CommTech to open harmonised policy for inputs

The Communications Technology (CommTech) ministry has concluded plans to put the harmonized national policy on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on its website for public consultation.

Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson gave this indication at the investiture of the latest president of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Sir Demola Aladekomo in Lagos.

She also said that the document as harmonized would be on the ministry’s web from January 9, 2011.

“We have concluded the harmonisation of the national ICT policy and we will put the policy on our website on the 9th of January at  www.commtech.gov.ng for public consultation and input,” she said.

Mrs. Johnson, therefore, encouraged stakeholders to go to the website on that d-day, look at the policy and ensures it’s in line with what customers envisaged even as he hope they would use the cost of industry going forward and make comments.

The ICT policy, mini, she said, would be the overarching guide of what is to be do in the industry.

“I really believe that with the new policy we will be well on the way to making  the ICT industry what it should be in a country as large and as diverse and as important as Nigeria,” she said.

As said by her, there are many challenges that are ahead of the Ministry and knew that the one that most people are most conversant with both within and without the ICT industry is the cost of quality of service of telecoms business.

She decried the state of poor quality of service, saying “I will say it is bad, we all know that it is bad and the operators know that it is bad.”

Her ministry, Johnson said is working with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to ensure that this issue is no longer a problem.

She maintained that there are many issues the operators were facing and that the number of base stations and infrastructure that are available; but her ministry is working hard to ensure that QoS is an issue of the past.

The NCC, she observed, has published quality of service indicators and they are enforcing same vigorously and holding the operators responsible for QoS indicators.

“I have met with a number of those operators and I can assure you that they are doing all that they can and we will continue to put them under pressure to ensure that they give out the quality of service that we deserve for the kind of prices that we pay.

Remmy Nweke
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D

NCC explains waiver on Quality of Service

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has explained the recent waiver granted some telecommunications service operators in the country, saying that they have all improved from what the network was three months ago.

The director, public affairs, NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo said that after due assessments of the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), that the Commission has described to waive the planned sanction of the services operators who may have fallen short of the expectation.

According to him, all the operators, especially the major ones given notice of sanction in earlier October have improved services on the network.

The assessments were for the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) services for the months of September, October and November 2011.

He affirmed that following the decline in Quality of Service (QoS) in the networks, NCC had intimated three major networks, namely MTN, Airtel and Globacom of its intention to issue direction if the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) set for QoS are not met by end of November 2011.

He outlined the KPIs to include Call Set-up Success Rate (CSSR), Call Completion Rate (CCR), Stand-alone Dedicated Controlled Channel Congestion (SDCCH), Hand-over Success Rate and Traffic Channel Congestion (TCH Cong).

Ojobo in a press statement made available to ITRealms Online explained that service providers were given till November 30, this year, to meet the above KPIs or be sanctioned.

He explained at the expiration of the period given to service providers to improve on their networks, the Commission carried out a drive-test to confirm the level of compliance to NCC’s directive, adding that the assessments was for months ending November 30.

Ojobo said that the outcome of the test revealed that Etisalat and Visafone have been consistent in their improvement towards good quality service provision. While Airtel recorded a significant improvement for the last quarter, Globacom, Starcomms and Multi-links have shown noticeable improvements. Even as MTN and Zoom Mobile showed slight step up.

The Commission, he said, is aware of the complaints of consumers arising from poor quality of service and this necessitated the directive that was given to the service providers.

“The over-riding objective of that directive is to ensure that service providers continue to invest in infrastructure with a view to ensuring continuous improvement in the quality of service provided,” he said.

NCC further urged service providers to continue to invest in infrastructure in order to ensure that the KPIs are met totally.

“In the light of the slight improvements recorded, the Commission would waive the sanctions for the months measured but would not hesitate to apply sanctions if there’s a decline in the current measurements obtained by the Commission,” he said.

He advised the operators to ensure that the necessary investments are made on the expansion of their infrastructure to be able to cope with the expected rise in voice and data traffic during this festive season.

“Any further decline in the Quality of Service (QoS) during this season will be unacceptable,” he asserted.

Remmy Nweke

ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D

Beckstrom applauds China on building Internet

•Search for new CEO kicks off

President and Chief Executive Officer, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), Mr. Rod Beckstrom, has applauded China for its role on building of the Internet, urging stakeholders to warm-up for the new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs).

This came as the search for new chief executive officer of ICANN gathers momentum.

Beckstrom who was in Beijing, China said that with just over a month before the opening of the application period for new generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs), organizations worldwide need to prepare for their introduction.

He advised stakeholders, especially companies and organisation to embrace gTLDs.

“If you have not done so, now is the time to get expert advice and get your marketing people engaged to take advantage of new opportunities. If you need help there are many companies around the world that offer this service,” he said.

Also, he said, that even those who do not plan to apply need to be vigilant, stressing that if one do not choose to apply, such a person still need to be attentive to those who do, and use the protections built into the programme to safeguard your brand or community.

The CEO who was quoted by the Director, Global Media Affairs at ICANN, Mr. Brad White, as speaking at a Beijing event aimed at informing, educating and engaging China’s business and Internet communities as part of ICANN’s global gTLD communication programme, commended China’s role in helping to build a strong global Internet and for helping to make Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) a reality in China, for the benefit of its 1.3 billion people.

IDNs, he said, facilitates the use of non-Latin characters, like Chinese in the Internet domain names.

“For more than a decade, China has demonstrated great leadership in advancing the technology that has made this type of innovation possible. You were among the first to experiment in IDNs and offer Chinese Domain Name registrations,” Beckstrom said.

The President, Internet Society of China (ISC), Madame Hu and honorary chairman of the steering committee of the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) noted that with 500 million Internet users in China, the Internet has become a critical platform to raise brand awareness and improve long-term competitiveness for every enterprise and institution.

