The Nation Newspaper

Category: e-Business

  • Subscribers at operators’ mercy

    Subscribers at operators’ mercy

    Christmas is here and with it, mobile telephone subscribers experience on virtually all the networks is bad. Subscribers are complaining that it appears the networks have collapsed, LUCAS AJANAKU reports.

    He dialled his wife’s number and his service provider told him: “The number you have dialled is incorrect, please check the number and dial again.” Unsatisfied, he cross-checked and tried again and he got the same response. At the third attempt, he shouted: “These people have gone mad again. How can they tell me the number I bought for my wife at the cost of N12,000  about 11 years ago is no longer correct. This country is a complete fraud and you say there is government in place,” a secondary school teacher at Prudent Comprehensive College at Abule Odu, near Idimu, a Lagos suburb, lamented.

    Another subscriber, Iya Ibeji who wanted to speak to her daughter, an undergraduate of the University of Ado Ekiti got a shock as her service provider quipped “This number is not assigned to any customer.” Frustrated, she tried her alternate number to see if a net call could do the magic for her but she was told: “The number you have dialled is not available at the moment, please try again.”

    It has become popular even among the uneducated to hear phrases such as “network palaver”, “network wahala” and such bitter comments when they make fruitless efforts to make calls.

    The quality of service (QoS) has remained a pain in the neck of subscribers. Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs  Omobola Johnson and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) appear not to be on the same page on the matter. NCC Executive Vice Chairman/CEO Dr. Eugene Juwah said of all sectors, only telecoms has offered seamless service 24/7 to Nigerians. According to him, telecoms services can neither be compared with that of power nor banking sector.

     

    Futile attempts

     

    Attempts at ensuring quality service made NCC and operators to agree on key performance indicators (KPIs) on which the operators were measured. These were Call Set-up Success Rate (CSSR), Call Completion Rate (CCR), Stand-alone Dedicated Controlled Channel Congestion (SDCCC), Hand-over Success Rate (HSR) and Traffic Channel Congestion (TCC).

    Breach of these KPIs led NCC to impose fines on the operators. But sector analysts say the impact of the fines is hardly felt by the operators whose financial war chests are huge. But Juwah disagrees. He said: “Don’t think that they pay fines so easily. The last time we sanctioned them, they paid about $2.5 million each and they are forced to publish it in their annual reports. For some of them that are listed in stock exchanges like Johannesburg; it affects them more seriously than people think.”

    Two years ago, the regulator imposed a fine of N360 million each on MTN and Etisalat on the one hand while. Airtel was required to pay N270 million and Globacom was fined N180 million on the other, all failing to meet the KPIs set by the regulatory agency. CSSR denotes the fraction of the attempts to make a call which result in a connection to the called number. For a number of reasons, all call attempts do not always result in a connection. CSSR therefore measures the success rate against the attempts.

    CCR denotes the total number of successfully completed inbound or outbound calls versus the total number of calls that were placed or received. On this parametre, NCC set a minimum of 96 per cent.

    CDR refers to the fraction of the calls which were cut off before any of the speaking parties terminated the call. On this, NCC set a maximum of two per cent. Of course, the lower the percentage of dropped calls, the better.

    Juwah had said after the fine, operators had prevailed upon the regulator to lower the KPIs which it did, adding that while the operators have been passing the test conducted on the network, end-user experience has been nothing to write home about. He argued that the operators’ business model was not helping matters

    He said: “Some of them may have decided that because of their own plan, they will continue to increase their subscriber base. By this they are ready to pay fine that they incur from quality of service infraction. They will also be making investment until the investment will catch up with the needed capacity.”

    As a way of enthroning good QoS, Juwah had promised that both the operator and regulator will revert to the status quo ante on KPIs. “Come January we will tighten the KPIs that we have now according to the agreement we have with them. Any one that has decided to continue loading their network without minding the quality of service will continue to pay heavy penalties. Those that have decided to restrict their subscriber base to their capacity will not pay. It is a business decision that rest squarely on operators.”

    Mrs Johnson regretted that despite the fact that her ministry had been working hard to provide an enabling environment for the deployment of ICT infrastructure poor quality of service had remained a recurring decimal in the industry.

