NiRA offers 2 domain names for N5000

Any Nigerian planning to register a domain name at this time would benefit from the offer of two domain names per individual registrant, for just N5000.

A domain name is the text name corresponding to the numeric Internet Protocol (IP) address of a computer on the Internet. Thus, a domain name must be unique and affords Internet users access to their website using domain names.

Disclosing this, President, Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA), Mr. Ndukwe Kalu, said that in view of the on-going drive to encourage Nigerians to hook onto the .ng domain name, NiRA board has approved this decision.

“The board would also want to inform Nigerians that for the transition period the subsisting policy of free domain registration would continue, but with a modification to allow for two domain per individual,” he said.

Mr. Kalu who also is the chief executive, Amsco Telecom Limited, added that the final policies on this would be made known in a latter date.

He therefore urged Nigerians to take advantage of this two-for-one domain registration and fly the nation’s flag on the Internet.

“We therefore call on Nigerians to take advantage of this and be truly Nigerian with .ng,” he said, stressing that the current membership price of N5,000 is subsisting.

Hitherto, he said, the domain registration services, were being handled by a tripartite arrangement between Mr. Randy Bush, the National Information Technology Agency (NITDA) and Skannet Nigeria Limited led by Sunday Folayan.

“First we would want to thank all those who have made personal and other sacrifices to sustain this process,” he declared, without forgetting the laudable roles of the late director general of NITDA, Prof. Gabriel Olaleye Ajayi, just as he did not left out Aminu Ibrahim of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Demola Amao of Simbanet to name a few.

He pointed out that with the birth of NiRA early in the year, following the successful general election of its first executive board, the association has stepped into a new era.

“While this is so we realize certain realities and the fact that it would take NIRA sometime to fully get into the state of meeting the enormous expectations on it,” he said.

This is coming as NIRA has gotten an office to meet administrative and technical demands, which he said, is located at 14 Ahmed Onibudu Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, which is being manned by a full time Administrative Secretary.

“This office would act as physical point of contact for general correspondence, domain registration services and membership services,” he said.

According to him, the office would shortly publish all contact details including phone numbers, electronic mail (email) address among others, even as he advised the public to channel all enquiries to the temporary office.

“We are working to ensure very prompt and courteous response at all times,” he assured.

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HP printers top demand @ TD’s win-a-car promo

Series of Hewllett Packard (HP) printers including Deskjets and Laserjets as well as colour Laserjets, MFP/AIO printers, are the most sought after products at the on-going Win-a-card on IPG promotion being organised by Technology Distribution (TD) Limited.

Product Manager IPG/PSG at TD, Mrs. Adesuwa Igho-Orere said that other products on hot demand in the IPG promo include HP digital cameras, photosmart printers, imaging and printing accessories and scanners.

She also said that the promo expected to come to an end with a raffle draw on Friday, September 7, this year, has witnessed “feverish purchases from resellers trying to increase their chances of winning the star prize of Hyundai Elyantra.”

According to her, to qualify for the draws, customers must record purchases in excess of N500,000 of printers, cameras, scanners and toners.

She equally said that each purchase of N500,000 gives the customer a raffle ticket, meaning that the customer could get as many tickets as possible.

The resellers, she said, should understand that the car is real and is up for grabs hence they are striving to out-purchase each other

The product manager, therefore called on TD resellers to be patient, stressing that all order would be treated on first come first served basis.

Mrs. Igho-Orere emphasised that the trend in the performance of the products in the IPG market to a number of factors.

“The printers are doing well in this promo because they were a vital part of the computer chain in the growing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) penetration,” she said.

Mrs. Igho-Orere also explained that the performance of the camera at this time may be attributed to the bubble of administration change, the summer holidays and the fact that the camera is fast becoming a vital part of leisure.

The toners and scanners she said would always remain part of the automated environment.

Mrs Igho-Orere urged the resellers to push up their stakes through more purchases, pointing out that TD, has lived up to her positioning as the bulk ICT distributor that deliberately helps Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to grow.

