tarcomms Smart Centres operators, are now set for an exciting celebration in their homes during the yuletide as prizes, which they won in the third edition of the Starcomms Bonuzee Loyalty promotion has be redeemed at a ceremony full of funfair and jubilation.
Excited by the several prizes, which they won and the impact such prizes will have on their families, the elated winners did not hide their joy and appreciation for Starcomms Plc as they pour encomium on the award winning telecommunications company for bring the good things of life into their homes.
All Smart Centre operators who were present at the presentation prize ceremony went home with prizes ranging from cars, television sets, microwave ovens, DVD players as well as huge sums of money.
Titilayo Tokun, an educationist who combined the Smart Centre business with her career said that although the car was not her first, she is so excited that the news of the new car will add colour to the yuletide celebration in her family.
Tokun who operates her Smart Centre in Ibadan said that the news that she has won a new Kia Rio car initially did not jolt her into jubilation saying that the prevalence of fraudulent claims made her to doubt the news.
She however said that arriving the venue of the event and seeing the cars packed outside the premises of the event venue increased jolt her into excitement about the prize thanking Starcomms for putting smiles on her face and that of other Smart Centre operators who have been loyal to the Starcomms brand.
Describing Starcomms as a worthy partner to do business with, she called on all other Smart Centre operators in the country not to relent in their commitment to the Starcomms brand noting if they did not win today tomorrow they will win.
As for Sylvester Chukwuebuka Orji, the Onitsha based Smart Centre operator who brave all odds to confirmed the authenticity of the promised prize from Starcomms, the excitement of having a new car to drive his family around during the yuletide began when he was presented the keys to the brand new Kia Rio car.
According to him, it was a thoughtful thing for Starcomms to reward her loyal business partners during the yuletide saying that such gesture adds value to the Starcomms brand, which has brought joy into his family.
Also Idiong Justice who won the cash prize of N750, 000 describe the gift offer from Starcomms as an opportunity for a celebration galore for him and his other colleagues who won other cash prizes of N500, 000 and N50, 000.00 saying that “we are happy that Starcomms is giving us this gift at a thing like this in the year when families are looking for money to celebrate the Christmas and the New Year”.
Presenting the prizes to all the winners, Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Tushar Maheshwari said that the Starcomms Bonuzee Loyalty, which began in 2007 was designed to reward diligence and good business sense noting that it is the tradition in Starcomms to reward loyalty in business.
He said that as a Nigerian company, Starcomms is poised towards making every citizen it does business with to enjoy the fruit of their labour saying that a total of N25 million was won in cash and item prizes.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
India set to ban 3G data
India’s 3G operators will reportedly be banned from offering data services within a week unless they can demonstrate the ability of law enforcement officials to monitor data traffic in real time.
The country’s Intelligence Bureau demanded a temporary ban on all 3G data services during a meeting between representatives of telcos, the home ministry and security agencies, the Economic Times reported citing a senior Department of Telecom (DoT) official.
Operators have been given seven days to show that data services can be tapped in real time, the newspaper said.
Last week, the DoT banned 3G video calls due to similar concerns over real-time tapping, despite operator objections that there is no technology available to monitor live video calls, and the country is mulling a law to ensure networks can be monitored in real time by security agencies.
State-owned BSNL and MTNL, as well as private operators Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices, have already launched 3G services, and a ban would force 3G licensees Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, and Aircel to delay their launch plans.
“If we need to go through an equipment retesting drill, services will be delayed for at least six to eight weeks,” an anonymous telecoms official told the ET.
The country’s Intelligence Bureau demanded a temporary ban on all 3G data services during a meeting between representatives of telcos, the home ministry and security agencies, the Economic Times reported citing a senior Department of Telecom (DoT) official.
Operators have been given seven days to show that data services can be tapped in real time, the newspaper said.
Last week, the DoT banned 3G video calls due to similar concerns over real-time tapping, despite operator objections that there is no technology available to monitor live video calls, and the country is mulling a law to ensure networks can be monitored in real time by security agencies.
State-owned BSNL and MTNL, as well as private operators Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices, have already launched 3G services, and a ban would force 3G licensees Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, and Aircel to delay their launch plans.
“If we need to go through an equipment retesting drill, services will be delayed for at least six to eight weeks,” an anonymous telecoms official told the ET.
From centre, Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms Plc., Tushar Maheshwari displaying the Starcomms myPAD to journalist during a press conference at the company’s corporate office, Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, yesterday. With him is Nkiru Onono, Marketing & Communications Manager, Starcomms Plc and Managing Director, TPT International, Limited, Charles Igbinidu.
Egyptian authorities arrest bizmen for spying
Egyptian authorities have charged a local businessman and two Israelis for recruiting agents in Egypt, Syria, and Lebanon to spy for Israeli intelligence, a State Security prosecutor has said.
Prosecutor Hisham Badawi told reporters that a businessman named Tarek Hassan was arrested in August and has now been charged with harming the country's national interests. Two other Israelis have been charged in absentia.
Hassan allegedly received $7,500 dollars to search for potential agents working for telecommunication companies in the three countries that could spy for Israel.
Over the last few months, Lebanon has also repeatedly accused Israeli intelligence of attempting to spy on and infiltrate its telecommunication networks.
Israel said that it had no information about the case.
"We are not familiar with the charges," said Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yigal Palmor. "We will have to look into it in order to understand what this is all about."
Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace agreement with Israel in 1979, however, relations have been cool and Egyptian authorities have since periodically arrested and convicted people of spying for the Jewish state.
Earlier media quoted unnamed security officials saying that four Egyptians had been arrested for spying for Israel as well as gathering information about tourists in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. There were also two Israelis involved in this version of events and both involved infiltrating telecommunications companies.
The discrepancies between the two versions could not be immediately resolved.
News about the longstanding case came out as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak publicly criticized Israel for causing a stalemate in peace talks with the Palestinians.
Prosecutor Hisham Badawi told reporters that a businessman named Tarek Hassan was arrested in August and has now been charged with harming the country's national interests. Two other Israelis have been charged in absentia.
Hassan allegedly received $7,500 dollars to search for potential agents working for telecommunication companies in the three countries that could spy for Israel.
Over the last few months, Lebanon has also repeatedly accused Israeli intelligence of attempting to spy on and infiltrate its telecommunication networks.
Israel said that it had no information about the case.
"We are not familiar with the charges," said Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Yigal Palmor. "We will have to look into it in order to understand what this is all about."
Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace agreement with Israel in 1979, however, relations have been cool and Egyptian authorities have since periodically arrested and convicted people of spying for the Jewish state.
Earlier media quoted unnamed security officials saying that four Egyptians had been arrested for spying for Israel as well as gathering information about tourists in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. There were also two Israelis involved in this version of events and both involved infiltrating telecommunications companies.
The discrepancies between the two versions could not be immediately resolved.
News about the longstanding case came out as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak publicly criticized Israel for causing a stalemate in peace talks with the Palestinians.
World Trade Centre invites Nigerian President over power supply
Nigeria‘s quest for stable power supply and growth has attracted the attention of the World Trade Centre in Wilmington, Delaware, United States, which has invited President Goodluck Jonathan for a meeting with major American energy providers.
In a letter of invitation, the President/Chief Executive Officer, WTC, Rebecca Faber, said that arrangements had been concluded to receive the Nigerian delegation to be led by Jonathan to meet with the energy companies on how to ensure 24-hour power supply in Nigeria in the shortest possible time.
According to Faber, Jonathan will also meet with Delaware‘s top government officials and investors for bilateral discussions and agreements on other critical areas of economic interests, including agriculture, commerce and industry, construction and food processing.
The President‘s letter of invitation dated, October 6, 2010, was sent directly to the Presidency and another copy was sent through Nigeria‘s Ambassador to the US, Prof. Adebowale Adefuye. No date has been fixed for the important visit.
Commenting on the proposed visit in a statement sent from Philadelphia to media houses in Nigeria on Tuesday, a US-based Nigerian businessman, Mr. Leonardo Alliyu, said that Nigeria‘s economy, and indeed that of the entire Africa, would benefit tremendously from the visit.
The businessman whose company, Greater Philadelphia Import-Export Company, is partnering with the WTC Delaware to organise the visit, said that the desire to help Nigeria achieve its economic goals as contained in Vision 2020 was the reason for the invitation extended to Jonathan.
In a letter of invitation, the President/Chief Executive Officer, WTC, Rebecca Faber, said that arrangements had been concluded to receive the Nigerian delegation to be led by Jonathan to meet with the energy companies on how to ensure 24-hour power supply in Nigeria in the shortest possible time.
According to Faber, Jonathan will also meet with Delaware‘s top government officials and investors for bilateral discussions and agreements on other critical areas of economic interests, including agriculture, commerce and industry, construction and food processing.
The President‘s letter of invitation dated, October 6, 2010, was sent directly to the Presidency and another copy was sent through Nigeria‘s Ambassador to the US, Prof. Adebowale Adefuye. No date has been fixed for the important visit.
Commenting on the proposed visit in a statement sent from Philadelphia to media houses in Nigeria on Tuesday, a US-based Nigerian businessman, Mr. Leonardo Alliyu, said that Nigeria‘s economy, and indeed that of the entire Africa, would benefit tremendously from the visit.
The businessman whose company, Greater Philadelphia Import-Export Company, is partnering with the WTC Delaware to organise the visit, said that the desire to help Nigeria achieve its economic goals as contained in Vision 2020 was the reason for the invitation extended to Jonathan.
STARCOMMS BLAZES TRAIL WITH FIRST OF ITS KIND myPAD
Driven by the passion to keep adding value to the lives of its customers, Starcomms Plc, Nigeria’s innovative and multiple award winning telecommunications company has introduced the first of its kind myPAD into the Nigerian mobile telephone market. It would be recalled that starcomms recently blazed the trail as the first CDMA company in the world to introduce international inter-standard roaming between CDMA and GSM operatorsInnovatively designed as a high-end tablet/data device, the stylish hi-tech device is technologically crafted to support multiple and up to date data functionalities that helps the user maintain his /her high social profile.Besides being powered by a 2.1 Android operating system that gives the best of processing speed, the Starcomms myPAD comes with an exquisite and attractive appearance that radiates the grandeur that the Starcomms brand is known for in the telecommunications industry in Nigeria.According to the Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Tushar Maheshwari, myPAD is only available in Nigeria on the Starcomms network saying that the introduction of the device is timely in this convergence era.He said that in line with Starcomms passion in ensuring that its customers have access to innovative products and the service that keeps them in tune with technological trends, myPAD has embedded functional applications that will excite the user saying that some of the applications include: Skype, Yahoo, YouTube, MSN, Yahoo messenger and FaceBook. He further said that there are entertainment applications for music and games with free downloadable games. MyPAD has a wider screen of 10.2 inches that offers the user excellent visibility while using the tablet.He explains that the device, which comes with an optional branded luxury leather case carrier, has a 10-giga byte memory that can be expanded to 64-giga byte, 2 USB and LAN port, an HDMI out and a 2.0 mega pixel webcam, a user friendly manual and a battery charger. MyPAD offers an exciting movie experience for movie lovers as it comes with an HDMI out for connecting and downloading video to TV.
With an introductory offer of N74, 999 the Starcomms myPAD comes with a bundled offer of free i-zap Internet Router that connects up to 5 Users and 3 months Internet. Without the router and Internet access myPAD sells at a price of N54, 999.While speaking on the value that the Starcomms myPAD will add to the life style of the user, Maheshwari said that the new mobile device, in addition having exciting features that makes its use pleasurable, it has been designed specifically to leverage on the desire of every upwardly mobile individual. Hence, he said that Starcomms has creatively kept to its tradition of innovativeness in the delivery of unmatched quality products and services while designing the myPAD noting that it conveniently suits the data communications needs of its customers and that it is a device everyone will find very useful.
With an introductory offer of N74, 999 the Starcomms myPAD comes with a bundled offer of free i-zap Internet Router that connects up to 5 Users and 3 months Internet. Without the router and Internet access myPAD sells at a price of N54, 999.While speaking on the value that the Starcomms myPAD will add to the life style of the user, Maheshwari said that the new mobile device, in addition having exciting features that makes its use pleasurable, it has been designed specifically to leverage on the desire of every upwardly mobile individual. Hence, he said that Starcomms has creatively kept to its tradition of innovativeness in the delivery of unmatched quality products and services while designing the myPAD noting that it conveniently suits the data communications needs of its customers and that it is a device everyone will find very useful.
Financial experts warn on inflation
Financial experts have urged the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria to continue with its tight monetary policy, saying that the inflation rate was responding to it.
According to them, the consumer price index for the month of November, which dropped by 0.60 per cent to 12.80 per cent, from 13.40 per cent in October, showed that the inflation rate was dropping.
Analysts at the First Securities Discount House said that the latest inflation figure of 12.80 per cent represented the lowest level recorded since January 2010.
They noted that the declining trend in inflation rate recorded since September was a welcome development. According to them, investors in fixed income securities and other fund managers consider inflation rate in making investment decision.
The inflation rate had dropped for the second consecutive month in October to 13.4 per cent from 13.6 per cent in September.
The CBN Governor, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, had said in an interview in London that, ”For cosmetic reasons, it is extremely important to make sure that we attack inflation. The CBN is targeting an inflation rate of less than 10 per cent.”
The Managing Director, Lewix Financial Services Limited, Dr. Tunde Lewis, said in an interview that the monetary authorities had adopted a right approach by the tight policy.
He added, “If a single digit inflation rate is achieved and sustained, government is then in a position to achieve the other goals of adequate and accelerated rate of economic goal, low rate of unemployment or full employment, equitable distribution of national income and external balance of payment equilibrium.”
According to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics, consumer price index for the month of November, 2010, showed that the year-on-year inflation rate in Nigeria dropped by 0.60 per cent to 12.80 per cent, from 13.40 per cent recorded in the month of October 2010.
The composite consumer price index stood at 112.8 points in the month of November, an increase from 112.7 recorded in October.
The percentage change in the average CPI for the twelve-month period ended November 2010 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve month was 13.9 per cent, the same figure as the previous month.
Core inflation, which is all items less farm produce and energy, stood at 11.30 per cent year-on-year.
It would be recalled that the MPC of the CBN in its November meeting maintained its policy stance by leaving the monetary policy rate at 6.25 per cent and also adjusting the asymmetric corridor of interest rate by 200 basis points.
According to them, the consumer price index for the month of November, which dropped by 0.60 per cent to 12.80 per cent, from 13.40 per cent in October, showed that the inflation rate was dropping.
Analysts at the First Securities Discount House said that the latest inflation figure of 12.80 per cent represented the lowest level recorded since January 2010.
They noted that the declining trend in inflation rate recorded since September was a welcome development. According to them, investors in fixed income securities and other fund managers consider inflation rate in making investment decision.
The inflation rate had dropped for the second consecutive month in October to 13.4 per cent from 13.6 per cent in September.
The CBN Governor, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, had said in an interview in London that, ”For cosmetic reasons, it is extremely important to make sure that we attack inflation. The CBN is targeting an inflation rate of less than 10 per cent.”
The Managing Director, Lewix Financial Services Limited, Dr. Tunde Lewis, said in an interview that the monetary authorities had adopted a right approach by the tight policy.
He added, “If a single digit inflation rate is achieved and sustained, government is then in a position to achieve the other goals of adequate and accelerated rate of economic goal, low rate of unemployment or full employment, equitable distribution of national income and external balance of payment equilibrium.”
According to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics, consumer price index for the month of November, 2010, showed that the year-on-year inflation rate in Nigeria dropped by 0.60 per cent to 12.80 per cent, from 13.40 per cent recorded in the month of October 2010.
The composite consumer price index stood at 112.8 points in the month of November, an increase from 112.7 recorded in October.
