NCC bars operators from texts on SIM Reg status

He advised the subscribers to ensure that the data being supplied at the registration centres are accurate by crosschecking with the registration officers at the point of the registration as those handling the registration have computer monitors where all subscribers can easily see the data supplied and approve.

Telecom regulatory body, Nigerian Communications Commission, has issued a directive to all telecom operators to refrain from sending alert messages to subscribers on account of the status of their SIM card registration.

Head, Media and Public Relations of the Commission, Mr. Reuben Muoka, said the directive became necessary as service providers are sending conflicting information to subscribers, thereby causing unnecessary anxiety among the Nigerian public.

He said that it was discovered that some operators are sending text messages to those who have already registered their SIM cards. Some operators are reported to have also issued a code to their subscribers to check the status of their registration, an action which he said is not necessary.

Mr. Muoka said this action is not tenable as sometimes, the operators issue such texts to those who have already registered with them. He said the action of the operators is worsened by the fact that the NCC appointed agents have no facility to also send such texts as they travel round, resulting in ugly situations where the operators send texts to those who are already correctly registered by the NCC appointed agents.

“The SIM registration data being gathered by the operators, and those of the NCC appointed agents, all belong to the NCC. It is only the NCC that will be in the position to tell any subscriber about the status of his or her registration, and that will only happen after the completion of the project”, he said.

The NCC spokesman also assured subscribers that no operator is permitted to disconnect any subscriber on account of SIM card registration until after the expiration of the exercise when the Commission will issue appropriate directives to the operators on the matter.

Bharti signs agreement with Huawei

Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa, today announced an agreement with Huawei, a leader in next-generation telecommunications network solutions, to modernize and expand Airtel’s 2G & 3G network infrastructure in Africa.

As per the agreement, Huawei will be responsible for designing, planning, modernization and expansion of Bharti Airtel’s networks, as well as managing operations and maintenance. This innovative Managed Capacity Manager Service business model, pioneered by Airtel eight years ago in India, will enhance the customer experience through improved voice quality and extended coverage into under-penetrated areas.

The agreement will enable Airtel Africa to rapidly expand its mobile services and mobile broadband footprint in the region.

Announcing the agreement Mr. Manoj Kohli, CEO (International) and Joint Managing Director, Bharti Airtel, said “The partnership with Huawei takes us one step closer to realizing our vision of making affordable and world-class telecom services available to Africa. This partnership will allow us to focus on delivering better customer experience as we leverage the global network management expertise of Huawei. It also lays the foundation for the introduction of 3G HSPA wireless broadband services. We firmly believe that mobile broadband is a major catalyst for economic growth and development, and with this partnership we will be able to offer world-class and affordable voice & internet experience to our customers while contributing to the economic growth in Africa.”
The next-generation state-of-the-art network will deliver an extended range of services focused on user-centric broadband applications. In line with global trends, Africa is experiencing a surge in demand for access to mobile data applications. The modernization and optimization of networks will give Bharti Airtel an opportunity to lower its operating expenditure and roll-out innovative and exciting customer centric products & services at affordable prices.
Sun Yafang, Chairwoman of Huawei Board, said: “Bharti Airtel is a great operator with tremendous potential and high business value. We understand Airtel’s strategic requirements and will match their fast development to achieve a win-win business success between both parties. As a leading Telecom solutions vendor, Huawei has substantial experience over the years to provide state-of-the-art technologies and services to top operators in the world. We believe our innovative technologies as well as strong delivery capability will bring Bharti Airtel’s customers a better user experience and value proposition.”
The partnership with Huawei will enable Airtel Africa to channel its resources and expertise to its core areas of product innovation, value added services, marketing, branding and pricing, while simultaneously providing world class mobile services by leveraging Huawei’s world class expertise in network management. Under the terms of the agreement, Huawei will deploy its complete GSM and 3G product portfolio including BTS 3900 multi-standard radio base stations working with GSM and HSPA technologies, which will further be equipped and prepared for Long Term Evolution (LTE).