This, she said, would be the second car that TD would be giving out this year, noting that the first was targeted at consumers of APC UPS, a purchase of up to N300, 000.00, earned one a raffle ticket to draw for a Kia Picanto.

She further explained that draw has been held and the car was immediately delivered to the winner, Aret of Africa.

The third car, she said, is targeted at resellers who buy HP servers, server accessories HP racks, HP storage works, and HP ISS accessories worth N500, 000.00.

TD, she said, has over the years proved itself mettle as the number one distributor of ICT products in Nigeria and West African sub region.

Currently TD has offices in Ghana, Gambia and Sierra Leone, and leads the pack in the penetration of the market with high quality products from reputable global ICT brands such as HP, Cisco, Microsoft, Zinox, and APC.

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Channel IT introduces special offer for August

The regional master distributor for Dell in Nigeria, Channel IT, has introduced a special offer on Dell hardware for the month of August.

The Corporate Sales Director, Channel IT, Ms. Marcelle Riz’Imoisili disclosed this to Champion Infotel and said that it’s a super promotion specially introduced for the month of August only.

She also said that the offer comes with proven and guaranteed Dell systems at unbeatable prices.

Ms Riz’Imoisili explained that today business demands that Information Technology (IT) infrastructure must be seen to add value not only by maximizing return on IT investment, but also by being responsive to growth demands of the businesses.

She stressed that IT infrastructure also should be seen as a tool to drive sustainable competitive advantage in any business platform.

She emphasised that it was in response to this demand, that Dell has developed hardware to enable business that are based on flexible systems and built on open standards.

“This means that customers have access to infrastructure solution ranging from servers, storage, desktops, notebooks through to networking and network management that are supported locally,” she said.

According to her, partnership on Dell brand via Channel IT means a focus on organisational resources on growing business.

“Partnership with Dell solutions through Channel IT means you can focus your resources on growing your business knowing your infrastructure will provide the required support,” she said.

This offer, which began August 1, would end on 31 August this year, she said and would enable customers to buy the likes of notebooks from N99,999 up to N195,00 depending on the configuration.

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TrustVeriSign hits Nigerian market

An independent Internet security and intelligent services provider, TrustVeriSign, has entered into the nation’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) market.

Managing Director, TrustVeriSign, Mr. Davids Awenebi who disclosed this said that via the company’s website seal programmes, customers are allowed to display the seals once they have been evaluated and confirmed to meet the programme requirements.

According to him, the company is here to market its reliability and privacy seal programmes to promote trust and confidence on the Nigerian Internet airwave.

Mr. Awenebi added that the TrustVerisign reliability seal on a firm’s website confirms that its a registered and approved member of the programme and that it has been reviewed to meet trust in advertisement guidelines and follows good customer service practices.

He explained that the Internet offers a huge base of potential customers at a global scale, stressing that since they may not be familiar with the firm, most customers would need assurance from a trusted third party that this firm does what it says it does and would not just run away with customers money.

Quoting reports from recent surveys, he said, that online shoppers feel more confident buying from a website displaying a reliability sign.

As said by him, an online survey by GBN Live revealed that over 90 per cent of online shoppers recognize and would be more confident buying from a website that has the TrustVeriSign reliability seal.

“The seal on a firm’s website tells potential customers that the business is committed to high levels of ethical business practices and customer satisfaction,” he declared, adding that his firm has been in business for over a year, and has a satisfactory record with TrustVeriSign.

“It also means it is committed to work with customers and the TrustVeriSign to resolve disputes that might arise,” Mr. Awenebi said.

TrustVeriSign reliability seal, he said, adds value to a merchant’s website whether or not the business sells product online, pointing out that many consumers use the Internet nowadays to gather information before making a traditional transaction by phone, fax or in person at retail outlets.

Mr. Awenebi further explained that the TrustVeriSign seal tells potential customers that the business will deliver on its promises in the real world and the virtual world, noting that for online shoppers, trust is everything and for consumers shopping online, privacy is a major concern.

