MTN Foundation spends N5b on book project

MTN Foundation, the corporate social investment vehicle of Nigeria’s leading telecommunications company, MTN Nigeria has spent over N5 billion since 2004 and continues to budget billions of naira towards execution of a variety of initiatives geared at enhancing the lives of millions of Nigerians.

This revelation was made by the Corporate Services Executive, MTN and a Director of the Foundation, Mr Wale Goodluck, at the official launch of the Foundation’s 132-page view book, which captures the activities of the Foundation’s activities through the eyes and voices of a few of its beneficiaries.

A highly visual publication, it presents a compelling perspective of the impact that the MTN Foundation on the lives of ordinary Nigerians in a very moving fashion.

The launch, which took place at the Civic Centre in Lagos on Friday, March 11, 2011 brought together the crème de la crème of the society to celebrate the milestones recorded by the MTN Foundation since inception.

According to the Chairman, MTN Foundation, Ambassador Hamzat Ahmadu, the book entitled ‘A Hand and a Smile’ is a physical documentation of the scope and successes of the Foundation’s activities across the country, using the stories and testimonies of some of the beneficiaries, as well as images that speak for themselves.

He said the Foundation was set up in 2004 with a mission to improve the quality of life in the society. “From the onset, we spelt out our focus areas - Education, Health and Economic empowerment. These we believe, hold the key to sustainable socio-economic growth and impact in our country and we go to extraordinary lengths to ensure that our present and future projects have a dramatic and transformative effect in communities all over the country.

We do this in partnership with Federal and State governments, private, public and civil society organisations,” he said.

Ambassador Ahmadu said the Foundation continuously explores new ways through which it can expand its operations, widen its activities and deepen its impact in the communities, thereby tackling real issues and touching real lives documented in the book.

“The View Book is a bold attempt to capture through the medium of pictures and the testimony of numerous beneficiaries just how the Foundation has touched lives. It shows that our impact goes beyond statistics and has a very personal story to tell”, said Ahmadu.

Mr Goodluck in his own remarks, said MTN’s philosophical belief is that the long term success of MTN’s business is inextricably linked to the viability of the society in which the company operates.

According to him, the Foundation has established a foot print in all the 36 states of our country including the FCT, with 20 projects being implemented in 292 project sites in partnership with over 30 different project partners over the years.

Some of the people whose testimonies and images were captured in the book include beneficiaries of the MTNF SchoolsConnect, Rural Telephone Project, and Partners against AIDS in the Community project (PAAC) which later evolved into Partners against Malaria and AIDS in the Community project (PAMAC).

Others are UniversitiesConnect, Disability Support Project, the Science and Technology Scholarship Scheme,Medical Support project, and the Medical intervention project.

In his remarks, the book reviewer, Mr. Frank Aigbogun, Publisher of BusinessDay, said the book is a portrait that speaks eloquently of MTN Foundation’s success stories in three core areas of health, education and economic empowerment.

ADVERTISING INVESTMENT TO HIT N120BN IN 2011

Above the line (ATL) media investment which hit N80 billion in 2010 is projected to increase to N120 billion this year, representing about 90 per cent of overall marketing spend.

Mr. Olayiwola Afolabi, managing director of Media Planning Services Limited (MPN) disclosed this in Lagos recently while presenting a paper entitled Modern Approach to Media Investment -researcher’s insight, at a one-day media industry seminar organised by Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) in conjunction with Zus Bureau and Media Planning Services.

He noted that practitioners - marketers, advertising and media agencies - have been slow to accept that the old models to media Investments, many of them created more than fifty years ago, are no longer applicable to the new consumer media world.

Afolabi observed that in industry discussions with leading advertising and media agencies, media owners, content providers, market researchers and advertisers, one major factor stands out as the fundamental issue to media investment approach – data access and usage.

He contended that all stakeholders involved in media channel strategy either have access to significant amounts of unique/proprietary data (data silos) or have knowledge/experience (individual silos) that is deployed as part of their communication delivery process.