The percentage change in the average CPI for the twelve-month period ended November 2010 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve month was 13.9 per cent, the same figure as the previous month.
Core inflation, which is all items less farm produce and energy, stood at 11.30 per cent year-on-year.
It would be recalled that the MPC of the CBN in its November meeting maintained its policy stance by leaving the monetary policy rate at 6.25 per cent and also adjusting the asymmetric corridor of interest rate by 200 basis points.
CDMA operators may merge in 2011
The erstwhile Executive Vice-Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, has predicted that the much talked about consolidation in the CDMA market will happen soon.
Ndukwe, who spoke to journalists at the Distinguished Electrical and Electronics Engineers Annual Lecture, said the solution to poor financial performance by the CDMA operators was to consolidate their operations.
There are currently four CDMA operators in the country namely; Starcomms, Multilinks, ZOOMmobile and Visafone.
Ndukwe said, ”I think the way forward and what I will recommend is the consolidation of those companies. I think some of them should merge and bake a bigger cake rather than the segmented way they are today.
“And I think, as an industry, there is a move towards that direction. Some call it consolidation in the industry. When that happens, I suspect you will see better days for CDMA in the country.”
According to Ndukwe, it is fallacious for anyone to assume that CDMA operators are not doing well because they are not adequately protected by the NCC.
He said, ”I think their biggest problem is that they all came in as smaller companies. In this business, you need to play big. Etisalat is a GSM operator, which came in after these companies and today, it has over six million lines. The only reason is that the company came in with adequate investment in the country.
“Remember, CDMA started before the GSM operators. Multilinks was the first to interconnect to NITEL and this was around 1998/99 before GSM operators started in 2001. So, they had a good head start, but the problem was that they had little money.
“They were small people, who got licences and started playing small and when the big players came with a lot of investment, things changed. You need to have adequate investment to play in the telecoms industry.”
The CDMA operators in Nigeria have lost about 1.08 million active subscribers between January and July 2010, according to official data.
According to the NCC subscriber data covering December 2009 to July 2010, active mobile CDMA lines, which stood at 7.7 million in January 2010, dropped to 6.6 million by July. This means that 1.08 million active lines have become inactive.
The number of CDMA lines increased from 7.77 million in January to 7.79 million in February, but dropped to 7.66 million in March. It, however, increased to 7.74 million in April.
However, the active subscriber base recorded a sharp drop from 7.49 million in May to 6.83 million in June, and rose again to 6.69 million in July.
The highest drop was experienced in June when the figure dropped from 7.49 million in May to 6.83 million.
Although, the total connected CDMA lines stood at 11.5 million as at July, the GSM subscriber base has recorded exponential growth from total connected 83.4 million lines in March 2009, and an active subscriber figure of 68.7 million, to 91.6 million and 72.2 million respectively, as at July, 2010.
Poor financial performance has been widely considered as the bane of growth in the CDMA telecoms market.
Investigation revealed that Multilinks, Starcomms, ZOOMmobile and Visafone lost about N1.95bn in the first six months of 2010.
According to the subscriber data provided by NCC, the CDMA operators lost about 1.08 million active subscribers between January and July, 2010.
The National Bureau of Statistics put the Average Revenue Per User of telecoms services in Nigeria, including that of the CDMAs, at N1,800.
Based on N1, 800 per user, an average of N1.95bn must have been lost on the 1.08 million subscribers by the CDMA operators in the first half of the year.
Telkom SA, the owner of MultilinksTelkom, had put up its mobile operations in Nigeria for sale due to poor fiscal standing.
As the fortune of the CDMA operators is hanging, experts have recommended consolidation by the ailing telecoms players.
The former Acting EVC of NCC, Dr. Bashir Gwandu, in an interview with our correspondent, had encouraged the CDMAs to consider consolidation as an option.
The Chief Executive Officer, Starcomms, Mr. Maher Qubain, had said the current financial losses being experienced by CDMA operators made consolidation an option that must be considered.
He said, ”We must consolidate in the telecoms sector because there are too many players and people are marginalising business. However, it will take about 26 months for consolidation to happen because of the ego of the players.”
Qubain said that the company was open to consolidation and was ready to talk with any interested operator in the industry. He also agreed that consolidation was essential in the telecoms industry.
”There is still scope for consolidation in the telecoms sector and the level of interest in mergers and acquisitions is now on the rise,” he said.
Responding to questions that lower spectrum was responsible for the CDMAs‘ woes in the country, Ndukwe said, ”Lower spectrum is supposed to be an advantage because the lower the frequency, the less base stations you require and the higher the reach of each base stations. So, it is an advantage.
”I think what you should be asking is making provision for spectrum for new services that will be coming out of the country. When the consolidation happens in the CDMA space, that will also lead to further improvement in the operating environment in the country.”
Ndukwe, who spoke to journalists at the Distinguished Electrical and Electronics Engineers Annual Lecture, said the solution to poor financial performance by the CDMA operators was to consolidate their operations.
There are currently four CDMA operators in the country namely; Starcomms, Multilinks, ZOOMmobile and Visafone.
Ndukwe said, ”I think the way forward and what I will recommend is the consolidation of those companies. I think some of them should merge and bake a bigger cake rather than the segmented way they are today.
“And I think, as an industry, there is a move towards that direction. Some call it consolidation in the industry. When that happens, I suspect you will see better days for CDMA in the country.”
According to Ndukwe, it is fallacious for anyone to assume that CDMA operators are not doing well because they are not adequately protected by the NCC.
He said, ”I think their biggest problem is that they all came in as smaller companies. In this business, you need to play big. Etisalat is a GSM operator, which came in after these companies and today, it has over six million lines. The only reason is that the company came in with adequate investment in the country.
“Remember, CDMA started before the GSM operators. Multilinks was the first to interconnect to NITEL and this was around 1998/99 before GSM operators started in 2001. So, they had a good head start, but the problem was that they had little money.
“They were small people, who got licences and started playing small and when the big players came with a lot of investment, things changed. You need to have adequate investment to play in the telecoms industry.”
The CDMA operators in Nigeria have lost about 1.08 million active subscribers between January and July 2010, according to official data.
According to the NCC subscriber data covering December 2009 to July 2010, active mobile CDMA lines, which stood at 7.7 million in January 2010, dropped to 6.6 million by July. This means that 1.08 million active lines have become inactive.
The number of CDMA lines increased from 7.77 million in January to 7.79 million in February, but dropped to 7.66 million in March. It, however, increased to 7.74 million in April.
However, the active subscriber base recorded a sharp drop from 7.49 million in May to 6.83 million in June, and rose again to 6.69 million in July.
The highest drop was experienced in June when the figure dropped from 7.49 million in May to 6.83 million.
Although, the total connected CDMA lines stood at 11.5 million as at July, the GSM subscriber base has recorded exponential growth from total connected 83.4 million lines in March 2009, and an active subscriber figure of 68.7 million, to 91.6 million and 72.2 million respectively, as at July, 2010.
Poor financial performance has been widely considered as the bane of growth in the CDMA telecoms market.
Investigation revealed that Multilinks, Starcomms, ZOOMmobile and Visafone lost about N1.95bn in the first six months of 2010.
According to the subscriber data provided by NCC, the CDMA operators lost about 1.08 million active subscribers between January and July, 2010.
The National Bureau of Statistics put the Average Revenue Per User of telecoms services in Nigeria, including that of the CDMAs, at N1,800.
Based on N1, 800 per user, an average of N1.95bn must have been lost on the 1.08 million subscribers by the CDMA operators in the first half of the year.
Telkom SA, the owner of MultilinksTelkom, had put up its mobile operations in Nigeria for sale due to poor fiscal standing.
As the fortune of the CDMA operators is hanging, experts have recommended consolidation by the ailing telecoms players.
The former Acting EVC of NCC, Dr. Bashir Gwandu, in an interview with our correspondent, had encouraged the CDMAs to consider consolidation as an option.
The Chief Executive Officer, Starcomms, Mr. Maher Qubain, had said the current financial losses being experienced by CDMA operators made consolidation an option that must be considered.
He said, ”We must consolidate in the telecoms sector because there are too many players and people are marginalising business. However, it will take about 26 months for consolidation to happen because of the ego of the players.”
Qubain said that the company was open to consolidation and was ready to talk with any interested operator in the industry. He also agreed that consolidation was essential in the telecoms industry.
”There is still scope for consolidation in the telecoms sector and the level of interest in mergers and acquisitions is now on the rise,” he said.
Responding to questions that lower spectrum was responsible for the CDMAs‘ woes in the country, Ndukwe said, ”Lower spectrum is supposed to be an advantage because the lower the frequency, the less base stations you require and the higher the reach of each base stations. So, it is an advantage.
”I think what you should be asking is making provision for spectrum for new services that will be coming out of the country. When the consolidation happens in the CDMA space, that will also lead to further improvement in the operating environment in the country.”
L-R : Tunde Odetunde, Starcomms Senior Dealer Manager, Tushar Maheshwari, the company’s Chief Commercial Officer, Lot Yahaya, winner of N750,000 cash prize in the just concluded car concluded Bonuzee promo for payphone operators during the presentation at The Place in Ikeja GRA Lagos on Saturday 18 December 2010
Starcomms Chief Commercial Officer, Tushar Maheshwari presents the key of a Kia Rio to Titilola Tokun, an educationist and Smart Center operator who won the star prize of a car in the just concluded Bonuzee promo for payphone operators during the presentation at The Place in Ikeja GRA Lagos Tunde Odetunde, Starcomms Senior Manager, Dealer watches during the presentation at The Place in Ikeja GRA Lagos on Saturday 18 December 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Ghana Marks First Oil Production
The President of Ghana, John Evans Atta Mills, would symbolically press the button to officially commence full-scale production of oil in commercial quantity at the Jubilee Fields in the Western Region today, Wednesday, December 16.Today's event is remarkable in the annals of the country as the sitting president is joined by the two surviving former presidents of Ghana for the historic pouring of the Jubilee Oil.Both former presidents, Jerry John Rawlings and John Agyekum Kufuor, have official confirmed their participation offshore at the FPSO Kwame Nkrumah terminal.It marks a three-year journey which began with the announcement in June 2007 that crude had been discovered in commercial quantities offshore. The Jubilee Field is estimated to hold 1.8 billion barrels of crude, but there have since been other discoveries which would boost the reserves significantly once appraisal works are complete.There would also be a grand durbar of chiefs and people of the Western Region with government officials and other dignitaries to celebrate the discovery of oil.As part of the first oil celebrations, the Jubilee Partners are also organizing 'The First Oil Thanksgiving Service' on Sunday, December 19th 2010, at the Accra International Conference Center.The interdenominational Thanksgiving Service will feature a sermon by Pastor Mensa Otabil, General Overseer of the International Central Gospel Church.The First Oil Thanksgiving service is an initiative of the Jubilee partners –Anadarko, E.O Group Ghana Ltd, GNPC, Kosmos Energy, Sabre Oil and Gas and Tullow Oil.
Ghana Telecomms Operators Oppose International Call Monitoring
The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications (GCT), comprising all telecom operators in the country, has endorsed a declaration by the West African Telecommunications Conference (WATC) which condemns international call monitoring in Ghana. The WATC issued a communiqué at its recent meeting in Dakar, Senegal on November 25, 2010, describing government's monitoring and imposition of levy and surcharges on incoming international call as a breach of International Telecom Laws, the ECOWAS Treaty and the West African Union Treaty. It condemned the practice and called on all telecom operators in countries where the practice is on-going like Ghana, Guinea and Congo, not to cooperate with any company employed by their respective governments to monitor calls and impose surcharges and levies. 'We recommend that operators in the sub-region should cease all commercial relationships with any firm implicated in the imposition of such a surcharge system,' it said. WATC said it will continue to fight against the imposition of such systems in the sub-region and support all telecom operators to do same. 'We reaffirm our determination to pursue actions against the development of this practice and support operators subjected to this surcharge across our entire economic area,' it said. The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications said they endorse the position of the WATC. In Ghana, the government has imposed a 19 cent per minute charge on all incoming internationals calls and employed Global Voices Group (GVG) to monitor those calls and ensure that government gets its revenue. The telecom operators have resisted the move from day one, but government has insisted that some operators under-declare international call revenue which affects revenue mobilization in the country. Government also insist that it has evidence that some telecom operators connive with fraudsters to use simboxes to do call by-pass, which enable them to re-route incoming international calls through local SIM cards to make those calls come in as though they were locally generated. Since Ghana government started monitoring and levying incoming international calls, it has generated not less than $15 million in taxes, and Minister of Communications, Haruna Iddrisu has stated emphatically that nothing will stop them from monitoring incoming international calls to check fraud and generate revenue for the state. But WATC, in a communiqué, dubbed 'Dakar Declaration – concerning government surcharges on incoming international traffic,' refuted allegations that operators make false declaration of traffic and are directly involved in the proliferation of simboxes. It said the practice runs counter to point seven of the communiqué issued by the ECOWAS ICT and Telecoms Ministers in Bamako on July 29, 2010, which enjoins member states to avoid levies and surcharges on incoming international calls. 'This tax also runs counter to the trend of lowering settlement fees per the recommendation of the International Telecoms Union (ITU)' of which Ghana's Minister of Communications, Haruna Iddrisu is Chair.' The communiqué said the taxes result in general increase in retail prices that affect both local consumers and those in the Diaspora, and thereby increase the digital divide. It said significant increase in settlement fee and monitoring of calls increases fraud and reduces incoming international calls and revenue and diminishes fiscal receipts. The WATC therefore called on all countries that have imposed or propose to impose such a system to re-consider their action in the interest of the citizens and the sub-region. Meanwhile, Senegal, Gabon, Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso have also agreed to suspend the system in their countries.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Reliance launches 3G in India
Indian carrier Reliance Communications has said that it is launching 3G services in the metro regions of Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chandigarh. The company aims to launch services in all 13 circles where it holds 3G licences by the end of 2011.
Reliance rolled out 3G services within around 100 days of receiving spectrum in some of the major urban areas in India. The carrier claims to offer blanket coverage in every town specified with all 3G sites connected through fibre optic IP backhaul to provide maximum download speeds and minimum latency. The network is capable of peak speeds up to 28Mbps and will deliver services including video calling, mobile TV, video streaming and applications.
Nokia will provide devices; Facebook, Nokia and Ericsson will offer applications; Universal Music will deliver content; and Motricity will run Reliance’s web portal.
“The launch of Reliance 3G is an integral part of our Vision 2015 of creating a “Wirefree India” built upon the ‘affordable 3G for All’ platform,” said Syed Safawi, CEO of the wireless business at Reliance Communications.
In May 2010, Reliance Communications won spectrum in 13 telecom circles, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya, Pradesh, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, North East, Jammu & Kashmir, Orissa and Assam.
Reliance rolled out 3G services within around 100 days of receiving spectrum in some of the major urban areas in India. The carrier claims to offer blanket coverage in every town specified with all 3G sites connected through fibre optic IP backhaul to provide maximum download speeds and minimum latency. The network is capable of peak speeds up to 28Mbps and will deliver services including video calling, mobile TV, video streaming and applications.
Nokia will provide devices; Facebook, Nokia and Ericsson will offer applications; Universal Music will deliver content; and Motricity will run Reliance’s web portal.
“The launch of Reliance 3G is an integral part of our Vision 2015 of creating a “Wirefree India” built upon the ‘affordable 3G for All’ platform,” said Syed Safawi, CEO of the wireless business at Reliance Communications.
In May 2010, Reliance Communications won spectrum in 13 telecom circles, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya, Pradesh, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, North East, Jammu & Kashmir, Orissa and Assam.
