The Nation Newspaper

Category: e-Business

  • Nigeria ready for digital economy, says Smile Communication chief

    Nigeria’s 4G or long term evolution (LTE) broadband provider, Smile Communications has described the Nigeria’s digital economy as huge, and will impact virtually all segments of the economy.

    Its Managing Director, Mr. Michiel Buitelaar, who spoke in Lagos, said in the face of dwindling oil revenue and increasing pressure on the economy as shown in budget deficits, infrastructural deficit, high unemployment rate, harsh business environment, corruption, among others, leveraging on digital economy should be regarded as a sine qua non for sustaining the economy by the incoming administration of Muhammed Buhari.

    Mr. Buitelaar spoke during a panel discussion at the sixth Annual Pan-African 1:1 Investor Conference organised by Renaissance Capital and identified infrastructural advancement as overriding factor for the immediate expansion of sectors such as agriculture, transportation, banking & finance, healthcare/medicine and education.

    He said Smile Communications aligns itself with the key statistics expected for the Nigerian Digital Economy by 2018 as released by the Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, especially for the emergence of an industry that is less fragmented.

    According to the National Broadband Plan (NBP), the government expects to attain 30 per cent broadband penetration by 2018 from the present current about six per cent.

    “There are various advantages the digital economic providers have over the traditional. However, to make this happen faster, there are catalysts required for it to even drive other sectors outside the ICT. Digital economy will be the driver of the agricultural, transport, health-care/medicine, education, banking & finance, among others. In our company, for instance, we are talking to companies in those sectors and one recently said ‘the software is eating the world’.

    “We do believe the new digital ICT will influence other sectors. For example, in agriculture; like I have seen in other countries, the efficiency and productivity is very likely to explode once the digital economy has entered into the arena. It is also our expectation that the impact will become more pronounced within the next 10 years. For emphasis, sectors such as agricultural, transport, health-care/medicine, education, commerce, in fact, the whole move of digitisation will have impact on the emerging economy and Nigeria’s economy is well positioned to make their journey better than many others,” he said.

    Buitelaar lauded the outgoing government for approving the NBP, expressing confidence in the Buhari government’s compelling posture for its implementation of the plans.

    He said: “I think the Federal Government did well, especially, by releasing a NBP. The next government should continue with the plan in an even ‘forceful’ manner. Similarly, spectrum allocations should be looked at too; it is more of technical, but very important in the nation’s quest for more ubiquitous broadband. There are sub-sectors that the broadband availability will immediately impact their operations such as the delivery of ecommerce, e-payment, education and other clusters of business. These are crucial reasons the digital economy should be allowed to blossom.

    “Nigeria is a wonderful country. The incoming government should do something regarding the image of the country and its perception in the eyes of the rest of the world. That alone is capable of convincing foreign investors about the country’s business climate. Secondly, on infrastructure, I do believe that the whole country will benefit in smart investments in infrastructure. There are issues in transport, power and payment systems; if these issues can be addressed, with a couple of other commitments, I believe that in the next few years, the country will be reaping large chunk of benefits from them,” he added.

  • Anger over unsolicited text messages

    Anger over unsolicited text messages

    Unsolicited text messages have become one of the many challenges subscribers have to contend with. While the messages could so often be provocative, customers are forced to pay for them, largely because they are either ignorant of what to do is complacent. But the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says aggrieved subscribers should stop suffering in silence, reports LUCAS AJANAKU.

    She had left her business for the day to be part of one of the sessions of the monthly Telecoms Consumer Parliament (TCP) convened at the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos, by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). She had reasons to do so. For three years, she has been carrying the burden of receiving no fewer than 40 unsolicited text messages on her phone daily.

    She gave her name as Hajia Binta Maina, dealer in Dangote products. A woman in her late 50s, she sprang up from her seat, clutched her mobile phone and beckoned on officials of the NCC to come and see what she had been passing through with agonies all these years. According to her, the text messages were imposed on her by fraudulent value added service (VAS) providers riding on the infrastructure of Globacom, her mobile network operator (MNO). Bitter, she lamented that she had consistently loaded air time which so very often gradually gets depleted.

