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AS part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) the fifth Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) operator, Etisalat Nigeria has kicked off its Adopt-a-School Initiative (ASI) with the renovation of Akande Dahunsi Junior and Senior Secondary School Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos State.
The Adopt–a-School Initiative (ASI) is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between Lagos State Government and business organizations in the state. ASI is designed to improve the deplorable state of public schools in Lagos by urging corporate bodies to get involved in upgrading public schools through strategic support in whatever area they choose.
The public relations manager, Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Yinka Ijabiyi made this disclosure, last weekend, and said that the programme, avails Etisalat to help alleviate the infrastructural challenges being faced in the nation’s education sector.
The company, he also said, begun the total renovation of the schools’ infrastructure which includes the re-tiling of walls and floors, borehole reconstruction, upgrading and renovation of toilet facilities with state of the art plumbing system.
“Etisalat also intends to build and stock a new comprehensive library as well as upgrade the schools’ science laboratory and music studio amongst other facilities,” he said.
Equally speaking, the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Wael Ammar noted that as a responsible corporate citizen, the telecom operator is committed to educational development in the country.
“We believe that our contribution will go a long way in ensuring that children learn in a conducive environment thereby enhancing the quality of education obtainable in public schools. Etisalat is proud to be part of this laudable initiative,” he asserted.
In addition, he revealed that Etisalat has advanced plans to undertake the refurbishment of Rabiatu Thompson and Edward Blyden Primary Schools.
“Our plan is to upgrade the facilities within all the schools we have adopted,” he said.
Just recently, Etisalat gave support to the 4th annual Student Trade Fair, which held at the University of Lagos as the major sponsor of the fair.
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Wednesday, February 18, 2009
CITAD’s ICT incubator opens
THE Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has announced the commencement of its Information and Communication Technology (ICT) business incubator programme.
The programme, which commenced Monday, February 2, 2009 is to take the 16 pioneer youth to the next level in their lives, according to the Executive Director, CITAD, Y. Z. Ya’u.
He disclosed this in a press statement made available to Champion Infotel, saying that the 16-youth were selected from the best of the 300 people who participated last year in the Microsoft cum United States’ Government supported Employability Programme that CITAD and LEAP Africa are implementing in Kano.
He said that the ICT business incubator initiative as conceived by CITAD is aimed at nurturing the young people to become ICT businesses entrepreneurs.
“The Incubator programme consists of three components,” he said, stressing that the first batch is a training programme on ICT entrepreneurship, which would last for three months.
He explained that during the period participants would in addition to deepening their ICT skills, gain training in such skills as website design, video/film editing, ICT equipment maintenance among others.
“They are also to be couched in Small Scale business management and marketing as well as in communication and negotiation skills,” he said.
During this period, Ya’u said participants would be encouraged to sit for relevant professional examinations such as those organized by the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN).
Stressing that at the end of the three months, “they will undergo a 3-month business internship during which they are expected to produce business plans.”
He emphasized that these business plans would be discussed with a team of CITAD business advisers and once agreed upon, his organization would then provide the needed business support on grantorship.
At the end of the business internship, he said, the successful participants are expected to set up their own businesses.
“At this stage CITAD would provide business mentoring support, networking, professional upgrading and virtual office space for the participants,” he said.
Equally, he said that six months preceding the establishment of own businesses, they would be used to incubate and it is expected that at the end of the year the participants would graduate to full business entrepreneurs.
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The programme, which commenced Monday, February 2, 2009 is to take the 16 pioneer youth to the next level in their lives, according to the Executive Director, CITAD, Y. Z. Ya’u.
He disclosed this in a press statement made available to Champion Infotel, saying that the 16-youth were selected from the best of the 300 people who participated last year in the Microsoft cum United States’ Government supported Employability Programme that CITAD and LEAP Africa are implementing in Kano.
He said that the ICT business incubator initiative as conceived by CITAD is aimed at nurturing the young people to become ICT businesses entrepreneurs.
“The Incubator programme consists of three components,” he said, stressing that the first batch is a training programme on ICT entrepreneurship, which would last for three months.
He explained that during the period participants would in addition to deepening their ICT skills, gain training in such skills as website design, video/film editing, ICT equipment maintenance among others.
“They are also to be couched in Small Scale business management and marketing as well as in communication and negotiation skills,” he said.
During this period, Ya’u said participants would be encouraged to sit for relevant professional examinations such as those organized by the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN).
Stressing that at the end of the three months, “they will undergo a 3-month business internship during which they are expected to produce business plans.”
He emphasized that these business plans would be discussed with a team of CITAD business advisers and once agreed upon, his organization would then provide the needed business support on grantorship.
At the end of the business internship, he said, the successful participants are expected to set up their own businesses.
“At this stage CITAD would provide business mentoring support, networking, professional upgrading and virtual office space for the participants,” he said.