He defined media investment as the act of investing; laying out money or capital on media channels with the expectation of reaching media audience cost effectively or how much to spend on media as well as how to allocate the spending across various media and the researcher as somebody who performs research, the search for knowledge or in general any systemic investigation to establish facts, adding that researchers can work in academic, industrial, government, or private institutions.

Also speaking, Mr. Tolu Ogunkoya, president of MIPAN who in his paper gave a specialist insight on modern approach to media investments noted that significant cynicism exist in the advertiser mind about the value delivered by media advertising, adding that in today’s media industry, media planning and buying is critical to the advertiser’s business.
While highlighting the role of the media in the marketing decision process at the seminar, which was attended by representatives from media houses, advertisers, advertising and media agencies, he said that marketing objectives must define what needs to be achieved.
He also said that advertising objectives should also define what advertising must d to fulfill marketing objectives.
Also speaking at the seminar, Mr. Kevin Ejiofor, managing director of City 105.1FM Radio in his paper entitled Modern Approach to broadcast media selling: Lessons from research, said let research become an industry-wide responsibility as a matter of life and death.
He defined research as the search for knowledge, or any systematic investigation, with an open mind, to establish novel facts, usually a scientific method.
Ejiofor said some of the lessons that would be derived from research are openness, accountability through participation and principle of common interest.
He said democratization of research would sanitise the results of research, separate myths from facts, end disputations and the compilation of reliable statistics to aid effective planning.
He urged stakeholders to pay close attention to offering quantifiable value to the industry through democratization of research.
Speaking from the perspective of an advertiser, Mr. Kolawole Oyeyemi, a general manager with MTN said media platform that would be an advertiser’s delight must demonstrate excellent and measurable impact of the message on the desired target customer of the advertiser.
It should also present itself as a brand engagement platform and not as an impersonal static platform and should optimally deliver good returns on investment and not seen as cost centre to the business.
Earlier in his opening remarks, Chris Doghudje MD, Zus Bureau said the seminar was intended to provide a new direction in the optimization of media budget because globally, there is convergence of media.
He noted that newspapers’ circulation was dwindling and media has become very expensive, especially the print media, adding that there is need for content development to attract the target audience.
For Mr. Kole Ademelekun, President Association of Outdoor Advertising Practitioners there is need to gather adequate data for research purposes.

He said government agencies were driving outdoor rates up while operators are restricted to commission and stressed the need for outdoor advertising to be flexible.

STARCOMMS PRIZES INSPIRE MORE YOUNGSTERS INTO BOXING

A young pugilist in the Lagos Amateur Boxing Association, Taiwo Abiodun, who won the Starcomms Over-all Best Boxer prize at the 18th edition of the Lagos Boxing Hall of Fame boxing competition has said that more young boxers who quit the punching game has returned to the boxing ring.
Abiodun, a 15 years-old student of Blessing College, Ijokoro and amember of the No Shaking Boxing Club, who fought and defeatedOgunyemi Razak of Paramount Boxing Club in the Cadet category saidthat the Starcomms prize has continued to draw them back to thesport which they had long abandoned.
While speaking on the secret of his success, the young boxer who began to box two years ago said that the commitment of Starcomms in the monthly boxing event played a formidable role in the returning of more youngsters to boxing adding that he has Starcomms to thank for the level of skills he has achieved so far.
According to him, he has a strong passion for the boxing sport notingthat the prize he saw other boxers win every month of the show fueledhis passion to attain great heights in boxing.
While appreciating the unflagging support of Starcomms for the game,he said it is a thing of great joy to him to see a lot of people swanaround him as the hero of the day noting that it was the first time ofexperiencing what it feels like to be a winner in the sport he lovesso much.
Another winner in the February fight, Mutiu Gbadebo of Agege PioneerBoxing Club who fought in the 69 kg category defeating his opponent,Sakiru Ishola of Smart Boxing Club also said that Starcomms has support has brought more young boxers to the game.
The 29 years-old boxer who has been boxing for the past seven yearssaid that the sponsorship of Starcomms has helped to improve hisboxing skills saying that he will want the telecomm operator tocontinue in its good works.
According to Gbadebo, it is the commitment of Starcomms to the monthly event that has brought fame to many amateur boxers saying that it has also helped to keep young people from criminal activities since they now channel their youthful energy to the sport.
The monthly boxing event, which is organized by the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame in conjunction with the Lagos Amateur Boxing Association and sponsored by Starcomms Plc takes place every last Saturday, at the Mobolaji Johnson Sports Centre, Rowe Park, Yaba, Lagos.

