MTN Nigeria Ready for Mobile Number Portability

Nigeria’s leading Information and Communications Technology (ICT) company, MTN has said that it is ready to implement Mobile Number Portability (MNP) in consonance with the policy of the industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The NCC has recently announced plans to flag off Mobile Number Portability in the first quarter of this year.

 Speaking at an internal stakeholder forum recently, MTN CEO, Brett Goschen, said the company had been ramping up efforts to make MNP a reality for mobile phone users in Nigeria who are eager to join the country’s most expansive network.

 “We have made necessary investment in infrastructure and manpower and we are now finalising the process of making this project a reality,” said Goschen. “We are confident that when the NCC is ready to blow the whistle for the kick off of this project, we will be ready.”  

 Goschen disclosed that a series of tests had been carried out on the company’s systems and infrastructure, adding that more tests will be carried out in the days ahead to ensure that the project takes off without any hitch.

 “We are excited that customers who wish to join the network with the most coverage of Nigeria will now be able to do so without worrying about losing their mobile numbers. As you know, we have made far more investment in our network than any other operator in Nigeria has done, with the result that  we are today the clear leader with effective network coverage of more than 85 percent of Nigeria’s land mass and population.

 “We have nearly 100 percent coverage of most major highways in Nigeria and we are gradually moving towards the final laps of a massive, nationwide network modernisation and swap-out exercise that is bound to give the network unequalled capacity and much improved quality of service. We have no doubt in our minds that mobile phone users on other networks in Nigeria will be eager to port into MTN to avail themselves of these and other benefits they can only find on the MTN network,” he said.  

 Apart from its massive investment in its core services, MTN remains the only operator that has created a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) vehicle, MTN Foundation, to implement life-impacting social projects across the length and breadth of Nigeria, Goshen said.

 He added that the company through MTNF had invested over N5 billion in such social projects which have directly and indirectly impacted millions of lives in the areas of health, education and economic empowerment.

 He affirmed the company’s commitment to continue to seek for ways of adding value to the lives of Nigerians both through the company’s core services and corporate social investment initiatives.

NCC Pegs SMS rate at N3

The Nigerian Communications Commission has set a price cap of N4.00 (Four Naira per message) for all domestic Off-Net Short Messaging Service with effect from February 5, 2013.

The directive to this effect, which was communicated to the operators since January 3, 2013, said the Commission will not place a price cap on International SMS at this time.

The directive which was signed by the Director, Legal and Regulatory Services of NCC, Ms. Josephine Amuwa, said the Commission  arrived at the new  price cap after due considerations of the submissions made by the operators at various consultative meetings.

She said having evaluated and analyzed SMS traffic information provided by the operators, the Commission noted that  “ there was a general recognition that the cost of SMS is too high, especially in view of the interconnection rate of N1.02 (One Naira, Two Kobo Only) for SMS as determined by the Commission in 2009”.

She also noted that the operators had proposed a price cap ranging between N5-10  per message for Off-Net SMS. The operators also urged the Commission not to set a cap for international SMS due to the fact that Interconnect rates for International SMS are outside their control as it is terminated through international carrier service providers in various jurisdictions.

Ms. Amuwa said that based on these considerations, and  in the interest of striking a balance between sustaining operator’s profitability and ensuring consumer satisfaction, and also in accordance with the powers conferred on the Commission  under Sections 4 and Chapter V11 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, the following determination was made by the Commission:

1.     The Commission hereby sets a price cap of N4.00 (Four Naira Only) for Off-net SMS.

2.      The new rate shall be implemented within 30 days from the date of the directive.

3.     The Commission will not place a price cap on International SMS at this time but would encourage operators to work towards lowering the cost of International SMS.

The directive informed operators that the Commission will monitor compliance by the operators, and noted that failure to comply with the determination will be penalized as provided by section 111 of the NCA 2003.