Equally, he said that six months preceding the establishment of own businesses, they would be used to incubate and it is expected that at the end of the year the participants would graduate to full business entrepreneurs.
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New Horizons takes X-project to FCT
REPUTED Information and Communications Technology (ICT) training firm, New Horizons Systems Solutions Limited, has finalized plans to host another round of X-project also tagged Infotainment, at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.
Managing Director, New Horizons, Mr. Tim Akano said all is now set for the Abuja version of the event bill for Friday, February 20, 2009, at the Veledrome Centre, Abuja National Stadium beginning by 4p.m.
According to him, the musical jamboree cum information technology concert is expected to have all the glitz, glamour and quality entertainment synonymous with Musical Rave of the moment X-Project.
"The event will feature a one-of-a-kind performance by the host of the day and multi-talented radio presenter Steve Onu a.k.a. YAW of WAZOBIA FM, " he said.
Akano also noted that the programme would attract over 10,000 young Nigerians from across the country and will give these teeming youths the much needed information that will help them take the right steps towards self fulfillment and actualize their dreams.
Major highlight of the event will be the award of 500 tuition free scholarships to first to register candidates.
Other events at the programme, he said, would be the delivery of various topics one of which is “The Seven IT Skills of Fortune.”
“Our goal, each year, is to surprise ourselves and others by the creativity, distinctiveness, and reach of those we identify and support, in this case the Nigerian Youths and the young at heart in general and our Century Nigeria project, "he said.
Pointing out that the “Century Nigeria” is aimed at reaching and empowering the Nigerian youth through Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in a bid to develop the future workforce of the country.
“The goal is to make the Nigerian youth understand the challenges underlining poverty and provide them with skills on how they can use ICT to solve those challenges, thereby making Nigeria a better country to live in,” he said.
Akano recalled that in 2008 alone, New Horizons conducted five seminars on ICT and attracted a crowd of more than 120,000 participants in 10 locations across the nation.
The company which began operation locally about four years ago, prides itself as the first and only training institution in Nigeria to integrate ICT Certification based training with academic training in the universities and secondary schools.
Currently, he said, his firm partners with some institutions including University of Ibadan, Lagos State University, Babcock, Covenant, Crawford, Crescent, and Lead City Universities.
“As a result of this initiative, New Horizons trains over 20,000 students annually in several universities and secondary schools in Nigeria,” he said.
New Horizons also provides comprehensive and cost-effective training for individuals and corporate bodies that want to expand their IT skills in their current professions or to take the first step towards new careers.
The company equally has partnership with Microsoft, Oracle WDP Programme, Cisco Academy, Sun Java Academy, EC-Council University, and EC-council and has won many awards in recent times.
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Managing Director, New Horizons, Mr. Tim Akano said all is now set for the Abuja version of the event bill for Friday, February 20, 2009, at the Veledrome Centre, Abuja National Stadium beginning by 4p.m.
According to him, the musical jamboree cum information technology concert is expected to have all the glitz, glamour and quality entertainment synonymous with Musical Rave of the moment X-Project.
"The event will feature a one-of-a-kind performance by the host of the day and multi-talented radio presenter Steve Onu a.k.a. YAW of WAZOBIA FM, " he said.
Akano also noted that the programme would attract over 10,000 young Nigerians from across the country and will give these teeming youths the much needed information that will help them take the right steps towards self fulfillment and actualize their dreams.
Major highlight of the event will be the award of 500 tuition free scholarships to first to register candidates.
Other events at the programme, he said, would be the delivery of various topics one of which is “The Seven IT Skills of Fortune.”
“Our goal, each year, is to surprise ourselves and others by the creativity, distinctiveness, and reach of those we identify and support, in this case the Nigerian Youths and the young at heart in general and our Century Nigeria project, "he said.
Pointing out that the “Century Nigeria” is aimed at reaching and empowering the Nigerian youth through Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in a bid to develop the future workforce of the country.
“The goal is to make the Nigerian youth understand the challenges underlining poverty and provide them with skills on how they can use ICT to solve those challenges, thereby making Nigeria a better country to live in,” he said.
Akano recalled that in 2008 alone, New Horizons conducted five seminars on ICT and attracted a crowd of more than 120,000 participants in 10 locations across the nation.
The company which began operation locally about four years ago, prides itself as the first and only training institution in Nigeria to integrate ICT Certification based training with academic training in the universities and secondary schools.
Currently, he said, his firm partners with some institutions including University of Ibadan, Lagos State University, Babcock, Covenant, Crawford, Crescent, and Lead City Universities.
“As a result of this initiative, New Horizons trains over 20,000 students annually in several universities and secondary schools in Nigeria,” he said.
New Horizons also provides comprehensive and cost-effective training for individuals and corporate bodies that want to expand their IT skills in their current professions or to take the first step towards new careers.