MTN surpasses 150 million mobile subscribers

The MTN Group has passed 150 million mobile subscribers, showing strong subscriber growth despite increased competition.
Speaking at the MTN Group Annual General Meeting (AGM) today, MTN Group President and CEO Sifiso Dabengwa announced that MTN increased its subscriber base by 7.4 million subscribers or 5% to 149 million customers for the four months to 30 April 2011, and has subsequently passed 150 million mobile subscribers across its 21 operations.
Margins in the majority of MTN’s key markets in Africa and the Middle East remained robust, although margin pressure in markets with high levels of price competition was experienced.
Robust margins were primarily due to the benefit of on-going cost control and efficiency initiatives, despite the negative impact of inflationary pressures and higher fuel costs.
“MTN believes its current initiatives place it in good stead to take advantage of value creating opportunities, while mitigating the various risks. MTN will continue to leverage its scale, operational capability and intellectual capacity in an industry which has become more competitive as it matures and evolves,” said Dabengwa.
The MTN Group Board has decided that the formation of a formalized subsidiary company board for the international operations will not be progressed at this point in time. This follows a review of the work completed by the sub-committee of the board appointed to investigate the matter.
The MTN Group wishes to share its 150 million mobile subscriber milestone with communities by linking it to a worthy social cause. Accordingly, MTN has pledged to plant 150 000 (one hundred and fifty thousand) trees across its markets during the next six months.
MTN is cognisant of the serious implications of climate change in its markets and the world, and is therefore making a contribution to preserve the environment by mobilising its staff of approximately 30 000 to plant trees in their communities.
“At MTN, employees regard themselves as an integral part of their communities. It is this sense of community that enables us as the Group to respond meaningfully to the needs of our customers beyond just providing them with telecommunication services,” said Dabengwa.
He explained that MTN operates in a business ecosystem in which triple bottom line (people, planet and profit) issues are increasingly becoming vital for future survival.
“Our customers are important to us, and so are we to them in terms of offering them services that improve their lifestyle. Unless we take good care of the surroundings in which people live and in which we as business operate, there will be no markets and growth prospects to talk of in future”.
“The idea of planting trees has the potential to trigger the kind of public consciousness that can turn each of the 150 million MTN subscribers into active agents for positive social change,” adds Dabengwa.
MTN’s 150 000 trees pledge builds on the commitment the Group made at the onset of the MTN 21 Days of Y’ello Care corporate social responsibility (CSR) annual initiative, which kicked off on 1 June 2011, to plant 21 000 trees across its markets.
The 21 Days Y’ello Care campaign ended on a high yesterday, with more than 50 000 trees planted by MTN staff across MTN’s global footprint in support of the UN’s declaration of 2011 as the International Year of Forests.

KENYAN FATUMA NOOR NAMED WINNER CNN JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR

Fatuma Noor from Kenya has been awarded the top prize at this year’s CNN MultiChoice African Journalist 2011 Awards Ceremony.
Fatuma Noor, who works for The Star Kenya, won for her investigative three-part series on the ‘Al-Shabaab’, which was chosen from among 1407 entries from 42 nations across the African continent.
The series tells the story of the young men who give up their freedom abroad to return and fight for the ‘Al-Shabaab’ in one of the world’s most dangerous places on earth – Somalia .
Fatuma Noor was one of the 27 finalists at the Awards ceremony on Saturday evening and was a winner in the category ‘General News Award (Print).’
The Awards, which rotate location each year in tribute to their pan-African credentials, were held at a Gala ceremony hosted by CNN and MultiChoice at The Sandton Sun Hotel, Johannesburg , South Africa yesterday evening, Saturday 25th June.
Nolo Letele, Executive Chairman MultiChoice South Africa and Parisa Khosravi, Senior Vice President of international newsgathering for CNN Worldwide presented Fatuma Noor with the Award.
Fatuma said: “I want to thank my mum and my boss Catherine, who believed in me when no one else did. There was a time in my life when I thought about giving up, but with this Award I'm not giving up any time soon”
Chair of the judging panel, journalist and media consultant Joel Kibazo said: “The judges were impressed with the high quality of entries to the competition this year, and this intrepid young journalist has shown great courage and determination in going the extra mile to tell this fascinating story. Fatuma Noor’s three-part series on the Al-Shabaab provides a detailed and personalised portrait of the young men who leave their comfortable western lives to join one of the world’s most ruthless militant groups in Somalia .”
Parisa Khosravi, Senior Vice President of International Newsgathering for CNN Worldwide, said: “Tonight’s journalists join an ever-growing community of excellence, each one representing the very best in African journalism. The collective talent celebrated here this evening is a sign of the increasingly assured voice in which Africa is telling its unique and myriad story. I congratulate them all."
Nolo Letele, Executive Chairman MultiChoice South Africa group said: “We are proud of our long-standing partnership with CNN for these awards. And we are even more proud to play a part in telling the stories of Africa . It is thanks to the excellence of these journalists that Africa has a voice on the international stage. Our warmest congratulations go out to the winners.”
Collins Khumalo, President MultiChoice Africa, said: “Congratulations to all the 2011 winners, we hope the acknowledgment you’ve received this year will inspire you to continue telling the African story to the world. Although there can only be one overall winner, we’d like to salute each and every journalist that entered. Without your hard work and support, the ongoing development of democracy and diversity of the media across the African continent would not be possible.”
The evening also recognised Mahamud Abdi Jama as this year’s recipient of the Free Press Africa Award, for his work in Somalia . His situation was noted by the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) in New York . He wrote a critical article about the government there and was jailed for just over a month and released when pressure was put on the government of Somalia .
The CNN MultiChoice competition is now in its 16th year. The prestigious sponsors include: African Development Bank; Coca-Cola Africa; Ecobank, IPP Media, Tanzania; Ericsson; Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD); Research In Motion (RIM), the company behind the BlackBerry® solution; South African Tourism and A24 Media. The Sandton Sun Hotel, Johannesburg is the delegate hotel for this year’s Awards.
The Awards’ 27 finalists from 13 countries enjoyed an all expenses paid five day programme of workshops, media forums, networking and had the opportunity to see some of the sights of Johannesburg prior to the Awards Ceremony.