 

 

MTN Clinches Service Excellence from Consumers

Nigeria’s leading Information and Communications Technology (ICT) company, MTN Nigeria Communications Limited has been honoured by the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) for its consistent efforts at improving customer experience on its network and for its corporate social responsibility initiatives. MTN was formally recognised at an awards ceremony which took place at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja on
Thursday, 17 January, 2013.
The event which was the maiden edition of the Nigeria Consumer Awards (NiCA) organized by the CPC followed a very rigorous selection process which included electronic voting by members of the public, surveys and focus groups and painstaking collation and moderation of results by a
panel of judges, which included representatives from the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, CPC, the Nigerian Communications Commission and other industry regulators.
At the end of the process, MTN emerged winner in the categories of “NiCA Award for Service Excellence” in the Telecoms category and the “NiCA Award for Corporate Social Responsibility”.
MTN Corporate Services Executive, Mr. Wale Goodluck, said the “short-listing and eventual selection of MTN as the winner of the Award for Service Excellence in the telecoms category at the NiCA Awards marks a significant recognition and endorsement of our ongoing efforts to continue to improve the entire scope of service delivery to our esteemed customers despite the constraints of our operating
environment.”
Goodluck further added that “the CSR Award, on the other hand, is another salient recognition of MTN’s efforts to selflessly give back to society in a sustainable manner through carefully designed projects
with measurable long-term impact.”
He said the awards are a validation of MTN’s efforts at enriching the lives of the Nigerian consumer, adding that the company would continue to engage with its stakeholders to have a consistent view of their
expectations and continue to work on exceeding them.
The Nigeria Consumer Awards, NiCA was instituted last year to recognise and honour worthy contributions by businesses, non-government organisations and individuals that play important roles in protecting consumers in Nigeria. The CPC also hopes that the NiCA will remain the highest award for service and product excellence in Nigeria.

Ericsson Appoints New Head of Sub-Saharan Region

Ericsson thas announced that effective April 1, 2013, Fredrik Jejdling is appointed Head of Region sub-Saharan Africa.

 President and CEO Hans Vestberg said: “Under Fredrik’s leadership Ericsson has extended its strong position as the partner of choice for operators set to capture market opportunities as India continues its strong mobile data development.  Sub-Saharan Africa is now facing similar exciting developments and Fredrik will bring his broad experience to further develop Ericsson’s offering and support to the region.

 Prior to taking on the role as Head of Region India in June 2011, Fredrik held several key positions in Ericsson including Head of Engagement Practices with responsibility for customer engagements within the region India (from August 2010 till end of May 2011). Between April 2008 and July 2010, Jejdling was Head of Sales & Finance, Business Unit Global Services

 Fredrik succeeds Lars Lindén who has been part of extending Ericsson’s footprint in the region.

 Hans Vestberg said: “With a vast experience and strong business acumen Lars has been instrumental in the work to extend Ericsson’s footprint in the region. During the past years Ericsson has for instance taken the world’s largest multi-country managed services deal, been part of introducing LTE to several key markets in Africa as well as signing the first multi-country m-commerce deal.

 A successor to Fredrik in his current role as Head of Region India will be announced separately. Lars Lindéns new role will also be announced separately.

MTN Responds to Media Reports on Oni’s Lawsuit

Leading ICT company, MTN has reacted to allegations made in a lawsuit instituted against the company by the former Governor of Ekiti State, Mr. Segun Oni. Oni has accused the company of unethical conduct concerning call records provided to security agencies during the Court contest of gubernatorial election results in Ekiti State in 2010.

Speaking on the issue, MTN’s Corporate Services Executive, Akinwale Goodluck, stated that MTN did not in any way act contrary to the terms and conditions of its operating license with respect to call records that were made available to the Investigative Panel (IP) set up by the National Judicial Council (NJC) to investigate the 2010 Appeal Court contest of gubernatorial election results in Ekiti State.

“With regards to  the allegations made by Mr. Oni, we will defend ourselves robustly in the court of law and we are optimistic that justice will prevail.  MTN has a stellar reputation for ethical conduct and it can never be in our interest to act otherwise. Therefore, we take grave exception to any insinuation of unethical or improper behavior against us and the attendant attempt to tarnish our reputation,” he said.

Going further, Goodluck stated, “MTN acts responsibly at all times, and in accordance with relevant laws. This unshakeable corporate principle guided our actions. Indeed, we provided all the necessary records to the requisite security agencies in accordance with laid down procedure and this has been repeatedly verified by our industry regulator, the NCC.”