Nigerian Mobile Economy Forum 2011 gets new date

With the stage now set for the inaugural edition of the forum designed to leverage and enhance the mobile platform for economic activities in Nigeria, organizers of the event, Private Media Mart Limited has announced the official date and venue for the event. The event, aptly titled Nigeria Mobile Economy Forum (NiMEF) 2011, seeks to provide answers and solutions to the huge dearth of local Mobile Content in the Nigerian telecommunications scene despite our huge Mobile market – both potential and actual and with recent investments in bandwidth.
Focusing on the theme, Economic Transformation Using Mobile Innovations, the eagerly awaited NiMEF 2011 will now be holding on the 31st of March 2011 at the prestigious De Renaissance, Ikeja, Lagos from 9.00am. Confirming this recently, the managing partner and chief executive officer of the major organizing firm, Private Media Mart Limited (PMM Nigeria), Mr. Ejiofor Agada explained that the slight delay in announcing the official date for the event was borne out of their usual practice of confirming participants and attendees for any of their events before making it public.
His words: “With the confirmation of attendance and support from industry bodies like Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) and the Nigerian IT Development Agency (NITDA), we are confident that this event will achieve its desired objective of delivering realistic processes for mobile business in Nigeria”.
According to Mr. Agada, at almost 100 million strong subscriber base, the Nigerian Mobile market is the fastest growing in the world, yet in terms of content (applications, usage, etc) it still ranks among the very least in the world. It is based on this trend that PMM Nigeria, in collaboration with Tribe Media and IT Edge Magazine decided to use the NiMEF medium to analyze and showcase the potentials of a market like Nigeria, with its huge potentials, business guidelines, regulations and protections as well as encouragements that are needed to jump-start this previously untapped economy base.
Citing the exciting phenomena in other high mobile-user rate economies around the world where the mobile platform has been used to deploy economic activities like Banking, Ticketing, Loyalty schemes, Gaming, Navigation, Education, and Entertainment, it is strange that such activities are not carried out in Nigeria, and even where it is done, there are no proper regulation by any agency.
Mr. Agada also observed that even though the Nigerian market ranks highest in market value for most phone manufacturers, “not a single locally developed application is running in any mobile phone in Nigeria” he said. It is to correct this trend and point the right way forward for existing and potential Mobile Business entrepreneurs that NiMEF 2011 was designed” he concluded.
NiMEF 2011 is currently attracting the attention of private sector telecommunication and Banking sector players and is meant to be a full-day event.

ATCON endorses Nigeria DigitalSENSE forum

Umbrella body of telecommunications companies in the country, theAssociation of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), has endorsedthe Nigeria DigitalSENSE forum scheduled to hold later this month in Lagos.The Nigeria DigitalSENSE forum, which focus is on the Internet Governanceand development in the country is an annual event put together byLagos-based DigitalSENSE Africa.Conveying this latest news at the weekend, the Executive Secretary, ATCON,Mr. Ajibola Olude in a letter signed and dated February 26, 2011, andaddressed to the Executive Director, DigitalSENSE Africa, noted that thegroup decided to pronounce its support for the forum due to its laudableinitiative.“Please accept the commendation and endorsement of our association on thislaudable initiative,” he declared.Also, Olude promised that ATCON would mobilize its membership by encouragingthem to lend their individual support to DigitalSENSE forum, so as to ensurethe grand success of the forum, scheduled for March 24, 2011.He noted that ATCON) as a professional, non-profit umbrella organisation ofall telecommunication companies in Nigeria, since December 10, 1993, is anational trade organisation, with membership drawn from Nigeria andmulti-national companies which provide telecommunications and informationtechnology products and services in the country.Reacting to the endorsement by ATCON, the Executive Director, Operations atDigitalSENSE Africa Media, the organizers of the forum, Mrs. NkemdilimNweke, said it’s heart-warming, just as the endorsement came a few weeks tothe event.This year, she said, plans have been advanced to ensure that the quality ofspeakers and participants improve.So far, she reiterated that the event to be presided over by the immediatepast president of ATCON, Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, has its main theme centered onInternet Governance and Broadband Evolution in Nigeria and has beenscheduled to hold at the popular Golden Gate Paradise, Ikoyi-Lagos.She also said that 2011 edition of the annual event would witness thecurrent second vice president, ATCON, Mr. Adewale Jones, as speaker as wellas a Senior Teaching Fellow in International Trade Law with the School ofOriental and African Studies, University of London, Dr. Nnaemeka Ewelukwa,who has confirmed his participation at this year’s Nigeria DigitalSENSEForum (NDSF) among others.The Nigeria DigitalSENSE Africa forum is an initiative of RemnekKommunications Ventures, a registered group of media public relationsexperts, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) analysts andconsultants.NDS forum is on its third edition and has been presided over in the last twosessions by pioneer chief protagonist at Linkserve Group, Chief ChimaOnyekwere, while last year saw the president of Internet Service Providersof Nigeria (ISPAN), Chief Sam Adeleke steering the forum.

