping Mall, in Alausa, Ikeja, both in Lagos.

Etim noted that the new phone is the follow up to the very popular Galaxy II, which was critical to Samsung overtaking Nokia to become the world’s best-selling mobile phone maker.

Samsung, he said, hope to consolidate the success achieved with Galaxy S II by enhancing some of its most popular features in this latest device.

“Galaxy S III comes with a 4.8 inch (12.2cm) screen, an increase on the 4.3 inch screen of its predecessor, and much bigger than the 3.5in display on the iPhone 4S,” he said, stressing it is one of the largest screens on smartphones ever.

The availability of this smartphone in Nigeria, Etim further said,rrival of the phone on Nigerian shores put paid to speculations as to when mobile phone users in the country can have access to the Smartphone which has enjoyed rave reviews across the world.

 “Once again, we are putting the ‘Next Big Thing’ in the hands of consumers. The Galaxy S III introduces a completely new way of sharing and socializing that no other mobile phone can. The device essentially balances ergonomics with intuitive use, making it an extension of the user,” he said.

DigitalSENSE News recalls that Samsung Electronics overtook Apple Incorporated in the last quarter of last year to become the world’s largest smartphone vendor amid a widening technology and legal battle between the two companies.

During the period, Etim pointed out that Samsung shipped 27.8 million smartphones, taking 23.8 per cent of the market, according to the United Kingdom- based renowned research consultancy, Strategy Analytics.

Apple’s 17.1 million shipments, comprising 14.6 percent of the market, pushed Apple to second place, the firm said, adding that Nokia maintained its third position.

Equally speaking, Olumide Ojo, Head, Smartphones, Samsung Electronics, West Africa said, “Nigeria is very important to us and we are delighted to bring this incredible device into the hands of Nigerians.”

He maintained that Samsung’s adoption of Google’s Android software has proved very useful to boost sales of its Galaxy smartphones and tablet computers, just as the company has managed to incorporate a number of features that proved popular with phone users.

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‘Electromagnetic fields, unavoidable’…Johnson advocates usage of hands-free

Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu

THE Minister of Heath, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu has said electromagnetic fields are unavoidable part of the environment despite its side effect on human health, just as his counterpart in Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson has warned on length of calls, advising on use of hands-free.

Speaking at the first-ever West African Conference on Electromagnetic Field Exposure and Health in Lagos recently, the minister through his representative, Dr. Mrs. Patience Osinubi, the national coordinator, National Cancer Control Programme in the ministry, said the magnetic field component of electromagnetic field has the capability to penetrate the body.

This, he said, has been studied in correlation with health especially in the area of cancer related diseases.

He affirmed there is an increase in the number of communication masts in urban areas which give rise to the concern of whether people living near high tension wires or communication masts are at a higher risk of developing cancer.

The reason for the fear, the ministry noted is as a result of research findings which some asserted a possible association between living close to high tension cables and cancer of the blood as well as leukaemia in children while some other findings said there is no association with limited evidence to back up their stands.

Although studies carried out on electrical occupation, power station operators and telephone line operators have proved that people in those set of occupations have a higher risk of brain tumor, leukaemia and male breast cancer than expected.

Prof. Chukwu further expressed his ministry’s readiness to partner with any ministry in terms of research.

In her address to the two-day conference, Communications Technology minister, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, who was represented by the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, Hon. Okechukwu Itanyi, emphasised the importance of consistently conducting researches and communicate same to the end-users.

She also noted that mobile phones usually are known for low-powered radiofrequency transmitters, operating at frequencies between 450 and 2700 Mega hertz (MHz) with peak powers in the range of 0.1 to 2 watts.

She explained that handset only transmits power when it is turned on, hence the radiofrequency exposure to a user, maintaining that the radiofrequency falls off rapidly with increasing distance from the handset.

“A person using a mobile phone 30-40 centimeters away from his or her body, for instance when text messaging, accessing the internet or using a hands-free device, will therefore have a much lower exposure to radiofrequency fields than someone holding the handset against the ear,” she said, stressing that users of mobile could do well by reducing the number of minutes or length of calls.

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