Also setting the records straight, Goodluck said that the company is apolitical and non-partisan and as such it has no reason or motivation to act in any unethical or untoward manner as alleged.

Glo Partners Samsung on Youth Empowerment

Telecoms service provider, Globacom has partnered with top telephone manufacturer Samsung to give its subscribers, especially the upwardly mobile executives and tech-savy youths, low call rates and exciting internet experiences on two top-of-the-range Samsung smartphones, Galaxy S3 and Note II.
 Globacom’s Marketing Coordinator, Mr. Niyi Olukoya, said the two smartphones have been bundled with free six-month data plan for Glo subscribers.
 He said the unique benefits for subscribers who opt for the package include 500MB free data on activation, 100MB free data every month for 6 months and discounted tariffs for voice calls at 9k/sec to nine Friends and Family and 18k/sec for other calls to all networks. The subscriber will enjoy all the benefits once he recharges with N1000 airtime monthly.
 “The bundle offer is one of Glo’s strategies to satisfy the huge demand for smartphone devices bundled with mobile internet connectivity. We simply wish to provide the consumers with their choice devices and seamless internet connectivity in an all-in-one package. This partnership will put in the hands of the subscribers affordable hi-tech devices bundled with fast internet services and free airtime deals that will give them easy access to social media, mails, data downloads, Android apps and voice calls.

 Olukoya said the mobile internet service on the bundled handsets rides on Globacom’s robust fibre optic infrastructure which runs from Lagos across the West African coast to the United Kingdom and the USA. “With these, the subscriber will enjoy fast and reliable Internet connection round the clock,” he said.
 The statement enjoined Globacom subscribers wishing to take advantage of the special offer to visit any of the Gloworld  shops in different parts of the country. Samsung Galazy S3 and Samsung Note II run on Android 4.0 Operating System, a 1.5Ghz processor and a 8mm Camera.
 Globacom had earlier released the mini-sized Glo Mobile Wi-Fi that wirelessly connects multiple devices,with equal power to the internet. It uses WI-FI to enable PCs, laptops, tablets, smart phones, PSPs, to browse, send emails and connect to social networks seamlessly.
 The Glo Mobile Wi-Fi comes with a free SIM and free 1GB data for the first month and another free 1GB data for the next six months based on continuous subscription.

Phone for Farmers: Doubts trails FG Explanation

Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina has denounced the report, which quoted his Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote, to have said the Federal Government would spend N6000 to purchase each of 10 million cell phones to empower rural farmers.

 Ridiculous as the initiative had presented, Dr Adesina’s credible pedigree and track record of professional service helped to dissuade analytical Nigerians from taking the Permanent Secretary’s alleged statement as gospel. Yet the story, going by radio, television, internet, and newspaper commentaries, rattled all government officials who were connected with the initiative.

Although Adesina eventually appeared at a Press conference early in the week to say there was no N60billion waiting anywhere to be spent on cell phones, he did not come out clear on what would be spent by the Federal Government and how it would be administered for farmers to produce more food for Nigerians.

 To use some newspaper account of the Press Conference, Adesina was quoted to have said ‘To be entitled to a phone, farmers must be registered on the e-wallet platform. Paper vouchers will be issued to farmers who do not have phones. The government will provide a subsidy to the farmer through the voucher to buy the phone. The farmer takes the voucher to the local mobile phone operator and pays the balance which is the difference between the value of the voucher and the cost of the phone. Once a farmer buys a phone and a SIM card, his new phone number will be updated on the e-wallet database and he will be able to receive his e-wallet voucher which will entitle him to purchase fertiliser and seeds at subsidised rates.’

 That did not explain the wide difference between the Minister's thought process and what his Permanent Secretary thought the whole project was about.

 The Minister spent time philosophising when all that was required was a convincing explanation of his reforms. According to him ‘I have stolen no man’s silver, nor demanded any man’s gold, and will continue to drive bold innovation and reforms to fully modernise and transform the agricultural sector. That is my remit from the President and that is exactly what we will do, as I continue to serve my nation with the highest level of vision, passion, personal integrity and dedication’.

Symantec Unveils Enterprises Survey Report

Symantec Corporation has announced the findings of its 2012 Information Retention and eDiscovery Survey, which examined how enterprises manage electronically stored information (ESI).