THE WINE LOVERS LAUD FOUR COUSINS WINE INTRODUCTION

The feeling and experience of the richness of an outstanding wine brand can only be felt in the taste. That was the experience of wine lovers at the first public out of Four Cousins wine at two separate events in Lagos. The wine lover at the last Val Nite laud The Winery Limited, marketers of Four Cousins Wine for bringing the South African wine to Nigeria. The Val Nite, which was hosted by The Winery Limited in partnership with Backstage Entertainment fête lovers in an exciting evening event tagged: Four Cousins Nite at Val.The event, which gave lovers of rich quality wine the opportunity to taste and savour the exciting rich nature of the South African made wine was produced by Stanley Eziefule and held at Paddy’s Lounge, Yaba, Lagos and at De Marquee, Mega Plaza Victoria Island had in attendance wine lovers from all works of life.While speaking on the rational of a special Valentines Nite for its customers, Managing Director of The Winery, Mr. Charles Obi said that The Winery is a company that takes special interest in the life style of its customers noting that it will always create and use every opportunity for lovers of good and quality wine to feel the rich taste of Four Cousins wine.Describing the Four Cousins Wine as one of South Africa’s best sellers he said that the Four Cousins wine is a real South African favourite that is always there with the good times whether with the family, friends or lovers thereby creating great memories that are not easily forgotten.The Four Cousins Wine according to him enhances any meal, picnic, celebration and it is available in 750ml and 1.5litres and that it comes in sparkling white, pink and red range noting that there are the Extra Light White, Light Natural Sweet Rose, Natural Sweet White, Dry Red, Sweet Rose and Natural Sweet Red.The Four Cousins wine, Obi disclosed was launched into the Nigerian market last year saying that in South Africa, Four Cousins has been very successful due to the ability of the brand to appeal to all spheres of South Africa's complex demographic wine market stressing that during the past summer months, Four Cousins outsells Coca-Cola in a large supermarket in the black township of Soweto.He also said that the Four Cousins wine brand has the potential to appeal to young adults adding that the Four Cousins Val Nite put up by The Winery was an indication of the fact that the brand has cut a niche for its self in the wine market of Nigeria.While commenting on the support of The Wine Company for the hosting of the Val Nite at Paddy’s Lounge, the producer of the show, Mr. Stanley Eziefule said that the turn out at the event and the comment of wine lovers after tasting Four Cousins Wine was an indication that the brand has come to stay.

Tolu Ogunkoya, President Media Independents Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) and Chris Doghudje, Managing Director, Zus Bureau Services during a joint press conference announcing the forthcoming seminar on Modern Techniques in Media Investments co-organized by MIPAN,Zus Bureau and Media Planning held at Media Reach Corporate Office, Ikeja, Lagos on February 24,2011.