Sweden to auction 800MHz spectrum in February 2011
The Swedish telecoms regulator, PTS, has set a date for the auction of wireless broadband spectrum in the 800GHz band, making the announcement on the eve of the first anniversary of the commercial introduction of LTE. The auction will begin on February 28th 2011, with interested parties required to apply for participation by the end of January. Nordic carrier TeliaSonera launched the world’s first LTE service in Stockholm and Oslo on December 14th last year.
In total, 2 x 30MHz of spectrum is being made available, split into six licences of 2 x 5MHz each. A spectrum cap means that no one bidder can win more than 2 x 10MHz of the total available spectrum, as the regulator wants to ensure that at least three carriers win spectrum. Sweden currently has three mobile operators.
PTS is also imposing a coverage requirement on one of the licences in a bid to help meet the objectives of the Swedish government’s Broadband Strategy programme.
The conditions attached to this licence state that the winning bidder must deploy service so that all permanent homes and businesses that are currently without broadband service are covered by the new rollout. This deployment will be given a fixed cost, decided at the auction—it will be no less than SEK150m ($22.13m) and no more than SEK300m ($44.2m).
The successful bidders for the technology neutral licences must also undertake to remedy any interference that arises with Swedish TV broadcast services.
Sweden was one of the first countries in the world to get a commercial LTE service, when national carrier TeliaSonera launched in Oslo and Stockholm a year ago. Since then TeliaSonera has premiered LTE services in Finland and Denmark. The carrier’s operations in Lithuania, Latvia, Uzbekistan and Estonia have all launched 4G trials, it said.
In total, 2 x 30MHz of spectrum is being made available, split into six licences of 2 x 5MHz each. A spectrum cap means that no one bidder can win more than 2 x 10MHz of the total available spectrum, as the regulator wants to ensure that at least three carriers win spectrum. Sweden currently has three mobile operators.
PTS is also imposing a coverage requirement on one of the licences in a bid to help meet the objectives of the Swedish government’s Broadband Strategy programme.
The conditions attached to this licence state that the winning bidder must deploy service so that all permanent homes and businesses that are currently without broadband service are covered by the new rollout. This deployment will be given a fixed cost, decided at the auction—it will be no less than SEK150m ($22.13m) and no more than SEK300m ($44.2m).
The successful bidders for the technology neutral licences must also undertake to remedy any interference that arises with Swedish TV broadcast services.
Sweden was one of the first countries in the world to get a commercial LTE service, when national carrier TeliaSonera launched in Oslo and Stockholm a year ago. Since then TeliaSonera has premiered LTE services in Finland and Denmark. The carrier’s operations in Lithuania, Latvia, Uzbekistan and Estonia have all launched 4G trials, it said.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Nigerian IT wizkid dazzles abroad
No matter where they are, Nigerians that work hard make waves! Iyinoluwa Aboyeji is another Nigerian representing Nigeria proudly abroad.
Waterloo, ON. uWaterloo undergraduate students launch online peer learning platform that enables students from all over the world colleges to interact with each other on the pages of academic material in which they share a common interest.
It is an open secret that the current education system is a failed one and there is a concerted global effort to fix it championed by heavy weights of all walks of life; from Bill Gates to Michelle Rhee. Nevertheless, as if the space for innovative and sustainable solutions to the problems of the education system was not saturated enough, two students of the University of Waterloo, in the heart of Canada’s famed technology triangle have thrown their hopeful hats into this crowded ring.
For Bookneto founders, 19 year old Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and 21 year old Pierre Arys, the problems of the education system need a student centered response – and they have one. According to Chief Executive Officer, Iyinoluwa, “education today is an industry that serves everyone but students. With the increasing cost of education publishers and educational institutions smile to the bank while students are left crackling under the pressure of debts they cannot pay and skills they cannot utilise. Bookneto is all about changing that through an open peer learning platform.”
With Bookneto, students from all over the world can upload and tag academic material in any format and have it displayed in a specially designed reader so any other student on the platform can add more knowledge and context to it by highlighting sections of the text and starting a discussion thread on it. “We think this is peer learning at its best” said Chief Operating Officer, Pierre Arys. “College students are often limited to their Professor’s understanding of course content and now we can broaden their perspective by providing a forum for them to meaningfully interact with their colleagues from different schools.”
And they are not stopping there. With a little bit of time, traction and funding, they have concrete plans to add on other features and tools that will further integrate valuable educational and social experiences with high quality academic content with a view to making lectures redundant. “We think with time, anyone interesting in a subject will come to our online platform, read the necessary academic material and gain useful context and clarifications by participating in open knowledge sharing across the ivory towers academic institutions often unconsciously build” said Iyinoluwa. “Professors will be better able to concentrate on developing and delivering quality academic content when they can save time on ineffective information transfer functions.”
When we asked the team what Bookneto’s long term vision was, Pierre told us, “Bookneto’s long term vision is to improve education by making learning fun, engaging and addictive. Especially because we are students, we have exactly what it takes to make that happen.”
Pierre Arys studies Computer Science at the University of Waterloo while Iyinoluwa Aboyeji studies Legal Studies at the same school. Before founding Bookneto, Iyinoluwa served as President of Imprint Publications, a leading Canadian student publications company while Pierre worked in California’s Silicon Valley with a very successful financial solutions start-up firm.
They are currently soliciting signups for their beta invites which will be released in the first week of the New Year. Interested students, potential investors, publishers and professors looking to receive beta invites can sign up at www.bookneto.com.
culled from webtrendsng.com
Waterloo, ON. uWaterloo undergraduate students launch online peer learning platform that enables students from all over the world colleges to interact with each other on the pages of academic material in which they share a common interest.
It is an open secret that the current education system is a failed one and there is a concerted global effort to fix it championed by heavy weights of all walks of life; from Bill Gates to Michelle Rhee. Nevertheless, as if the space for innovative and sustainable solutions to the problems of the education system was not saturated enough, two students of the University of Waterloo, in the heart of Canada’s famed technology triangle have thrown their hopeful hats into this crowded ring.
For Bookneto founders, 19 year old Iyinoluwa Aboyeji and 21 year old Pierre Arys, the problems of the education system need a student centered response – and they have one. According to Chief Executive Officer, Iyinoluwa, “education today is an industry that serves everyone but students. With the increasing cost of education publishers and educational institutions smile to the bank while students are left crackling under the pressure of debts they cannot pay and skills they cannot utilise. Bookneto is all about changing that through an open peer learning platform.”
With Bookneto, students from all over the world can upload and tag academic material in any format and have it displayed in a specially designed reader so any other student on the platform can add more knowledge and context to it by highlighting sections of the text and starting a discussion thread on it. “We think this is peer learning at its best” said Chief Operating Officer, Pierre Arys. “College students are often limited to their Professor’s understanding of course content and now we can broaden their perspective by providing a forum for them to meaningfully interact with their colleagues from different schools.”
And they are not stopping there. With a little bit of time, traction and funding, they have concrete plans to add on other features and tools that will further integrate valuable educational and social experiences with high quality academic content with a view to making lectures redundant. “We think with time, anyone interesting in a subject will come to our online platform, read the necessary academic material and gain useful context and clarifications by participating in open knowledge sharing across the ivory towers academic institutions often unconsciously build” said Iyinoluwa. “Professors will be better able to concentrate on developing and delivering quality academic content when they can save time on ineffective information transfer functions.”
When we asked the team what Bookneto’s long term vision was, Pierre told us, “Bookneto’s long term vision is to improve education by making learning fun, engaging and addictive. Especially because we are students, we have exactly what it takes to make that happen.”
Pierre Arys studies Computer Science at the University of Waterloo while Iyinoluwa Aboyeji studies Legal Studies at the same school. Before founding Bookneto, Iyinoluwa served as President of Imprint Publications, a leading Canadian student publications company while Pierre worked in California’s Silicon Valley with a very successful financial solutions start-up firm.
They are currently soliciting signups for their beta invites which will be released in the first week of the New Year. Interested students, potential investors, publishers and professors looking to receive beta invites can sign up at www.bookneto.com.
culled from webtrendsng.com
Thursday, December 9, 2010
E-reader sales doubles as year closes
Worldwide connected e-reader sales to end users are forecast to total 6.6 million units in 2010, up 79.8 per cent from 2009 sales of 3.6 million units, according to Gartner.
In 2011, worldwide e-reader sales are projected to surpass 11 million units, a 68.3 per cent increase from 2010.
The market for e-reading devices — portable devices that use an E Ink, e-paper or similar display technology — has become crowded and is at risk of commoditisation due to developments in adjacent markets, such as those for media tablets, according to Gartner analysts.
“The connected e-reader market has grown dramatically during the past two years, driven by sales of Amazon’s e-readers, primarily in North America. This is the dominant region for e-reader sales, and we predict that it will account for sales of just over 4 million units in 2010,” said Hugues De La Vergne, principal research analyst at Gartner. North America will remain a key market through 2014, although its dominance will decline significantly as regions such as Western Europe and Asia/Pacific become the leading locations for growth. Growth in North American and other markets will remain constrained by the success of media tablets, such as the Apple iPad.”
Although three vendors dominate today’s e-reader market (Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Sony), new competitors may well appear in the future with low-cost devices subsidized by content owners. Large consumer electronics and PC firms such as HP and Dell are also trying to position themselves strongly in the market for connected consumer devices.
E-readers have carved out a solid niche in the consumer electronics market due to their portability, long battery life, solid display technology (although most lack colour screens) and relatively inexpensive retail prices.
Cannibalisation by media tablets represents the biggest threat to e-readers. Media tablets can offer a compelling experience for electronic magazines and newspapers, due to their widespread adoption of displays that show color and support full-motion video. By incorporating e-reader functionality, media tablets can perform many different functions, including supporting e-reader applications.
“With media tablets offering more functionality, e-reader vendors need to target avid readers who may see the value of a stand-alone device that performs particularly well,” said Allen Weiner, research vice president at Gartner. “E-reader vendors will also need to offer lower prices than for more fully featured media tablets. This will entail smaller profit margins and potential hardware subsidies at retail, and/or the ability to obtain lower-priced components. We think few end users will buy both an e-reader and a media tablet, so it is important that e-readers retain a price advantage.”
In 2011, worldwide e-reader sales are projected to surpass 11 million units, a 68.3 per cent increase from 2010.
The market for e-reading devices — portable devices that use an E Ink, e-paper or similar display technology — has become crowded and is at risk of commoditisation due to developments in adjacent markets, such as those for media tablets, according to Gartner analysts.
“The connected e-reader market has grown dramatically during the past two years, driven by sales of Amazon’s e-readers, primarily in North America. This is the dominant region for e-reader sales, and we predict that it will account for sales of just over 4 million units in 2010,” said Hugues De La Vergne, principal research analyst at Gartner. North America will remain a key market through 2014, although its dominance will decline significantly as regions such as Western Europe and Asia/Pacific become the leading locations for growth. Growth in North American and other markets will remain constrained by the success of media tablets, such as the Apple iPad.”
Although three vendors dominate today’s e-reader market (Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Sony), new competitors may well appear in the future with low-cost devices subsidized by content owners. Large consumer electronics and PC firms such as HP and Dell are also trying to position themselves strongly in the market for connected consumer devices.
E-readers have carved out a solid niche in the consumer electronics market due to their portability, long battery life, solid display technology (although most lack colour screens) and relatively inexpensive retail prices.
Cannibalisation by media tablets represents the biggest threat to e-readers. Media tablets can offer a compelling experience for electronic magazines and newspapers, due to their widespread adoption of displays that show color and support full-motion video. By incorporating e-reader functionality, media tablets can perform many different functions, including supporting e-reader applications.
“With media tablets offering more functionality, e-reader vendors need to target avid readers who may see the value of a stand-alone device that performs particularly well,” said Allen Weiner, research vice president at Gartner. “E-reader vendors will also need to offer lower prices than for more fully featured media tablets. This will entail smaller profit margins and potential hardware subsidies at retail, and/or the ability to obtain lower-priced components. We think few end users will buy both an e-reader and a media tablet, so it is important that e-readers retain a price advantage.”
Tigo Tanzania outsource Towers
The flurry of infrastructure outsourcing deals in Africa continues, as the Tanzanian operation of Millicom International Cellular, Tigo, agrees to sell approximately 1,020 towers to tower management firm Helios Towers.
As a result of the transaction, Tigo will receive at least $80m in cash up front and will retain a “significant minority interest” in Helios. The pair will also enter into a long term leasing agreement with Helios providing Tigo with access to wireless towers and a build-to-suit agreement to support the company’s network expansion.
Helios will seek similar agreements with other operators in Tanzania.
Commenting on the deal, Mikael Grahne, president and CEO of Millicom, said: “Millicom created the first tower joint-venture in Africa with Helios in January 2010. The initial results proved very satisfactory, with an improved service level and a reduction in both capex and operating expenses. Millicom is now happy to enter into a similar agreement with Helios in Tanzania.
“This agreement confirms our commitment to outsourcing passive infrastructure, and is entirely consistent with our strategy of improving both our capital and operating efficiency by focusing on our core activities. We believe that owning and operating our entire network infrastructure no longer confer a competitive advantage, and we consider that such outsourcing ventures will allow Millicom to focus on areas of genuine differentiation: sales, marketing, branding, distribution, service innovation and customer care.”
Charles Green, CEO of Helios, said: “[This deal] enables Tanzanian wireless operators to outsource non-core tower-related activities and focus capital and management resources on providing higher quality services more cost-effectively.”
As a result of the transaction, Tigo will receive at least $80m in cash up front and will retain a “significant minority interest” in Helios. The pair will also enter into a long term leasing agreement with Helios providing Tigo with access to wireless towers and a build-to-suit agreement to support the company’s network expansion.
Helios will seek similar agreements with other operators in Tanzania.
Commenting on the deal, Mikael Grahne, president and CEO of Millicom, said: “Millicom created the first tower joint-venture in Africa with Helios in January 2010. The initial results proved very satisfactory, with an improved service level and a reduction in both capex and operating expenses. Millicom is now happy to enter into a similar agreement with Helios in Tanzania.
“This agreement confirms our commitment to outsourcing passive infrastructure, and is entirely consistent with our strategy of improving both our capital and operating efficiency by focusing on our core activities. We believe that owning and operating our entire network infrastructure no longer confer a competitive advantage, and we consider that such outsourcing ventures will allow Millicom to focus on areas of genuine differentiation: sales, marketing, branding, distribution, service innovation and customer care.”
Charles Green, CEO of Helios, said: “[This deal] enables Tanzanian wireless operators to outsource non-core tower-related activities and focus capital and management resources on providing higher quality services more cost-effectively.”
From left, Marketing Director, Starcomms Plc., Richard Gill presenting the Starcomms Overall Best Boxer prize to Mutiat Adebayo of TIT For TAT Boxing Club, Lagos at the 15th monthly boxing competition organized by the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame in conjunction with the Lagos State Amateur Boxing Association and sponsored by Starcomms Plc. With her is the Vice Chairman of the Lagos State Amateur Boxing Association, Monsuru Liasu. The event took place at the Mobolaji Johnson Sport Centre (Rowe Park), Yaba, Lagos.
Orange unviels new developer interface
International carrier Orange has announced an overhaul of its own-branded application store that it said will dramatically cut the time it takes for developers to get their applications to Orange customers.
Orange Partner Connect allows developers to submit applications online through a single portal interface for distribution—if deemed suitable—across the Orange footprint, the carrier said. The initial phase of the project, which begins this month, caters only to developers of applications for Android handsets, although Orange said that support for Java and Blackberry platforms will be available in the first quarter of next year.
Orange said that developers can register online; sign a single online agreement to distribute their applications through the Orange App Shop in the markets of their choice; submit applications; create their publishing account; benefit from application review and quality assurance testing from Orange experts; know when their applications go on sale in each county; monitor sales and downloads; and collect payments.