The study found the percentage of organizations without a formal information retention plan dropped by half from the 2011 survey. However, even with this improvement, organizations struggle with implementing their information retention plans as only a third of organizations report their plan is fully operational.

Nearly two-thirds (60 percent) of organizations say they have a formal retention plan, yet only 34 percent report those plans are fully operational. The perceived cost of implementing their plans is reported to be the most common reason why organizations are lagging in plan implementation.

 The survey found that only 7 percent of organizations don’t have any plans in place, a 50 percent drop from 14 percent of organizations reported in the 2011 survey.

Even more concerning is that while they received on average 17 requests for electronically stored information, these requests failed 31 percent of the time. This is significantly higher than the 20 percent of failures reported in 2011. Each time a failure occurs, the organization is at risk. Forty-three percent reported the inability to make decisions in a timely fashion as the biggest consequence of these failures. Other consequences reported include damage to reputation, compromised legal position, fines, raised profile as a litigation target and court sanctions.

“The survey highlights that, although there is a reduction in the number of organizations without an information retention plan, organizations haven’t fully funded and implemented their plans,” said Trevor Daughney, Director, Information Intelligence Group, Symantec. “With the number of ESI requests and failures to obtain requested information increasing, organizations face risks that are much more costly in the long run than implementing their plans.”

There is still a substantial gap between beliefs and practices in retention policies, which has not significantly changed year over year. Eighty-one percent of respondents believe that a proper information retention plan allows organizations to delete information on an ongoing basis. However, 42 percent of backups are indefinitely retained by organizations. This is virtually unchanged from the 2011 results. And, information that is deleted by organizations is often deleted without considering established retention policies.

The most reported negative consequences resulting from preserving more electronically stored information  than necessary include: Increased costs associated with collection, analysis and review (54 percent); increased time spent to collect, analyze and review ESI (47 percent); increased risk that sensitive information may be disclosed (44 percent); compromised position in potential or actual litigation (27 percent); and information unintentionally made available for potential future litigation (28 percent).

The survey also reports that organizations are keeping information longer than is needed, and keeping the data within backups rather than archives for legal holds, which reduces efficiencies when performing an ESI request. The survey reveals that 38 percent of data that organizations back up is not needed or shouldn't be kept in backup. In fact, respondents say that a third of backup data (34 percent) shouldn’t be kept and is unnecessary due to litigation risk.

More than half of organizations keep that data indefinitely: 56 percent of organizations reported that their backup storage is used for infinite retention that is dedicated to legal hold. This has grown from 43 percent in 2011 and continues to get worse. Further, 85 percent of organizations routinely perform legal holds in their backups, which are not designed to be accessed in the same way as an archive.

As expected, data privacy laws and regulations have significant impact on organizations with 53 percent reporting that laws and/or regulations impact archiving and eDiscovery initiatives. However, there are many reasons respondents report collecting electronically stored information including: Litigation (60 percent); internal investigations (59 percent); internal compliance initiatives (58 percent); compliance with international regulations and laws (57 percent); compliance with local regulations and laws (55 percent); governmental inquiries or investigations (52 percent); and public information requests (46 percent).

Symantec protects the world’s information, and is a global leader in security, backup and availability solutions. Our innovative products and services protect people and information in any environment – from the smallest mobile device, to the enterprise data center, to cloud-based systems. Our world-renowned expertise in protecting data, identities and interactions gives our customers confidence in a connected world.

Ericsson Expands Global Leadership in LTE

Ericsson has announced that it has been selected by Unitel, leading provider of telecommunications services in Angola, as key supplier of its next-generation 4G/LTE network.

The agreement covers the deployment of new LTE sites, Ericsson’s Home Subscriber Servers (HSS) for user data management. It also includes the integration of LTE functionality into existing provisioning and charging systems, and an upgrade of the core network to a triple-access Evolved Packet Core that simultaneous carries GSM, WCDMA and LTE traffic.

Under the scope of the agreement, Ericsson is also responsible for the design, implementation and initial tuning of the LTE network.

Miguel Martins, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member at Unitel, said ” The recent launch of Unitel’s 4G LTE network powered by Ericsson demonstrates our commitment to providing our customers with the highest standard and state of the art mobile broadband services.”