ALCATEL-LUCENT UNVEILS UNIVERSAL BROADBAND COVERAGE TECHNOLOGY

The looming global gridlock in mobile communications promises to be averted following the launch of pioneering technology, which will remove the bottlenecks constraining mobile networks and help deliver universal broadband coverage.
Alcatel-Lucent, the leading network technology group has joined forces with industry partners to develop lightRadio, a new system that signals the end of the mobile industry’s reliance on masts and base stations around the world.
Ben Verwaayen, Chief Executive Officer of Alcatel-Lucent, said: “Today’s and tomorrow’s demands for coverage and capacity require a breakthrough in mobile communications.”
According to him, “lightRadio will signal the end of the basestation and the cell tower as we know it today”, adding that governments and regulatory bodies are expected to welcome the technical development, which will help meet targets for universal broadband access by laying the foundation to address the so-called “digital divide.”
He disclosed that some other major benefits from lightRadio include the shrinking the carbon footprint of mobile networks by over 50%, reduction of the Total-Cost-of-Ownership of mobile operators by up to 50%, and improving end user services by significantly increasing bandwidth per user thanks to the deployment of small antennas everywhere
Wim Sweldens, President of Alcatel-Lucent’s Wireless Division said: “lightRadio will help mobile operators evolve their networks to address the mobile broadband deluge.”
The lightRadio represents a new approach where the base station, typically located at the base of each cell site tower, is broken into its components elements and then distributed into both the antenna and throughout a cloud-like network.
LightRadio also shrinks today’s clutter of antennas serving 2G, 3G, and LTE systems into a single powerful, Bell Labs-pioneered antenna that can be mounted on poles, sides of buildings or anywhere else there is power and a broadband connection.
The innovation coincides with growing demand for third-and-fourth generation mobile networks and devices, involving the mass adoption of wireless television services and other forms of broadband content. The total addressable market for the radio technology necessary to serve such networks and devices is expected to exceed €100bn[1] over the next seven years.
[1] This is the total addressable market for multi-technology radio solutions that consist of radio access base stations that simultaneously support 2G, 3G, and LTE, and multiple frequencies in the same platform

Left to Right: Deputy Governor, Lagos State, Princess Adebisi Sarah Sosan; CEO/MD, Airtel Nigeria, Rajan Swaroop; Regulatory Affairs Director, Airtel Nigeria, Osondu Nwokoro and Director, Legal, Airtel Nigeria, Ibirobo Adekola during a courtesy visit to the governor recently in Ikeja, Lagos.

VISAFONE PLANS BIG FOR CUSTOMERS AT VALENTINE

As the joy and excitement of Valentine celebration fills the air, VISAFONE has rolled out an initiative to extend love to couples, friends and family members on the network with a view to sharing an unforgettable Valentine experiences.
Tagged; Passport to Love, the initiative is planned by Visafone to reward its subscribers (both new and existing) with exciting and mouth watering prizes.
By texting the word LOVE to 35100, each customer gets 15 counts of SMS for both on-net and off-net use and an additional reward- the opportunity to win an all expense paid trip to Dubai, N50, 000 cash prize for 30 and Fadar 827C phones for 50 people.
Mr. Clifford Onyeike, the company’s DGM Marketing and Strategy, said “Visafone is using this period of world-known social celebration to express love to Nigerians and further create a platform for empowerment. This is another way to demonstrate our commitment to continually add value to the lives of our customers.”
Explaining further, Onyeike spoke on how subscribers can participate and win in the scheme, “All the subscriber need to do is simply send a SMS to a short code -35100. After sending the text, customers will be required to answer few short and simple questions and gets an instant 15 counts of SMS as reward each time whether the question was answered correctly or not. Apart from giving customers SMS value, they additionally get an opportunity of winning any of the designated prizes.
He disclosed that prizes will be presented to winners at the end of the exercise while also urging customers to take advantage provided by the initiative, “This is a wonderful opportunity for Nigerians to truly share love this Valentine and it is certainly going to be a memorable one.”
It would be recalled that last year, VISAFONE engaged in a similar initiative, where it gave out lots of prizes like 2.5 kva generators, LCD televisions, Washing machines, free airtime, Home theaters and CK music phones to subscribers, thus making the Valentine celebration a memorable one for them.
This year’s Valentine initiative is scheduled to run from February 1 – March 2nd, 2011.
Visafone is known for its programmes that reward its customers, apart from giving them value for money through attractive tariffs and excellent voice and data quality.