    She said: “I have been living with this problem over the past three years. I receive about 40 text messages daily from my service provider. If I were not advanced in age, some of the messages were capable of breaking my marriage. Imagine my husband opening my phone and reading a message such as; ‘I love you’. I have visited three offices of Glo and had even taken my case to the head office of the company in Victoria Island where an Indian man attended to me and assured me that the text messages and loss of money will stop. They said there is a code I could use to opt out. I used it but the more I used the code, the more the messages come in.

    “As I speak with you, it has not stopped. So when I heard that this meeting is taking place today, I decided to sacrifice everything I have to do today to bring my problem to the world.”

    Another subscriber, Madam Joy Adeniran, a window  living in Itele, a suburb of Sango Ota, Ogun State, had been promised by one of her customers that she was going to make payment into her bank account so that she could go to the market the following day to stock her shop. She waited all day long to receive transaction alert from her bank but nothing came. Frustrated, she called the customer that promised to pay money into her bank account at about 10pm to find out what the problem was.

    She was assured of the payment and encouraged to wait for the transaction alert because that will form the basis of her going to Idumota, Lagos to buy goods for her shop.

    “It was like a vigil for me. I must get confirmation before setting out from Itele to Lagos latest by 5am the following morning. So, I kept waiting for the alert. When my text message alert tone rang at about 12.30 midnight, I sprang up from my bed, reached for the phone. When I opened the message box, it was one useless message sent at that ungodly hour by my MNO. I was so pissed off and felt like smashing the device on the concrete wall,” she lamented.

    Hajia Maina and Mrs Adeniran are just a few of the over 140 million active subscribers that daily go through the pains of unsolicited text messages on their mobile phones. The messages come in torrents, sometimes blocking genuine messages from being received. “I have to delete these messages to allow important messages to be delivered because if I don’t do that, the icon showing that a message is waiting will keep popping up. It is very sad,” Alvin Afadama, an intern, lamented.

     

    NCC’s position

     

    Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Tony Ojobo, said the Commission has issued a lot of directives aimed at minimising as much as possible, the burden of unsolicited text messages to all the operators, adding that the regulator had even sanctioned the operators for not playing by the rules.

    He said the regulator has consistently urged the MNOs to install powerful firewalls to prevent unbridled influx of unsolicited text messages to their customers.

    He said: “We have made our position known on this matter. We have warned against sending messages to subscribers at night on their networks. The Commission is putting its foot down against the operators and monitoring their activities and giving them various regulations to ensure that this does not happen. We encourage subscribers to go to the operators, walk to their customer care centers; call customer call centers to lodge their complaints and give them detailed explanations about the content of the text message, the time you got them and from which number.

    “Agreed, most of these things come from VAS providers. They are not actually coming from the network service providers; some of them may come from them but most are from VAS providers with the knowledge of the service providers anyway. These things are like pipes for them to transmit their services and sometimes they get services through the system without them being able to detect it. It happens all over the world but we are insisting that they should be able to provide various types of systems that should be able to detect these unsolicited text messages especially those that are not wanted. The customers have a right to stop them. Send stop to the number that sent the message and it will stop and if it doesn’t stop; walk to our Lagos office at Bankole Oki Street, Ikoyi and complain. We take such complaints seriously because they infringe on the rights of the customers.

    “If you fail to get redress, you can also call us on our toll-free number on 622. Additionally I would like to say that this is a global problem it does not happen only in Nigeria alone.”

    Its Zonal Controller, Lagos, Okechukwu Aniweke, however said there are also positive sides to the unsolicited messages. According to him, unexpected bank alerts, warning about impending disasters, outbreak of epidemic disease, outbreak of fatal disease such as the Ebola and warnings about how to avoid contacting them, alert about fire disasters and even armed robbery attack. He said some ‘unsolicited’ text message have been so useful to the customers as they have helped to save lives, adding however that this is not to say the MNOs and VAS providers should not respect the right of their customers to have peaceful rest in their homes.

     

    Operators react

     

    Head, Network Operations, Globacom, Aremu Olajide, said most of the messages that customers complain about are not sent by the MNOs, arguing that VAS providers licensed by the NCC send the messages but using the MNOs.