The company equally has partnership with Microsoft, Oracle WDP Programme, Cisco Academy, Sun Java Academy, EC-Council University, and EC-council and has won many awards in recent times.
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Ejoh wins jackpot @ MTN Treasure Hunt promo
MOBILE telecom provider, MTN Nigeria, has rounded off its suspense filled Treasure Hunt promo with a presentation of N10 million jackpot winner.
The jackpot marked the full course of the 100 day promo, with Mrs. Taiwo Temitayo Ejoh, a civil servant, emerged the star winner in the MTN Treasure Hunt promotion which ended last week Tuesday February 3, 2009.
She was pronounced the winner of the N10 million jackpot prize at the final presentation ceremony, which took place penultimate Wednesday, February 11 2009 in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Reacting to the prize, Ejoh said, she had expected to win because she played with the aim of winning the ten million naira as she believed strongly in MTN.
“It took a lot of time, money, psychology, luck and prayers, because winning the MTN Treasure Hunt promo was business for me,” she said.
She appreciated her family and friends whom she had deployed to play for her while she was at work.
Other winners who emerged at the final prize presentation ceremony include Ezekiel Adebo and Pieston Ikogho, who won N2m each and five other people who won consolation prizes of handsets, Television set and Digital Video Display [DVD] .
Presenting the cheques to respective winners, General Manager, Consumer Marketing at MTN, Mr. Kolawole Oyeyemi, said that MTN prides itself as a brand that impacts people and that the objective is to better the lives of Nigerians.
He reiterated that the short messaging service [sms] -based consumer promotion which begun on the 27, October 2008 and ended on February 3, 2009 has produced over 325 winners and that selection of winners was done randomly until the emergence of the N10m winner.
Mr. Oyeyemi noted that the MTN promo was a promo that defied fraudsters who tried to manipulate participants in the promo. He said “subscribers were advised to visit the authentic MTN website for information – www.mtnonline.com. Only a big brand like MTN could promise and deliver on it.”
In all, 100 people emerged N1 million winners, 14 people emerged N2m winners and 1 person emerged the jackpot winner of N10m.
He further said MTN spent a total of N145 million in running the MTN Treasure Hunt promotion, the 100 days promo aimed at making a millionaire a day for 100 days. The company spent that amount of money because it believed in keeping its promises.
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The jackpot marked the full course of the 100 day promo, with Mrs. Taiwo Temitayo Ejoh, a civil servant, emerged the star winner in the MTN Treasure Hunt promotion which ended last week Tuesday February 3, 2009.
She was pronounced the winner of the N10 million jackpot prize at the final presentation ceremony, which took place penultimate Wednesday, February 11 2009 in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Reacting to the prize, Ejoh said, she had expected to win because she played with the aim of winning the ten million naira as she believed strongly in MTN.
“It took a lot of time, money, psychology, luck and prayers, because winning the MTN Treasure Hunt promo was business for me,” she said.
She appreciated her family and friends whom she had deployed to play for her while she was at work.
Other winners who emerged at the final prize presentation ceremony include Ezekiel Adebo and Pieston Ikogho, who won N2m each and five other people who won consolation prizes of handsets, Television set and Digital Video Display [DVD] .
Presenting the cheques to respective winners, General Manager, Consumer Marketing at MTN, Mr. Kolawole Oyeyemi, said that MTN prides itself as a brand that impacts people and that the objective is to better the lives of Nigerians.
He reiterated that the short messaging service [sms] -based consumer promotion which begun on the 27, October 2008 and ended on February 3, 2009 has produced over 325 winners and that selection of winners was done randomly until the emergence of the N10m winner.
Mr. Oyeyemi noted that the MTN promo was a promo that defied fraudsters who tried to manipulate participants in the promo. He said “subscribers were advised to visit the authentic MTN website for information – www.mtnonline.com. Only a big brand like MTN could promise and deliver on it.”
In all, 100 people emerged N1 million winners, 14 people emerged N2m winners and 1 person emerged the jackpot winner of N10m.
He further said MTN spent a total of N145 million in running the MTN Treasure Hunt promotion, the 100 days promo aimed at making a millionaire a day for 100 days. The company spent that amount of money because it believed in keeping its promises.
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Senate, NCC to host telecom forum
SENATE Committee on Communication in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Ministry of Information and Communication, have concluded plans to host stakeholders forum at the nation’ Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja next month.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Communications, Senator Sylvester Anyanwu, gave this indication in a chat with newsmen in Lagos, last weekend.
He said that the proposed two-day telecom stakeholders’ forum has been scheduled to hold between March 26 and 27, this year, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
This, he said, became paramount to usher in a new wave of development in the nation’s telecommunications sector, also assured on the positive efforts of his committee in ensuring that the on-going review of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 is improved upon to uplift the socio-political situation of the citizenry.
Anyanwu said the forum is expected to attract who-is-who in the telecommunications industry including sub-sector individuals to brainstorm on the way forward for the nation.