GLO INTRODUCES NEW HIGH SPEED INTERNET PLANS FOR HANDSETS AND TABLETS

As part of continuous efforts to offer more value to subscribers on its network, national telecoms operator, Globacom, has launched new pocket-friendly high speed internet plans which are tailored to benefit the ever increasing numbers of users of handsets, smart phones and tablets across the country.
The new HSI plans, which offer lower rates and the most generous data volumes, will now make it possible for Glo subscribers to use their data enabled devices to browse the internet, stream audio and video clips, download apps and chat with their family and friends at even more affordable rates.
The newly introduced plans are Glo Instant Surf, One Week and Always Micro which are suitable for handsets and Always Macro which is suitable for both handsets and tablets. Glo Instant Surf, for instance, offers the subscriber a data usage of 10MB at for just N100 for a validity period of 24 hours, while the One Week plan will give the subscriber 50MB of data usage for a validity period of seven days at the cost of N400 only.
Always Micro, on the other hand, offers 200MB of data download which is valid for a period of one month (30 days) at the cost of N1,000 only, while Always Macro will give the subscriber 1GB of data for 30 days at the cost of N3,000 only. The Always Macro plan is available for users of handsets as well as smart phones and tablets such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Apple I-pad.
Other existing plans have also been reviewed to give more value to subscribers. These include the Pay As You Use rate which has been reviewed down from 15 kobo per kilobyte to 5 kobo per kilobyte, Always Micro which offers a higher data download of 200MB at the cost of N1,000 per month and Always Min which now gives subscribers a massive 3GB of data downloads instead of the previous 1.5GB at the same cost of N5,000 per month.
The new affordable rates and bigger data downloads were made possible with the coming on stream of Glo1, Globacom’s high speed submarine cable which is changing the face of telecom in Nigeria and several other countries across the continent.
With a capacity of over 2.5 terabits, Glo 1 is already providing unprecedented high speed internet services to Nigerians and making telecom services much faster, more reliable and cheaper for consumers. With Globacom’s increasing coverage of the country with its High Speed Internet service and expansion of its access network capacity, even more benefits lie ahead for Glo subscribers.
To enjoy the great value offered by the new plans, subscribers only need to enter the USSD code *127*51# for Instant Surf, *127*52# for the One week plan, *127*53# for Always Micro, *127*54# for Always Macro or *127*2# for Always Min and they will immediately be subscribed to the plan of their choice.

'LAGOS WILL NOT CRIPPLE THE ECONOMY'

Lagos State Government is mindful of the state’s impact on the economy of Nigeria; hence it has no plans to cripple economic activities in the state and Nigeria in general.
State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, TPl. Francisco Bolaji Abosede disclosed this during the Press Briefing while rendering account of stewardship of the ministry in the last four years under the administration of the Babatunde Raji Fashola leadership.
Abosede stated that it is general knowledge that most banking and financial institutions have their headquarters in Lagos which also translate to the establishment of enormous bank branches. He however bemoaned that some of the banks do not follow due process before such branches are opened, thereby contravening Physical Planning Law in Lagos State.
He noted that Lagos State is critical to the economy of Nigeria and has not clamped down on banks as it will greatly affect the economy. In order to tackle this abnormality, TPl Abosede said several periodic meetings are being held with the banks as regards branch establishment, coupled with the periodic inventory and assessment of certain urban based activities and their impact on immediate environment such as petrol filling stations, petrol tank farms, eateries, banks and places of worship.
The Commissioner revealed that with Lagos as a megacity, the State Government is planning for 40 million people with the provisions of adequate infrastructure, both social and physical, to accommodate the influx of people adding that calculations and necessary parameters have been considered and are being balanced. He remarked that the physical planning activities carried out by the State Government are not without the collaboration and inclusion of stakeholders.
He explained that the inclusive governance method of the State Government is to make people comply willfully by persuasive means instead of forceful compliance. While stating that there is no plan without the approval of the people, TPl Abosede added that the 2010 Physical Planning Law is operational as the ministry is gearing towards rescheduling of the public meeting to involve the Press, professional bodies, institutions such as insurance companies, etc, to fine-tune the modus operandi of the law, stressing that laws are meant to be debated and examined exhaustively to arrive at a beneficial conclusion for all.
In the area of Urban Development, Abosede noted that the State Government has reported phenomenal growth and progress with the Tejuosho Market redevelopment under the Public-Private-Participation scheme, informing that the project is in two phases. According to him, the phase 1 of the project is at 70% completion stage. He also stated that Freedom Park (old Broad Street prison) has been redeveloped into a tourist attraction facility to serve as recreation and improve environmental quality of the state.
The Commissioner further revealed that the ministry is involved in the development of various transportation routes and utility lines (viz roads, rail lines, PHCN lines, etc), while also determining, establishing and delivering Right of Way (ROW) to free encumbrances which involves survey and acquisition description, identification, enumeration and removal of such encumbrances on completion of acquisition before the compensation process.
In her Vote of Thanks, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, Arc. (Mrs.) Yetunde Oluwatoyin Ajayi, mni commended Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) for his passion for physical planning issues in Lagos State which has put the state ahead of others. She noted the State Government has taken the trend of physical planning to greater heights by aligning herself with developed cities such as Dubai, Shanghai, Singapore, among others and this has also prompted the India Government her willingness to partner with the state on planning matters.
Arc. Ajayi noted that despite the challenges and peculiarities of Lagos State as the commercial nerve centre of sub-saharan Africa, the state is not deterred in making the environment sustainable, organized, liveable and business friendly.

Glo 1 signs on companies across industry segments

Glo 1 has signed on major international carriers and leading companies from across the industry verticals since the international submarine cable owned by national operator, Globacom, was launched last October. The companies include telecom operators, internet service providers (ISPs), Oil & Gas companies, Banks, manufacturing companies, IT & IT-enabled services companies, and leading media organizations.