Meanwhile, the Search Committee for a new Chief Executive Officer at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)  has met several times since Dakar last October.

The committee has also scheduled conference calls at least weekly through to the Costa Rica meeting in March 2012.

ITRealms Online learnt that the committee received a number of e-mailed responses in reply to its request in Dakar for further input.

“We thank those who have provided input, either in person in Dakar or through e-mail submissions,” they said.

Further, the committee said it issued a Request For Proposal (RFP) for a search firm to assist in the process, with eight firms solicited, and four acceptable responses were received.

ITRealms Online gathered that the proposal of Odgers Berndtson of Brussels was chosen, and the committee is now working actively with them.

The committee, in cooperation with Odgers Berndtson, has developed a candidate profile to be used in our search efforts. The profile is a condensation of the Board’s thinking and comments from the community and others, to help potential candidates understand the required skills and experience.

Remmy Nweke
ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D

Ogewonyi joins top winners in Nokia dual SIM promo

A Lagos resident, Ms Ogewonyi Augustina, has joined the group of winners of N500,000 in the on-going, Nokia Dual SIM promo.

Also in the list of winners in the last week promotional draw includes Captain Muhammed, Emekwo A.J, Dorcas Maigida, Moses Jimmy and Rotimi Obe, all from different geographical regions in Nigeria won N100,000.

Winners of the N50,000 were Ejizu Chinedu Augustine, Nnaemeka Michael Chika, Pastor Samuel Owolabi, Ikuebolati Theresa, Tombri, Frank, Dominic Achibon, Maduka Emeka, Odual Nyenami and Ibrahim Andrew.

Speaking, Mr. Paul Ngwuta, the star prize winner of the previous week and an  Okada Rider expressed gratitude to Nokia for the cash prize doled out to him.

“Nokia has been my number one mobile brand. I have always used Nokia and would continue to use it because it has added unimaginable value to my life,” he said.

One of the N100,000 winners from last week’s draw, Mrs. Ashiru Olasumbo, a Lagos based businesswoman expressed great joy for being one of the winners, adding that she was initially skeptical about the information. ‘I did not believe and did not want to come for the prize presentation until my friends advised me to come’.

Solutions Marketing Manager, Nokia West Africa, Kesiena Ogbemi, said the draw was a specially designed scheme to reward Nokia’s loyal customers. According to him, Nokia appreciates its loyal customers for their patronage and dedication to the brand.

‘This promo was birthed from the fact that Nigerians have been waiting for our dual SIM product, and we use this opportunity to say that we have arrived’, he said.

To be eligible for the draw, consumers need to purchase any of the Nokia’s range of dual SIM phones from any of the Nokia accredited stores and send the IMEI (International Manufacturer Equipment Identity) number on the pack to a short-code.

The Nokia Dual SIM Promo started on the 7th of November and would end on the 25th of December and the grand prize winner would go home with two Hyundai cars.

Remmy Nweke

ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D

NigcomSAT-1 returns to space

The much taunted replacement satellite of the Nigerian Communications Satellite-1 has returned successfully to the space with the launch yesterday (Monday) evening.

ITRealms Online gathered from China where the Long March 3B (LM-3B) launch vehicle from Xichang Satellite Launch Centre, located in South West China was conducted as at 5.40pm.

NigComSat-1R is in fulfillment of the Chinese company’s promise to replace NigComSat-1, which was de-orbited due to malfunctioning of Solar Array Deployment Assembly (SADA) on November 10, 2008.

Confirming this, the Deputy General Manager, Corporate Communications, Mr. Sonny Aragba-Akpore told ITRealms Online that the spacecraft entered the predefined orbit of perigee being 200 kilometres (km), apogee 41991 km and inclination 24.8゜. NigComSat-1R is the fourth in-orbit delivery contract signed by China Space with its international customers.

He also said that the launch was conducted in line with the NigComSat-1R contract signed between the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) and China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC), a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC).

He noted that NigComSat-1R spacecraft is built on Dong Fang Hong 4 (DFH-4) satellite bus developed by China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and launched by LM-3B launch vehicle, developed by China Academy of Launch Vehicle (CALT).

China Satellite Launch Tracking And Control General (CLTC), he said, is providing tracking, control and ground segment support for the programme, just as NigComSat-1R is the 8th satellite built on the DFH-4 bus for in-orbit delivery and the NigComSat-1R launch is the 18^th flight of LM-3B launch vehicle and the 154^th flight in the series of the Long March launchers.

The project, he said, was carried out in conjunction with over 50 NigcomSAT engineers who spent the last 31 months in China. The satellite with service lifespan of over 15 years was designed to meet the needs of telecommunications, maritime, defense, broadcast media in Africa, particularly Nigeria, parts of Europe and Asia.

An elated Managing Director, NigcomSAT Limited, Mr. Timasaniyu Ahmed-Rufai declared "this is mission fulfilled,” adding that NigComSAT1-R has 28 active transponders and quad band of Ku, ka, C-Band and L-band.

He also said that there are two ground stations located in Abuja, Nigeria and Kashi, China owned by Nigcomsat which participated fully in the launch.

Top government officials that witness the launch included the Communications Technology, Minister, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, her Science and Technology counterpart, Prof. Okon Ewa Bassey, chairman, Senate Committee on Communications, Senator Gilbert Nnaji, House members, Nigcomsat 1R project Director  and Executive Director, Marketing, Abimbola Alale and Chief Executive of LASACO Insurance Plc, Mr. Sola Ladipo-Ajayi among others.

Remmy Nweke

ITREALMS Online ... delivering news for ICT4D