Stressing that the standardized review of the Act would pave the way for both political and economic co-existence and development for the country.
“Since Nigeria is the largest growing telecommunications country in Africa, it makes it necessary for the country orchestrate the review of the Communications Act 2003, in order to comfortably lay claim to our behemoth position,” he declared.
According to him, the forum promises to buttress the promises to further encourage development in the country.
Responding to questions, Anyanwu noted that telecom sector has been one of the most active, and most talked about sector of the economy in the country for the past eight years.
“I guess, and I know remarkably well that by 1999 we had just 250,000 telephone lines working and today, I can assure you that we have over 60 million people using telephone in this country and so that growth is very remarkable within a stretch of eight years or less,” he said.
Pointing out that the sector has also a lot of challenges that could be surely corrected if the will and the commitment are there.
One of such challenges, he said, is the issue of power supply which the federal government is working seriously to address, “because power constitute almost 50 per cent of the running cost of all the business here in Nigeria, including telecom and secondly the issue of providers with their very high tariff and that of dropped calls and incomplete calls, that has bothered the committee a lot.”
He recalled that in 2007 there were a stakeholders meetings and public hearings where these issues were discussed, we have had series of meeting with all the providers both the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) and fixed operators on this issue.
“And that Nigerians are getting worried about the level of service delivery and we need to get the valve of money in whatever we spend, so we decided to talk to them, and in 2007, you remember the 2007 December – January 2008, it was terrible so we had to come out with a blue print of 12.7 million dollars sent to subscribers by air time,” he submitted.
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Chairman, Senate Committee on Communications, Senator Sylvester Anyanwu, gave this indication in a chat with newsmen in Lagos, last weekend.
He said that the proposed two-day telecom stakeholders’ forum has been scheduled to hold between March 26 and 27, this year, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.
This, he said, became paramount to usher in a new wave of development in the nation’s telecommunications sector, also assured on the positive efforts of his committee in ensuring that the on-going review of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 is improved upon to uplift the socio-political situation of the citizenry.
Anyanwu said the forum is expected to attract who-is-who in the telecommunications industry including sub-sector individuals to brainstorm on the way forward for the nation.
Stressing that the standardized review of the Act would pave the way for both political and economic co-existence and development for the country.
“Since Nigeria is the largest growing telecommunications country in Africa, it makes it necessary for the country orchestrate the review of the Communications Act 2003, in order to comfortably lay claim to our behemoth position,” he declared.
According to him, the forum promises to buttress the promises to further encourage development in the country.
Responding to questions, Anyanwu noted that telecom sector has been one of the most active, and most talked about sector of the economy in the country for the past eight years.
“I guess, and I know remarkably well that by 1999 we had just 250,000 telephone lines working and today, I can assure you that we have over 60 million people using telephone in this country and so that growth is very remarkable within a stretch of eight years or less,” he said.
Pointing out that the sector has also a lot of challenges that could be surely corrected if the will and the commitment are there.
One of such challenges, he said, is the issue of power supply which the federal government is working seriously to address, “because power constitute almost 50 per cent of the running cost of all the business here in Nigeria, including telecom and secondly the issue of providers with their very high tariff and that of dropped calls and incomplete calls, that has bothered the committee a lot.”
He recalled that in 2007 there were a stakeholders meetings and public hearings where these issues were discussed, we have had series of meeting with all the providers both the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) and fixed operators on this issue.
“And that Nigerians are getting worried about the level of service delivery and we need to get the valve of money in whatever we spend, so we decided to talk to them, and in 2007, you remember the 2007 December – January 2008, it was terrible so we had to come out with a blue print of 12.7 million dollars sent to subscribers by air time,” he submitted.
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Bizman tasks FG on substandard CDMA phones
A concerned Nigerian and international businessman, Mr. Christopher Chukwurah, has raised alarm over substandard phones being flooded in the markets by Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators. He also warned that the Federal Government should take drastic action so as to save the lives of its citizenry.
The businessman, who trades on mobile phones told newsmen recently in Lagos that those phones do not have anti-radiation devices and can cause brain cancer to their users in the long run.
“When you use these phones to make call for about two to three minutes it would start getting very hot, showing that the phone doesn’t have anti-radiation. And that carries radiation directly into someone’s ear, which can in future cause a lot of brain complications, resulting in brain cancer in the country.
“They sell these phones as cheap as N1,500 in the name of bonanza, while competing among themselves. I have dismantled the phones and found out that they don’t contain a lot of ICs mobile phones are supposed to have.
“Federal Government should act quickly by stopping these companies from bringing these phones into the country for the safety of lives of its citizenry, since the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) is not doing its job,” he said.
Chukwurah further urged the government to lift the ban on some contraband, especially vehicles, adding that such ban encourages high level corruption among Custom officials.