    Customer Care Executive at MTN, Akinwale Goodluck agrees  with Olajide. According to him, a huge percentage of the unsolicited messages on the network are actually generated on the internet. He said with the rise of the internet, it was possible for somebody to be in Asia and send mass messages to millions of subscribers in the country. He said though there are subsisting contractual agreements with bulk SMS providers, the telco is however strict with its terms of engagement.

     

    VAS providers speak

     

    The umbrella body of VAS providers in the country, the Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN), has absolved itself of any blame. The group blamed the raft of unsolicited messages on what it described as “rogue VAS providers.”

    Its National Coordinating Consultant, Simon Aderinlola, who described WASPAN as a self-regulatory body of firms licensed by the NCC that have at least connection with one MNO in Nigeria providing VAS.

    He said: “In answering that other aspect of your question about messages getting to people may be at night, they are rogue VAS services. By rogue VAS services, the Commission has tried immensely, to halt their operation. There is a framework for licensing but it is gathering momentum. There are some who actually open business to do wrong things.

    “The more the right regulation is put in place such that you are not killing innovation, but ensuring that the customer is protected and the rules are clear and transparent, the better for all of us.

    He commended the regulator for creating a forum for the MNOs, VAS providers and other stakeholders to come together to tackle the problem of unsolicited messages.

    “I must say this is the first of its kind forum of this nature where you have the operators, the VAS providers and the NCC all giving their own ideas on how things can work and I am sure the more we have session of this nature, the more we will be able to drive things forward,” he said.

  • Striking workers ground MTN’s operations

    Striking workers ground MTN’s operations

    If MTN is your network, you may have experienced some delays with their call centres yesterday.

    Reason: About 2,000 workers at the South African mobile phone operator went on strike demanding higher pay, union leaders said, threatening a prolonged walkout at the nation’s second-biggest telecoms firm.

    Spokeswoman for the Communication Workers Union (CWU), Zodwa Kubeka, said its members at MTN want a 10 per cent pay rise and higher allowances for work done over weekends and holidays, its embers of have downed tools.

    They have gathered at the company’s headquarters in Johannesburg to demand changes to their salary and bonus payments.

    Other demands include the return of canteen subsidies, cellphone allowances and the introduction of a rewards programme.

    Unions are demanding a ten per cent wage hike and sixteen per cent bonus.

    MTN is currently offering a five per cent salary hike, a four percent bonus, plus a guaranteed 13th cheque.

    Call centre agents and IT technicians are amongst those striking.

    However, the telco said it had contingency plans in place to mitigate the effects of a strike described by the CWU as “the biggest industrial action in the company’s history”.

    The dispute centres on annual bonus payments, but this is one of many battles between MTN and the union, which is pushing for bargaining rights.

    The union said it had experienced rapid growth in membership and was demanding a recognition agreement based on sufficient representivity. The CWU said it could achieve more than 50 per cent in some bargaining units in MTN.

    MTN had offered the four per cent in conjunction with a guaranteed 13th cheque — about eight per cent of annual salary — as part of a review of the bonus model, MTN chief human resources officer Themba Nyathi said.

    This, he said, had exceeded the original demand from the CWU, which had subsequently also asked for an across-the-board salary increase. Salary increases above five per cent would hinge on an individual meeting or exceeding performance criteria, which was company policy internationally, Mr Nyathi said.

    The CWU is not recognised nor does it have bargaining rights at MTN SA, which has no recognised trade unions. The union said it had about 2,000 members at MTN.

    Mr Nyathi said the union had 19 per cent membership at MTN SA — or about 1,000 out of 5,000 staff — thus the company anticipated most of its workers would not strike.

  • Etisalat unveils Easylife 4.0

    Etisalat unveils Easylife 4.0

    Etisalat  has introduced a new tariff rate that offers customers the opportunity to make calls at 11k per second to all networks under its latest package tagged, Easylife 4.0 Limited Offer.