“The first sign that tells the customer you value their privacy is through an easy to understand and easy to find privacy policy,” he said.

He listed some of the customers already on the programme to include, Promohost, World Paypal, Nigeria Location, and Your Investment Expert, GBN Live, Sky Decoded and First Voice to name a few.

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ReltelWireless gets unified license

Acclaimed Coded Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operator, ReltelWireless, has announced the acquisition of a Unified Access Service (UAS) license from the telecom regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

This is coming after a successful payment of over N600 million, both for the license itself and frequency.

Disclosing this at the new corporate headquarters of the company, the Group Managing Director, ReltelWireless, Chief Tony Okonkwo, said that it’s a leap forward for the telco to once again assume its one-stop telecommunications solution provisioning.

“Our license covers a wide range of telecommunications options, including national digital mobility service, which allows subscribers to roam,” he declared.

Chief Okonkwo accompanied by the telco’s chief commercial officer, Mr. Fabian Uzor, chief information officer, Mr. Douglas Kuit, Head of Marketing, Mr. Usman Amodu-Shuaibu and Head, Corporate Communications, Mr. Oge Udeagha, also said that ReltelWireless believes the latest development will stand the telco out in actualising its long-term mission of being telecoms service provider of choice for Nigerians.

“Offering faster services and affording our numerous subscribers all over the country the opportunity to enjoy our trademark excellent voice and data services as well as wide coverage at the best competitive rates,” he said.

He recalled that ReltelWireless, had earlier secured the nation-wide spectrum to cover the 36 states of the federation and the federal capital territory, Abuja.

“Thus making us one of the few telecoms operators in Nigeria and definitely the first CDMA operator to be so licensed.

ReltelWireless, he said, had resisted the urge to join the initial frenzy for UAS license because it believed in practical implementation, which informed the telco’s decision to first of all embark on a very aggressive roll-out plan that has seen it in 12 cities.

These cities, he said, include Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Onitsha, Umuahia, Owerri, Asaba, Aba, Awka and Nnewi, adding that these were achieved in the first phase.

According to him, the next phase would see ReltelWireless rolling out in the South-South and Northern regions and exhibits commitment of the company, it has mapped out at least four new cities for roll-out before the end of this month, including Kaduna, Zaria, Kano and Benin.

Chief Okonkwo reassured that these cities are actually up, but the telco is currently carrying out a test run to ensure optimisation as the final test is conducted and commercial launch commenced.

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Emir applauds Celtel investment

The Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Suleiman Adamu, has applauded the mobile operator, Celtel Nigeria for bringing its investment closer to the people of the state.

Giving the applause, the head of Bauchi traditional institution, said the mobile network operator has helped to raise the income level of his people, stimulating business activities and growth, creating jobs opportunities and facilitating communication.

Welcoming top members of Celtel Nigeria to his palace, the Emir commended Celtel for relocating its regional head office to the town, noting that the move would further boost the economy of the state, reduce the level of unemployment among his people and endear the brand to the hearts of the people.

Accompanied by some key members of the Bauchi Emirate Council, Alhaji Adamu also assured the operator that its product would be well received.

“On behalf of myself and the people of Bauchi, we welcome you all to Bauchi. It’s interesting to know that some of you travel from far away places such as Port Harcourt , Lagos and Ibadan to visit us in Bauchi. I have no doubt that your products and services will be well received in the state,” the Emir declared.

Public Relations Manager at Celtel, Mr. Emmanuel Otokhine, in a press statement, quoted the Emir as equally assuring the visitors of security of the company’s facilities in the state, adding that the people see themselves as partners in progress.

Speaking earlier, the Chief Commercial Officer (CMO) at Celtel Nigeria, Mr. Mike Foley, expressed gratitude to the Emir and the people of Bauchi for their support for the company since it commenced service some years ago.