“I cannot understand why government should place a ban on importation of vehicles that are above eight years whereas vehicles that are as old as 30 years are still being used in the country.
“You can only put such embargo when you are producing your own, but here in Nigeria, we are not producing. So, what alternative has government provided?,” he wondered.
He advised Customs officials to shun feeding fat from contraband goods and extorting huge amount of money from importers while the government and its citizens lose.
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The businessman, who trades on mobile phones told newsmen recently in Lagos that those phones do not have anti-radiation devices and can cause brain cancer to their users in the long run.
“When you use these phones to make call for about two to three minutes it would start getting very hot, showing that the phone doesn’t have anti-radiation. And that carries radiation directly into someone’s ear, which can in future cause a lot of brain complications, resulting in brain cancer in the country.
“They sell these phones as cheap as N1,500 in the name of bonanza, while competing among themselves. I have dismantled the phones and found out that they don’t contain a lot of ICs mobile phones are supposed to have.
“Federal Government should act quickly by stopping these companies from bringing these phones into the country for the safety of lives of its citizenry, since the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) is not doing its job,” he said.
Chukwurah further urged the government to lift the ban on some contraband, especially vehicles, adding that such ban encourages high level corruption among Custom officials.
“I cannot understand why government should place a ban on importation of vehicles that are above eight years whereas vehicles that are as old as 30 years are still being used in the country.
“You can only put such embargo when you are producing your own, but here in Nigeria, we are not producing. So, what alternative has government provided?,” he wondered.
He advised Customs officials to shun feeding fat from contraband goods and extorting huge amount of money from importers while the government and its citizens lose.
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Vision Tech introduces WydeVoice
VISION Telecommunication Technologies (VTT) Limited has introduced WydeVoice, a seamless conferencing facility which accommodates about 10,000 callers at the same time into the market place.
This, the company said was in the move to expand the front line of individual and corporate communications, trainings and other information sharing needs nationwide.
Managing Director, VTT Limited, Mr. Michael Adesola Dada said at the launch in Lagos, that the WydeVoice is available presently in two sizes, namely the VM1000 and the VM3000 with audio conferencing bridges and web conferencing with voice biometric security and real time audio ad insertion.
“With 16 bit 16 kilohertz (khz) voice quality and carrier grade reliability, WydeVoice allows easy integration with third party web applications and accesses conference calls via headphone, softphone, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and by its design facilitates flexible call flow,” he said.
Also, he said, unique features and capabilities of that WydeVoice is the first of its kind in Africa and that its introduction into the Nigerian market was borne out of the determination to contribute to the growth of the telecommunications industry by creating a more robust, reliable, qualitative voice communication and audio conferencing technology to end users at the cheapest cost.
Noting though that there had been some conferencing products in the market already, he said that WydeVoice offers a broader, multifunctional and secured communication option to users with its unique features of voice biometric security, thousands of Virtual Meeting Rooms on a single appliance enabling it to deliver qualitative services at minimal cost.
“The coming of this product will usher in a new vista of information sharing and business opportunities to individuals and corporate organizations in such a way that would enable them to leverage their market competitiveness, strategic collaboration and training at all levels of their operations,” he said.
Additionally, he pointed out that the product could generate income for investors who use it for commercial purposes.
“This is a new technology that is coming to Africa and Nigeria is the first point of entry. We should be proud as Nigerians for having the product delivered to us with full technical support and after sales services,” he declared.
Stressing that when GSM technology came at the wake of liberalizing the sector, a few years back, many people said it is not going to work.
“From our observation, a lot of companies came in and are now reaping the benefits while those that doubted are now left in the cold,” he said, advising that Nigerians, particularly the network providers, legislators, bankers, oil and gas operators, and those at the helm of affairs at tertiary institutions to take advantage of the immense benefits associated with this product in areas of information sharing, learning, training and other areas of our national endeavours as a means of achieving sustainable development in the country.
“As we all know, information is power and it is only those who have access to it and manage it efficiently that will continue to determine the fate of others who have no access. Our appeal therefore goes to all Nigerians to work together with us and make us reap the immense socio-economic benefits of the technology”, he said.
Dada further explained that Vision Telecommunications Technologies Limited is a non-exclusive representative of the United States (US)-based WydeVoice, the manufacturers of the product, in the African continent.
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This, the company said was in the move to expand the front line of individual and corporate communications, trainings and other information sharing needs nationwide.
Managing Director, VTT Limited, Mr. Michael Adesola Dada said at the launch in Lagos, that the WydeVoice is available presently in two sizes, namely the VM1000 and the VM3000 with audio conferencing bridges and web conferencing with voice biometric security and real time audio ad insertion.
“With 16 bit 16 kilohertz (khz) voice quality and carrier grade reliability, WydeVoice allows easy integration with third party web applications and accesses conference calls via headphone, softphone, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and by its design facilitates flexible call flow,” he said.