    Its Chief Marketing Officer, Mr Francesco Angelone, said this is a voice prepaid plan that offers the most affordable call rates to all networks in Nigeria. With Easylife 4.0 limited edition, our customers can now make calls at 11 kobo per second to over 160 million Nigerians with a daily access charge of N5, irrespective of the network being called.’

    He said this is part of efforts to sustain the revolution in the telecommunications industry that the company started about six years when it opened shop in Nigeria. His words: ‘We revolutionized the telecommunication landscape in Nigeria with the launch of Easylife 1.0, a tariff offer that halved call rates to all networks in the country. Easylife offers our customers simple and affordable call rates to all networks in Nigeria and international destinations without limitations or restrictions.’

    The offering is also to reinforce Etisalat’s customer-centric positioning, as the CMO pointed out. ‘We developed this package with an understanding of the different tastes and preferences of our customers. Insight into customer’s needs also led to the development of variants of the package, ranging from Easylife 1.0, Easylife 2.0, Easylife 3.0 to Easylife 4.0. I am pleased to announce the introduction of the Easylife 4.0 Limited Edition.’

    He said Etisalat is well prepared to handle the influx of customers that this value proposition might bring, recalling that the company is focused on customer satisfaction that has seen it come out tops on Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC’s) ratings over the years. ‘Let me assure you that Etisalat will remain committed to delivering innovative, life enhancing products and services to our customers as we work to realise our vision of a world without limitations to communication,’ he said.

  • Samsung launches DVM S, others

    Samsung launches DVM S, others

    Samsung Electronics West Africa has launch the world’s largest capacity DVM S VRF system and smart inverter air conditioners. Tagged The Samsung AC forum, the initiative was aimed at boosting the local industry’s knowledge of the various Samsung cooling solutions available in the market. The forum, which attracted about 180 attendees, took place at the Eko Hotels and Suites.

    Its Managing Director, Mr. Brovo Kim stated that the AC technology and solutions are evolving at a rapid rate. The forum, he stated will bring Samsung partners up to speed on the company’s air conditioners both in the room air conditioner and system air conditioner segment.

    He said: “We want to keep our stakeholders abreast of the level of market research that goes into designing and producing Samsung air conditioners and cooling solutions, which are especially suitable for Africa and the Nigerian climate. The ultimate goal is to provide dependable cooling to keep consumers comfortable at all times.”

    The highlight of the forum was the introduction of Samsung “DVM (Digital Variable Multi) Super” system AC, which has the world’s first and largest single capacity outdoor of 26HP. It is credited as the next-generation modular system in the world of high-efficiency air conditioning and has undoubtedly changed the face of cooling associated with high-storied buildings.

    Samsung has also launched air conditioners with a five-year warranty on compressors, keeping in mind the energy conservation and eco friendly standards being set in the air conditioning environment. These air conditioners come equipped with R410A gas, which is, eco-friendly and Smart Inverter compressors capable of reducing energy consumption up to 40 per cent in line with global standards. The air conditioners can handle up to 50mtrs in piping length as against the conventional 10mtrs. Samsung air conditioners will also have a five-year warranty period on compressors.

    Its Director, Consumer Electronics, Mr. Sunil Kumar, said Nigerians are astute customers that are always on the lookout for the best that advancements in technology can offer. “Samsung’s innovative products offer excellent functionality with dependability and durability. The Samsung System Air Conditioners have a Eurovent certification in performance and are also corrosion resistant, which ensures greater operational longevity with voltage protection, dual digital inverter system and a smart management system,” Kumar stated.

  • Glo out with Mobile Rhapsody

    Glo out with Mobile Rhapsody

    Nigeria’s National carrier, Globacom, has said that the newly launched Rhapsody of Realities, a daily devotional mobile service on its network, will add value to the spiritual lives of Christians.

    In a press release issued in Lagos on Friday, the leading telecommunications outfit disclosed that the innovation, which contains reading and voice contents, was designed for the spiritual edification of the Christian faithful.

    According to the company, the materials in the daily devotional are based on the Rhapsody of Realities devotional published monthly by Christ Embassy Church, one of the fastest growing Pentecostal churches with large followership in Nigeria and South Africa. Rhapsody of Realities has been rated in some quarters as the number one daily devotional in the world with translations in various languages.