To maintain its strong position in the Angolan marketplace, Unitel launched Long Term Evolution (LTE) services commercially on Sunday, December 16, introducing faster mobile broadband speeds, meeting the burgeoning demand for data-driven services and giving Unitel the ability to offer its customers the most innovative services available on the market today.

Lars Lindén, head of Region Sub-Saharan Africa, Ericsson, said: “This deal reaffirms Ericsson’s leadership in LTE and further extends our long-standing relationship with Unitel. The new LTE network will facilitate Unitel’s continued delivery of superior connectivity, services and capabilities to their customers.”

Ericsson is the world leader in LTE and today has more than 90 commercial LTE contracts on six continents, of which over 50 networks have already gone live. More than 455 million people worldwide have LTE coverage, of which 305 million are covered by LTE networks supplied by Ericsson (July 2012).

Glo Launches new Wi-Fi router Bundle

Telecoms service provider, Globacom has released a new bundled device, the Glo mobile Wi-Fi, that will give fast, affordable internet experiences for subscribers at homes, in the offices and those on transit. 

A statement from Globacom said the Glo Mobile Wi-Fi is a mobile portable device that can connect up to 5 different gadgets (PCs, laptops, tablets, smart phones, PSPs, etc.) with equal power. It uses WI-FI that enables these gadgets to browse, send emails and connect to social networks all at the same time. 

Globacom’s Marketing Coordinator, Mr. Niyi Olukoya explained that the Wi-Fi comes with free SIM and free 1GB data for the first one month and another free 1GB data for the next six months based on continuous subscription. The device is mini-sized with long battery life span. 

Olukoya said that the Glo mobile Wi-Fi is directed at absorbing the massive demand for internet connectivity in the country. “We are aware of the increasing appetite for internet connections. Consumers now want to connect on multiple devices like iPad, the Smartphone, lap top PSPs, itouches and such other devices, everywhere and at all times.

"There is a demand for connectivity by all members of the home, thereby making the Glo Wi-Fi the ultimate internet solution for consumers”, he said.

The offers meet the needs of consumers who want to enjoy the best of three worlds in form of up-to-date gadgets, unfettered internet access and affordability, said Olukoya.

Rewarding Bad Behaviour in the Capital Market

By Olu Akanmu
It is important to lend additional voice and question the rationale behind the federal government N22.6 billion bail-out of some capital market operators. It is tantamount to rewarding bad behavior and excessive risk-taking at public expense. For the stock broking firms that will benefit from this largesse, if their investments have been profitable and they made a kill in the capital market, they would not have shared their profit with the public. The action of government is therefore tantamount to endorsing the privatization of profits and the socialization of losses if you have the lobby and the political connection to dumb your losses on the Nigerian people. By setting this precedent, the government has further ossified the moral hazard problem in our financial system. If an investor taking an investment risk knows that he can appropriate his gains but can pass his losses to another party, he will take excessive unreasonable risk as he has nothing to lose.

This moral hazard problem was at the heart of the misbehaviour of investment bankers in the recent global financial crisis, when they could made huge bonuses if their bets worked out but pass the loss to shareholders if it didn’t. This coupled with the implicit guarantee of their risk by the public especially if they were “too big to fail, essentially a public subsidy of their risk further compounded their bad behaviour. They created a tower of complex financial instruments that had little bearing to their underlying assets, played roulette and casino at public expense, made initial huge gains which they pocketed until their financial derivative instruments fell like a pack of cards.

Where these investment banking businesses shared a common capital base with retail banking as one organic financial institution, essentially leveraging public deposits in their banks to trade, they created assets that wiped off the bank’s capital and public retail deposits in their institutions. Where they were big banks, sometimes with a century of public retail deposits, the financial system was put a systemic risk of collapse and the state have had to intervene to bail them out largely to protect public deposits. This experience has fuelled calls for the full organic separation of investment and retail banking in the financial system. It is difficult to understand how this logic of bail out applies to the stock brokers who will enjoy N23 billion government largesse. A public bail out of a financial institution is justified only if they pose a systemic risk to the financial system should they fail. A systemic risk is the risk that the entire financial system will fail and collapse and it is different from the risk of financial failure of an individual or group within the financial system. The first question to ask is whether the failure of the selected stock broking firms being offered this government largesse can pull down the entire financial system or pose a systemic risk. Certainly not! These stock broking firms are not banks and their size relative to the whole financial ecosystem poses no fundamental systemic risk. What then is the rationale for the bail out?