    She said: “We are concerned that the poor quality issues still abound.I have been inundated with complaints about quality of service and the seemingly uncaring attitude of our telecoms operators to resolve these issues on a regular basis. We will continue, through the industry regulator, to apply sanctions when operators fail to meet the required standards in terms of service quality breaches.

    “However, consumers cannot continue to bear the burden of poor service delivery. Though we are mindful that the operators are facing issues in deploying or maintaining infrastructure, we believe that the operators can do better in delivering acceptable quality of service, which they are clearly not doing now.”

    Johnson also emphasised the efforts being made by government and its agencies to address the challenges of operators should result in better quality of service.

     

    Operators’ position

     

    President, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbnega Adebayo said since the operators do not operate in a vacuum and since they do not operate in isolation, the fundamental environmental challenges affecting the country have to be addressed by the government. He said he had to stop and caution a contractor working who ignorantly vandalised OFC, adding that there must be synergy to stop such incidence in the future.

    Such challenges are the bureaucracy around the grant of right of way (RoW), multiple taxation/regulation, premeditated vandalism of OFC and BTS, theft of fuel at BTS and crushing cost of running the networks on fuel. Others resort to shutting down of BTS by officials of government ministries, department and agencies (MDAs) and lack of incentives to drive service penetration to the remote and rural areas.

    From operators’ perspective, poor quality of service impedes the capacity to make money. According to them, environmental challenges often beyond their control affect the services they offer.

    The challenges include inadequate grid power, multiple regulation and taxation; illegal access denials and site shut-outs; lack of incentives to drive service penetration to remote and rural areas; rent seeking charges for permits and approvals necessary for deployment; and insecurity.

    These challenges notwithstanding, it is time for operators to step up work with industry regulator to bring about the kind of services subscribers pray and pay.

  • Glo urges peace, reconciliation at Yuletide

    Glo urges peace, reconciliation at Yuletide

    National Telecoms provider, Globacom,  has wished all Christians in Nigeria a very joyous Christmas celebration and called on Nigerians to live in  peace with one another in line with the teachings of Jesus  Christ who is the reason for the season.

    The company  urged the Christian faithful in the country to use the  season of the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ to  spread the joy of the  season and pray for the progress of Nigeria.

    In a goodwill message issued in Lagos, Globacom wished Christians a season full of love, unlimited happiness and  celebration.

    The  telecoms operator urged all Nigerians to use the occasion of the  Yuletide to make peace and reconcile all differences.  “On all fronts, we  need to encourage cordiality and peaceful co-existence; between friends,  families, political opponents , tribes, ethnic groups  and religions,” Globacom said in the  statement.

    “Nigeria can only thrive in an atmosphere of peace and unity. Therefore, Nigerians should imbibe the spirit of tolerance, forgiveness  and forbearance as exhibited by our Lord Jesus Christ. Ethnic, religious and political differences should therefore be transformed into the plank for enduring unity, and not be pushed to extremities”, the statement counseled.

  • Internet skills vital to MSMEs’ growth, says group

    Internet skills vital to MSMEs’ growth, says group

    Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) has said the shift in traditional business to online commerce has made the acquisition of online skill an indispensable tool for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

    Its Head, Marketing Communications, Success Nmerife, who spoke during the maiden edition of a special workshop for MSMEs in Lagos, said the workshop was designed to introduce them to solutions and methods they could employ to maximise the benefits that the internet affords in growing their business.

    According to her, the paradigm shift in the global focus from traditional business model to online commerce has made the utilisation of the electronic platfrom in business promotion and sales an indispensable tool for merchants.

    The free online technology workshop had Learn How to Set-up, Operate and Advertise Your Own Store Online aimed at equipping business owners with the skills they require to take their business to the online community by operating an online store and selling to people other than those in their immediate physical community.

    Speaking at the event, Business Manager, Openshopen, Adriana De la Cruz Duffo, said Openshopen has been uniquely designed to respond to the challenges of online trading encountered by MSMEs in the Nigerian business environment.

    She said: “Openshopen is easy to use, cheap and profitable. It addresses the fears of payment gateway security. It also takes care of the logistics of delivery. It is a platform you as merchants can adopt, if you want your business to grow.”