    The ROR Mobile Service from Glo is a Value Added Service that offers subscribers the opportunity to receive Rhapsody of Realities content on their phone via Interactive Voice Response, (IVR) text message or WAP.  According to Mr. Ashok Israni, Globacom’s Chief Regional Marketing Officer, the service is offered in English, Hausa and Pidgin English.

    Israni explained that the service comes in the following versions –  E-Rhapsody and  Download, ROR Voice Services and the Daily ROR SMS service. The E-Rhapsody and Download is an electronic version of ROR in which  a subscriber will receive a link to download a PDF version of ROR.  Content will be in text format (PDF) supported by mobile OS, Androids, Blackberry, Windows phone, iPhone and any data enabled devices.

    “The Daily ROR is SMS-based and the subscriber receives a text message, which will have a mini URL for more of the message to be read from Rhapsody of Realities WAP portal,”  Israni explained

    ROR Voice Service is the voiced Rhapsody of Realities reading for the day. For ROR voice content, subscribers will get an out-bound call daily with content in the language subscribed for.

    The subscriber can subscribe to the ROR voice service by sending the corresponding activation keyword to a particular short code. Israni said that for Voice ROR in English, subscribers are required to Text VROR to 55515; for Voice ROR in Pidgin, text VRORP to 55515; for Voice ROR in Hausa, text  VRORH to 55515 and for ROR SMS, text ROR to 55515.

    For E-download, the text is  EROR to the short code 55515 . Subscribers will only get the content for the service subscribed for. For instance, if one subscribes for ROR English, he will get the content in English accordingly.

    According to Globacom, one can also dial 55515 on the IVR portal to listen to the IVR instructions on how to activate the ROR services. Israni disclosed that Subscription to the Rhapsody of reality voice is affordable with content costing N35 for 3 days or  N70 per week.

  • Telcos’ success strategies, by Ericsson, E&Y study

    Telcos’ success strategies, by Ericsson, E&Y study

    Ericsson and Earnest & Young (E&Y) have collaborated to identify three distinct strategies adopted by successful mobile operators, dubbed Frontrunners.

    According to them, successful operators share a common focus on network performance and customer experience; differentiation, innovation and technology approaches vary by strategy

    Frontrunner revenues grew at 9.6 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR), their competitors at 2.7 per cent, while average in markets with no Frontrunners is -1.4 per cent (2010-2014)

    With traditional revenues under pressure and mobile data use soaring, operators have been forced to evolve both their networks and their business models. Some have been more successful than others. A study from Ericsson, in collaboration with Ernst and Young, has identified and classified these operators as Frontrunners. Between 2010 and 2014, Frontrunners enjoyed a 9.6 percent CAGR while competitors in their markets achieved only 2.7 percent.

    In undertaking this research, the results of which are launched , Ericsson has identified three distinct strategies adopted by Frontrunners. Significantly, what is good for the end user is also good for the operator.

    Frontrunner strategies are quality-led progression: These Frontrunners differentiate through high-performing networks and high brand preference; market-led adaptation: includes Frontrunners that differentiate through quick adaptation to market conditions; and offering-led transformation which refers to Frontrunners that differentiate by being first to enter the market with uniquely designed offerings

    The study also showed a number of ways in which Frontrunners are similar including their views on connectivity and services as differentiators rather than commodities, and their focus on innovating new revenue streams rather than maximizing old ones. Frontrunners display greater interaction between marketing and technical roles, rather than the traditional silos, and they leverage network performance by either utilizing superior network performance as a differentiator or by improving network performance to meet customer expectations.

    Speaking on the study, Executive Director of Nordic Advisory, EY, Martin Sebelius, said: “We clearly see that despite their different strategies, frontrunner operators share a common commitment to network quality. Not surprisingly, Frontrunners constantly seek new ways of challenging industry conventions to make connectivity more relevant to people, business and society.”

    Research Director, Mobile Infrastructure and Carrier Economics, Infonetics Research, now part of IHS Inc., Stéphane Téral, said: “This is a well-reasoned study that helps operators in different markets answer the universal question of where to invest and generate returns. Operators are trying to keep up with the growth in data traffic while facing significant economic conditions, including flat-to-declining revenue in often saturated markets. As it provides a nuanced view drawing on a global scope, this study is exactly what is needed for operators to thrive in any market condition.