Also, he said, unique features and capabilities of that WydeVoice is the first of its kind in Africa and that its introduction into the Nigerian market was borne out of the determination to contribute to the growth of the telecommunications industry by creating a more robust, reliable, qualitative voice communication and audio conferencing technology to end users at the cheapest cost.
Noting though that there had been some conferencing products in the market already, he said that WydeVoice offers a broader, multifunctional and secured communication option to users with its unique features of voice biometric security, thousands of Virtual Meeting Rooms on a single appliance enabling it to deliver qualitative services at minimal cost.
“The coming of this product will usher in a new vista of information sharing and business opportunities to individuals and corporate organizations in such a way that would enable them to leverage their market competitiveness, strategic collaboration and training at all levels of their operations,” he said.
Additionally, he pointed out that the product could generate income for investors who use it for commercial purposes.
“This is a new technology that is coming to Africa and Nigeria is the first point of entry. We should be proud as Nigerians for having the product delivered to us with full technical support and after sales services,” he declared.
Stressing that when GSM technology came at the wake of liberalizing the sector, a few years back, many people said it is not going to work.
“From our observation, a lot of companies came in and are now reaping the benefits while those that doubted are now left in the cold,” he said, advising that Nigerians, particularly the network providers, legislators, bankers, oil and gas operators, and those at the helm of affairs at tertiary institutions to take advantage of the immense benefits associated with this product in areas of information sharing, learning, training and other areas of our national endeavours as a means of achieving sustainable development in the country.
“As we all know, information is power and it is only those who have access to it and manage it efficiently that will continue to determine the fate of others who have no access. Our appeal therefore goes to all Nigerians to work together with us and make us reap the immense socio-economic benefits of the technology”, he said.
Dada further explained that Vision Telecommunications Technologies Limited is a non-exclusive representative of the United States (US)-based WydeVoice, the manufacturers of the product, in the African continent.
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Monday, February 16, 2009
MainOne Cable acquires landing sites in Lagos, Accra
Telecommunications infrastructure provider, MainOne Cable Company, has acquired landing sites in both Nigeria and Ghana where it has requisite rights from the regulatory organs in these countries.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MainOne Cable Company, Ms. Funke Opeke, made this disclosure in Lagos, at the weekend, saying that work has commenced on the project with initiation of survey in Portugal and surveys of the landing sites in both countries.
"We had an engineering team working with us in Accra last week and this week the team has been busy conducting detailed surveys and design reviews at our sites in Lekki-Lagos, where we will land the cable and build our cable station to house the equipment to power the cable and interconnect our network with those of other operators," she said.
Opeke also said that work on site has gone well and her company will finalise the designs on schedule, so as to apply for necessary approvals and plans for construction.
Stressing that the actual cable to be deployed in the project would be manufactured according to laid down engineering specifications before the end of the year.
In addition, she said that between Nigeria and Ghana, the regulatory environment is relatively the same with regards to the granting of pioneer license in the two West African countries.
"The fees were not onerous in Nigeria and Ghana in terms of obtaining pioneer licenses and its more or less and there is a high degree of responsibility," he said.
Ms Opeke further said that her firm has a vision to build the first private sector led and funded international telecommunications highway between West Africa and the rest of the world.
"We have established a group holding company across several countries in Africa and Europe to make this happen," she said.
Emphasizing that the operational headquarters will be based in Nigeria, highlighting the fact that MainOne has secured pioneer international fibre optic cable landing licenses in Nigeria and Ghana.
"We’re well positioned to be the premier and preferred wholesale international bandwidth provider in these markets," she said.
Assuring that the make up of the combination of the firm’s team of highly experienced professionals and selection of world class companies to work with, makes the company confident about successful delivery of the network.
The mission of the company, she said, is to bridge Africa’s digital divide by providing telecommunications infrastructure that enables cost effective access to global information, while its goal centres on building the most trusted, scalable and professionally managed international fibre optic network on the continent.
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Chief Executive Officer (CEO), MainOne Cable Company, Ms. Funke Opeke, made this disclosure in Lagos, at the weekend, saying that work has commenced on the project with initiation of survey in Portugal and surveys of the landing sites in both countries.
"We had an engineering team working with us in Accra last week and this week the team has been busy conducting detailed surveys and design reviews at our sites in Lekki-Lagos, where we will land the cable and build our cable station to house the equipment to power the cable and interconnect our network with those of other operators," she said.
Opeke also said that work on site has gone well and her company will finalise the designs on schedule, so as to apply for necessary approvals and plans for construction.
Stressing that the actual cable to be deployed in the project would be manufactured according to laid down engineering specifications before the end of the year.
In addition, she said that between Nigeria and Ghana, the regulatory environment is relatively the same with regards to the granting of pioneer license in the two West African countries.