    During the workshop, merchants were taken through three training sessions. In the first session, Head, Innovation, CWG, Mr. Tayo Oduwole, introduced the Openshopen online platform to the participants. He said: “CWG’s partnership with Openshopen to introduce the eCommerce platform is in line with our vision to enable Nigerian merchants acquire business enabling technology without incurring business killing own-infrastructure costs”.

    He said Openshopen differs from other online shopping platforms in that it allows merchants sell directly to buyers and have the privilege of promoting their brands. Unlike other platforms that require merchants to submit their wares for sale. “With Openshopen, you can sell your brand alongside your products, such that people can look for you if they want your products again,” he added.

    Mr. Oduwole took participants through step by step procedure of opening a store online with the privilege of creating their own store, each having their unique web address, corporate logo and products for display. Partcipants were taught the basics of promoting their business using various social media platforms.

    Chief Technology Officer, CWG, Mr. James Agada, who presented certificates to participants at the workshop, said the workshop served as one of CWG’s ways of contributing towards the growth of SMEs in the country, creating employment and contributing to the growth of the nation’s economy. He urged the participants to utilise the knowledge they have acquired from the workshop.

    The participants expressed their gratitude to CWG for the privilege of the workshop. Most of the attendees indicated that the workshop has been of immense benefit to them. Commenting on the workshop, Mr. and Mrs. Yemi Adeyemo, Directors at House of Treasures, observed “In fact, the workshop was worth the while, the lectures were extensive and the speakers were very good. We have learnt a lot that we will like to put them into use as soon as we get back home.”

  • Shopping dash excites Etisalat’s customers

    Shopping dash excites Etisalat’s customers

    Etisalat Nigeria has honoured 10 of its Business Customers in Abuja with a special reward scheme tagged “the Etisalat December Shopping Dash.” The event held at the Shoprite, Apo, Abuja, was a special event dedicated to reward 10 lucky customers for their loyalty and commitment to the Etisalat Network.

    The 10 customers who got a chance to partake of the Abuja edition of the Etisalat December Shopping Dash were overjoyed about their prizes and expressly thanked Etisalat for the generosity and innovative prowess in ensuring that all its customers get the very best from the network.

    Excited corporate customer, Ibrahim Magaji of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC)  described his experience, thus: “I am very glad to participate in the Etisalat Shopping Dash and I am simply short of words at how generous Etisalat is. I can say boldly say that Etisalat Nigeria is a fantastic network that cares deeply about its customers.”

    Another lucky customer, Safiya Runsewe, said “the Shopping dash was both exciting and engaging. I haven’t had this much fun in a long time and it is all thanks to Etisalat Nigeria.”

    Its Director, Business Segment, Lucas Dada said: “Since inception, Etisalat has remained committed to providing its customers with the very best customer service in Nigeria. It is to this end that the December Shopping Dash was berthed. The 10 selected customers have a maximum of three minutes to select any item within the store that they desire, courtesy of Etisalat. Whatever they can carry, they can keep. It is our simple, yet innovative way of giving back to our customers and showing them that we truly care.

    “Etisalat has a lot more surprises in store next year and we urge all our esteemed customers to remain loyal because we will continue to deliver the very best to them.”

  • Hazards of phone use worries Fed Govt

    The Federal Government has expressed worries over the likely health hazards of the use of mobile phones. It has asked experts to examine the issue and fashion inputs that will assist regulators in West Africa to tackle the issue.

    Minister of Communications Technology Mrs Omobola Johnson, who spoke in Lagos at the second West African Conference on Electromagnetic Fields (EMF) Exposure and Health, said it was also vital the people’s health is taken care of in the booming telecoms business.

    She said:  “Even as we celebrate the gains of this revolution, it is important that we are mindful also of the health of our people, both in the short and in the long term. Mindful of the concerns, which have been expressed both locally and internationally, on whether exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) poses any health hazards to humans; and determined to ensure that the people of West Africa are well advised as to the facts regarding the issue, the Federal Government of Nigeria decided to take the initiative to bring about this conference, which is a follow up to the first one held in 2012, also here in Lagos, Nigeria.