    “In addition, mobile consumers are very savvy today and understanding what makes operators tick can help them make better decisions as to where to lock in their subscriptions — I think this study could be as interesting to consumers as it is to operators.”

    Head, Radio Strategic and Tactical Marketing, Ericsson, Patrik Cerwall said:: “We wanted to understand what makes operators successful in order to be the best partner to our customers. It may sound self-serving, but Frontrunners focus on growth, both enhancing the core business while at the same time exploring new markets and capabilities to secure future revenues, such as IoT (Internet of Things) and vertical solutions.

    “The journey toward 5G in 2020 will be marked by both new technology advances and new business models, but that transformation really started with the shift from voice to data-driven networking. The operators who are managing that transition successfully may provide the blueprint for success in 5G.”

  • Poor telecoms service quality unacceptable, says NCC

    Poor telecoms service quality unacceptable, says NCC

    the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Dr. Eugene Juwah has said the poor telecoms service quality operators are offering subscribers is unacceptable to the Commission, adding that the regulator will continue to do the needful to achieve the highest degree of service quality in the country.

    Juwah who spoke at the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) forum held at the University of Lagos, Akoka said, he was worried by the development, adding that the Commission has summoned several meetings with the operators to express customers’ dissatisfaction with a view to improving the situation.

    Represented by the Director, Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo, he however said there are challenges which must first be addressed before service quality would be improved.

    Those challenges include but are not limited to inadequate power supply, multiple taxation and regulations, vandalism of telecom infrastructure, right of way (RoW) challenges, and infrastructure deficit among others.

    “Only the elimination of some or all of these will provide the critical success factors in finally eradicating quality of service challenges,” Juwah said, adding that the regulator is not complacent over the issue.

    During the public hearing held by the National Assembly in 2008, power was considered to have contributed more than 40 per cent to service quality challenges.

    Telecoms depend on power to run 24/7. Just as individuals in Nigeria generate their power, so has telcos being generating much of the power it utilizes.

    The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has put the estimated cost of running two generators in each of the over 25,000 base transmission stations (BTS) in at about N5 billion monthly. ATCON says while service provider spends 80 per cent operating expenditure (OPEX) on power generation, in Malawi, it is just some five per cent. This captures the explanation as the service providers would have been in a position to channel more resources to tackling the issues of service quality.

    Juwah said : “We have a very nagging issue of regulations and taxes awaiting the telecom operators at different levels of government. Some of these regulations are made outside of the purview of the telecom regulator. There are states and local governments where telecom infrastructure is seen as fertile ground for improving internally generated revenue as these infrastructures must be available to make services possible. In some areas, state governments, local governments, or even some federal government agencies have had to force a close down of base stations with the implication of disconnecting many localities from the network thereby adding to the challenge”

    On RoW, he lamented that governments at various levels, individuals or communities, prevent the service providers from installing equipment without which there will not be good quality of services.

    “Some of us may not be aware. But the truth is that for almost five years, the Federal Capital Territory Administration stopped issuance of permits to telecom service providers to BTS on account of fear of defacing the city. Yet, residents would expect services to be of high quality,” he lamented.

    Vandalism of equipment has become common where criminals vandalise expensive transmission lines laid with fibre optics or where road constructions or similar situation results in cutting off transmission cables with multiple negative effects on service quality.

    He said it is common for comparisons to be made between the country and other parts of the world where service quality is great, adding that in making such comparison, it is too often forgotten that there is infrastructure deficit in the country. While monopolies in the developed parts of the world made enormous investments in infrastructure to sustain their markets, Nigeria was not as lucky as the fortunes of Nigeria Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) was mismanaged.

    “The dearth of fixed landline services brought about enormous pressure on mobile services which affected quality given the rate of subscription. Our situation resulted in mobile services providing the triple role of office, home and mobility services. While some countries such as the United Kingdom with less geographical spread have more than 50,000 base stations, Nigeria has about 25,000. So, the issue of infrastructure deficit in a country like Nigeria is bound to affect quality of service.

