GSMA says Nigeria lacks biofuel feedstocks

The global trade association representing over 690 Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) operators across 214 countries of the world, the GSM Association (GSMA) has said that Nigeria lacks relevant feed stocks to sustain biodiesel project.

ITRealms Online recalled that GSMA in collaboration with MTN Nigeria and Ericsson, recently terminated a biofuel project in the country, according to the Head, Marketing Communications at Ericsson West Africa, Mr. Olabode Sowunmi Jnr.
He did not give any reason as to why the project was ended.

But reacting to ITRealms Online inquiries regarding the termination of the project, GSMA through its spokesman, Mr. David Pringle, said that as at the duration of the project, which lasted for eight months, between October 2006 and May 2007 that Nigeria lacked the requisite quantity needed for the sustainability of the project.

“The pilot found that Nigeria didn’t, at that time, have a large enough sustainable source of non-food feedstock,” he declared in an electronic mail (e-mail) made available to ITRealms Online.


Mr. Pringle also noted that the business environment continues to evolve and called on Nigerian mobile operators to come up with the kind of biofuel-powered base stations they envisaged for the telecommunications market in the country.

He further said that the pilot involved base station generator trials in Lagos to support three trial sites located in Badagry, Makurdi, Lagos with biodiesel produced from feedstock and procured in Plateau state.


According to him, potential other feed stocks were assessed from Ogun, Kogi, Benue, Borno and Kano. Stressing that the pilot established the operational feasibility of biodiesel production use in standard tower base stations.

The pilot programme, he said, came to some conclusions, including that availability and proximity of feedstock is critical.

“Although, there are significant investments in jatropha plantations underway in neighboring Mali and to a lesser extent in Nigeria (particularly in the north), a sustainable source of non-food feedstock requires years to become established,” he said.

Portrayed as a non-edible evergreen shrub found in Asia, Africa and the West Indies, Jatropha is seeds containing a high proportion of oil which can be used for the production of biofuel, even as it is noted as a genus of approximately 175 succulent plants, shrubs and trees from the family Euphorbiaceae.

While the key factors that could influence the oil yield of Jatropha plantation are climate, quality of the soil, irrigation, weeding, use of fertilizer, crop density, genotype, use of pesticide and inter-cropping.

In addition, GSMA said that the processing machinery and quality control are critical and “ingredients for transesterification must be available - methanol, fresh water, caustic soda,” he advised.

Mr. Pringle further pointed out that an operator should partner with a regional bio-fuel producer to ensure quality and economics of scale in the venture.

Till date, barely a fortnight after the initial inquiry was made to MTN Nigeria, no official comment has been received from its department of communications on the subject, despite promise by the External Affairs Manager, Mr. Andrew Okeleke who requested for time to confirm whether or not MTN has pulled out of the project finally and what ignited the current state of discontinuation.

MTN Group alongside over 20 operators on the continent were part of the GSMA renewable energy operators recent forum hosted in Kenya by Safricom.

Biofuel result is out of produce from feed stocks that have been grown on idle and marginal land that has not been deforested for the purpose of biofuel crop plantation, resulting in lower carbon emissions than diesel when calculated on a whole of life basis and taking into account the effect of land use changes as well as produced in a manner that contributes to the social and economic development of local, rural and indigenous people and communities.

This development came few weeks after GSMA identified fully with biofuel based on the likely escalation of the cost of generating power for the GSM operators, as well as Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector generally.

Equally, industry watchers advocated for alternative source of energy supply, with a greater number favourably endorsing the biofuel method, saying it’s cost effective and at the same time boosting the agricultural produce.

The biofuel project was initially instituted between the trio of MTN, Ericsson and GSMA deploying the GSMA’s Development Fund, which was set up in October 2005, to provide consulting support to innovative pilot projects that use mobile technology to boost social, economic and environmental welfare in developing countries.


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FAQ about FeedBurner (1)

Background:
FeedBurner is a Chicago-based company that provides media distribution and audience engagement services for blogs and RSS feeds. Its Web-based tools, including an extensive feed and blog advertising network, help publishers promote, deliver, and monetize their content on the Web and make feed-based content more accessible and manageable for its end users.