    “As you may be aware, Mobile or cellular phones are now an integral part of our lives. In many countries, over half the population use mobile phones and the market is growing rapidly. Already, here in Nigeria as at September 2014 there are over 135 million active subscribers of both mobile and Fixed Wired/Wireless lines; and this number will increase. The growth has been equally phenomenal in the other countries in West Africa and in many instances mobile phones are the most reliable or the only phones available.

    “Given the large number of mobile phone users, it is important therefore to investigate, understand and monitor any potential public health impact. Mobile phones communicate by transmitting radio waves through a network of fixed antennas called base stations. Signals in the mobile telephony bands of the radio spectrum are non-ionizing radiation such as X-rays or gamma rays, can neither break chemical bonds nor cause ionization in the human body.”

    According the minister, the big question is whether there are any health effects from the use of mobile phones. She said a large number of studies have been performed over the last two decades to assess whether mobile phones pose a potential health risk, adding that to date, no adverse health effects have been established as being caused by mobile phone use.

    “But the agitations and concerns continue to surface time and time again. It is, therefore, for us to get the true situation on this topic, as it is currently, and from some of the most informed experts. The Federal Government is very concerned about the welfare and the health of her people; I believe this is the same of our sister countries in West Africa,” she said, adding that the forum would help the governments to get a position that they can use to either reassure the people that they have nothing to worry about. She however said if the conference finds at the end of the day that there is something to worry about, then, it becomes the duty of the various governments to do that which must be done – “to ensure safety of our people and the environment while using mobile communications.”

  • Ensuring security of information at data management centres

    Ensuring security of information at data management centres

    Technological innovations are designed to provide solutions to various challenges facing mankind. A  data centre is one such innovation. It is becoming the vogue with so many of them springing up in the country despite fears about security of data. While some of these data centres have their servers in the country, others have theirs offshore. LUCAS AJANAKU reports that managers of data centres must take extra steps to ensure security of clients’ data.

    Today’s information technology (IT) business leaders, need to have command and control insight on all operations that support the data centres housing their critical business infrastructure. They need to monitor, coordinate and optimise multiple interconnected systems to ensure that their data center operations are running at optimal levels to prevent any failures from any adverse externality.

    The solution to this is the deployment of sophisticated data centre management systems that address the myriad of issues associated with data centre operations. These Data Center InformationManagement systems, monitor power, cooling, computing resources, security and environmental variables to enable personnel to efficiently maintain the high performance required of all subsystems in the data center to work together seamlessly. These systems have come to the market at a time when the rapid growth of large commercial data centers have made it imperative to adopt more efficient management techniques.

    According to research conducted by Gartner in 2010, Data Center Infrastructure Management, integrates facets of system management with building and energy management, while ensuring that a bridge is built between IT asset and physical infrastructure monitoring. These tools reduce operating costs, improve IT efficiency and enable sophisticated infrastructure analytics, extending the life of data centers by years.

    The traditional approach to data center management and facility monitoring in earlier data center implementations, required manual intervention and collaboration between various technical teams. These collaborative activities were highly inefficient, leading to poor utilisation of resources and eventually inefficient data centre operations.

    First generation data center infrastructure monitoring systems were developed to monitor equipment availability and provide a complete view of data center infrastructure. These systems had the ability to measure and display real time equipment performance measurements using graphical display interfaces. However, they lacked the ability to monitor multiple interdependent systems in parallel, or even go as far as reporting on total system performance using aggregated input from all these sub systems.

    Modern data center infrastructure management solutions have evolved to automate a variety of tasks critical to data centre operations. At a high level, the software manages and displays all physical assets in a single graphical interface, while providing the capability to automate commissioning tasks, capacity planning and other time consuming manual tasks.

    This level of software intelligence, enables data centers operate at levels of efficiency previously thought to be impossible to achieve.

    Commenting on Intelligent Infrastructure Management for Data Centers, RiT Technologies, President and CEO, Motti Hania,  said these systems are described as best practice platforms that reduce operational costs significantly by enhancing ongoing operations, security and scalability. They enhance operations by continuous monitoring of a “self-aware” network, power and environmental apparatuses, which together determine network and operational status in real time.