A spokesman for the company disclosed this following the recent signing of an agreement between it and an oil giant. Some of the companies are PCCW, Airtel Ghana, Airtel Nigeria, C&W (Nigeria & Ghana Operations), IPNX, Swift Networks, Shell, TotalElf, Chevron, United Bank for Africa, Fin Bank, Nigerian Bottling Co. PLC, P&G and almost all the major media companies

Glo 1 is West Africa’s largest internet bandwidth provider. With its launch in Nigeria last year and in Ghana in April, the cable has ushered in a new era of prosperity for businesses in the African region. The facility, the first individually owned international submarine cable in Africa, has addressed the bandwidth capacity problem in the region and ushered in reliable telecommunications services.

“The high number of customers that have signed on to Glo 1 in just seven months of operation is a vote of confidence in the company. We are availing the customers an excellent communication network and a cost-effective voice, data, video and e-commerce services across Africa, Europe and the rest of the world," he stated.

He explained that the facility has the capacity to boost business activities from information technology to banking, oil and gas, manufacturing and commerce by offering world-class long distance voice, video and data communication services.

With a capacity of up to 2.5 terabits per second, as well as 99.9% up time reliability, customers are assured of much faster, more reliable and cheaper internet services. Glo 1 will offer attractive rates and long term partnerships resulting in enhanced profitability for the customer through flexible terms of contracts tailor-made for the customer type and need.

“A unique advantage we have is our extensive terrestrial network in West Africa through our operations in Nigeria, Ghana, Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia and Senegal. This will enable Glo 1 to give end-to-end connectivity including last mile services, thus providing a one-stop-shop for customers’ requirements,” the company source stated.

Glo1 has connectivity with top international carriers which gives it a global reach and enables it to offer international standard Service Level Agreements, giving the customer guaranteed world-class services at highly affordable price.

NCC to intensify enlightenment on SIM Registration

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has said in Abuja that it will intensify the enlightenment campaign on the on-going, nationwide SIM registration exercise.

The general elections which ended last week, has given subscribers a relaxed atmosphere to enable them to register their SIM cards with NCC appointed registration vendors nationwide.

The Commission had on March 28, 2011, flagged off the six-month nationwide SIM registration exercise which will end on 28 September, 2011.

Head, Media and Public Relations of the Commission, Mr. Reuben Muoka, who during an interaction with ICT correspondents in Abuja, said the current campaign will include radio jingles in local languages giving subscribers the location of SIM Card registration centres in all the states of the federation as will be published in key national dailies and the Commission’s website.

He said SIM Card registration centres will continue to grow in various states of the federation and that some of the registration agents will move around with mobile units to cover areas that may not have fixed registration centres in any particular locations such as markets and other similar locations.

In the NCC SIM registration centres, subscribers are able to register all their SIM cars irrespective of any network, at the same spot. But the Commission said all those who have already registered with their telecom service providers need not come for the registration undertaken by the operators will be collated for the same purpose at the Central data base for all subscribers in the country.

ATCON endorses IPV6 Roundtable, harps on broadband roadmap

The Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ALTON) has endorsed the Nigeria Internet Protocol Version Six (IPV6) Roundtable 2011.