KUDUS ADELEKE, STARCOMMS BOXING HERO UNVIELS SECRET OF VICTORY

Kudus Adeleke, the first amateur boxer in 2011 to be crowed the Starcomms over-all best in the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame Boxing Competition has said that determination and perseverance gave him the highly converted Starcomms Boxing hero title.Adeleke, an amateur from Lagelu Boxing Club of Lagos who fought with Adeola Olabisi of Costain Boxing Club in the 56 KG category said that he joined the boxing club in 2009 with the determination to become a boxer hero. And the monthly competition, which is organized by Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame in conjunction with the Lagos Amateur Boxing Association and sponsored by Starcomms Plc, gave him the platform to achieve his dream.Expressing his appreciation to Starcomms for creating the opportunity that made him a boxing hero, he said that he was happy that Starcomms is the channel through which that dream become true saying that he will want to retain the title in the next month’s fight.The young boxer who was adjudged the Starcomms all-over best boxer by a combined team of judges for his gallant display of boxing skills said that the involvement of Starcomms in the discovering of young talents like him in the boxing sports is a laudable stride that will help develop the sport noting that he is glad that he is a Starcomms hero.While reacting to the news of the latest winner of the Starcomms over all best boxer in the competition, the chief commercial officer of Starcomms, Tushar Maheshwari disclosed that it is one of Starcomms way of giving back to the society stressing that Starcomms is a company that listens to the people.He pledged that Starcomms will continue to give his support to ensure the regular hosting of the competition noting Starcomms is committed to anything that will improve the lot of the society noting that the competition is just one of such Starcomms expression of its desire for societal development.

STARCOMMS INTRODUCES FIRST OF ITS KIND MARKETING CAMPAIGN

Starcomms Plc has introduced a new marketing communications campaign that strongly re-affirms that its customers are the core of its business interest.Innovatively crafted to become a corporate philosophy, the new campaign with the slogan “listen to the network that is listening to you” is a campaign that has been embedded into the business and work style of all Starcomms personnel, cutting across all staff levels.According to the chief commercial officer of Starcomms, Tushar Maheshwari, the new marketing campaign is an expression of the value that Starcomms places on his customers noting that “this is not just a campaign that will be there for a few months or a year, it is a campaign that will be imbibed by all Starcomms personnel and thereby becomes a philosophy in our work ethics, particularly in how we respond to the needs of our customers”.Describing the new campaign as a brand refreshing concept, he said that “Starcomms as a brand has been in the mindset of telecoms service consumers for a long time, and enjoys significant awareness in their mind” stressing that “it is as a result of the many innovative and customer friendly products and services we have introduced into the market in the past.”Maheshwari however observed that the new campaign,which is meant to refresh the mind of the consumer about the value of the Starcomms brand, is not a rebranding of Starcomms saying that the Starcomms brand is a brand that inspires every consumer to be passionate about it.For instance, he said that “many customers are passionate about the philosophy of the talking drum, and that is part of “we speak your language” campaign, adding that “the new campaign does not take away the philosophy of the talking drum. It still remains relevant today as it was yesterday.”He said that “the campaign is the result of a study that was conduct long ago, whereby it was revealed that Starcomms is indeed a brand that listens to the consumer. And when the result came we felt that it was time for us to introduce a new campaign to re-vitalized the brand and to re-invent the brand by adding to what the brand already have and thereby take it forward.”According to him, a Nigerian singer, Nneka, will be the face of the brand in the new campaign, which will feature in newspaper, billboard and fliers across the country stating that the new campaign cuts across every sector of the society.He said that the campaign is key to Starcomms desire to meet the needs of its customers stressing that that hence, every personnel in the company has been taken through the theme of the campaign so that they will know how to listen to the consumer when the need arises.He further said that the new campaign is a demonstration of the innovativeness of Starcomms in the industry stating that “we have had a lot of campaign in the industry which has been spearheaded by us. One of them is the N10 international call rate, which has become common in the industry”.He also said Starcomms IZAP router was never advertised in the media, yet it has sold very well while the recently introduced myPAD has recorded phenomenal consumer response.