The firm said that it will be giving developers a 70/30 split of revenues, although developers will be given the option to channel some of their share into marketing programmes that could see their applications given extra exposure on the Orange digital inventory.
“We have learned from our experience in publishing Orange-branded applications on various app stores and listened to the needs of application developers to create a service that works for them. Orange Partner Connect has been designed so that our developer partners can benefit from Orange’s global scale, local presence and trusted customer relationships. With this new service we aim to establish a transparent win-win business partnership that developers can trust to truly market their applications to local audiences,” said Yves Tyrode, Executive Vice President of Orange Technocentre.
Orange Partner Connect allows developers to submit applications online through a single portal interface for distribution—if deemed suitable—across the Orange footprint, the carrier said. The initial phase of the project, which begins this month, caters only to developers of applications for Android handsets, although Orange said that support for Java and Blackberry platforms will be available in the first quarter of next year.
Orange said that developers can register online; sign a single online agreement to distribute their applications through the Orange App Shop in the markets of their choice; submit applications; create their publishing account; benefit from application review and quality assurance testing from Orange experts; know when their applications go on sale in each county; monitor sales and downloads; and collect payments.
The firm said that it will be giving developers a 70/30 split of revenues, although developers will be given the option to channel some of their share into marketing programmes that could see their applications given extra exposure on the Orange digital inventory.
“We have learned from our experience in publishing Orange-branded applications on various app stores and listened to the needs of application developers to create a service that works for them. Orange Partner Connect has been designed so that our developer partners can benefit from Orange’s global scale, local presence and trusted customer relationships. With this new service we aim to establish a transparent win-win business partnership that developers can trust to truly market their applications to local audiences,” said Yves Tyrode, Executive Vice President of Orange Technocentre.
Foreign Investors worry over Reps interference with NCC
Controversy surrounding the delay in the approval of the 2010 budget of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, by the House of Representatives, on account of its provision for SIM Card registration, has attracted comments from foreign investors and Nigerians in the Diaspora who have expressed concerns about the consequences of this move.
A cross section of the investors who met with the President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, ATCON, Engr. Titi Omo-Ettu in New York, USA to discuss the issue of independence of the telecom regulator, local content and other issues, including plans for registration of SIM Card in Nigeria, said the idea of withholding finance for any independent regulator, affects its independence, and should be avoided in order to sustain their confidence in the industry.
The group was further shocked when they learnt from Engr. Omo-Ettu, that the budget under discussion was the 2010 budget. He said his Association was aware that the budget for 2010 was submitted to the Presidency through the Ministry in September 2009 and was sent to the National Assembly for approval in January 2010. “We are also aware that the Commission has already submitted the 2011 budget proposal by September 30, 2010 in accordance with the rules”, the ATCON President told the group.
A member of the group, Mr. Chuma Emenike, Director, North Yield Investments, wondered how the nation intends to achieve healthy telecom investment friendliness with this delay of approving NCC’s budget. This hindrance in approving the Budget can be very detrimental to the telecom Industry and the economy as a whole.
Engr. Omo-Ettu pointed to the fact that the Senate has already approved the budget as an indication that at least some legislators understand the importance of the independence of the regulator. He expressed optimism that others be cognizant of the consternation the delay is causing amongst real and potential investors in the Nigerian telecom industry and will take necessary action to forestall the current impasse.
Describing the Nigerian market as in investment haven for ICTs, he urged US-based Nigerians to come home and join in nation building either as investors, consultants or even legislators.
A cross section of the investors who met with the President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, ATCON, Engr. Titi Omo-Ettu in New York, USA to discuss the issue of independence of the telecom regulator, local content and other issues, including plans for registration of SIM Card in Nigeria, said the idea of withholding finance for any independent regulator, affects its independence, and should be avoided in order to sustain their confidence in the industry.
The group was further shocked when they learnt from Engr. Omo-Ettu, that the budget under discussion was the 2010 budget. He said his Association was aware that the budget for 2010 was submitted to the Presidency through the Ministry in September 2009 and was sent to the National Assembly for approval in January 2010. “We are also aware that the Commission has already submitted the 2011 budget proposal by September 30, 2010 in accordance with the rules”, the ATCON President told the group.
A member of the group, Mr. Chuma Emenike, Director, North Yield Investments, wondered how the nation intends to achieve healthy telecom investment friendliness with this delay of approving NCC’s budget. This hindrance in approving the Budget can be very detrimental to the telecom Industry and the economy as a whole.
Engr. Omo-Ettu pointed to the fact that the Senate has already approved the budget as an indication that at least some legislators understand the importance of the independence of the regulator. He expressed optimism that others be cognizant of the consternation the delay is causing amongst real and potential investors in the Nigerian telecom industry and will take necessary action to forestall the current impasse.
Describing the Nigerian market as in investment haven for ICTs, he urged US-based Nigerians to come home and join in nation building either as investors, consultants or even legislators.
Glo set to make 200 millionaires during festive season
Globacom , Nigeria ’s national telecoms operator, has unveiled Season 2 of its popular, exciting and highly rewarding Glo “text4millions” promo.
Speaking during the media launch of the promo held at the Mike Adenuga Towers headquarters of the company in Lagos , Globacom’s Group COO, Mohamed Jameel said the promo was introduced because of the positive impact the first edition had on the lives of the network's subscribers.
“As you may recall, the first edition of the Glo “text4millions promo” which we launched last year, was warmly embraced by our subscribers. The promotion created over 133 millionaires from Glo subscribers nationwide, while thousands of other subscribers won valuable consolation prizes and airtime worth millions of Naira. It is on record that Mallam Ibrahim Abukar, a 36-year old electrician based in Abuja , FCT went home with the grand prize of N30million”, he said.
Jameel explained that while the first season saw the creation of one Glo millionaire daily for the duration of the promo, the stakes have been raised higher as Season 2 of the Glo “text4millions” promo will create two millionaires daily. This means that two winners of N1million each will emerge daily for the 100-days duration of the promo.
Also in the loaded package, one subscriber will smile home with the monthly jackpot of N10million cash for 3 months while the winner of the grand prize will go home with the whopping, life-changing sum of N30million.
Other exciting prizes to be won by Glo subscribers in the promo include one brand new 3.5 litres Toyota Venza for 3 months, one HP Laptop computer daily for 100 days and one motorbike daily for 100 days. 1000 Glo subscribers will also win a N500 recharge card every week.
Jameel said the promo was coming at the right time as it holds the promise of an exciting Xmas and New Year season of unprecedented rewards for current and new subscribers on the Glo network.
“With a total cash payout of over N200m and an additional prize value running into hundreds of millions of naira, this promotion will make an enormous contribution to the lives of the lucky winners, positively touch their families and give our subscribers a special reason to rejoice as we turn the corner into the New Year, 2011”, he stated.
In order to participate, subscribers are simply required to send “WIN” to the short code 555, thereby standing a chance of winning any of the fantastic prizes being offered in the promotion.
Speaking during the media launch of the promo held at the Mike Adenuga Towers headquarters of the company in Lagos , Globacom’s Group COO, Mohamed Jameel said the promo was introduced because of the positive impact the first edition had on the lives of the network's subscribers.
“As you may recall, the first edition of the Glo “text4millions promo” which we launched last year, was warmly embraced by our subscribers. The promotion created over 133 millionaires from Glo subscribers nationwide, while thousands of other subscribers won valuable consolation prizes and airtime worth millions of Naira. It is on record that Mallam Ibrahim Abukar, a 36-year old electrician based in Abuja , FCT went home with the grand prize of N30million”, he said.
Jameel explained that while the first season saw the creation of one Glo millionaire daily for the duration of the promo, the stakes have been raised higher as Season 2 of the Glo “text4millions” promo will create two millionaires daily. This means that two winners of N1million each will emerge daily for the 100-days duration of the promo.
Also in the loaded package, one subscriber will smile home with the monthly jackpot of N10million cash for 3 months while the winner of the grand prize will go home with the whopping, life-changing sum of N30million.
Other exciting prizes to be won by Glo subscribers in the promo include one brand new 3.5 litres Toyota Venza for 3 months, one HP Laptop computer daily for 100 days and one motorbike daily for 100 days. 1000 Glo subscribers will also win a N500 recharge card every week.
Jameel said the promo was coming at the right time as it holds the promise of an exciting Xmas and New Year season of unprecedented rewards for current and new subscribers on the Glo network.
“With a total cash payout of over N200m and an additional prize value running into hundreds of millions of naira, this promotion will make an enormous contribution to the lives of the lucky winners, positively touch their families and give our subscribers a special reason to rejoice as we turn the corner into the New Year, 2011”, he stated.
In order to participate, subscribers are simply required to send “WIN” to the short code 555, thereby standing a chance of winning any of the fantastic prizes being offered in the promotion.
MTN begins Tower sharing venture in Ghana
Pan-African carrier MTN has followed Vodafone’s lead in Ghana, embarking upon a tower sharing venture with specialist firm American Tower Corporation. MTN Ghana and American Tower are to establish a joint venture, TowerCo Ghana, to be 51 per cent held by American and 49 per cent held by MTN, with the operator as the anchor tenant, on commercial terms, on each of the towers being purchased.
The transaction involves the sale of up to 1,876 of MTN Ghana’s existing sites to TowerCo Ghana for an agreed price of up to $428.3m. TowerCo Ghana will also build at least an additional 400 sites for both MTN Ghana and other wireless operators in Ghana over the next five years.
Group president and CEO of MTN Group, Phuthuma Nhleko, said: “Infrastructure sharing makes absolute sense for MTN and was a key aspect of the updated strategy outlined to MTN shareholders on 15 July 2010. We have in the recent past looked at various permutations to reduce our infrastructure roll-out costs as well as the on-going costs of operating our passive infrastructure in our key markets. Because market conditions in each of the markets are unique, we have resolved to evaluate infrastructure sharing opportunities on a market by market basis. The Ghanaian market has presented us with an opportunity to partner with a leading independent global tower operator.”
Vodafone Ghana signed a ten year contract with African tower company Eaton Towers, to take over the operations and co-location management of 750 telecom towers for the Ghanaian operator, back in October.
Eaton will develop the existing infrastructure and build new towers and will also be able to sell co-location and shared-infrastructure facilities to other mobile operators, generating future revenues from separate long-term contracts.
Ghana is Eaton’s first operational market and telecoms.com has an upcoming interview with CEO Alan Harper. Speaking recently about the company’s launch, he said: “To some extent the business exists because Africa is behind rest of world. Penetration is low, look at Ghana with 30 to 40 per cent market penetration. Operators there have anything from couple of hundred sites to couple of thousand sites and many markets are still based on 2G and voice, but some have 3G rollouts taking place.
“The state of growth and pricing is not under the same economic pressure as many carriers in Europe. In developed markets operators might be looking at sharing to save costs and consolidation. That’s very different state of development to many African markets,” he said.
Vodafone Ghana is the country’s third placed operator, with 2.9 million subscribers. MTN Ghana leads the pack with 9.1 million users, followed by Millicom with 3.5 million. Zain and Kasapa bring up the rear with 1.4 million and 172,700 subscribers respectively.
The transaction involves the sale of up to 1,876 of MTN Ghana’s existing sites to TowerCo Ghana for an agreed price of up to $428.3m. TowerCo Ghana will also build at least an additional 400 sites for both MTN Ghana and other wireless operators in Ghana over the next five years.
Group president and CEO of MTN Group, Phuthuma Nhleko, said: “Infrastructure sharing makes absolute sense for MTN and was a key aspect of the updated strategy outlined to MTN shareholders on 15 July 2010. We have in the recent past looked at various permutations to reduce our infrastructure roll-out costs as well as the on-going costs of operating our passive infrastructure in our key markets. Because market conditions in each of the markets are unique, we have resolved to evaluate infrastructure sharing opportunities on a market by market basis. The Ghanaian market has presented us with an opportunity to partner with a leading independent global tower operator.”
Vodafone Ghana signed a ten year contract with African tower company Eaton Towers, to take over the operations and co-location management of 750 telecom towers for the Ghanaian operator, back in October.
Eaton will develop the existing infrastructure and build new towers and will also be able to sell co-location and shared-infrastructure facilities to other mobile operators, generating future revenues from separate long-term contracts.
Ghana is Eaton’s first operational market and telecoms.com has an upcoming interview with CEO Alan Harper. Speaking recently about the company’s launch, he said: “To some extent the business exists because Africa is behind rest of world. Penetration is low, look at Ghana with 30 to 40 per cent market penetration. Operators there have anything from couple of hundred sites to couple of thousand sites and many markets are still based on 2G and voice, but some have 3G rollouts taking place.
“The state of growth and pricing is not under the same economic pressure as many carriers in Europe. In developed markets operators might be looking at sharing to save costs and consolidation. That’s very different state of development to many African markets,” he said.
Vodafone Ghana is the country’s third placed operator, with 2.9 million subscribers. MTN Ghana leads the pack with 9.1 million users, followed by Millicom with 3.5 million. Zain and Kasapa bring up the rear with 1.4 million and 172,700 subscribers respectively.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Internet Promo: IZAP Users Get Extended Browsing Time for Xmas
Customers of Starcomms Plc, who subscribe to IZAP, the number one internet product in Nigeria are now being offered a 50% extra validity period on their internet subscriptions. In a promotion that started on Thursday 2 December and which will close on December 12 2010, all IZAP users except those on the 250 hours plan will get the bonus validity time. Customers on the 250 hours already have the stretch three months validity on their subscription.
This largesse of the season which is expected to help IZAP customers, who activate or renew their subscription during the promotion period, browse the internet way into the new year before another renewal, will be enjoyed by all IZAP users in the country. With this, the customers can send and receive data messages all through the holiday period without the hassles of renewal that comes with their normal validity period. The extension comes automatically with new activation or renewal if it is done within the stipulated period of the promotion.
The chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Tushar Maheshwari, while speaking about the promotion said that the company decided on it, knowing that the Christmas season is very crucial to internet users both for their businesses and for pleasure. The company therefore believes that it is the right period to add value to their lifestyles.
For instance customers on the hundred hours’ package will enjoy 45 five days of browsing time. This in effect signifies a roll-over of whatever number of hours is left on their package after the 30 days normal validity period of their subscription plan.
“We know that the flurry of activities that characterises this season, both in people’s private lives and their professional space will require uninterrupted communication channel for some customers. We also know that there are some people whose pleasurable activities will take them away from their IZAP cities to remote areas for some days during the season. This promotion therefore offers all our customers extra value on their IZAP subscription during the Christmas season through the first two weeks of the new year if they activate or renew their IZAP,” Maheshwari said as he enjoins internet users to take advantage of the promotion.
Starcomms IZAP, in the last four years, has ruled the world of internet products offered by telecommunication companies in the country for its speed, ease of use and value. Since 2007, the IZAP brand has been adjudged the Internet Product of the Year in the Nigeria Information Technology and Telecommunication Awards. This year the brand has won the same award at the African Telecom Hall of Fame.
IZAP is enjoyed by internet users on Starcomms’ network in major Nigerian cities of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Benin, Calabar Warri, Abeokuta, Ilorin, Katsina and their surrounding towns and villages. The product has empowered Nigerians in these cities with the diverse opportunities that it presents for entrepreneurs, professionals, students, as well as the entire tertiary institution communities. The current promotion is designed to make Christmas more enjoyable for IZAP users in the cities.
This largesse of the season which is expected to help IZAP customers, who activate or renew their subscription during the promotion period, browse the internet way into the new year before another renewal, will be enjoyed by all IZAP users in the country. With this, the customers can send and receive data messages all through the holiday period without the hassles of renewal that comes with their normal validity period. The extension comes automatically with new activation or renewal if it is done within the stipulated period of the promotion.
The chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Tushar Maheshwari, while speaking about the promotion said that the company decided on it, knowing that the Christmas season is very crucial to internet users both for their businesses and for pleasure. The company therefore believes that it is the right period to add value to their lifestyles.
For instance customers on the hundred hours’ package will enjoy 45 five days of browsing time. This in effect signifies a roll-over of whatever number of hours is left on their package after the 30 days normal validity period of their subscription plan.
“We know that the flurry of activities that characterises this season, both in people’s private lives and their professional space will require uninterrupted communication channel for some customers. We also know that there are some people whose pleasurable activities will take them away from their IZAP cities to remote areas for some days during the season. This promotion therefore offers all our customers extra value on their IZAP subscription during the Christmas season through the first two weeks of the new year if they activate or renew their IZAP,” Maheshwari said as he enjoins internet users to take advantage of the promotion.
Starcomms IZAP, in the last four years, has ruled the world of internet products offered by telecommunication companies in the country for its speed, ease of use and value. Since 2007, the IZAP brand has been adjudged the Internet Product of the Year in the Nigeria Information Technology and Telecommunication Awards. This year the brand has won the same award at the African Telecom Hall of Fame.
IZAP is enjoyed by internet users on Starcomms’ network in major Nigerian cities of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Benin, Calabar Warri, Abeokuta, Ilorin, Katsina and their surrounding towns and villages. The product has empowered Nigerians in these cities with the diverse opportunities that it presents for entrepreneurs, professionals, students, as well as the entire tertiary institution communities. The current promotion is designed to make Christmas more enjoyable for IZAP users in the cities.
Starcomms completes US$81.4 million tower sale deal
Starcomms Plc has successfully concluded a sale and leaseback agreement with Swap Technologies and Telecomms Plc (“Swap”) relating to 407 of its 557 Base Station Towers for a consideration of US$81.4 million in cash.
Under the terms of the transaction, Swap will take over the operation and maintenance of the passive aspects of the 407 towers. These towers comprise the physical structures as well as the power components, while the core network and radio components remain under Starcomms’ ownership and control. The lease agreement is for an initial duration of 15 years, and allows Starcomms full access to the towers to operate its network.
Starcomms’ CEO, Mr. Maher Qubain, said, "Sale and leaseback transactions such as this have become commonplace worldwide within the telecommunications sector. By leasing rather than owning these passive infrastructure network facilities, we can free up capital to fund additional growth, reduce debts and operational costs in the company, as well as allow management to focus on its core business."
“$67 million of the proceeds realized from the sale will be applied towards repayment of a sizable portion of the company’s bank debts, thereby significantly strengthening the balance sheet of the company, while also reducing interest charges,” said Qubain. “The balance of the US$14.4 million will be used to fund growth of the business”.
Starcomms , a Nigerian-owned full-service telecommunications operator with an active subscriber base of 2 million, is the first and only telecommunications company to have its shares publicly listed and traded on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Its network footprint covers 21 out of 36 states of the federation. It has consistently been rated as a leading telecoms operator, having recently been awarded the A.C. Nielsen’s 2010 / 2011 Super Brand Award for excellence.
Incorporated in 2003, Swap has operational bases in Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, providing integrated services to major operators in those countries.
"These are excellent towers and are concentrated in very strategic locations around the country. They will enable us provide a more extensive range of fully integrated service benefits as wireless communications continue to grow. We are proud to be associated with Starcomms, which is a recognized leader in the Nigerian telecommunications market," said Olatunde Titilayo, Swap’s CEO, in a statement.
Under the terms of the transaction, Swap will take over the operation and maintenance of the passive aspects of the 407 towers. These towers comprise the physical structures as well as the power components, while the core network and radio components remain under Starcomms’ ownership and control. The lease agreement is for an initial duration of 15 years, and allows Starcomms full access to the towers to operate its network.
Starcomms’ CEO, Mr. Maher Qubain, said, "Sale and leaseback transactions such as this have become commonplace worldwide within the telecommunications sector. By leasing rather than owning these passive infrastructure network facilities, we can free up capital to fund additional growth, reduce debts and operational costs in the company, as well as allow management to focus on its core business."
“$67 million of the proceeds realized from the sale will be applied towards repayment of a sizable portion of the company’s bank debts, thereby significantly strengthening the balance sheet of the company, while also reducing interest charges,” said Qubain. “The balance of the US$14.4 million will be used to fund growth of the business”.
Starcomms , a Nigerian-owned full-service telecommunications operator with an active subscriber base of 2 million, is the first and only telecommunications company to have its shares publicly listed and traded on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Its network footprint covers 21 out of 36 states of the federation. It has consistently been rated as a leading telecoms operator, having recently been awarded the A.C. Nielsen’s 2010 / 2011 Super Brand Award for excellence.
Incorporated in 2003, Swap has operational bases in Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, providing integrated services to major operators in those countries.
"These are excellent towers and are concentrated in very strategic locations around the country. They will enable us provide a more extensive range of fully integrated service benefits as wireless communications continue to grow. We are proud to be associated with Starcomms, which is a recognized leader in the Nigerian telecommunications market," said Olatunde Titilayo, Swap’s CEO, in a statement.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
An official of the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame, Olufunke Sanni, presenting the Starcomms Overall Best Boxer prize to Saheed Gbolagade of M. Pioneer Boxing Club at the 14th monthly boxing competition organized by the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame in conjunction with the Lagos State Amateur Boxing Association and sponsored by Starcomms Plc. The event took place at the Mobolaji Johnson Sport Centre (Rowe Park), Yaba, Lagos.
L-R: Bose Adeleke and Happiness Amagwula representatives of Precious Pearl Orphanage, Lagos, one of the 50 beneficiary of Starcomms Good Causes receiving a dummy cheque from the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Starcomms Plc, Maher Qubain at the corporate office at the weekend. Starcomms is giving out N50,000.00 to orphanages across the country to mark Nigeria @ 50 anniversary.
STARCOMMS SUPPORTS CARE-GIVING INSTITUTIONS IN 50-GOOD-CAUSES
In fulfillment of its promise, Starcomms Plc, has disbursed funds to the less privileged on the platform of its 50-Good-Causes initiative. This gesture, which benefited orphanages and other care giving institutions in the country, witnessed a general display of appreciation by the beneficiaries who poured encomium on the award winning telecommunications company. The Starcomms 50 Good Causes is a corporate social responsibility programme meant to mark Nigeria at 50 anniversary celebration. In the programme, N50, 000.00 (Fifty Thousand Naira) each. Little Saints Orphanage, Precious Pearls Orphanage, Citadel of Grace Mission, Chosen Child Orphanage, Children Living with Cancer Foundation, Heart of Gold Orphanage, Heritage House Orphanage and Pacelli School for Blind were among the first batch who collected their cheques recently. Receiving the cheque on behalf of Little Saints Orphanage, Manager, Funds/Accounts, Bola Olarenwaju described the Starcomms gesture as timely saying, “we are so happy about this gift. It came at the right time when the year is getting to an end and we need money to do a lot of things for the children. We are excited that such gift is coming from a corporate organization.” She said that it is the expectation of the home that such gesture from Starcomms becomes a regular occurrence noting that the management of the home depends on such donations from starcomms to care for the needs of the children. Akinola Kola from Heritage Homes expressed joy that Starcomms responded to the needs of so many homes at the same time without due consideration to the present economic crisis affecting many donor agencies in the world, particularly corporate bodies. “You see, it is a very noble thing for a company to say that they want to give so many homes financial assistance at the same time. And they actually kept their word by gathering us together and then presenting the cheque to us. We are happy about this act of kindness from Starcomms.” The representative of Precious Pearls Orphanage, Happiness Amagwula while appreciating Starcomms said that the money is a timely gift saying that the money will go a long way in putting smiles on the face of the children as the world celebrates during the yuletide. While pleading for more of such assistance from Starcomms, she said that the news of such donations is a thing of joy not only to the management of the home but the children who are direct beneficiaries of such gesture. Also Isibor Titilade, who picked up the cheque of Citadel Grace Mission, said that the children would be very happy to hear the news of the Starcomms donation praying that God continues to prosper Starcomms. Marketing Director, Richard Gill told the beneficiaries that although the donation was meant to mark the 50th independence anniversary of Nigeria, Starcomms would continue to give support to deserving cause like orphanages across the country adding that more beneficiaries are to receive their cheques in the weeks to come. According him, the donation is a demonstration of Starcomms love and commitment to the needs of the less privilege in the society stressing that Starcomms, beyond always look for ways to add value to the lives of its customers is also concern about the needs of other members of the society.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Boxer hero praise Starcomms commitment to boxing
A youthful budding boxer, Saheed Gbolagade who was adjudged the best overall boxer in the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame Boxing Competition for displaying unmatched skill in his fight has applauded Starcomms commitment to boxing development in the country.
The competition is organised monthly by the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame in conjunction with the Lagos State Amateur Boxing Association.
Speaking shortly after receiving the Starcomms Over All Best Boxer prize at the colourful event, which Starcomms has consistently sponsored over the years, energetic Gbolagade said he was excited to be the October winner of the competition.
While pouring encomium on Starcomms for its role in the development of boxing at the grassroots, he said that he was excited that Starcomms involvement in boxing sponsorship has helped to bring him into limelight noting that he is proud to be a winner that is associated with a winning brand.
Gbolagade from the M. Pioneer Boxing Club jumped in jubilation when his name was mentioned as the latest boxer to join the list of boxers that have been honoured by Starcomms for the display of outstanding boxing talent at the Starcomms monthly boxing competition.
The elated winner of the Starcomms prize said that he was happy that Starcomms has created an avenue where young boxing talents like him are being discovered in the boxing sport adding that the support of Starcomms for the boxing event should be commended and encouraged by government.
The competition recently had its first female winner of the Starcomms overall best boxer prize, kate Peters of Modupe Boxing Club at the August edition of the competition.
Starcomms has for some years sponsored the monthly Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame Competition, which holds at the Mobolaji Johnson Hall Sports Complex, Rowe Park, Lagos. The event holds on the last Saturday of every month.
The competition is organised monthly by the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame in conjunction with the Lagos State Amateur Boxing Association.
Speaking shortly after receiving the Starcomms Over All Best Boxer prize at the colourful event, which Starcomms has consistently sponsored over the years, energetic Gbolagade said he was excited to be the October winner of the competition.
While pouring encomium on Starcomms for its role in the development of boxing at the grassroots, he said that he was excited that Starcomms involvement in boxing sponsorship has helped to bring him into limelight noting that he is proud to be a winner that is associated with a winning brand.
Gbolagade from the M. Pioneer Boxing Club jumped in jubilation when his name was mentioned as the latest boxer to join the list of boxers that have been honoured by Starcomms for the display of outstanding boxing talent at the Starcomms monthly boxing competition.
The elated winner of the Starcomms prize said that he was happy that Starcomms has created an avenue where young boxing talents like him are being discovered in the boxing sport adding that the support of Starcomms for the boxing event should be commended and encouraged by government.
The competition recently had its first female winner of the Starcomms overall best boxer prize, kate Peters of Modupe Boxing Club at the August edition of the competition.
Starcomms has for some years sponsored the monthly Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame Competition, which holds at the Mobolaji Johnson Hall Sports Complex, Rowe Park, Lagos. The event holds on the last Saturday of every month.
STARCOMMS HISENSE PRIZE EXCITES WINNERS
The last batch of winners in the just concluded Starcomms Hisense C1110 Chat phone promotion have expressed surprise at the fabulous reward they received from Starcomms for buying the Hisense phone. They wished that the promo had continued unending.
The two winners, a male and female were overwhelmed with excitement when they eventually discovered that the phone call made to them from Starcomms informing them about the prize that they have won was true.
Funmi Alabi, an undergraduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and Wale Odunsi, a staff of Mutual Assurance Plc., are now proud owners of a 42 inch and 32 inch Hisense LCD television respectively. The pledge, which was made by Starcomms when it introduced its Hisense C1110 chat phone into the market, was redeemed at the headquarters of Starcomms Plc on Victoria Island, Lagos.
Overwhelmed with joy at the commitment of Starcomms to the fulfillment of its pledge, Alabi declared, “I never believed that this could be true until I came to this place and I met the Starcomms staff who called me on phone to inform me that I have won a 42 inch Hisense LCD television.”
According to her,“ I am still in school and I live with my parents. Honestly, I don’t know what I will do with this big LCD television. It is still a surprise to me. I have received several text messages informing me of winning one prize or the other, this is the first one that has turned out to be true.”
Alabi disclosed that she has been using Starcomms phone for the past four year saying that the quality of service from Starcomms has made her to be loyal to the Starcomms brand.
For Odunsi who got the 32 inch Hisense LCD television, the news of the fabulous prize did not just came as a surprise to him, but also awakened in him the desire to continue, not only to patronize the Starcomms brand but to encourage others to do so.
According him, Starcomms is a respected brand in Mutual Assurance since most of the staff use starcomms mobile phone adding that the company uses Starcomms Virtue private Network (VPN). The VPN is a computer network that uses a public telecommunication infrastructure such as the Internet to provide remote offices or individual users with secure access to their organization's network.
“I have been using Starcomms phone since 2008 and the quality service that I have experienced using it over the years has made me to be loyal to the brand. That is even besides the fact that it is a brand valued by my company, since that is what we use for our VPN”, Odunsi said.
Describing the prize as a reward for his loyalty to the Starcomms brand he said that even after his first Starcomms phone was stolen, he still did not abandon the brand, thanking Starcomms for its persistent commitment to quality service delivery.
While expressing his appreciation to the winners for their patronage of the Starcomms brand, Tushar Maheshwari, the Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms said that the company is committed towards looking for more ways to appreciate its customers and give back to the society.
He said that the Starcomms Hisense C1110 Chat phone is essential in this era of convergence saying that every customer of Starcomms needs a phone that is conveniently designed to suit his voice and data communications needs stressing that it is a device everyone will find attractive.
The two winners, a male and female were overwhelmed with excitement when they eventually discovered that the phone call made to them from Starcomms informing them about the prize that they have won was true.
Funmi Alabi, an undergraduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and Wale Odunsi, a staff of Mutual Assurance Plc., are now proud owners of a 42 inch and 32 inch Hisense LCD television respectively. The pledge, which was made by Starcomms when it introduced its Hisense C1110 chat phone into the market, was redeemed at the headquarters of Starcomms Plc on Victoria Island, Lagos.
Overwhelmed with joy at the commitment of Starcomms to the fulfillment of its pledge, Alabi declared, “I never believed that this could be true until I came to this place and I met the Starcomms staff who called me on phone to inform me that I have won a 42 inch Hisense LCD television.”
According to her,“ I am still in school and I live with my parents. Honestly, I don’t know what I will do with this big LCD television. It is still a surprise to me. I have received several text messages informing me of winning one prize or the other, this is the first one that has turned out to be true.”
Alabi disclosed that she has been using Starcomms phone for the past four year saying that the quality of service from Starcomms has made her to be loyal to the Starcomms brand.
For Odunsi who got the 32 inch Hisense LCD television, the news of the fabulous prize did not just came as a surprise to him, but also awakened in him the desire to continue, not only to patronize the Starcomms brand but to encourage others to do so.
According him, Starcomms is a respected brand in Mutual Assurance since most of the staff use starcomms mobile phone adding that the company uses Starcomms Virtue private Network (VPN). The VPN is a computer network that uses a public telecommunication infrastructure such as the Internet to provide remote offices or individual users with secure access to their organization's network.