    “Sometimes when the regulator reels out some of these challenges, especially those outside its immediate control, it is misinterpreted as giving excuses for the service providers. But as a regulator who must show clear understanding of the issues, we refused to play the ostrich,” Juwah said.

  • ‘Why MTN is supporting local app developers’

    ‘Why MTN is supporting local app developers’

    Global system for mobile communication (GSM) service provider, MTN, said it is building a robust distribution platform to enable millions of Nigerians access locally-relevant mobile software applications at zero data cost to deepen the industry and enhance the fortune of apps developers across the country.

    The telco said it was motivated by the need to enable local app developers make money in the increasingly competitive mobile app space dominated by Blackberry World, Google Play, Windows Store and App Store.

    To make this happen, MTN said it will open up its network that has over 60 million mobile subscribers to the local app development community.

    It said it is part of its one-week apps awareness campaign targeted at encouraging the download of free app downloads.

    Its Chief Marketing Officer, Adebayo Adekanmbi, who spoke during the MTN APPtitude Conference in Lagos said the telco intends to ensure that more apps get into the hands of Nigerians. He said: “We have organised all Nigerian-centric apps in a portal and through our special gateway Nigerians can access digital content at no cost. We are making it open for all developers in the country to join MTN by bringing the APK for their apps so that we can put it in the hands of Nigerians.”

    Analysts say the liberalisation of the telecoms sector has been of immense benefit to the country as it has given rise to a new class of tech-preneurs that specialise in the development of mobile applications that have been very useful in solving contemporary problems.

    Traffic, healthcare, education, transportation, e-commerce, tourism and hospitality among many others are some of areas these applications have been addressing.

    According to them, the huge strides being recorded in mobile applications development is going unnoticed because Nigerians are unable to quickly find relevant apps, without the distractions of applications that are only useful to people in North America and Europe.

    “Every Nigerian can now download any app relevant to them free of charge for the next one month,” Adekanmbi said, adding that the telco will also assist Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to convert their websites into apps.

    He said 99 per cent of Nigerian- centric websites have long Uniform Resource Identifier (URLs), which are difficult to remember, hence, customers hardly visit these pages more than once thus making the an urgent need to simplify access in order to grow uptake and consumption of digital services inevitable.

    Adekanmbi said through the campaign, MTN is playing a critical in democratising the internet as it looks to allow the generality of the Nigerian populace access relevant digital content.

    Speaking on the occasion, Co-founder, Co-Creation Hub (CC-HUB), Femi Longe, urged local developers to build apps that address the daily activities of the people of Nigeria.

    CC-HUB is an innovation centre dedicated to accelerating the application of social capital and technology for economic prosperity. It is located in Yaba, a Lagos community that is fast turning out to be Nigeria’s Sillicon Valley.

  • Phone: Samsung Galaxy S6

    Phone: Samsung Galaxy S6

    I have  never been a big fan of Samsung phones. They’ve always being packed with great technology — the best displays, cameras, and processors — but all of that was overshadowed by poor hardware design and software bloated with too many unnecessary features.

    Samsung sold more phones than anyone original equipment manufacturer (OEM) else, but sales slowed and profits fell last year as other Android-phone manufacturers made similar devices at half the cost and Apple finally released two big-screen iPhone models.

    So Samsung started from scratch with its newest phone, the Galaxy S6. It has a new design constructed out of metal and glass and is the first Samsung phone to rival the iPhone in build quality.

    The Galaxy S6 has already gone on sale, starting at about $650. It’ll come in a version with a curved screen, called the Edge, that’ll cost about $100 extra. All the major US carriers will offer various on-contract prices and payment plans.

    The Galaxy S6 is the first Samsung phone I’ve enjoyed using, and it’s easily the best Android phone available today.

    And I bet it’ll be the best smartphone, period, for a lot of people.

     

    Design

     

    As pretty and solid as the Galaxy S6 is, I have one major gripe. It’s clear Samsung looked to the iPhone 6 for inspiration. From the front and back, the Galaxy S6 looks a lot like previous Galaxy phone models. But the rounded metal frame and punched-out speaker holes are remarkably similar to the iPhone 6.