Mr. Foley who was accompanied by the Marketing Director, Mr. Norman Moyo, General Manager, North East Region, Mr. Segun Agoye, Customer Care Director, Mr. Ifeanyi Obiora-Okafor, Acting General Manager, North West Region, Mr. Babatunde Ayoola and Director, Payphone and Distribution, Mr. Bamidele Folorunsho,, also informed the Emir and his council members that Celtel has commenced expansion of its network in the state and in the entire North East region with the aim to providing telecom services to more communities in the area.

The overwhelming support from the people of the state, he said, has encouraged Celtel to commence another wave of investment in the state including the relocation of the regional head office to Bauchi, opening of new retail outlets, rollout of payphones and initiation of other new projects.

Also, the Emir was informed that Celtel is working with the local people to deliver service to the people in the region because of the company’s desire to create economic wealth for many people, provide jobs directly and indirectly for many youths and empower more communities to communicate and offer better services to customers in the area.

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GloFirst cashcard excites students @ UNILAG

An Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cash card known as GloFirst, designed by First Bank of Nigeria Plc and Globacom Limited, at the weekend attracted lots of excitement and patronage among the students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG).

This is coming as students and staff of the university trooped out in large numbers to watch the Glo Campus Storm, thus embracing the product.

The event which held at the car park of the university’s Sports Centre, saw the students who queued up to get the GloFirst card expressed joy that Globacom, since inception in 2003, has continued to delight Nigerians with innovative products.

One of the excited students, and a year one student of the Department of English Language, Martins Odekunle, said that he found the product very fascinating especially as he did not have to open an account with the bank to enjoy the service.

“This GloFirst cash card is one innovation that has distinguished Globacom from any other network. I subscribed to the Glo M-Banking and I enjoy the facility. The Glo First cash card has come to make life easy for students as any of us using it can safely put his money in the card and get cash at any ATM machine. I think this is nice”, he said.

Another student from the Faculty of Agriculture, Tobechukwu Andy, said “the GloFirst card will help reduce the high incidence of theft in the hostel and I think every student should embrace the card and use it because it is far safer than carrying physical cash around or keeping cash in the hostel”.

Officials of Globacom, explained that GloFirst is a pre-paid debit card, which allows users who do not have bank accounts to perform electronic transactions like bank account holders and debit card users via the Glo Mobile network.

This service has been widely commended because this is the first time non-bank account holders will be able to use a payment card.

Unlike existing debit cards in the market, GloFirst is available to both bank account holders and the non-banking public.

The new product, Glo officials said, is a boost to the country’s electronic payment system that could be used for a variety of transactions, including withdrawing cash from Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and day-to-day purchase transactions in outlets with point-of-sale terminals (POS).

According to Globacom’s sources, through Glo M-Banking, GloFirst users could have swift and easy access to their bank accounts from their mobile phones and perform certain transactions such as checking account balances, transferring funds and ordering cheque-books.

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ALTON expresses concern over quality of service

Umbrella body of the nation’s telecommunications operators, the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators (ALTON), has expressed concern over the continued deteriorating quality of service in the country.

ALTON expressed this concern in a communiqué after its general meeting held in Lagos.

The communiqué endorsed by the chairman and secretary, Messrs Gbenga Adebayo and Damian Udeh, respectively said that ALTON is concerned about the issues and challenges of network quality of service, stressing that its members are working hard to ensure that the problem is fully resolved.

ALTON pointed out that the key challenge has been that of high cost of providing alternative power supply by the telcos.

“We, therefore, call on the federal government for urgent intervention in the area of public power supply, which has had significant impact on the quality of service,” he said.

Another mitigating factor against good quality of service is the continuous vandalisation of telecommunications infrastructure by unpatriotic Nigerians.

“We call on the federal government to improve on the state of security of lives and property in Nigeria,” the group urged.

While expressing concern about the general state of insecurity of lives and property across the nation, ALTON pointed that the situation has significantly impacted in the movement of telecommunications personnel and equipment for access to network infrastructure areas for installation and network equipment updates.