Two fundamental conditions must exist for the public bail out of financial institutions. They must either be either be “too big to fail, the TBTF test or must be “too interconnected to fail”, the TICTF test. The TCITF test measures whether a group of institutions represent critical connected dependencies with no existing market alternative in size and function such that their failure will pull down the financial system. The   public bail out of a financial institution or a group of financial institutions must pass these two tests to justify the test of a systemic risk. It is difficult to see how the group of stock brokers who will enjoy these N23b public largesse could pass the “too big to fail” or the “too interconnected to fail” test. Their collective size does not pose significant systemic risk to the financial system. In the last three years, since these firms have had to deal with their margin loan challenges, the financial system has carried on. The capital market measured by the Nigeria Stock Exchange All Share Index has witnessed a year to date gain of more than 25 percent. This is because there are alternative market transaction agents whose collective size moderate any potential “too interconnected to fail” effect of the stock broking firms being bailed-out by government. Whither then is the logic of government action?

Capital market operators specifically stock broking firms operators are no banks. They are capital market transaction agents. They do not warehouse public assets or owe public liability like the banks that hold public deposits that could create a collapse of the financial system if a critical number of them fail. The stock asset that the public buy is not warehoused by the stockbroker but by the public themselves directly and the company from whom the stock was bought with a clearing system maintained by the independent Central Security Clearing System (CSCS). Stock sales are transactions between the company, the stock seller and the stock buyer with the stockbroker acting as intermediary, a broker and a transaction agent. It is the same relationship as that of a real estate agent who collects a fee brokering a deal between a house seller and a house buyer.

The real estate agent just like the stock broker should ordinarily not warehouse housing-stock unless he decides to use his market knowledge for additional private gain and become an investor, acquiring his own housing stock. If we stretch the analogy further, would it be right to use state fund to bail out or forebear the loans of a group of real estate agents who took a bank loans to buy houses and kept, hoping to make a kill when the house stock appreciates, and unfortunately house prices fell?  If the state does that, should the same logic and largesse not be extended to every citizen investor who bought housing stock when house prices fell? Therefore apart from rewarding bad behaviour, the action of government also raises public equity and fairness issues.  For the ordinary retail investor who also lost money on the capital market like the stock broking firms who took margin loans, where and what will be his own bail out or loan forbearance? What is good for the goose must also be good for the gander.

There have been attempts to justify the bail out of the stock broking firms as a special intervention in the capital market as it has been done recently in aviation and agriculture. Special sector intervention funds in Nigeria have largely not delivered tangible results as they work against market logic. The art of giving public funds to firms at below market rate, below its true market price distorts market mechanisms and leads to scarce resources being allocated to firms that will not best utilize them. Have we seen yet the tangible and visible gains of the recent special intervention funds in agriculture and aviation?  Such intervention funds have largely festered a regime of crony capitalism with all its attendant ills, where you get access to funds below market rate if you are connected to government and can even divert them to other more profitable sectors outside the intervention fund.  The market punishment of bad investment decisions, a return of losses for poor risk decisions and vice versa as gains for good investment risk decisions is critical to the effective functioning of markets.  Special intervention funds where there are no proven market failures, where it cannot be proven that markets lack the mechanism to self-correct and cleanse itself in its organic cycle of bulls and bear that ensure that resources are efficiently allocated to those who will best utilize them, can only but lead to more imperfect market outcomes.

Government has done very well by intervening and bailing out the banks whose failure truly posed a systemic risk to the financial system. It has however overreached itself in the N23 billion bail-out of selected stock broking firms. The logic and rationale of its decision fail public interest, fairness and social equity tests. If the concern of government is about the liquidity of the capital market, it cannot be addressed by rewarding excessive risk behaviour that could further jeopardize the future health of the financial system. This bail out of selected stockbrokers by government cannot be morally and economically justified. It should therefore be seriously reconsidered.

Olu Akanmu, a company executive