Nigerian Internet Regulatory Body Gets New Head

The Executive Board of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) has approved the appointment of Mr. Sola Bickersteth as the first Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the registry.
NIRA is the custodian of the nation’s country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) .ng on behalf of the Nigerian internet community since its formation in 2005.
The President of NIRA, Mrs. Mary Uduma, disclosed this after handing over the offer letter of employment to Mr. Bickersteth at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja at the weekend.
She said that the offer letter signed by her and the company of the chairman, Establishment Committee of NIRA, Mr. Sekiri Shehu Mohammed has been given to Mr. Bickersteth on behalf of the organisation.
She expressed delight on the development, saying it’s a landmark step by NIRA with the support of the Internet community in the country.
Also, she said that this was an actualization of part of the cardinal promise of the present board after it’s inauguration in August last year; to transform NIRA as a world class organisation in the management of .ng.
Mrs. Uduma said that the new COO, Bickersteth would resume duty on Thursday, January 10, 2011.
“I wish to thank the Chairman Establishment Committee and his members for job well done. I also wish to thank all for the constructive contributions to the perfect the exercise. Congratulations to the Board and to Sola,” she declared.
She noted that the emergence of Bickersteth as the COO was heavily contested by two other contenders.
In his remark, Mr. Bickersteth said he was excited to be found worthy to occupy the position of COO of NiRA and the first at that.
“I am extremely humbled by your endorsement and do not take it for granted ....” he asserted.
Bickersteth also promised to put in his best effort towards helping NIRA to achieve its goal of a world class organization that the Executive Board will be proud of.
While soliciting for the continuous support of the board, he noted that without their increased support , “there is very little that I can achieve.”
In addition, he solicited for the advice, reprimand, suggestions and prayers to make the effort worthwhile for all members of the Nigerian Internet community.“Your time, service and contributions to NIRA shall not be in vain and it shall also be to the benefit our nation and indeed generations to come,” he prayed.

Mobile Clinic Nurse, Forgiveness Charles (L), weighs a baby at Kokona in Garaku LGA of Nasarawa State, the weekend during the arrival of Pampers Mobile Clinic, a CSR initiative of Procter & Gamble West Africa going through rural and Semi urban communities to give free medical consultations to young mothers who may not easily be served by hospitals.

STARCOMMS REWARDS BOXING HERO

It was a day of double celebration for youthful boxer, Taiwo Agbaje who was adjudged the Starcomms overall best boxer in the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame Boxing Competition for the month of December as he had the honour of receiving his prize from the governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola for displaying unmatched skills.Agbaje, an amateur boxer in the 56KG category from Young Star Boxing Club, Lagos who also won the governor’s belt applauded Starcomms commitment to boxing development in the country thanking Starcomms for its regular sponsorship of the competition.The Starcomms overall best prize recipient was full of excitement and jubilation as his fans raised him shoulder high running round the indoor hall of Mobolaji Johnson Sports Complex, Rowe Park, Lagos, venue of the competition.In his appreciation remark, Agbaje said he was excited about the double honour saying that the honour was not just for him alone but for the Fashola administration that created the platform and Starcomms which makes sure that the competition holds every last Saturday of the month, although the December edition was held on boxing day, December 26, 2010.Excited about the level of commitment of Starcomms to grassroots boxing development in the state, the Starcomms boxing hero said that he was extremely happy that Starcomms involvement in boxing sponsorship has helped to bring him double honour noting that he is proud to be a double winner of an outstanding and a winning brand. He further said that the double honour, which came to him from Starcomms and the governor, is a sign that the investment of Starcomms in the development of grassroots boxing is yielding fruits.

STARCOMMS PRIZES EXCITE BONUZEE WINNERS

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.”

Marketing Director, Starcomms Plc., Richard Gill presenting a prize to Chioma Ekeledo, one of the lucky winners in the "50 Good Calls and 50 Good Causes", promo meant to celebrate Nigeria's 50th independence anniversary. With them is Retention Manager, Emeka Okenwa

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.