Why did Google acquire FeedBurner?
Google believes that feed-based content and advertising is a developing space where we can add value for users, advertisers and publishers. FeedBurner’s technology and talented team are a great addition to Google’s current solutions for advertisers and publishers.

What are the terms of the acquisition? How much did Google pay?
The terms of the acquisition are confidential, and the deal is officially closed.
Will Google assume full operational control of FeedBurner, or will FeedBurner remain autonomous?

We are excited to have the FeedBurner team join the Google team. The FeedBurner website will remain operational as we continue to integrate their technologies with Google’s tools.

FeedBurner Media Partners & Business


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DaarSAT, a harvest of democracy

Features of the week:

DaarSAT was officially commissioned in Abuja, recently. REMMY NWEKE, who was there reports that it was a harvest of democracy.

In what looks like a week long event, from the clergy to the industry regulators of both the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) as well as stakeholders not devoid of political class were all in tandem in applauding the management of Daar Communications (DaarComms) Plc, under the chairmanship of Dr. Aleogho Dokpesi, almost a week before the official commissioning of its Digital Satellite Television (DSTv) also known as Direct-to-Home Digital Satellite Pay TV called DaarSAT, with over 40 channels whereas targeting 120.

Chief executive of NCC, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe and his team were at the hilltop headquarters of DaarComms to see for themselves the multimillion dollars installations. This preceded the visiting of a notable clergy, Monsignor Sylvester Osigwe. While Ndukwe and Osigwe poured encomium on Dokpesi’s leadership in the company, they enjoined other Nigerian private investors to emulate the patriotic spirit behind the success made so far by the group. And the roll call continued until the date of the official launch by President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua on Tuesday, October 7, 2008.

Serving 900 million viewers:
Welcoming guest at the event Dokpesi, dished out some of the features of DaarSAT, saying it would offer about 40 channels for a start, but has the capacity for120 channels. He stressed that DaarSAT stands out as the first truly African multi-channel pay-TV platform to an estimated 900 million Africans on the continent.

According to him, Nigeria is the hub of DaarSAT operations with its bouquet of world class channels’ subscription at the rate of N5,000 monthly, thereby bringing to five the number of Direct-To-Home (DTH) Pay TV operators in the country. DaarComms is the owners of African Independent Television (AIT) and RayPower FM.

Transmitting on high definition digital systems, Dokpesi explained that DaarSAT signals would be delivered digitally on Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB)-S2M PEG4/HD STB with 250 gigabyte hard disk base.


“We have paid great attention to customer satisfaction. We will, therefore, not compromise on quality service delivery, value on investment and excellent customer relations. We are working in partnership with the Indian-based Magnaquest Technologies PVT Ltd, the world’s biggest customer service firm in the management of our subscriber portfolio,” he said.

Maintaining that DaarSAT’s operating philosophy is borne out of a compelling need to provide world class service to television audiences and widen the choices available to media content consumers at an affordable rate.

Eight Years after forced take bid:
Dokpesi recalled that eight years ago a consortium of banks instigated by the government of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to take over the operations of African Independent Television and Ray Power FM, due to the loans taken from them to initiative the DaarSAT project, was actually salvaged by the former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori, who truly offered the succour.

As said by him, the banks had demanded the immediate repayment of the loan DaarComms borrowed to expand its television operation or the takeover of the broadcast media.

He acknowledged that although many members of the public had heeded the call to donate N50 each to save the broadcast media from takeover, enough money could not have been generated through that channel without the financial intervention of Ibori. The News Building was therefore named after Ibori.

A harvest of democracy :
Also he named the satellite building after General Jeremiah Useni for his role in 1994, at the first closure of Ray Power by ensuring it’s re-opened. The administrative building was named after Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, whom Dokpesi described as a mentor, whereas the main studio building was named after a former Governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili, whom the Daar Communications chief said was a friend and supporter.