“I have been using Starcomms phone since 2008 and the quality service that I have experienced using it over the years has made me to be loyal to the brand. That is even besides the fact that it is a brand valued by my company, since that is what we use for our VPN”, Odunsi said.
Describing the prize as a reward for his loyalty to the Starcomms brand he said that even after his first Starcomms phone was stolen, he still did not abandon the brand, thanking Starcomms for its persistent commitment to quality service delivery.
While expressing his appreciation to the winners for their patronage of the Starcomms brand, Tushar Maheshwari, the Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms said that the company is committed towards looking for more ways to appreciate its customers and give back to the society.
He said that the Starcomms Hisense C1110 Chat phone is essential in this era of convergence saying that every customer of Starcomms needs a phone that is conveniently designed to suit his voice and data communications needs stressing that it is a device everyone will find attractive.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Glo Introduces Four New Unique Tariff Plans
Globacom has rolled out four new tariff packages aimed at optimizing call costs for its subscribers based on usage patterns discerned over time.
Called More Classic, More Prime, More Business and More Power, the unique packages give the subscriber unprecedented savings of between 10% and 60% on monthly spend depending on the chosen tariff package.
In addition to the huge savings on calls, the four packages also give subscribers 10% to 20% free Glo-Glo bonus talk time on every recharge of N500 and above, 20 free Glo-to-Glo SMS every month and 35 hours free Glo-to-Glo talk time per week from 12 midnight to 5 a.m.
Over and above this, the SMS rates have been brought down to N8 across all tariff packages and two of them entitle the user to call 5 Friends and Family members at just 25 kobo per second.
The reduced tariffs and the additional benefits make the packages the most attractive in the market and is yet another manifestation of Glo’s philosophy of offering its customers more for less in comparison to any other telecom operator in the country. And this philosophy is the underpinning of the new multimedia campaign unleashed nationwide by Glo, expressed in the byline Expect More.
Giving the breakdown of the offers yesterday at a press conference, Globacom’s General Manager, Prepaid Marketing, Ashutosh Tiwary, said that MORE CLASSIC was designed for those who make short and frequent calls. The product offers 49 kobo per second for calls to any network, thereby giving the user savings of between 10% and 20% on monthly spend. The subscriber is also entitled to call any 5 Glo Friends and family numbers at 25k per second.
For MORE PRIME, the subscriber is able to make 30% to 40% savings on monthly spend by calling any network at only N18 per minute. And what is more, he is also charged the same reduced rate of N18 per minute for international calls. Tiwary stated that, “More Prime is ideal for medium to long duration calls.”
The MORE BUSINESS package is the first of its kind in Nigeria. He explained that subscribers to the package get more when you pay per call. “It offers an unmatched 55% to 60% savings on monthly spend by charging just N40 per call every 3 minutes to all networks and for international calls as well. More Business is ideal for high duration calls or usage.
“No other product in the market has this fantastic offer of charging a flat rate of N40 per 3 minute call, even for international routes, which means that effective price per minute is N13.3”.
On the other hand, the fourth package, MORE POWER, gives the subscriber 20% to 25% savings on monthly spend and empowers him to pay less the more he talks. He pays 55 kobo a second for the first minute and 25 kobo per second from the second minute onward for calls to any network. “The subscriber is also entitled to call any 5 Glo Friends and family numbers at 25k per second,” Tiwary stated.
For any of the packages the subscriber chooses, he gets more value for money. The 10% to 60% reduction in call and SMS rates along with the 10% to 20% bonus talk time, free SMS, 35 hours free talk time and 5 Friends and Family call at just 25 kobo per second combine to make the Glo MORE offers the most attractive tariff package in the Nigerian market. Moreover, there are no hidden costs, rentals or complications. All the packages are easy and convenient to use, the Glo official stated.
To migrate to More Classic, the subscriber is required to send CLASSIC to ‘500’or dial *100*5*1#. To enjoy the benefits on More Prime, a subscriber is expected to send PRIME to ‘500’or dial *100*6*1# , while he is required to send BUSINESS to ‘500’ or dial *100*7*1# to subscribe to More Business. For More Power, he is to send POWER to ‘500’ or dial *100*8*1# to enjoy the offer.
Called More Classic, More Prime, More Business and More Power, the unique packages give the subscriber unprecedented savings of between 10% and 60% on monthly spend depending on the chosen tariff package.
In addition to the huge savings on calls, the four packages also give subscribers 10% to 20% free Glo-Glo bonus talk time on every recharge of N500 and above, 20 free Glo-to-Glo SMS every month and 35 hours free Glo-to-Glo talk time per week from 12 midnight to 5 a.m.
Over and above this, the SMS rates have been brought down to N8 across all tariff packages and two of them entitle the user to call 5 Friends and Family members at just 25 kobo per second.
The reduced tariffs and the additional benefits make the packages the most attractive in the market and is yet another manifestation of Glo’s philosophy of offering its customers more for less in comparison to any other telecom operator in the country. And this philosophy is the underpinning of the new multimedia campaign unleashed nationwide by Glo, expressed in the byline Expect More.
Giving the breakdown of the offers yesterday at a press conference, Globacom’s General Manager, Prepaid Marketing, Ashutosh Tiwary, said that MORE CLASSIC was designed for those who make short and frequent calls. The product offers 49 kobo per second for calls to any network, thereby giving the user savings of between 10% and 20% on monthly spend. The subscriber is also entitled to call any 5 Glo Friends and family numbers at 25k per second.
For MORE PRIME, the subscriber is able to make 30% to 40% savings on monthly spend by calling any network at only N18 per minute. And what is more, he is also charged the same reduced rate of N18 per minute for international calls. Tiwary stated that, “More Prime is ideal for medium to long duration calls.”
The MORE BUSINESS package is the first of its kind in Nigeria. He explained that subscribers to the package get more when you pay per call. “It offers an unmatched 55% to 60% savings on monthly spend by charging just N40 per call every 3 minutes to all networks and for international calls as well. More Business is ideal for high duration calls or usage.
“No other product in the market has this fantastic offer of charging a flat rate of N40 per 3 minute call, even for international routes, which means that effective price per minute is N13.3”.
On the other hand, the fourth package, MORE POWER, gives the subscriber 20% to 25% savings on monthly spend and empowers him to pay less the more he talks. He pays 55 kobo a second for the first minute and 25 kobo per second from the second minute onward for calls to any network. “The subscriber is also entitled to call any 5 Glo Friends and family numbers at 25k per second,” Tiwary stated.
For any of the packages the subscriber chooses, he gets more value for money. The 10% to 60% reduction in call and SMS rates along with the 10% to 20% bonus talk time, free SMS, 35 hours free talk time and 5 Friends and Family call at just 25 kobo per second combine to make the Glo MORE offers the most attractive tariff package in the Nigerian market. Moreover, there are no hidden costs, rentals or complications. All the packages are easy and convenient to use, the Glo official stated.
To migrate to More Classic, the subscriber is required to send CLASSIC to ‘500’or dial *100*5*1#. To enjoy the benefits on More Prime, a subscriber is expected to send PRIME to ‘500’or dial *100*6*1# , while he is required to send BUSINESS to ‘500’ or dial *100*7*1# to subscribe to More Business. For More Power, he is to send POWER to ‘500’ or dial *100*8*1# to enjoy the offer.
Governments laud MTN Foundation disable persons project
MTN Foundation, the Corporate Social Investment vehicle of MTN Nigeria, has provided mobility aids and appliances for more than 1,000 people living with physical disabilities in Edo and Ogun States. The aids and appliances were distributed at two separate ceremonies in Benin and Abeokuta by the foundation as part of the second phase of its Disability Support Project (DSP).
At the Benin distribution ceremony, a total of 666 mobility aids and appliances consisting of 137 wheelchairs, 22 tricycles, 56 collapsible walking sticks, 73 guide canes that illuminate at night for the visually impaired, 12 Braille machines, 44 Braille wristwatches, 250 hearing aids and 72 crutches were handed out to beneficiaries. In Abeokuta, 450 aids and appliances were distributed to the physically challenged drawn from various parts of Ogun State.
The facilities, according to the MTN Foundation, are part of the total 5,000 mobility aids and appliances the Foundation plans to distribute to the physically challenged members of the society in the second phase of the project.
Executive Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, represented by his Special Adviser on Commerce and Industry, Sir Osato Ize-Iyamu, who officially presented some of the facilities to beneficiaries in Benin, commended the MTN Foundation for taking up the challenge of improving the quality of life of the beneficiaries through provision of the appliances.
“The physically challenged are often easily overlooked in our society. It is worthy of commendation that a corporate body is not only thinking about how to make life better for this special category of our citizens, but is actually taking concrete steps to improve their quality of life,” said Sir Ize -Iyamu.
At the Abeokuta ceremony, the wife of the Executive Governor of Ogun State, Yeye Olufunke Daniel, represented by the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs. Tomi Soboyejo, said an unconfirmed statistics estimated that 25 million Nigerians and about 2.5 percent of Ogun population live with one form of disability or the other. She commended MTN for joining the state government in its efforts to make life better for the less privileged citizens of the state.
Mrs. Foluke Idowu, the Founder of Independent Living Programme for People with Disabilities (ILP) who herself is physically challenged, in her remarks at the two ceremonies, commended the MTN Foundation for partnering with ILP and funding the entire project, which according to her would promote beneficiaries from being dependent to becoming wealth creators. She urged people with disabilities not to succumb to the temptation to milk their situations negatively by begging for alms.
Dr. Wingle Essumai, Director of the MTN Foundation who was in Benin stated that the Foundation recognises how difficult life can be for people living with disabilities in a country like Nigeria. He said the Disability Support Project is aimed at ameliorating some of the difficulties confronting these special people in their daily activities.
“We will continue to seek more ways of positively impacting the lives of our people across the country,” he added.
The MTNF Disability Support Project, which is in its second phase, will empower 5,000 beneficiaries in 12 states with mobility aids and appliances. Phase One of the project benefited 5,000 people in 11 states including the Federal Capital Territory. More are expected to benefit from the project in its subsequent phases.
At the Benin distribution ceremony, a total of 666 mobility aids and appliances consisting of 137 wheelchairs, 22 tricycles, 56 collapsible walking sticks, 73 guide canes that illuminate at night for the visually impaired, 12 Braille machines, 44 Braille wristwatches, 250 hearing aids and 72 crutches were handed out to beneficiaries. In Abeokuta, 450 aids and appliances were distributed to the physically challenged drawn from various parts of Ogun State.
The facilities, according to the MTN Foundation, are part of the total 5,000 mobility aids and appliances the Foundation plans to distribute to the physically challenged members of the society in the second phase of the project.
Executive Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, represented by his Special Adviser on Commerce and Industry, Sir Osato Ize-Iyamu, who officially presented some of the facilities to beneficiaries in Benin, commended the MTN Foundation for taking up the challenge of improving the quality of life of the beneficiaries through provision of the appliances.
“The physically challenged are often easily overlooked in our society. It is worthy of commendation that a corporate body is not only thinking about how to make life better for this special category of our citizens, but is actually taking concrete steps to improve their quality of life,” said Sir Ize -Iyamu.
At the Abeokuta ceremony, the wife of the Executive Governor of Ogun State, Yeye Olufunke Daniel, represented by the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Welfare, Mrs. Tomi Soboyejo, said an unconfirmed statistics estimated that 25 million Nigerians and about 2.5 percent of Ogun population live with one form of disability or the other. She commended MTN for joining the state government in its efforts to make life better for the less privileged citizens of the state.
Mrs. Foluke Idowu, the Founder of Independent Living Programme for People with Disabilities (ILP) who herself is physically challenged, in her remarks at the two ceremonies, commended the MTN Foundation for partnering with ILP and funding the entire project, which according to her would promote beneficiaries from being dependent to becoming wealth creators. She urged people with disabilities not to succumb to the temptation to milk their situations negatively by begging for alms.
Dr. Wingle Essumai, Director of the MTN Foundation who was in Benin stated that the Foundation recognises how difficult life can be for people living with disabilities in a country like Nigeria. He said the Disability Support Project is aimed at ameliorating some of the difficulties confronting these special people in their daily activities.
“We will continue to seek more ways of positively impacting the lives of our people across the country,” he added.
The MTNF Disability Support Project, which is in its second phase, will empower 5,000 beneficiaries in 12 states with mobility aids and appliances. Phase One of the project benefited 5,000 people in 11 states including the Federal Capital Territory. More are expected to benefit from the project in its subsequent phases.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Social Responsibility is Procter & Gamble’s Business Goal – Kumar
The Managing Director of Procter & Gamble West Africa, Manoj Kumar has said that the multinational household products company has no other goal than improving lives wherever its products are being distributed. According to him, his company’s approach to corporate social responsibility is different from the way many other corporate organisations view it.
He said this while fielding questions from journalists at a media interactive session which held at Jade Gardens, last weekend, during which he unveiled the plan of the company to build a new manufacturing plant at Agbara to complement its factory in Ibadan.
According to him, in conceptualizing every product, P&G first of all determines the different ways in which the product can touch the lives of the target market population individually. It will then design a programme to ensure that lives and living are actually improved by the distribution of the product.
“What we believe is that our brands should have a purpose of improving lives. Take Pampers for instance. The brand purpose of Pampers is to improve the development of children. So we first define it like that. Then we begin to think of how we can improve the development of children through it. So we begin to talk to mothers, to nurses in the hospital and educate them on how the lives of the children can be improved. So our Pampers Baby Care Hospital Program and Mobile Clinics touch the lives of 1.5 million young Nigerian mothers and their babies annually.”
Kumar also said that the company partners with credible non-governmental organisations in the country to implement some of its CSR initiatives. According to him these NGOs use their own capacities to implement some of the programmes like “Building Futures”, which is an empowerment initiatives for orphanages in the country and the PUR School programme, an initiative that targets children with the provision of safe drinking water.
“In “Building Futures” we adopted orphanages in the country through which we reach about 2500 children. And we donate a year supply of our products and we also give them clothes. We improve their infrastructure by giving them computers and other resources that they need within the orphanages. We carry out this programme in partnership with another NGO – Sponsor-a-Child. We believe that orphanages are one area that has been neglected by the society. So we think we should do something from the corporate point of view. And again, all our brands come together to help and therefore we integrate all our corporate programmes for touching lives of all our consumers into brands programmes,” Kumar said.
Speaking about the proposed production lines at Agbara, Manoj Kumar said that the plant, which will employ over 600 people directly and over 1000 more indirectly at Agbara in Ogun State is part of the company’s resolve to invest 15 billion naira in Nigeria between now and 2015. According to him, the company will install state of the art machinery at Agbara
Mr. Kumar also revealed that P&G has provided jobs for about 1800 people in the country through its general office, factories, distribution channels, logistics and advertising. According to him 95% of all P&G's managers in Nigeria are highly talented Nigerian men and women.
“At P&G, we consider our people to be our biggest asset and in Nigeria we have grown to be leaders in technology transfer and capacity building. We are dedicated to local employee development with a budget of over $1million per year for local and international training and on-the-job coaching. We have created over 120 new successful entrepreneurs with sustained training and marketing support in rural and semi-urban areas over the past 5 years,” he said.
He said this while fielding questions from journalists at a media interactive session which held at Jade Gardens, last weekend, during which he unveiled the plan of the company to build a new manufacturing plant at Agbara to complement its factory in Ibadan.
According to him, in conceptualizing every product, P&G first of all determines the different ways in which the product can touch the lives of the target market population individually. It will then design a programme to ensure that lives and living are actually improved by the distribution of the product.
“What we believe is that our brands should have a purpose of improving lives. Take Pampers for instance. The brand purpose of Pampers is to improve the development of children. So we first define it like that. Then we begin to think of how we can improve the development of children through it. So we begin to talk to mothers, to nurses in the hospital and educate them on how the lives of the children can be improved. So our Pampers Baby Care Hospital Program and Mobile Clinics touch the lives of 1.5 million young Nigerian mothers and their babies annually.”