ATCON is a professional, non-profit umbrella organisation of all telecommunication companies in Nigeria, which was founded since December 10, 1993, as a national trade organisation, with membership drawn from Nigerian and multi-national companies which provide telecommunications and information technology products and services in across the country.
Whereas the forthcoming Nigeria IPV6 Roundtable was initiated by the DigitalSENSE Africa as part of its Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum series in commemoration the World IPV6 Day, which has been slated for Thursday, June 2, at the Planet One, Mary Land Lagos.
The global World IPV6 Day has been scheduled for Wednesday, June 8, this year by the Internet Society (ISOC), the organisational home for the groups responsible for Internet infrastructure standards, including the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Internet Architecture Board (IAB).
The acting Executive Secretary, Mr. Ajibola Olude in a letter of endorsement addressed to the Executive Director, DigitalSENSE Africa Media, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke, acknowledged the support of ATCON.
“I am pleased to convey approval of the National Executive Council,” he declared. Some of the condiments, according to him, include the use of the fact that ATCON endorsed the event on all the conference materials.
While promising that ATCON would broadcast the event to all its members, the President of ATCON, Mr. Titi Omo-Ettu has planned to give a goodwill message to the occasion.“ATCON will support the event with some mementos,” he added.
Reacting, Mrs. Nweke commended ATCON leadership for its foresight in recognizing the importance of this latest migration and efforts of DigitalSENSE in stimulating awareness in the IPV6 aspect of the future internet.
Further, she revealed that ATCON president would be presenting a position paper of the group for the stakeholders as a means of internalizing the endorsement among its members.
Meanwhile in the preceding weeks, the duo of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) and Nigeria Internet Group (NIG) have thrown their respective support for the Nigeria IPV6 Roundtable, scheduled to hold at Planet One on June 2.
President of NIG, Engr. Adebayo Banjo said that his group is pleased to endorse the Nigeria IPV6 Roundtable in commemoration of the World IPV6 Day also known as ‘Test Flight Day’.
He also said the IPV6 Roundtable offer a first-class platform for networking to stimulate public awareness on the importance.
More interesting, he said, is the theme for the roundtable ‘IPV6-Join The Players’ scheduled to hold at the Planet One MaryLand, Lagos being organized by the DigitalSENSE Africa, stressing that Nigeria should join the IPV6 world and not wait to do leapfrogging.
NIG in a letter to DSA dated April 15, 2011, Banjo said, they foresee the roundtable as a platform for Nigerian Internet stakeholders in which issues concerning the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector issues are raised and addressed with particular reference to the Internet Protocol version 6.
He, therefore, solicits the support of all Internet stakeholders to take active participation at the roundtable.
Equally, NIRA, in its letter of endorsement signed by the Head, Corporate Services, Ms Ugo Akiri commended DigitalSENSE Africa for the foresightedness in enlightening Nigerians on Internet-related developments.
She noted that this is coming shortly after the Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum on Internet Governance and Development (IGD).
NIRA, she also said, has every reason to back the Nigeria IPV6 Roundtable and enjoined members of the association to actively participate in the event scheduled for Thursday June 2, this year at Planet One under the chairmanship of the former Minister of Communications, Chief Olawale Ige, who doubles as the chairman, board of trustees, Nigeria Internet Group.
Reacting to these development, the Executive Director, Operations, DigitalSENSE Africa, Mrs. Nkemdilim Nweke, applauded both organisations for the endorsements.
She noted that following the recent allocation of the last batch of the Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) addresses by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) it has become imperative for the deployment of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) and Nigeria cannot afford to be left out.
“The Internet is now the global communication network and to join this evolution, Nigerian stakeholders need to integrate IPv6 in all areas,” she said.
Mrs. Nweke pointed out that based on the abovementioned, the Internet Society (ISOC), the organisational home for the groups responsible for Internet infrastructure standards, including the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Internet Architecture Board (IAB) came up with the World IPV6 Day, which this year would be commemorated on Wednesday, June 8, 2011.
She explained that why Nigeria IPV6 Roundtable is holding on Thursday, June 2 is to drum support for the global commemoration on June 8.“We needed to get this earlier so that our people would start in good time to prepare their minds for the test-flight day,” she declared.
The Roundtable, she said, would stimulate public awareness on the importance of the World IPV6 Day also known as ‘Test Flight Day’ in addition to providing networking opportunities.
On June 8, she noted that the World IPv6 Day is a strategy to encourage successful migration to IPv6 through participation of some key Internet Service Providers like Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, Akamai and Limelight networks to offer their contents over IPv6 only for a 24-hour period.
“The goal of the Test Flight Day is to motivate organizations across the industry – regulators, operators, Internet service providers, hardware makers, operating system vendors, content providers, manufacturers, web companies and key stakeholders; to ensure a successful transition as IPv4 addresses run out,” she said.
Further, she urged Nigerians, especially the industry players to maximize the opportunity to showcasing their plans for IPV6 migration in Nigeria.

As part of her mission as the Starcomms Plc., Brand Ambassador, multi award winning singer/song writer, Nneka visited the Starcomms Customer Care Centre on Bode Thomas Street Surulere, Lagos where customers in a lucky deep promo won several prize with her is one of the lucky winner, Antony Udoh, a businessman living in Ikoyi, Lagos, receiving his prize.

STARCOMMS CHAMPIONS NETWORK QUALITY CAMPAIGN

Aligning with current trends globally whereby mobile telephone users are more concerned about the quality of services rendered by mobile telephone companies, multiple awards winning Telecommunications Company, Starcomms Plc is saying that mobile phone users should insist on quality of service.
The reason is that over the years, the Starcomms network has been able to maintain a track record of quality network by ensuring that its customers are not in the league of mobile users who groan over the pains of network failure.
According to the chief operating officer of the company, Logan Pather, Starcomms has decided to lead the campaign for no drop calls, voice clarity, no network congestion and easy connection at one dial saying that mobile users should vote for a network that ensures that they enjoy and experience a no drop call regime when talking.”
Pather also said that mobile phone users should also insist on having a network that is devoid of congestion as well as one that offers easy connection at one dial saying that Starcomms is the network of quality services.
He disclosed that as a network that listens to its customers, Starcomms remained committed to the task of ensuring that its customer enjoys quality services on its network stressing that that commitment has earned it several awards over the years.
While explaining the rationale for the network quality campaign, he said that low tariffs are not the only thing that appeals to the customer.
While urging mobile phone users to continue to patronize the Starcomms network, Pather said that Starcomms Plc remains the only network that ensures that its customers are overwhelmed with all-round telecoms services that comes at an affordable tariff.
Pather, who disclosed that he is elated that more mobile phone users are migrating to the Starcomms network because of the quality of its services and product, said that is attested to by Best IT product award that the Starcomms MyPAD won at the recent Beacon of ICT award.
He also said that the Best CDMA award for 2010 that Starcomms won at the ceremony, is symbolic of its position as the provider of excellent value added services as well as quality services at an affordable cost.
While promising that Starcomms will ensure that its customers continue to enjoy the best quality services from its network, Pather said that Starcomms is mindful of the right of its customers; hence it is devoting its resources to the campaign for the rights of the customer to quality network from mobile telephone companies.

African Brand Leadership Awards recently conferred an award of Best Company in Corporate Social Responsibility on Procter and Gamble West Africa (P&G) in Lagos. Head, External Relations, P&G, Patricia Obozuwa (C) receives the award from Mr. Ademola Oredugba, Managing Director of Minnesota Nigeria Limited while Corporate Public Relations Manager of P&G, Olatomiwa Akande looks on.