Nevertheless, the audience unreservedly applauded the naming of the operational building of the group after former President of the Senate, Chief Ken Nnamani, for his role in the defense of democracy, free speech and the defeat of the infamous ‘Third Term’ agenda of the former administration.

DaarSAT, the first:
President Yar’Adua represented by the Minister of Information and Communications, Mr. John Ogar Odey, at the occasion, expressed confidence that DaarComms has become the first Digital Satellite Television of Nigeria origin to broadcast to the rest of the world.

Tasking DaarSAT on the need to inform the world of positive strides Nigeria and its citizenry are making, Yar’Adua advised the media on reportage that could put in danger the security of the nation.

``This event is a potent and strong affirmation of the enabling environment created by the administration for investment and capacity building in ICT and other sectors of the economy. The growth and monumental development being experienced in the broadcast media is a positive pointer to the fact that the deregulation of the industry is indeed paying off for Nigeria and Nigerians,’’ Yar’Adua said.

Abiding with NBC code:
He also advised DaarComms to ensure that its news and programmes were guided by the National Broadcasting Code with focus on the nation’s rich cultural heritage to afford “the world to appreciate Nigeria’s huge investment potential.”

A member of the board of directors of DaarComms, Ambassador Segun Olusegun said that beyond projecting a good image of the country, DaarSAT is the beginning of forcing good governance on the country as the platform would expose Nigeria to the world.

“It would appear, therefore, that as DaarSAT gives out the right Nigerian and African image and affects a good judgment of the country and continent through the propagation of the African perspective to global issues. Governments must ensure that such positive image is not marred by visible underdevelopment and bad governance,” he said.

Submission:
In all, stakeholders at the event agreed that Nigeria has made a big stride and DaarSAT seems to be the channel at this time competitors are facing mass protests both in Lagos and Abuja, over poor services and customer care. All that is now left is living up to the billing as promised by Dokpesi, after all, he delivered his promise on AIT as well as RayPower and DaarSAT, according to observers, will deliver.


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Making Abia borderless, the Glo style

Overview


Umuahia now borderless:
Can you believe that Umuahia is now borderless by virtue of Globacom’s latest intervention in the fortunes of Ubakala in Old Umuahia, Abia State? The city was turned into a festive arena recently with the expansion of its Optic Fibre Cable (OFC) backbone to this part of the country.

With this facility, Umuahia and its environs could now easily hook on to the information superhighway at the touch of a few buttons on a handset, laptop or desktop with internet configuration.

The launch threw the entire community and neighbouring clans into merry-making and praise-singing. The tempo was heightened with the expectation of the Executive Governor of the state, Chief Theodore Orji and his entourage, who was ably represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mazi Donatus Okorie.

Gov. Orji eulogizes Globacom:
The governor used the occasion to eulogize the chairman of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jr., for his passion for the industrialization and economic re-engineering of the country.

Chief Orji commended Globacom for its pace-setting initiatives in the telecommunications sector despite the initial challenges that confronted it on its emergence as the Second National Carrier five years ago. The governor’s message on the occasion was quite inspiring for corporate institutions desirous of investment in the state.

“Abia State is disposed to investors and potential investors who need a conducive environment for carrying out their genuine businesses. We render support through the provision of infrastructural requirements that companies need to function effectively and efficiently,” Chief Orji said in his goodwill message read at the event that Glo was a unique brand with unrivalled national credentials in the country’s corporate history.

Truly a Nigerian brand:
Further, Chief Orji said that Globacom was indeed a truly Nigerian brand engaged in international economic diplomacy. “With Globacom’s forays into the West Coast of Africa, having redefined telephony in Nigeria in the past five years since it began operations, Globacom deserves an ambassadorial recognition in whatever form by the Federal Government.”

He implored the company’s management to sustain the goodwill it is enjoying from its rapidly expanding customer base by ensuring that it lives up to its reputation as a competitive home-grown brand.

“Your quality service delivery profile must not be allowed to drop because your network has become a reference brand and an empowerment tool of national economic renaissance,” he affirmed.