Kumar also said that the company partners with credible non-governmental organisations in the country to implement some of its CSR initiatives. According to him these NGOs use their own capacities to implement some of the programmes like “Building Futures”, which is an empowerment initiatives for orphanages in the country and the PUR School programme, an initiative that targets children with the provision of safe drinking water.
“In “Building Futures” we adopted orphanages in the country through which we reach about 2500 children. And we donate a year supply of our products and we also give them clothes. We improve their infrastructure by giving them computers and other resources that they need within the orphanages. We carry out this programme in partnership with another NGO – Sponsor-a-Child. We believe that orphanages are one area that has been neglected by the society. So we think we should do something from the corporate point of view. And again, all our brands come together to help and therefore we integrate all our corporate programmes for touching lives of all our consumers into brands programmes,” Kumar said.
Speaking about the proposed production lines at Agbara, Manoj Kumar said that the plant, which will employ over 600 people directly and over 1000 more indirectly at Agbara in Ogun State is part of the company’s resolve to invest 15 billion naira in Nigeria between now and 2015. According to him, the company will install state of the art machinery at Agbara
Mr. Kumar also revealed that P&G has provided jobs for about 1800 people in the country through its general office, factories, distribution channels, logistics and advertising. According to him 95% of all P&G's managers in Nigeria are highly talented Nigerian men and women.
“At P&G, we consider our people to be our biggest asset and in Nigeria we have grown to be leaders in technology transfer and capacity building. We are dedicated to local employee development with a budget of over $1million per year for local and international training and on-the-job coaching. We have created over 120 new successful entrepreneurs with sustained training and marketing support in rural and semi-urban areas over the past 5 years,” he said.
Starcomms Call-me-back to help Manage Airtime Budget
In its continuous quest to give customers value for their money, and offer them more opportunities to talk, even when they have exhausted their credits, Starcomms Plc has introduced a “call me back” service.
This service will enable Starcomms customers to send messages for a return call to their friends and loved ones in circumstances when they cannot call because of inadequate credit or when they call a number on any network and the person they want to reach is busy. Through other networks congestion To avail themselves this opportunity, Starcomms customers will need to send a “call me back” request to any phone number by dialing *393*phone number#. The receiver will get a message – “Hi, important please call me on 07028******” Back on the phone that initiated the message, an SMS will be received saying: “The operation was successful”
According to Richard Gill, Starcomms Marketing Director the “call me back” service is available to all prepaid customers of the company and it can be sent to phones on all networks to get the desired call-back result. He said the service is most useful when the company’s pre-paid subscribers have no or low credit balances to make a call and also in the cases when the number they are trying to reach is busy or on call waiting, thus saving them the hassle of trying to get through.
“Before we introduce any value-added service to our customers, we in Starcomms take into serious consideration the different scenarios that can occur in the process of telephone usage. We have envisaged a situation when people want to have a conversation but do not have available credit. So we introduced “call me back”. The service will be another salient feature in the already existing great value offers and customer friendly services we have for our customers. Offering them more value for their money, this service will help our budget-conscious subscribers to ask other mobile users to call them any time,” Gill said.
Meanwhile the company introduced the service with necessary control. Call-me-back is available to subscribers only 5 times a day both on-net and cross-net. Any subscriber who has used up their five opportunities in a day will get a message saying:”Sorry, the maximum using time is reached. You cannot use this function”
The service is available on all prepaid customers’ phones with no subscription required. All that is required to access the service is to dial from a Starcomms phone.
This service will enable Starcomms customers to send messages for a return call to their friends and loved ones in circumstances when they cannot call because of inadequate credit or when they call a number on any network and the person they want to reach is busy. Through other networks congestion To avail themselves this opportunity, Starcomms customers will need to send a “call me back” request to any phone number by dialing *393*phone number#. The receiver will get a message – “Hi, important please call me on 07028******” Back on the phone that initiated the message, an SMS will be received saying: “The operation was successful”
According to Richard Gill, Starcomms Marketing Director the “call me back” service is available to all prepaid customers of the company and it can be sent to phones on all networks to get the desired call-back result. He said the service is most useful when the company’s pre-paid subscribers have no or low credit balances to make a call and also in the cases when the number they are trying to reach is busy or on call waiting, thus saving them the hassle of trying to get through.
“Before we introduce any value-added service to our customers, we in Starcomms take into serious consideration the different scenarios that can occur in the process of telephone usage. We have envisaged a situation when people want to have a conversation but do not have available credit. So we introduced “call me back”. The service will be another salient feature in the already existing great value offers and customer friendly services we have for our customers. Offering them more value for their money, this service will help our budget-conscious subscribers to ask other mobile users to call them any time,” Gill said.
Meanwhile the company introduced the service with necessary control. Call-me-back is available to subscribers only 5 times a day both on-net and cross-net. Any subscriber who has used up their five opportunities in a day will get a message saying:”Sorry, the maximum using time is reached. You cannot use this function”
The service is available on all prepaid customers’ phones with no subscription required. All that is required to access the service is to dial from a Starcomms phone.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
STARCOMMS CALL-ME-BACK TO HELP MANAGE AIRTIME BUDGET
In its continuous quest to give customers value for their money, and offer them more opportunities to talk, even when they have exhausted their credits, Starcomms Plc has introduced a “call me back” service.
This service will enable Starcomms customers to send messages for a return call to their friends and loved ones in circumstances when they cannot call because of lack of credit or when they call a number on any network and the person they want to reach is busy.
Through other networks congestion To avail themselves this opportunity, Starcomms customers will need to send a“call me back” request to any phone number by dialing *393*phone number#. The receiver will get a message-“Hi, important please call me on 07028******” Back on the phone that initiated the message, an SMS will be received saying: “The operation was successful”
According to Richard Gill, Starcomms Marketing Director the “call me back” service is available to all prepaid customers of the company and it can be sent to phones on all networks to get the desired call-back result.
He said the service is most useful when the company’s pre-paid subscribers have no or low credit balances to make a call and also in the cases when the number they are trying to reach is busy or on call waiting, thus saving them the hassle of trying to get through.
“Before we introduce any value-added service to our customers, we in Starcomms take into serious consideration the different scenarios that can occur in the process of telephone usage. We have envisaged a situation when people want to have a conversation but do not have available credit.
So we introduced “call me back”. The service will be another salient feature in the already existing great value offers and customer friendly services we have for our customers. Offering them more value for their money, this service will help our budget-conscious subscribers to ask other mobile users to call them any time,” Gill said.
Meanwhile the company introduced the service with necessary control. Call-me-back is available to subscribers only 5 times a day both on-net and cross-net. Any subscriber who has used up their five opportunities in a day will get a message saying: “Sorry, the maximum using time is reached. You cannot use this function”
The service is available on all prepaid customers’ phones with
This service will enable Starcomms customers to send messages for a return call to their friends and loved ones in circumstances when they cannot call because of lack of credit or when they call a number on any network and the person they want to reach is busy.
Through other networks congestion To avail themselves this opportunity, Starcomms customers will need to send a“call me back” request to any phone number by dialing *393*phone number#. The receiver will get a message-“Hi, important please call me on 07028******” Back on the phone that initiated the message, an SMS will be received saying: “The operation was successful”
According to Richard Gill, Starcomms Marketing Director the “call me back” service is available to all prepaid customers of the company and it can be sent to phones on all networks to get the desired call-back result.
He said the service is most useful when the company’s pre-paid subscribers have no or low credit balances to make a call and also in the cases when the number they are trying to reach is busy or on call waiting, thus saving them the hassle of trying to get through.
“Before we introduce any value-added service to our customers, we in Starcomms take into serious consideration the different scenarios that can occur in the process of telephone usage. We have envisaged a situation when people want to have a conversation but do not have available credit.
So we introduced “call me back”. The service will be another salient feature in the already existing great value offers and customer friendly services we have for our customers. Offering them more value for their money, this service will help our budget-conscious subscribers to ask other mobile users to call them any time,” Gill said.
Meanwhile the company introduced the service with necessary control. Call-me-back is available to subscribers only 5 times a day both on-net and cross-net. Any subscriber who has used up their five opportunities in a day will get a message saying: “Sorry, the maximum using time is reached. You cannot use this function”
The service is available on all prepaid customers’ phones with
Expert Cautions Reps on SIM Card registration
A member of the Computer Registration Council of Nigeria, Dr. Idika Ocha, has in Abuja, advised members of the House of Representatives opposed to the proposed SIM Card registration to give consideration to the lives and safety of Nigerian citizens above whatever other consideration.
Some members of the House of Reps recently stood against the passage of the N6.1 billion SIM Card registration budget proposal of the NCC after the Senate had not only approved the budget, but has also approved the harmonization of the budget with the relevant committees of the both Houses of the National Assembly.
He reminded the lawmakers that that international terrorism, fraud, robbery and other crimes often involve extensive communications though text messages or voice calls.
“The Madrid bomb was detonated using a SIM card. Back home in Nigeria, we are also witnessing increasing incidents of threats and frauds launched daily on our citizens using mobile phone platforms. The remarkable upsurge in violent crimes in Nigeria like kidnapping – with criminals demanding ransom mainly through mobile telephone calls have contributed to the reason why the Federal Government added its voice in calling for the registration of SIM cards”, he noted.
Dr. Ocha who expressed surprise over the latest action of some members of the Lower House which stalled the much awaited commencement of the registration of over 79 Million existing SIM Cards in the network, and argued that security agencies, consumer advocacy groups, service providers and experts, agreed that the Commission is best placed to carry out the registration.
Perhaps less obvious, but equally important for the’ support for SIM card registration by industry stakeholder is the nagging question of just how many telephone subscribers Nigeria truly has. This question will be put to rest when the SIM card registration is concluded. According to NCC figures, at the last estimation in 2009, the country had slightly over 70 million subscribers. However, it is acknowledged that a percentage of these are made up of individuals who hold more than one SIM card, but the exact figure is unknown. Collaterally related to this, is the need for definitive determination of market dominance position of the operators in Nigeria’s telecoms marketplace. The market share statistics of different operators would guide the NCC when enacting directives for competition regulation.
“For variety of reasons – policy makers, law makers, regulators, operators, security agents, stakeholders in the industry and informed segment of the general public are unanimous in their support for SIM card registration in the country with NCC driving the process.
“Within the ambit of the rule-making process of the commission, several options for carrying out SIMs card registration were explored and the modalities of realizing them were considered by an Action Committee, comprised of NCC officials, GSM operators, security operatives, media and other relevant bodies presented a finalized report”, he said.
Dr. Ocha who is also a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, IEEE, said calls by some of the members that the service providers be allowed to register SIM Card is the country is highly misplaced.
“Asking the GSM operators to carry out the registration exercise would amount to Nigerian government abdicating its vital institutional role of being the sole custodian of security sensitive database and managing citizen identity information.
“That will be a very humiliating and damaging turn of events for the country as anybody could be blackmailed by these multi-national telecom companies”, he said.
Dr. Ocha noted that during the House of Representative budget debate, “the house had treated dismissively an important disclosure by Mr. Dave Salako - the chairman of House Committee on Communications, who had informed the House that telecoms operators had expressed their inability to finance the SIM card registration exercise. As a result, a compromise position was worked out whereby the telecom operators agreed with NCC to register fresh subscribers while the commission would register old and existing subscribers.”
According to him, “even if the mobile phone operators are mandated to take on the entire burden of carrying out the SIM card registration exercise, they will ultimately pass on the cost to the subscribers in form high tariff and charges – granted there is no free launch any place in the real world”, he said.
Dr. Ocha said “the practical reason for desiring to create a database of SIM card subscribers is to provide a unified and seamless access of SIM data to such stakeholders as national security and law enforcement agencies - including the NPF, SSS, NSA, NIA, FRSC, NIS and NPS.
“If we allow each telecom operator to create a separate database for subscribers on its network, access to data by the security agencies will become impractical and far from seamless with separate database for MTN, Globacom, ZAIN, Etisalat, Visafone, Multilink, ZoomMobile and Intercellular subscribers, among others”, he said.
Dr. Ocha advised the Parliamentarians to see this effort to register SIM by the NCC as a patriotic move, and therefore must resist lobbyists on the issue.
“Should Nigerian parliamentarians take the bait thrown up by the lobbyists, the SIM card registration exercise may never see the light of day. I therefore urge the National Assembly to join hands with the NCC and put Nigeria above all other interests. Approving the 2010 budget of the NCC will set the stage for the commencement of the registration exercise”, he said.
Dr. Ocha noted that the SIM cards registration project may actually turn out to be the shortest linear path, as well as the most affordable approach to the creation of National Identity Database, especially with the level of involvement of National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in structuring the currently debated SIM cards registration drive
Some members of the House of Reps recently stood against the passage of the N6.1 billion SIM Card registration budget proposal of the NCC after the Senate had not only approved the budget, but has also approved the harmonization of the budget with the relevant committees of the both Houses of the National Assembly.
He reminded the lawmakers that that international terrorism, fraud, robbery and other crimes often involve extensive communications though text messages or voice calls.
“The Madrid bomb was detonated using a SIM card. Back home in Nigeria, we are also witnessing increasing incidents of threats and frauds launched daily on our citizens using mobile phone platforms. The remarkable upsurge in violent crimes in Nigeria like kidnapping – with criminals demanding ransom mainly through mobile telephone calls have contributed to the reason why the Federal Government added its voice in calling for the registration of SIM cards”, he noted.
Dr. Ocha who expressed surprise over the latest action of some members of the Lower House which stalled the much awaited commencement of the registration of over 79 Million existing SIM Cards in the network, and argued that security agencies, consumer advocacy groups, service providers and experts, agreed that the Commission is best placed to carry out the registration.
Perhaps less obvious, but equally important for the’ support for SIM card registration by industry stakeholder is the nagging question of just how many telephone subscribers Nigeria truly has. This question will be put to rest when the SIM card registration is concluded. According to NCC figures, at the last estimation in 2009, the country had slightly over 70 million subscribers. However, it is acknowledged that a percentage of these are made up of individuals who hold more than one SIM card, but the exact figure is unknown. Collaterally related to this, is the need for definitive determination of market dominance position of the operators in Nigeria’s telecoms marketplace. The market share statistics of different operators would guide the NCC when enacting directives for competition regulation.
“For variety of reasons – policy makers, law makers, regulators, operators, security agents, stakeholders in the industry and informed segment of the general public are unanimous in their support for SIM card registration in the country with NCC driving the process.
“Within the ambit of the rule-making process of the commission, several options for carrying out SIMs card registration were explored and the modalities of realizing them were considered by an Action Committee, comprised of NCC officials, GSM operators, security operatives, media and other relevant bodies presented a finalized report”, he said.
Dr. Ocha who is also a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, IEEE, said calls by some of the members that the service providers be allowed to register SIM Card is the country is highly misplaced.
“Asking the GSM operators to carry out the registration exercise would amount to Nigerian government abdicating its vital institutional role of being the sole custodian of security sensitive database and managing citizen identity information.
“That will be a very humiliating and damaging turn of events for the country as anybody could be blackmailed by these multi-national telecom companies”, he said.
Dr. Ocha noted that during the House of Representative budget debate, “the house had treated dismissively an important disclosure by Mr. Dave Salako - the chairman of House Committee on Communications, who had informed the House that telecoms operators had expressed their inability to finance the SIM card registration exercise. As a result, a compromise position was worked out whereby the telecom operators agreed with NCC to register fresh subscribers while the commission would register old and existing subscribers.”