    The other day, my colleague had her white iPhone 6 on her desk next to my white Galaxy S6. From certain angles, it was tough to tell which phone I was looking at. I’m glad Samsung started taking design seriously, but it’s a shame it looked to the iPhone for inspiration, especially considering it has been accused of doing just that in the past.

    imilarities aside, I really like the look and feel of the Galaxy S6. It always irked me that Samsung consistently had the best hardware but wrapped it all in kitschy faux leather or dimpled plastic that looks like a Band-Aid. The Galaxy S6 is built like the premium device it was meant to be, and it’s a refreshing new step for Samsung.

    The Edge model, which is essentially the same phone except with a curved screen, is unique and much more beautiful than the regular Galaxy S6. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s worth the extra $100 and the hit you take on battery life. Even Samsung admits it made the Edge just to look pretty. The curved screen serves very little purpose other than to draw attention.

    The new design comes with some sacrifices. Samsung had to ditch a lot of features fans loved like a removeable battery, waterproofing, and a slot to add extra storage. There was a minor uproar in the Android community after Samsung announced the Galaxy S6 because of that, but I don’t think its a big deal. The entry-level Galaxy S6 comes with 32GB of storage, twice the storage of the iPhone. That should be plenty for most people. Apple, HTC, and Motorola have all proved unibody phones with built-in batteries have mass appeal and don’t hurt the user experience. If anything, Samsung is way behind the competition by offering that now.

     

    Hardware

     

    The Galaxy S6’s camera is the best one I’ve ever used on a smartphone. Period. When I compared the iPhone 6 camera with the Galaxy S6 camera, I found that the Galaxy S6 took better pictures under most circumstances, especially in low light.

    But the real key feature is how easy Samsung made it to use the camera. A double tap of the home button launches the camera app so you can start shooting right away. The camera sensor is always on too, so you don’t have to wait that extra beat for the image to appear on your screen. Even if the Galaxy S6 camera was slightly worse than the competition, the ability to take shots so quickly still gives it an edge.

    Samsung also improved the fingerprint sensor embedded in the Galaxy S6’s home button. Last year’s model required you to swipe your finger across the button just right to unlock the device. And even then, it didn’t always work. The Galaxy S6’s fingerprint sensor is perfect. You just lightly rest your finger on the button and — poof! — the phone unlocks. It hasn’t failed on me once. (Eventually, the fingerprint sensor will be used with Samsung Pay, Samsung’s mobile payments system that will launch in the summer).

    The screen is wonderful too. At 5.1 inches, it’s a little bigger and a lot sharper than the display on the iPhone. Samsung has always made the best displays, and this is no exception.

    But the screen comes with a drawback. I noticed the battery life is a little worse on the Galaxy S6, likely because the screen is sucking a lot of power. I could make it through a full day on a charge, but just barely. You’ll likely find yourself charging your phone during the day just to be safe.

    Good news, though: The Galaxy S6 comes with a special plug that charges it a lot faster than normal chargers, which is perfect if you’re in a jam but don’t have enough time to charge your phone all the way. It’s also one of the few major smartphones that support wireless charging right out of the box, a feature I can’t believe isn’t standard on all phones these days. (I’ve loved plopping my phone on Samsung’s wireless pad at the end of the day. There’s no need to worry about fiddling with a plug.)

     

    Software

     

    Samsung is famous for bogging down its phones with apps and superfluous features. But with the Galaxy S6, a lot of that has been stripped out and cleaned up to the point where I don’t even feel like I’m using a clunky Samsung phone.

    The standard apps for calendar, messages, and email are all designed well and dead simple to use. And instead of relying on its own services, Samsung has teamed up with Microsoft, so you get Skype, OneNote, and the online storage service OneDrive right of the box. (If you’re still a fan of Samsung’s apps, you can download them through Samsung’s app store.)

    The user interface is better, too. Unlike years past, Samsung didn’t meddle too much with Android’s basic design, which is excellent on its own. Menus, notifications, and settings are much easier to manage no

    Courtesy: Business Insider