    Chief Executive Officer, MainOne Cable Company, Ms. Funke Opeke, said in line with this global trend and with the increasing demand for content across Africa, the MainOne data centre has deployed an intelligent infrastructure management system that proactively monitors the facility environment and the equipment in it.

    She said: “Our intelligent infrastructure management system ensures a highly optimised data centre environment that guarantees best performance of all collocated equipment.”

    Chief Executive Officer, Venema Advies Nigeria Limited, Dick Venema said turning to the use of data centre could reduce operating cost for big corporations and SMEs by more than 30 per cent.

    He said: “What we see in Nigeria is that everybody is still using the break-fix model which means something is broken, they are going to fix it. And the solution we always see that is offered when it’s broken is that they buy new equipment. They install it and it works again. This is not how it works, most times, the equipment is not broken, it’s just bad maintained, no technical knowledge of IT consultants and bad advice from the IT company.”

     

    Top issues in data centre management

    According to the Chief Marketing Officer, FieldView Solutions, Sev Onyshkevych in the past, managing a data centre was pretty straightforward.  But due to the inexorable trend of processing more and more data, the management of these facilities grew in complexity. Complicating the situation, operational decisions at the data centre now include such factors as power, cooling, rack space and CPU availability. This is in addition to other information gleaned from IT systems, and related to the facility infrastructure components such as UPS devices, PDUs, chillers, HVACs, generators, branch circuits and others. He wrote via Data Centre Knowledge, an online platform.

    FieldView Solutions, a Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) solutions provider, identified the following as top issues in efficient data centre management

     

    Energy Efficiency

    Data centres are increasingly under attack for their energy consumption and costly operations.  According to a 2011 New York Times-sponsored study by Jonathan G. Koomey, a consulting professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at Stanford University, titled “Growth in Data Centre Power Use 2005 to 2010,” United States’ data center power consumption increased by 36 per cent over that period. Electricity used in global data centers in 2010 likely accounted for between 1.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent of total electricity use, respectively. For the United States, that number was between 1.7 and 2.2 per cent.

    Cutting energy usage will help organisations save significant money, while changing the public perception of data centers being “energy hogs” with a “greener” impression.  To reduce energy consumption, it must first be accurately measured.  The measurement must start with a baseline view of what energy every part of the data center is actually consuming.  And to be accurate, this view must include all areas such as IT equipment, power distribution infrastructure, and ventilation/cooling infrastructure. This is an often time-consuming and manual data extraction process to which nobody looks forward.

     

    Monitoring

    No doubt, day-to-day system failures have underscored the need for proactive response to potential data centre uptime threats.

    Proper monitoring also helps enable an effective call-to-action. In the event of a pending issue, alarms can be sent via e-mail, phone or pager, allowing proactive steps to be taken to correct problems before they become critical. In addition, continuous logging of all alarms and alerts empowers data center operators with a chronological, forensic, review of events to strengthen the infrastructure and improve disaster recovery plans.

     

    Capacity Planning

    It’s no secret that many data centre managers lack the systems visibility to determine if their facilities are truly running at peak capacity.  Traditionally, operators have left plenty of room for error so uptime isn’t interrupted—a strategy known as “capacity safety gap,” or “over-provisioning.”  This strategy wastes hundreds of thousands of dollars of unused space – not to mention wasting power and cooling.  In a day and age of chief financial officers (CFOs) deferring capital expenditure budgets, many data centre managers’ expectations of having additional data center construction have been unfulfilled, leaving about 30 per cent of data centre managers worried about running out of capacity.

     

    Performance Management

    One of the greatest challenges facing data centre operators is ensuring that power and cooling is operating at its highest energy efficiency.  One of the best methods to maintain this accuracy is via accessing a real-time data source that provides up-to-the-minute metrics such as Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and Data Center Infrastructure Efficiency (DCiE).

     

    Real-Time Reporting

    Without a real-time reporting system, operators may find it a challenge to make informed decisions.  Manual readings taken weeks ago on a static report are no longer valid for today’s complex data centre operations – where workloads, power consumption and temperatures vary widely throughout the day, and from day to day.

    Up-to-the minute information also allows for the optimisation of power loads and overall capacity trending.  Additionally, a dashboard view that spans across various monitoring and control systems is a necessity for accurately tracking energy efficiency across single rooms, complete floors, an entire data center  or multiple data centers—domestically and globally.