While commending Globacom’s chairman, Dr. Mike Adenuga Jnr, for his robust doggedness and amazing entrepreneurship which has created employment opportunities for the nation’s teeming youth, Orji urged him not to despair.

The commissioning was later performed by Mazi Okorie on behalf of Gov. Orji, which attracted attendance of top government functionaries and dignitaries from within and outside the state.

Royal father’s too:
Also speaking at the occasion, the paramount ruler of Old Umuahia, His Royal Highness, Eze P. E. O. Ogubuike, said Globacom had an edge over other networks because of its empowerment schemes that have helped in revolutionizing the lives of Nigerians, especially small-scale business people and artisans.

“I enjoin everyone gathered here to continue to support this truly Nigerian company because of its initiatives that address the challenges of our people, particularly in the area of rural telephony, which my community has benefited from tremendously,” Eze Ogubuike said.

Glo’s 3G Plus is the best:
In his message at the commissioning of Globacom’s nationwide OFC backbone in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, the Group Chief Operating Officer of Globacom, Mr. Mohammed Jameel, ranked the Glo’s Third Generation (3G Plus), as the best communications tool in Nigeria for internet deployment.

According to him, the 3G+ offers quality voice and data transmission to Nigerians.

“Our 3G+ has prodigiously revolutionized quality of voice and data transmission in the country, removed the drudgery previously associated with internet usage and has proved to be the best facility by any network in Nigeria for all forms of communication,” Jameel said, pointing out that the clarity, speed and cost profile of Globacom’s 3G+ currently remain matchless.

Senate commends Glo:
It is on this rising profile of becoming not just the leading national telecommunications firm but an international brand that the Senate Committee on Communications not long ago congratulated Globacom on its winning of a mobile cellular license in Ghana.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Sylvester N. Anyanwu, while commending the telecoms giant, noted that the Ghana licence, coming on the heels of the network’s launch in Benin , is demonstrative of the growing international status of the second national carrier.

“This achievement, coming shortly after the launch of your network in The Republic of Benin, is a very clear indication of your giant strides in the telecommunications industry and your unstoppable rise to stardom in the African telecommunications sector,” Anyanwu said in a congratulatory letter to the company’s Chairman.

Senator Anyanwu, who expressed joy over Globacom’s pace-setting strides not just in the country but also in the global arena, said he was convinced that Nigeria ’s preferred network will sustain its leadership pedigree on the continent’s telecommunications space.

“These accomplishments, I hope, will spur you on to justify the confidence reposed in you by the Ghana National Communication Authority to intensify your efforts towards achieving a high quality of service delivery with a competitive tariff regime in the telecommunications sector,” the lawmaker said.

All about Glo fibre backbone:
Globacom’s optic fibre backbone is an advanced and most reliable transmission network grid which offers a much faster transmission of data, voice and broadband internet and multimedia services.

Noteworthy is that the Onitsha-Awka-Enugu-Owerri axis had earlier in the year been commissioned, while the Eket-Port Harcourt axis was also connected to the high capacity optic fibre telecommunications transmission service of Globacom in July.

•Chinwendu wrote in from Lagos.

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Ayonote predicts 70% Internet growth

Chief Executive Officer, Suburban Telecom, Mr. Bruce Ayonote, has predicted that in the next three years, Internet penetration would grow globally by 70 per cent per year with broadband penetration also projected at 75 per cent.

Speaking at the Internet Service Provider (ISP) forum in Lagos, organized by Suburban in collaboration with Cisco, Mr. Ayonote said that international capacity utilization would increase to 2.5 Gigabits in the next three years, while network availability is expected to reach 99.99 per cent.

He said that the essence of the forum was to collectively review the development in the Internet market, and to motivate the Internet Service Providers (ISP) in the country and provide the selection of services and products that their customers demand.

These services and products, he said, were not available before because the internet structure was inadequate.

“The new thing is that the infrastructure has been upgraded or is available. And we believe that the market will respond to that in excitement because that means Nigeria is now on internet,” he said.