"The fees were not onerous in Nigeria and Ghana in terms of obtaining pioneer licenses and its more or less and there is a high degree of responsibility," he said.
Ms Opeke further said that her firm has a vision to build the first private sector led and funded international telecommunications highway between West Africa and the rest of the world.
"We have established a group holding company across several countries in Africa and Europe to make this happen," she said.
Emphasizing that the operational headquarters will be based in Nigeria, highlighting the fact that MainOne has secured pioneer international fibre optic cable landing licenses in Nigeria and Ghana.
"We’re well positioned to be the premier and preferred wholesale international bandwidth provider in these markets," she said.
Assuring that the make up of the combination of the firm’s team of highly experienced professionals and selection of world class companies to work with, makes the company confident about successful delivery of the network.
The mission of the company, she said, is to bridge Africa’s digital divide by providing telecommunications infrastructure that enables cost effective access to global information, while its goal centres on building the most trusted, scalable and professionally managed international fibre optic network on the continent.
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Intercontinental Verve card debuts
Intercontinental Bank Plc has launched a multiple chip and Personal Identification Number (PIN)-based electronic card, known as ‘Intercontinental Verve Card,’ thus making it the first bank in the country to introduce such a card.
Speaking during the launch at the bank’s corporate headquarters in Lagos, the Group Chief Executive, Intercontinental Bank Plc, Dr. Erastus Akingbola, said his bank is the first to officially launch the Verve chip and PIN loyalty card, which is created by Nigerians for the global market.
Describing the occasion as a feat for the bank, Akingbola commended the electronic banking cum card services group of the bank for their spirited efforts at ensuring that Intercontinental remain a trail blazer in the deployment of Verve cards.
“Today’s ceremony is another celebration of another feat as Intercontinental Bank through today’s event becomes the first Nigerian bank to issue the Verve chip and PIN with loyalty card created in Nigeria for the world,” he said.
Stressing that with this development, a new symbol of technological progress is making headlines in the Nigerian e-banking industry.
Recalling that last year, the apex bank in the country, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had mandated all banks to comply with the issuance of chip and PIN based and Europay MasterCard Visa (EMV) compliant cards, before the end of second quarter of 2009.
In line with this, he said, Intercontinental Bank Plc has upgraded all its channels to honour transactions initiated from these kinds of cards.
“Our staff from relevant departments were also trained on different aspects bordering on card operations, card issuance, business and product development dynamics set around the functionalities of these cards,” he said.
Presently, Akingbola pointed out that his bank has taken delivery of two brands of chip (Verve) cards and is working on the modalities involved in migrating all its customers to the new enhanced and more secured EMV chip and PIN Verve payment card on the InterSwitch platform.
Also speaking, Managing Director of pioneer electronic payment switching company, InterSwitch Limited, Mr. Mitchell Elegbe, explained that Verve is a chip based card that offers more security to the end-user than was ever available in the e-payment solution in the country.
“Verve was manufactured by Nigeria for the world,” he said, reiterating that the product debut was in compliance with the CBN directive to banks to migrate all card in the country to a truly global chip card.
“We want to ensure that Verve is used across Africa and I want to assure you that it could be used in any Intercontinental Bank Automated Teller Machines (ATMs),” he said.
According to him, the card has the ability to execute biometric functions, noting that Intercontinental cards could be identified with the bank’s name and logo, even as the reward system is built into the Verve card.
“Verve card is a step up from what currently existed,” he said, pointing out that there exist various reward formula including instant discount, coupon, point accumulation.
Equally, Divisional Head, e-banking at Intercontinental Bank Plc, Mrs. Chinyere Don Okofo, said that the bank is not likely to introduce any form of additional charge to migrate to Verve card.
“Our customers have been using their cards well discounted,” she said, assuring that Verve has a strong loyalty platform upon which the bank intends to reward customers who use it through Point of Sale (PoS), web purchases and ATM transactions very handsomely.
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D
Speaking during the launch at the bank’s corporate headquarters in Lagos, the Group Chief Executive, Intercontinental Bank Plc, Dr. Erastus Akingbola, said his bank is the first to officially launch the Verve chip and PIN loyalty card, which is created by Nigerians for the global market.
Describing the occasion as a feat for the bank, Akingbola commended the electronic banking cum card services group of the bank for their spirited efforts at ensuring that Intercontinental remain a trail blazer in the deployment of Verve cards.
“Today’s ceremony is another celebration of another feat as Intercontinental Bank through today’s event becomes the first Nigerian bank to issue the Verve chip and PIN with loyalty card created in Nigeria for the world,” he said.
Stressing that with this development, a new symbol of technological progress is making headlines in the Nigerian e-banking industry.
Recalling that last year, the apex bank in the country, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had mandated all banks to comply with the issuance of chip and PIN based and Europay MasterCard Visa (EMV) compliant cards, before the end of second quarter of 2009.