MTN and GIZ sign development partnership to manage e-waste

Telecoms company MTN Group has signed a development
partnership with German-based public-benefit enterprise Deutsche
Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH to manage
the safe disposal of e-waste and foster enterprise development for
e-waste handlers.
GIZ signed the partnership with MTN on behalf of the German Federal
Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The partnership seeks to raise awareness among the general public and
corporate businesses about the safe recycling, management and disposal
of e-waste, and provide support to fledgling small and medium-sized
companies.
Electronic waste or e-waste is any form of electrical or electronic
technology that is no longer required, ranging from domestic and
commercial ‘white goods’ such as fridges and air conditioners, to
computers, phones and other electrical and electronic devices. As
global consumption of electrical devices grow, and products become
obsolete, the challenge of how to responsibly dispose of e-waste is
growing alarmingly.
Global mismanagement of e-waste is resulting in large-scale dumping,
often in open landfills, predominantly in areas or countries with poor
levels of environmental governance or enforcement ability.
There is increasing concern at the growth of e-waste generated by
global consumers, and ultimately often dumped, especially in
developing countries in Africa and Asia. Valuable components are
salvaged from discarded e-waste, but at the cost of human and
environmental health, given some degree of toxicity of in all
electronic components.
The pilot project, to be first implemented in South Africa, will focus
on educating the public about what e-waste is, why it is a matter of
human health and environmental concern, and the value of recycling and
responsible disposal.
MTN South Africa will roll out e-waste collection points at key
publicly-accessible sites e.g. schools, shopping malls and possibly in
partnership with other corporate partners. These collection points
will collect cellular e-waste regardless of network operator or
handset manufacturer.
As part of this partnership GIZ will be undertaking a situational
analysis, develop standards and disposal protocols for the piloting
model and undertaking a multi-stakeholder engagement process. The
partnership will also support enterprise development and the “green
jobs” agenda by ensuring that selected small and medium sized e-waste
handlers and large recyclers receive a steady, consistent and sizeable
supply of e-waste. These recyclers will be monitored by MTN South
Africa to ensure that they abide by approved and acceptable e-waste
handling processes and protocols.
The partnership will initially be rolled out to two major cities in
South Africa. The implementation of the partnership will be rolled out
in a number of phases. Subject to a successful multi-year South
African pilot, it is hoped that results and lessons learnt will be
documented and replicated by MTN operations across the Group’s
footprint in Africa and the Middle East.
GIZ, which has previous experience with e-waste management through
partnerships in India and Morocco, will bring its experience,
knowledge base and technical support to this partnership. This
experience includes helping develop corporate standards for e-waste
management, and supporting engagement processes with other parties,
usually other companies and industry sectors which also generate
e-waste, and who may wish to support this initiative.
Says Mr Christian de Faria, MTN Group Senior Vice-President:
Commercial and Innovation: “We believe that this partnership will help
us to increase public awareness about the problem of e-waste and
provide assurance to MTN that e-waste is being handled appropriately
locally in line with acceptable standards.
“While we do not manufacture handsets, computers and other electronic
devices, within the context of network operators, e-waste is generated
through customer purchase and use of mobile technology, and through
the business' own technology operations. Addressing the e-waste
challenge remains one of MTN’s top three sustainability imperatives,
as required by and approved by MTN’s leadership.”
“Partnering with the private sector to address developmental issues
such as e-Waste is a crucial component of GIZ strategy for sustainable
development. This partnership represents an excellent example where
public and private sector bring together their relative strengths to
address a development issue and enable collective action. E-Waste is a
growing challenge in South Africa and Africa and if not jointly
addressed from both the public and private sectors will become an
overwhelming challenge,” says Ellen Kallinowsky Coordinator for GIZ
Centre for Cooperation with the Private Sector.

COACHES TASK STARCOMMS ON BOXING FACILITIES

Marveled by the consistent sponsorship of the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame monthly amateur boxing competition, boxing coaches in the state has task the sponsors of the event, Starcomms Plc for the provision of boxing facilities to enhance their career.
The coaches made the call at the March edition of the competition after the Starcomms Best Boxer Prize was presented to the winner, Sikiru Fatai of the Nigerian Police Boxing Club who fought in the 56 Kg category defeating Oliwo kazeem of Star Club to emerge the hero of the competition.
While congratulating the youngster for his victory in the competition, Victor Anyinka, a staff boxing coach in the Lagos State Sports Council said that it is high time that Starcomms consider doing something for coaches in the state.
According to him, Starcomms has demonstrated strong commitment to the development of the punching game in the state saying that a major thing that will make coaches in the state happy is the provision of boxing of facility.
For instance, Anyinka said that the state lacks boxing gymnasium for the training of boxers stressing that it will not be a bad idea if Starcomms provides one for the coaches.
He recalled that the Starcomms support of the monthly boxing event has brought out a lot of boxing talents in the likes of Taiwo Agbaje of Young Star Boxing Club, Modina Adeniyi of Champion Boxing Club and Taiwo Abiodun of No Shaking Boxing Club noting that neglecting the coaches will not do well for the sport.
While urging Starcomms to gracefully consider the request of the coaches, he that whatever Starcomms decides to do to assist coaches in the state will not be forgotten stating that boxing brought the first Olympic medal to the country, which still forms a reference point for the game.
Also, Wasiu Bisiriyu, an assistant boxing coach in the Lagos State Sports Council said that Starcomms efforts has salvaged a lot of youths in the state from criminal activities adding that coaches are happy that Starcomms has help to bring development to the sport.
According to him, before now all that the amateur boxers get at the end of the competition was a handshake noting that with the support of Starcomms they now go home with a lot of exciting gifts and prizes.
Bisiriyu who coaches Pioneer Boxing Club of Agege, however noted that attention is yet to be paid to the welfare of coaches in the state stressing that coaches also need some form of encouragement or support from Starcomms.
Similarly, Ibrahim Akinola, coach of the Ola-king Boxing Club said that Starcomms deserves recognition for their effort in boxing development adding that they too want to be given recognition for their coaching efforts.
Winner of the Starcomms best boxer prize said that he was grateful that Starcomms took interest in the boxing game noting that he attributes his success to their commitment to the sponsorship of the game.
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.