Nigeria, he stressed, could now do whatever people are doing or people do positively on the internet globally.

Suburban, Ayonote said, is a major client as a wholesaler of bandwidth offering services to both telecom companies and core ISPs.

He enjoined stakeholders in the nation’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to join forces in taking the internet penetration to the expected level.

“Let us stop thinking like inside the box. Since our minds and brains are working, which are our major resources, let us use those two to take this market to the next level,” he urged.

Emphasizing that when there are open minds among stakeholders, there would be less dreadful competition and the industry would simply continue to grow.

“Yes, the problem of the issue lies in the competition. It depends, if you know the man is open minded and you know that competition might not be the best solution, collaboration might be. Then you go for that option,” he said.

He, therefore, encouraged collaboration in every form that will increase services to customers.

Suburban, he said, has taken major steps to address the supply of internet bandwidth, which is the primary bottleneck affecting the penetration of internet services in the country.

He pointed out that by making available a 10 Gigabit connection into the global internet backbone, and conceptualized the ISP forum, Suburban in collaboration with Cisco intended to open further dialogue on how additional solutions could be created to address other issues.

Equally speaking, the Director Services Provider Sales for the Emerging Africa at Cisco, Mr. Allstair MacLennan, while dwelling on the ISP and Next Generation Networks (NGN), noted that the role of the Internet in the life of a Nigerian has changed for the better.

“It used to be a luxury and has now become a necessity,” he said, stressing that it has become a major business and educational tool.


“People are addicted … evident in growth of multimedia and infotainment content have shown,” he said.

According to him, end user access remains a challenge, “… but has come a long way from dialup to Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) and now Wireless Microwave (WiMax), Third Generation (3G) and Evolution Data Only (EVDO).”

Thus, it has become a huge responsibility for service providers to manage, in spite of environmental challenges.


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HP launches Proliant server for virtualisation

Hewlett Packard (HP) Nigeria has introduced new Proliant server to help improve the quality of virtualization within organisations, REMMY NWEKE &
CHARLES OKOH.

Virtualization is a framework or methodology of dividing the resources of a computer into multiple execution environments by applying one or more concepts or technologies, such as hardware and software partitioning, time-sharing, partial or complete machine simulation, emulation, quality of service, and many others has grown to be top of mind for most organization information officers.

Presenting the HP latest innovation, ProLiant BL495c Virtualization Blade to journalists, the company’s Enterprise Server Manager, Mr. Chuks Okpaka stated that the HP’s newest introduction is built to eliminate bottlenecks to virtual server performance.

"According to analyst, the market for Virtual machine software grew 69 percent from 2006 to 2007 and is projected to grow more than 50 percent this year and the adoption rate reflects that many business are already realizing benefits from their implementations", he said.

Addressing journalists on its latest innovation, HP urged organizations to, ‘Rethink application and IT operations management, infrastructure barriers and client architecture so as to leverage virtualization to achieve greater reliability and security as well as improved manageability, flexibility and the Returns On Investment (ROI) of end-user computing.

On the barriers inhibiting most organizations from thinking virtualization HP stated that the biggest inhibitors to appreciating and adopting virtualization are majorly connected with upfront cost, staff training and experience.

Others are the problems associated with gaining approval from corporate management and infrastructure planning and the challenges of effectively managing both physical and virtual resources.

Enumerating however the benefits derivable from "Rethinking Virtualization", HP at the presentation of its new machine stated that customers who employ the use of Virtualization devices stand to enjoy faster delivery of applications and services and will also have the advantage of being able to put unused resources and capacity to work.

Other benefits accruable from the use of virtualization according to HP are increased focus on business priorities, improved security and manageability, improved ROI and better protection of end-user data.

Listing the unique benefits that the new introduced HP ProLiant BL495c virtualization blade has in stock for its prospective customers HP’s Okpaka stated the new device built to eliminate bottlenecks to virtual server performance has the advantage of offering its users reduced costs and power consumption, better Virtual machine performance and improved manageability.