Additionally, ALTON said it is concerned about the problems of multiple taxations particularly by different tiers of government which has seen a number of agents of local government authorities across Nigeria, demanding huge sums of money as one form of levy or another from telecom operators, which sometimes result in major delay of access to telecom infrastructure for maintenance services.

The group further called on the government to declare telecom infrastructures as important to national development and henceforth prevent ALTON members from state and local government interferences.

Just as ALTON assure the public that its members will continue to do everything possible to guarantee good quality of service.

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ITAN names Ya’u, secretary general

The National Executive Council of the Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN) has named Mr. Yunusa Zakari Ya’u of Cybertec Venture Limited (CVL) as its new Secretary General.

The council said the appointment of Mr Yau was unanimous as he is expected to overlook the secretariat of the association for the next two years.

President, ITAN, Chief Jimson Olufuye, while revealing this at the weekend, said that Mr. Ya’u was born in 1960 in Katagum Local Government of Bauchi State. He attended Government Secondary School, Azare before enrolling at Bayero University Kano (BUK), where he studied Electrical Engineering.

He later went to ABU to read Telecommunications, and was also a guest researcher in 2002, 2003 and 2006 at the Department of Political Science, Stockholm University, Sweden.

He started lecturing from 1984 at BUK until 1999 when he resigned to join AITEC (UK) as an ICT consultant.

According to a press statement made available to Champion Infotel, since then, Mr. Ya’u has been working as Chief Executive Officer, Cybertec Venture Limited (CVL), Kano and is the founder of the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), a non-governmental organization focusing on the promotion of ICT for development based in Kano.

He was the founding Secretary of the Kano Branch of the Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN) and is also the Chairman, Grassroots Empowerment Committee of the Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) as well as a member of the board of trustees, Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA).

He has served as a member of the NuNet Committee, Bayero University, Kano, Kano State ICT Policy Drafting Committee, Committee for the Establishment of the Ado Bayero Computer College, Consultant for the establishment of the Kano State ICT Park and to several other organizations such as the CODESRIA, MacArthur Foundation, the Centre for Research and Documentation, among others.

He has authored and edited eight books and 20 contributed chapters among several journal articles.

As a writer, he has run many columns on IT and currently is a columnist with the Daily Independent newspapers.

ITAN is the association of major IT companies in the country with peculiar focus on local hardware development.

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NSN signs deal with Tunisie telecoms

The Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has signed a deal with the Tunisie Telecom, the country’s leading operator.

The deal, according to the Head, Communications, Middle East and Africa region at Nokia Siemens Networks, Hala Kassir, will extend Nokia Siemens Networks services to the areas of Ennasr, Jardin du Lac and the Industrial Zone Kheireddine.

This, NSN informed was in the bid for the telco to live up to its vision of connecting 5 billion people by 2015.

“Nokia Siemens Networks aims at tapping on three of the most inhabited cities in Tunisia to provide them with its top of the line xDSL technology, becoming one of the leading network suppliers for Tunisie Telecom,” Kassir said.

Also, NSN said the deal underscores continuous commitment to the deployment of low-cost broadband Internet access to further enhance coverage in Tunisia, while making optimal use of the existing infrastructure already in place.

In addition, the extension will see the adoption of the MSAN Surpass HiX solution, which would be integrated into the Time Division Multiplex (TDM)-based shelters.

“This technology will enable broadband access for residential customers and thus accelerate the cost-effective introduction and provision of value added services,” the NSN official said.

Speaking on the deal, Chief Technical Officer (COO), Tunisie Telecom, Nizar Bouguila, said that by deploying the latest technologies available in the marketplace, the telco is improving its competitive position and is better yet able to serve its customers through its enhanced services.

“We’re confident that Nokia Siemens Networks is the best in class MSAN platform and the exceptional expertise of the team will help us meet the growing demand for low cost internet broadband access in Tunisia,” Bouguila said.

The COO, explained that the MSAN platform has a high bandwidth flexibility that delivers Triple Play services, stressing that such services include voice, data and video offerings providing new opportunities to operators, such as Tunisie Telecom, for generating new revenue out of their existing wire line infrastructure.

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