MIPAN PRESIDENT ADVOCATES PARADIGM SHIFT IN MEDIA INVESTMENTS

President of Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN), Mr. Tolu Ogunkoya has advocated a paradigm shift in media investments in a bid for advertisers to maximize value in their media spend. Ogunkoya stated this recently in a paper entitled Modern Approach to Media Investments- a media specialist’s insight in Lagos .

He advocated that advertisers in the print media should buy impressions not insertions, for TV and radio gross rating points (GRPs) not just spots; for Outdoor of Home (OOH) unduplicated traffic not number of sites; for internet, impressions not days and for mobile, responses not database.

The MIPAN president said that media vehicle selection is the final step in the planning process and needed to be as objective and data led as possible because it is critical that the strategy considerations are carried forward to this stage.

Ogunkoya, who is also the managing director of MediaReach OMD, contended that pointers for media vehicle selection are AMPs, TV and radio diaries, internet and mobile traffic data and Out of Home (OOH) traffic estimates and foot fall information stores and malls.

He said key metrics that guide the media vehicle selection decision are in print, the reach of a publication in the target group; in television, reach of station, programme GRPs and time spent on programme; in radio, the reach of station, time band GRPs, radio jingle popularity and value ads among others.

The president stated that mobile applications were an emerging advertising opportunity and needed to be benchmarked using direct response return on investment metrics like per unit cost of customer acquisition and average return per user among others.

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 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.

Google to invest $5 million in IT infrastructure in Africa

It swift response to the need improve information technoogy infrastructure in Africa, Google has pledged to help digitise archives of Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu and to facilitate Internet infrastructure in Nigeria tertiary institutions.
Google pledged a $1,25 million grant to the Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory, housed at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg, that will help to preserve and give unprecedented digital access to thousands of archival documents, photographs, and audio-visual materials about the life and times of Nelson Mandela.
Google’s grant will assist in expanding the online Mandela archive and make it available to the global audiences, scholars and researchers in the future.

In addition to significant audio-visual materials, the online multimedia archive will include Mr. Mandela’s letters and correspondence with family, comrades and friends; prison diaries; and notes he made

while leading the negotiations that led to the end of apartheid in South
Africa.
A grant of the same size has also been made to the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre in Cape Town, for the documentation and digitisation of Desmond Tutu’s archives, and an interactive digital learning centre.
Commenting on the initiative, Luke Mckend, Country Manager for Google South Africa said, “Google wants to help bring the world’s historical heritage online, and the Internet offers new ways to preserve and share this information. Our grants to the Nelson Mandela Centre and to the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre will facilitate new digital archives for South
Africa’s past, giving the global public an unprecedented opportunity to
engage with the history of some of the most extraordinary leaders of our time. We are also delighted to be announcing additional grants which will help many more people across South Africa and Africa access the Internet and benefit from access to information”.
Google today also announced three other grants also made through the Google Inc.Charitable Giving Fund of Tides Foundation. Amongst the grantees is the Nigeria ICT Forum . A $500,000 grant has been made to support efforts in improving access to Internet infrastructure in tertiary education institutions in Nigeria.
The Nigeria ICT Forum is an initiative of the Nigerian Caucus (a joint
meeting of the Vice-Chancellors and ICT Coordinators) of the six Partnership Nigerian Universities. Its mandate is to develop ICT-based
capacity for strengthening Research and Higher Education Institutions
(HEIs); Facilitate and nurture collaboration between HEIs to cultivate
a favourable policy environment; develop, utilise and sustain ICT networks, services and shared resources consistent with institutional roles as focus for development.
Commenting on the grant, the board secretary of the Nigeria ICT Forum, Mr. Nasir Bello stated: “We are delighted with the grant to Nigerian ICT Forum, which supports our goals to nurture the building of vibrant e-communities through training, innovation and partnerships.

It will support the efforts in developing the community around shared Internet infrastructure, greatly reducing cost and therefore barriers to

affordable connectivity in tertiary educational institutions in Nigeria”.