Differentiating the HP ProLiant virtualization blade from other brands, Mr. Okpaka said " the new machine we are introducing to you today has two times more memory than Dell M605 and IBM LS21 and also has two more Ethernet Nics than the other two brands" he concluded


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Omatek’s UPS is user friendly – Seriki

Group Chief Executive Officer, Omatek Ventures Plc, Mrs. Florence Seriki, has said that her company’s brand of Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS), the Line Interactive UPS is user friendly.

Mrs. Seriki who spoke at the just concluded Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) exhibition and conferences organised by the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), said that the full range functional management and control system is an option with UPSilon 2000 software or power manager software.

"The UPS status can be directly controlled on the computer, which also supports adapter to carry out the UPS network management," she said.

According to her, Omatek Line Interactive UPS is totally digitalized micro-control unit (MCU) for effective detection and control of UPS operation and battery conditions.

She explained that these series are specially reliable and safe power supply and recommended for small and medium Internet café centres, computer room, mini intellectual device, thus a finished apparatus.

Omatek, she said, has adopted an advanced full digital control technique and reliable line interactive structure design.

"By monitoring software, subscriber also it can secure system data and network equipment full sides even without personnel guidance," she said.

Designed as a reliable online interactive medium, she said, adopted two-day switch-over converter for better battery extension usage, more reliability of UPS and power efficiency to the benefits of environment and energy saving.

"Intelligent regulation system on utility power voltage, ensures that the UPS maintain normal operation when the utility power is fluctuating, so as to reduce unwonted wear on the battery," she said.

As an intelligent battery charger, she said, Omatek Line Interactive UPS has two-stage recharging technique to ensure higher efficiency and longer battery life.
On the Omatek’s M`MBM-2 Intelligent battery monitor system, she said, is specially designed for battery’s daily monitor and maintenance include unit monitor and central monitor.

Online monitor system built with the MMBM-2, she said, could help to realize the real time monitor and record of the voltage, charge and discharge current, temperature of every battery, unique on line capacity analyze technology and alarm function assist the user find the lag battery easily, hence it reduces the labour of battery maintenance and improve the reliability of the system.


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Union Homes signs up Finacle

The acclaimed biggest primary mortgage institution in Nigeria, Union Homes Plc, has selected Finacle UBS to power her continuing growth and expansion plans.

Union Homes provides mortgage finance services, builds estates, funds estate developers and estate development, supports investors in housing schemes even at state government levels, and purchases houses and estates for resale to corporate and private customers within and outside the country.

Disclosing this, Corporate Communications Manager at Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), owners of ExpertEdge Software Systems, partners Infosys Technologies, Ms Morenike Popoola, said that Finacle UBS is the award winning core banking software from Infosys.

She noted that Finacle UBS is currently being used by several mega banks in the country including First Bank, UBA, Oceanic Bank, FCMB, Fidelity, FinBank and SpringBank.

Finacle UBS, she said, is renowned worldwide for its stability, robustness and flexibility as well as the only core banking software in the country developed using SEI-CMM level 5 certified processes and also COBIT certified for control and security.

According to her, the local technical support provider by the Computer Warehouse Group's software subsidiary, ExpertEdge Software, helps tremendously in localizing Finacle for the environment and assured users of effective support available on a 24x7 basis.

"Finacle UBS is arguably the best supported core banking application in Nigeria with close to fifty trained consultants working for ExpertEdge alone. Availability of effective local support is a critical success factor for any core banking application and an important decision point when choosing a core banking application as recommended by the Gartner Group," she said.

Popoola also quoted the Head, Information Technology at Union Homes, Mr. Tim Oviawe, as confirming the availability of local competence as one of the most significant reasons why they chose Finacle UBS. He pointed out that the pedigree of implementations delivered on time and within budget and the flexibility of the application were also major factors.

"These become more pungent given the experience of other banks, who had made the mistake of choosing other core banking applications in Nigeria. Most of these banks have had delayed implementations and are currently facing significant support challenges," he said.

Also commenting, the Assistant General Manager (AGM), ExpertEdge, Mr. Emmanuel Ene, said his firm has made it a key policy to invest in providing local expertise to support internationally renowned products like Finacle, Actimize, SAP and Oracle for which ExpertEdge are local partners.