In line with this, he said, Intercontinental Bank Plc has upgraded all its channels to honour transactions initiated from these kinds of cards.
“Our staff from relevant departments were also trained on different aspects bordering on card operations, card issuance, business and product development dynamics set around the functionalities of these cards,” he said.
Presently, Akingbola pointed out that his bank has taken delivery of two brands of chip (Verve) cards and is working on the modalities involved in migrating all its customers to the new enhanced and more secured EMV chip and PIN Verve payment card on the InterSwitch platform.
Also speaking, Managing Director of pioneer electronic payment switching company, InterSwitch Limited, Mr. Mitchell Elegbe, explained that Verve is a chip based card that offers more security to the end-user than was ever available in the e-payment solution in the country.
“Verve was manufactured by Nigeria for the world,” he said, reiterating that the product debut was in compliance with the CBN directive to banks to migrate all card in the country to a truly global chip card.
“We want to ensure that Verve is used across Africa and I want to assure you that it could be used in any Intercontinental Bank Automated Teller Machines (ATMs),” he said.
According to him, the card has the ability to execute biometric functions, noting that Intercontinental cards could be identified with the bank’s name and logo, even as the reward system is built into the Verve card.
“Verve card is a step up from what currently existed,” he said, pointing out that there exist various reward formula including instant discount, coupon, point accumulation.
Equally, Divisional Head, e-banking at Intercontinental Bank Plc, Mrs. Chinyere Don Okofo, said that the bank is not likely to introduce any form of additional charge to migrate to Verve card.
“Our customers have been using their cards well discounted,” she said, assuring that Verve has a strong loyalty platform upon which the bank intends to reward customers who use it through Point of Sale (PoS), web purchases and ATM transactions very handsomely.
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D
Experts predict boom for Open Source
Experts at the just concluded Intellect Annual Regent Conference 2009, which held in London, have predicted that traditional technology vendors face tough times as the occasion calls for alternative technologies available in Open Source.
Chairman of analyst house TechMarketView, Mr. Richard Holway, was quoted as saying in a report by ZDNet that in a recession people would actually get an accelerated adoption of new technologies.
Chief research officer and senior vice president at IDC, Mr. John Gantz, concurred, saying that the economic crisis would force some companies to make technological changes they may not have made.
Some of these alternative technologies, experts listed to include software-as-a-service (SaaS), open-source software and cloud computing, all of which go against the business models of the tech old guard or at best the proprietary methods.
Holway also said some companies would find it increasingly difficult to remain relevant as businesses realize the benefits of this technology during and after the economic slump.
These emerging technologies will provide better value for money as businesses struggle with cash flow but could also prove to be better bets in the long term as well.
"Leading technology users will use the downturn to pull further ahead," Gantz said.
Holway noted that he thinks there are now bigger opportunities for change than ever before, warning "I believe the power of Microsoft over the next period will be severely weakened. The whole model that Microsoft has got is under severe threat."
Ian Smith, ex-regional senior vice president for Oracle UK and now managing partner at AndersonBick Consultants, said: "SAP, Oracle — if they're not prepared to change, potentially, they are dinosaurs. If these companies aren't smart, they could become dinosaurs."
Kate Craig-Wood, managing director of hosting company Memset, said open-source technology could also be a big winner as a result of the economic crisis.
She said: "I think the current period could be a catalyst for a large move to open source. Again, I think that's a big threat to Microsoft."
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D
Chairman of analyst house TechMarketView, Mr. Richard Holway, was quoted as saying in a report by ZDNet that in a recession people would actually get an accelerated adoption of new technologies.
Chief research officer and senior vice president at IDC, Mr. John Gantz, concurred, saying that the economic crisis would force some companies to make technological changes they may not have made.
Some of these alternative technologies, experts listed to include software-as-a-service (SaaS), open-source software and cloud computing, all of which go against the business models of the tech old guard or at best the proprietary methods.
Holway also said some companies would find it increasingly difficult to remain relevant as businesses realize the benefits of this technology during and after the economic slump.
These emerging technologies will provide better value for money as businesses struggle with cash flow but could also prove to be better bets in the long term as well.
"Leading technology users will use the downturn to pull further ahead," Gantz said.
Holway noted that he thinks there are now bigger opportunities for change than ever before, warning "I believe the power of Microsoft over the next period will be severely weakened. The whole model that Microsoft has got is under severe threat."
Ian Smith, ex-regional senior vice president for Oracle UK and now managing partner at AndersonBick Consultants, said: "SAP, Oracle — if they're not prepared to change, potentially, they are dinosaurs. If these companies aren't smart, they could become dinosaurs."
Kate Craig-Wood, managing director of hosting company Memset, said open-source technology could also be a big winner as a result of the economic crisis.
She said: "I think the current period could be a catalyst for a large move to open source. Again, I think that's a big threat to Microsoft."
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D
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