STARCOMMS OFFERS FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND JOBS ON PHONE

Starcomms Plc, the listening network, has introduced another innovation for the convenience of the customers. This is a value added service for job-seekers especially young graduates and experienced professionals who seek new employments. Aptly titled Jobs-on-phone, it is a personalized voice based job portal, which helps Starcomms customers to seek new employment or recruitments through their Starcomms fixed or mobile phones.
In recent times, Starcomms customers have been asking for solutions to the difficulty they experience regarding employment opportunities. Job vacancies appear in most cases in the newspapers or on the Internet, both of which have limited circulation, time frame and user groups.
Speaking on the novel idea of Jobs on Phone, the chief commercial officer of Starcomms Tushar Maheshwari said that the huge opportunity that the service presents is part of the commitment of Starcomms to listen and proffer solutions to the teeming customers
“The service is designed as a portal, which links employees with prospective employers. It is a service that can be easily accessed by all mobile and fixed Starcomms customers anytime, anywhere, thus providing a large-scale database of jobseekers. It is unique in the sense that it has diversity and a readily available database of jobseekers from different strata of the society rather than just in the newspapers or the Internet. It is very interactive and fast,” Maheshwari said.
To use Starcomms Jobs-on-phone service a customer will dial the service code, *32640 to register and create their profile in the voice data base. The required data will include information like age, gender, location, qualifications and experience, As soon as a vacancy exists that matches the profile of the customer, they will be notified on their Starcomms phones via SMS. The customer is then expected to dial into the service to listen to the job openings and respond to the advertisement.
After this, the profile of the job seekers will be sent to the recruiter. The recruiter listens to the voice profiles of the job seekers and invites those that fit their requirements for test or interview. The recruiter at this stage can call the candidate directly.

Juwah task Subscribers on complaints about network failure

Juwah task Subscribers on complaints about network failure

Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah, has asked Nigerian telecom subscribers to report complaints directly to the Commission whenever any operator refuses to satisfy their desires for effective service delivery.

Dr. Juwah who spoke at the Telecom Consumer Parliament, hosted by the Commission, NCC, at the Lagos Country Club Ikeja, at the weekend, said this was the reason why the Commission now operates a second level customer care center which allows customers to call directly at no cost.

“Because the customer is king, we at NCC will always ensure that you get value for whatever services you are paying for” he said in apparent response to complaints about poor level of customer care across all the networks.

Coming days to Consumer Rights Day on 15th March 2011, Dr. Juwah said “while celebrating the consumers we should be mindful of their interests that we are all supposed to protect. Consumer interests cover the rights, privileges and obligations which should be given priority attention by the stakeholders”.

At the 61st Edition of the parliament which focused on the upcoming SIM card registration, Dr. Juwah listed the consumer rights which the Commission has passion to protect to include right to safety, right to choose, right to redress, right to be heard, right to consumer education, right to be informed, right to a healthy environment, and right to satisfaction of basic needs.

“The protection of consumer rights as listed above is not only the responsibility of the Commission but all the stakeholders including the consumers themselves.

“ While the Commission will continue to provide a conducive environment to all the stakeholders to enjoy their rights and benefits, it is necessary that we play our parts to ensure success in this endeavour”, he said, reassuring consumers of telecom services in Nigeria to be alert to their rights.

He urged the operators to take customer complaints seriously as the Commission will not hesitate to be on the side of the subscribers when they are right.

On the nationwide SIM card registration, to be embarked upon by the Commission, Dr. Juwah indicated that the hold on the implementation was deliberate to allow for the conclusion of the INEC registration, and that when the Commission begins SIM registration, enough awareness will be created using all available media of mass communications to achieve widespread awareness.

A panel discussion about the impending SIM card registration in Nigeria by the Commission, moderated by Dr. Idika Ochaa, an ICT expert, concluded that the registration is very vital to national and individual securities and urged subscribers to promptly present themselves for registration, without let or hindrance.

STARCOMMS APPOINTS COO, CFO

In a bid to strengthen its management in the highly competitive telecommunication industry, the board of Starcomms Plc, has approved the appointments of two new top management staff.

They are Logan Pather, chief operating officer and David Ordman as chief financial officer. Starcomms is Nigeria’s only publicly quoted telecommunications company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Its shares were listed on July 14, 2008.

Pather has had a range of senior management positions spanning over 25 years in the telecommunication industry. An MBA holder, he had worked in several telecom companies in Africa.

A former managing director of Roamwave Africa, Pather who was responsible for 20 African countries is bringing with him a wealth of experience to add to the fortunes of Starcomms. He was also responsible for setting up the organization in South Africa.

His career is highlighted by a strong in-depth knowledge and exposure across all core business functions such as finance, sales, marketing, human resources and customer service operations.

Pather, who also holds a Diploma in Business Management, has worked in Nortel Southern Africa and Telecel – Zambia as managing director responsible for operational strategy and growth.

David Ordman, an engineer who also holds an MBA, is armed with a wealth of experience of over 18 years in various sectors in the world to bear on the fortunes of Starcomms.

A former finance director within the EMAAR, (the Economic City in Saudi Arabia), Ordman had the responsibility for all aspects of finance within the utilities and telecoms division of the company, delivering multi-utility solution within King Abdullah Economic city, a $2billion mega project.

Also in his previous work experience, he had worked as chief financial officer in United Utilities Plc of Estonia and Bulgaria as well as Millicom International of Pakistan.

An alumnus of the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, Ordman who studied Civil Engineering and trained with Price Waterhouse Cooper holds an Order of Merit from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales. He got his MBA from the London Business School, United Kingdom and Columbia Business School, United States of America.

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.