"This local expertise reduces the total cost of ownership for our customers and helps them maximize their returns on investment in information technology," he said.


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Etisalat eyes global top 10, unveils Easy Starter

Unified Access Licensee (UAL), Etisalat Nigeria, has made its commercial debut by unveiling its Easy Starter with an eye on becoming one among the global 10 mobile operators by 2010.

Responding to questions at the launch in Lagos, last weekend, the Vice President, Marketing of Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Wael Ammar, said that locally, Etisalat would target to be on top of those who have been in the market by distinguishing its services with focus on emerging as the world’s top 10 operators in less than 24 months.

He noted that though Etisalat has introduced commercial services in seven cities its flagship product package called Easy Starter, is a ground-breaking prepaid package that offers several revolutionary features to the prevalent pre-paid experience.

He explained that Easy Starter has the innovative tariff feature called homezone, which facilitates subscribers to choose the zone where they spend most of their time in order to enjoy lower call tariffs. Easy Starter also enables subscribers, for the first time ever on a mobile network, to call collect, a feature which enables the receiver pay for the call.

"For the first time ever also, on Easy Starter, customers will be able to perform direct recharge of other Etisalat subscriber lines by Interactive Virtual Recharge (IVR)," he said.

In addition, he said, that Easy Starter offers subscribers practical innovation, simplicity, a unique tariff plan and friendly services.

According to him, "with the Easy Starter prepaid package, you have the power to choose where and how to make the best of your airtime and talk time."

Reiterating the operators claim as the fastest growing telecommunications company in the world and the largest on the continents of Africa and the Middle East, he said, Etisalat, had with the commercial launch avail Nigerians the opportunity to be part of a 74-million-strong global customer base across 17 countries in the world.

Etisalat Nigeria, he pointed out, is in a unique position to offer subscribers competitive access to a world-class suite of Etisalat products and services covering extensive voice, data and innovative value.


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Multi-Links storms Sapele, Suleja

Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operator, Multi-Links Telkom, has gone live with its services in Sapele in Delta State and Suleja in Niger State.

Executive, Corporate Communications, Mr. Tayo Ekundayo, said that these were part of the on-going strategic expansion of services to the nooks and crannies of the country.

He said that Suleja is the most strategic town in Niger State after the state capital, Minna, hence Multi-Links had decided to give it a face lift with its services.

"Apart from its high profile commercial status, the town is even more strategic because of its proximity to the federal capital territory, Abuja, the nation’s federal capital," he said.

As said by him, the switch-on of Sapele is coming on the heels of the commencement of service in Warri another strategic town in the heart of Delta State.

Ekundayo in a press statement, at the weekend, quoted the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Multi-Links Telkom, Ms Dipuo Msimang, as saying that the company would not rest on its oars until the entire human communities in Nigeria are completely covered by the network.

Stressing that the company has embarked on a massive roll-out project that will see many cities, towns, villages and communities connected soon.

The national roll-out project, he said, is targeted at simultaneous roll-out in the six geo-political zones of the country.

"Services were recently deployed in Abaji, Akure, Akwanga, Bauchi, Benin, Jere, and Jos. Other areas are Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Lokoja, Owo, Ondo, Warri and Zaria," he disclosed.

He noted that earlier, Multi-Links had roll-out services in Abeokuta, Abuja, Ejigbo, Gbongan, Ibadan, Ijebu-Ode, Ikire, Ile-Ife, Ilesha and Ilorin. In this category are also Lagos, Ogbomosho, Okene, Osogbo and Sagamu.

Apart from the faster rollout of services in many locations across the country, the new management has also brought stronger brand flavour to Multi-Links Telkom with the infusion of the expertise and efficient quality of service renowned from Telkom SA.

Emphasizing that Multi-Links Telkom is famous for its voice, internet and data services, recalling that recently, it was rewarded for its commitment to excellent service with the award of "Best Nigerian Fixed Telecom Operator."


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