According to him, “even if the mobile phone operators are mandated to take on the entire burden of carrying out the SIM card registration exercise, they will ultimately pass on the cost to the subscribers in form high tariff and charges – granted there is no free launch any place in the real world”, he said.
Dr. Ocha said “the practical reason for desiring to create a database of SIM card subscribers is to provide a unified and seamless access of SIM data to such stakeholders as national security and law enforcement agencies - including the NPF, SSS, NSA, NIA, FRSC, NIS and NPS.
“If we allow each telecom operator to create a separate database for subscribers on its network, access to data by the security agencies will become impractical and far from seamless with separate database for MTN, Globacom, ZAIN, Etisalat, Visafone, Multilink, ZoomMobile and Intercellular subscribers, among others”, he said.
Dr. Ocha advised the Parliamentarians to see this effort to register SIM by the NCC as a patriotic move, and therefore must resist lobbyists on the issue.
“Should Nigerian parliamentarians take the bait thrown up by the lobbyists, the SIM card registration exercise may never see the light of day. I therefore urge the National Assembly to join hands with the NCC and put Nigeria above all other interests. Approving the 2010 budget of the NCC will set the stage for the commencement of the registration exercise”, he said.
Dr. Ocha noted that the SIM cards registration project may actually turn out to be the shortest linear path, as well as the most affordable approach to the creation of National Identity Database, especially with the level of involvement of National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) in structuring the currently debated SIM cards registration drive
NASME Lauds Zain’s Support for SMEs
Leading telecommunications services provider, Zain Nigeria has been commended for its leading role in providing specific telecoms packages and solutions for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.
Speaking at the launch of Zain Mybusiness, a new package that is specially designed to enhance the efficiency and productivity of SMEs across the country, the Vice President, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Dr. (Mrs.) Lizzy Okereke commended Zain for designing an innovative product to address the needs of SMEs.
NASME is a Business Membership Organization (BMO), established to coordinate and foster the promotion of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.
According to Okereke, Zain is the only network in the country that has consistently and deliberately paid attention to the telecommunications needs of both the informal and formal sectors in Nigeria, empowering entrepreneurs and business owners to attain their business objectives.
“I must commend Zain for its timely intervention through the launch of ‘Mybusiness’. Without a doubt, the product will add value to SMEs as it comes with a posy of value added offerings to boost business performance. This is definitely a step in the right direction and will go a long way to developing the SMEs in Nigeria,” she said.
The Zain Mybusiness package is offered to businesses identified as SMEs with staff strength of between 1-50 employees. The package is sold with two lines (master line and associate line) and pre-provisioned on the service class with enough credit included to cover the first month minimum commitment fee of all the lines.
To connect to the Mybusiness package, new users are required to buy a Zain My Business line which comes with two SIM packs: master line and associate while existing customers can migrate their existing lines by visiting a Zain shop nearest to their houses or business places.
Earlier at the event, the Chief Operating Officer of Zain Nigeria, Deepak Srivastava, explained that Mybusiness is a revolutionary package that is intended to positively impact and transform small and medium scale enterprises in the country, adding that that company has put in the hands of the owners of SMEs the tool to manage their communication cost, increase the volume of business transactions and meet the communication needs of their employees.
“Mybusiness is a clear demonstration of Zain’s commitment to enrich the lives of business owners and managers across the country as it comes with a Master line concept that empowers entrepreneurs to monitor and control communications cost in their businesses,” said Srivastava.
The event which held yesterday (Tuesday, 12/10/10) was attended by the Chief Marketing Officer of Zain Nigeria, George Andah; Head of Corporate Communications, Zain Nigeria, Emeka Oparah; Manager, Brands and Communications, Zain Nigeria, Nkiru Olumide-Ojo; Head of Segments, Segun Aderinokun; Manager, SMEs, Yemi Aseru and Public Relations Manager, Zain Nigeria, Emmanuel Otokhine; Eke U. Ubiji, Secretary-General, National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME); Mrs. Sholoye, Chief Executive Officer, Alpha International; Dr. Onasanya, State Project Coordinator, NASME and Anayo Agwu, Representative, American Chamber of Commerce, among others.
NASME was jointly conceived by promoters of SMEs in the private sector and agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria, to serve as an apex organization that will coordinate MSME activities and also interact with local and foreign organizations whose services are vital to the development of MSMEs.
The Association provides a forum for interaction, and adoption of concerted approach to issues of strategic importance to the development of MSMEs.
Speaking at the launch of Zain Mybusiness, a new package that is specially designed to enhance the efficiency and productivity of SMEs across the country, the Vice President, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), Dr. (Mrs.) Lizzy Okereke commended Zain for designing an innovative product to address the needs of SMEs.
NASME is a Business Membership Organization (BMO), established to coordinate and foster the promotion of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Nigeria.
According to Okereke, Zain is the only network in the country that has consistently and deliberately paid attention to the telecommunications needs of both the informal and formal sectors in Nigeria, empowering entrepreneurs and business owners to attain their business objectives.
“I must commend Zain for its timely intervention through the launch of ‘Mybusiness’. Without a doubt, the product will add value to SMEs as it comes with a posy of value added offerings to boost business performance. This is definitely a step in the right direction and will go a long way to developing the SMEs in Nigeria,” she said.
The Zain Mybusiness package is offered to businesses identified as SMEs with staff strength of between 1-50 employees. The package is sold with two lines (master line and associate line) and pre-provisioned on the service class with enough credit included to cover the first month minimum commitment fee of all the lines.
To connect to the Mybusiness package, new users are required to buy a Zain My Business line which comes with two SIM packs: master line and associate while existing customers can migrate their existing lines by visiting a Zain shop nearest to their houses or business places.
Earlier at the event, the Chief Operating Officer of Zain Nigeria, Deepak Srivastava, explained that Mybusiness is a revolutionary package that is intended to positively impact and transform small and medium scale enterprises in the country, adding that that company has put in the hands of the owners of SMEs the tool to manage their communication cost, increase the volume of business transactions and meet the communication needs of their employees.
“Mybusiness is a clear demonstration of Zain’s commitment to enrich the lives of business owners and managers across the country as it comes with a Master line concept that empowers entrepreneurs to monitor and control communications cost in their businesses,” said Srivastava.
The event which held yesterday (Tuesday, 12/10/10) was attended by the Chief Marketing Officer of Zain Nigeria, George Andah; Head of Corporate Communications, Zain Nigeria, Emeka Oparah; Manager, Brands and Communications, Zain Nigeria, Nkiru Olumide-Ojo; Head of Segments, Segun Aderinokun; Manager, SMEs, Yemi Aseru and Public Relations Manager, Zain Nigeria, Emmanuel Otokhine; Eke U. Ubiji, Secretary-General, National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME); Mrs. Sholoye, Chief Executive Officer, Alpha International; Dr. Onasanya, State Project Coordinator, NASME and Anayo Agwu, Representative, American Chamber of Commerce, among others.
NASME was jointly conceived by promoters of SMEs in the private sector and agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria, to serve as an apex organization that will coordinate MSME activities and also interact with local and foreign organizations whose services are vital to the development of MSMEs.
The Association provides a forum for interaction, and adoption of concerted approach to issues of strategic importance to the development of MSMEs.
MTN Extends Telecoms Services to Nigeria’s Rural Communities
Nigeria's leading telecommunications company - MTN, in living up to its brand promise of being everywhere you go, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Huawei Technologies to extend telecommunications access and services to rural communities across the country.
The landmark signing ceremony, which took place in Lagos recently sets in motion MTN’s rural telephony initiative which, according to the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Ahmad Farroukh, will take growth and development in the Nigerian telecommunications industry to its next phase. Speaking at the ceremony, Farroukh said that MTN carried out an extensive survey and due diligence of Nigeria’s rural settlements to identify specific locations where neither MTN nor any other operator had telecommunications services of any sort.
He said that the result of the survey, carried out by a combined team of MTN and Huawei staff primarily informed the selection of the 350 villages to be covered in the first phase of the project roll-out. More importantly, the research, he said, helped MTN and Huawei, its technical partners, to come up with the unique solution that will be deployed in this project.
The CEO said that as the industry market leader, MTN realised that there are about 35 – 40 million Nigerians today, most of whom reside in the rural areas, and have no access to telephony. This group, he said, are the target of this latest initiative.
“Our goal is to cover every village in Nigeria. The first phase will see 350 villages covered before the end of May 2011 via the support of our technical partners, Huawei Technologies, while 500 villages will be covered in the second phase by the end of December 2011”, said Farroukh.
The first phase of the roll out, according to Mr. Farroukh, will cost the operator about US$40 million. He, however, added that cost consideration was key in the design of the solution, stressing that unlike the regular base stations; the rural telephony installations will require little human management.
“A major challenge we will be confronted with on the project is the total absence of infrastructure and basic facilities like electricity, roads, in most of these villages that will be connected. We have designed solutions to some of these challenges. For instance hybrid and solar power will be adopted on the project”, Farroukh said.
Despite the enormous funding that the project will require, Farroukh said that MTN is determined to bring telephony access to the rural areas which will attract other beneficial services to rural dwellers and open up the rural economy,” he noted.
Engr. Olawale Ige, a Commissioner of the NCC, was present at the signing ceremony and congratulated MTN for rising to the challenge of rural telephony which he said has been a popular subject in Nigeria for many years, right from the days of the legacy operator.
The landmark signing ceremony, which took place in Lagos recently sets in motion MTN’s rural telephony initiative which, according to the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Ahmad Farroukh, will take growth and development in the Nigerian telecommunications industry to its next phase. Speaking at the ceremony, Farroukh said that MTN carried out an extensive survey and due diligence of Nigeria’s rural settlements to identify specific locations where neither MTN nor any other operator had telecommunications services of any sort.
He said that the result of the survey, carried out by a combined team of MTN and Huawei staff primarily informed the selection of the 350 villages to be covered in the first phase of the project roll-out. More importantly, the research, he said, helped MTN and Huawei, its technical partners, to come up with the unique solution that will be deployed in this project.
The CEO said that as the industry market leader, MTN realised that there are about 35 – 40 million Nigerians today, most of whom reside in the rural areas, and have no access to telephony. This group, he said, are the target of this latest initiative.
“Our goal is to cover every village in Nigeria. The first phase will see 350 villages covered before the end of May 2011 via the support of our technical partners, Huawei Technologies, while 500 villages will be covered in the second phase by the end of December 2011”, said Farroukh.
The first phase of the roll out, according to Mr. Farroukh, will cost the operator about US$40 million. He, however, added that cost consideration was key in the design of the solution, stressing that unlike the regular base stations; the rural telephony installations will require little human management.
“A major challenge we will be confronted with on the project is the total absence of infrastructure and basic facilities like electricity, roads, in most of these villages that will be connected. We have designed solutions to some of these challenges. For instance hybrid and solar power will be adopted on the project”, Farroukh said.
Despite the enormous funding that the project will require, Farroukh said that MTN is determined to bring telephony access to the rural areas which will attract other beneficial services to rural dwellers and open up the rural economy,” he noted.
Engr. Olawale Ige, a Commissioner of the NCC, was present at the signing ceremony and congratulated MTN for rising to the challenge of rural telephony which he said has been a popular subject in Nigeria for many years, right from the days of the legacy operator.
Juwah Advocates Liberalized African Telecom Market
Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah has called on the political leadership of all African countries to support a liberalized telecom market so that the continent will benefit from the various opportunities presented by the industry at the moment.
Dr. Juwah who presented the lead paper at the NEPAD-Africa Technology Segment which was presided over by the former Ghanaian President, Mr. John Kuffour, which ended at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, said that Africa’s current low teleensity compared with other parts of the world presents a huge opportunity for attracting investment. Niger State Governor, Dr. Babangida Aliyu was one of the discussants at the session.
He said a lot of political will is needed from the leadership to liberalize the industry. He gave an example with Nigeria where the support of the leadership in telecom liberalization and deregulation has contributed to a total transformation of the sector in the last ten years, and invited the political leadership to take a cue from Nigeria.
According to him, Africa occupies a critical position in the world of telecommunications and ICT and with its population, it becomes the investment destination for global investors, vendors, equipment manufacturers and service providers.
“Africa is the only continent where teledensity average is not up 50 per cent yet. In most other continents, it is almost 100 per cent. This means that the demand for basic services in Africa for voice and data communication is still very huge.
“When investors come, they bring foreign direct investment, create employment opportunities, and stimulate the financial sector and other key sectors of the economy. So, it is evident that the need to ‘cover the uncovered’ in Africa presents a good opportunity for the transformation of the economy”, he said.
He attributed the recent increase in the number of investments in the undersea optics fibre infrastructure around the African continent to the opportunities that still about in Africa.
“Almost all the sea and ocean boundaries of Africa are now crisscrossed by one fibre optics cable project or another. These cables are meant to bring huge traffic into and out of Africa at greater speed and huge bandwidth. When Africa aggregates these deployments for exchange of traffic with other parts of the world, the stimulation and transformation of the way businesses are done in the continent, will equally change for good”, he said
According to him, the infrastructure now being deployed will bring about transformation in the economy as we are witnesses to how broadband deployments in other parts of the world are contributing to the transformation of their economy. “Broadband is an area in which even larger opportunities abound in Africa and cables will obviously fast tract broadband availability”, he said.
He also Africa’s political and economic integration would be more advanced with the availability of telecommunications and ICT infrastructure, hence the need for the political leadership go give more room for liberalization. He said experience has shown that different governments of African countries have different rules of engagements with investors in this field and this becomes an uphill task to move from one country to another with delays in the deployment of services and obtaining landing permits becoming intractable.
Dr. Juwah who presented the lead paper at the NEPAD-Africa Technology Segment which was presided over by the former Ghanaian President, Mr. John Kuffour, which ended at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, said that Africa’s current low teleensity compared with other parts of the world presents a huge opportunity for attracting investment. Niger State Governor, Dr. Babangida Aliyu was one of the discussants at the session.
He said a lot of political will is needed from the leadership to liberalize the industry. He gave an example with Nigeria where the support of the leadership in telecom liberalization and deregulation has contributed to a total transformation of the sector in the last ten years, and invited the political leadership to take a cue from Nigeria.
According to him, Africa occupies a critical position in the world of telecommunications and ICT and with its population, it becomes the investment destination for global investors, vendors, equipment manufacturers and service providers.
“Africa is the only continent where teledensity average is not up 50 per cent yet. In most other continents, it is almost 100 per cent. This means that the demand for basic services in Africa for voice and data communication is still very huge.
“When investors come, they bring foreign direct investment, create employment opportunities, and stimulate the financial sector and other key sectors of the economy. So, it is evident that the need to ‘cover the uncovered’ in Africa presents a good opportunity for the transformation of the economy”, he said.
He attributed the recent increase in the number of investments in the undersea optics fibre infrastructure around the African continent to the opportunities that still about in Africa.
“Almost all the sea and ocean boundaries of Africa are now crisscrossed by one fibre optics cable project or another. These cables are meant to bring huge traffic into and out of Africa at greater speed and huge bandwidth. When Africa aggregates these deployments for exchange of traffic with other parts of the world, the stimulation and transformation of the way businesses are done in the continent, will equally change for good”, he said
According to him, the infrastructure now being deployed will bring about transformation in the economy as we are witnesses to how broadband deployments in other parts of the world are contributing to the transformation of their economy. “Broadband is an area in which even larger opportunities abound in Africa and cables will obviously fast tract broadband availability”, he said.
He also Africa’s political and economic integration would be more advanced with the availability of telecommunications and ICT infrastructure, hence the need for the political leadership go give more room for liberalization. He said experience has shown that different governments of African countries have different rules of engagements with investors in this field and this becomes an uphill task to move from one country to another with delays in the deployment of services and obtaining landing permits becoming intractable.
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