    Onyshkevych said the continued proliferation of applications, data and platforms such as mobile devices will ensure that data centres continue to grow.  This, in turn, will strain the data centre’s processing power and drain enormous additional amounts of energy from the grid.  As data centres evolve, so too should the tools that manage them.  The antiquated methods of storing vital operational data within individual software “silos” impedes the efforts of data centre facility managers and IT managers to optimise their operations properly and avoid potential downtime.

  • Global dearth of IT security personnel rises, says Cisco

    Global dearth of IT security personnel rises, says Cisco

    Globally, the skilled gap in the information communication technology (ICT) security sector continues to widen. This year alone, it reached more than one million, the United States (U.S) tech giants, Cisco has said.

    In the Cisco Annual Security Report presented in Lagos, the firm lamented that malicious traffic continues to grow at an unprecedented levels, adding that threats designed to take advantage of users’ trust in systems, applications and personal networks have now reached startling levels.

    The sophistication of the technology and tactics used by online criminals—and their non-stop attempts to breach networks and steal data—have outpaced the ability of information technology (IT) and security professionals to address these threats, it added, lamenting that many organisations do not have the people or the systems to continuously monitor extended networks and detect infiltrations, and then apply protections, in a timely and effective manner.

    General Manager, Cisco Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra-Leone, Dare Ogunlade, who unveiled the report with the firm’s System Engineer, Security, Adeola Kukoyi said the report’s findings offer a vivid picture of rapidly evolving security challenges facing businesses, IT departments and individuals.

    Ogunlade said attack methods include socially engineered theft of passwords and credentials, hide-in-plain-sight infiltrations, and exploitation of the trust required for economic transactions, government services and social interactions.

    He said: “Organisations across Africa must realise that it is no longer if they will be targeted by cyber-attacks, but rather when Chief Information Security Officers face growing pressure to protect terabytes of data on an increasingly porous network, manage information safely especially on the cloud, and evaluate the risks of working with third-party vendors for specialised solutions – all in the wake of shrinking budgets and leaner IT teams.”

    Ogunlade also noted increased sophistication and proliferation of the threat landscape, lamenting that simple attacks that caused containable damage have now given way to organised cybercrime operations that are sophisticated, well-funded, and capable of significant economic and reputational damage to public and private sector victims.

    Cisco also highlighted increased complexity of threats and solutions due to rapid growth in intelligent mobile devices’ adoption and cloud computing providing a greater attack surface than ever before, adding that new classes of devices and new infrastructure architectures offer attackers opportunities to exploit unanticipated weaknesses and inadequately defended assets.

    The tech firm said cybercriminals have learned that harnessing the power of internet infrastructure yields far more benefits than simply gaining access to individual computers or devices. These infrastructure-scale attacks seek to gain access to strategically positioned web hosting servers, name servers and data centers—with the goal of proliferating attacks across legions of individual assets served by these resources. By targeting Internet infrastructure, attackers undermine trust in everything connected to or enabled by it.

  • ‘Lack of trust inhibiting digital trade’

    ‘Lack of trust inhibiting digital trade’

    Global telecommunication solutions provider, Ericsson has said its studies have shown that lack of trust remains a major hindrance to uptake digital trade such as ecommerce.

    Its senior Advisor, Consumer Insight, Ericsson ConsumerLab, Rebecka Cedering Angstrom who spoke via video conferencing in Lagos during the media presentation of Ericsson’s 10 Hottest Consumer Trends for 2015: Connectivity Integrated into Daily Life, said consumers are becoming more comfortable with ideas that once seemed beyond imagination such as robots in the home and mind sharing, adding that consumers want technology and connectivity to be integrated into all facets of their daily life – in everything from bathroom mirrors, to sidewalks and medicine jars

    Head, Research, Ericsson ConsumerLab, Michael Björn, said: “The cumulative effect of smartphones becoming part of mainstream society is astonishing. As consumers, we try out new apps and keep the ones we think improve, enrich or even prolong our lives at such a rapid pace that we don’t even notice that our attitudes and behaviors are changing faster than ever. Services and products that quite recently seemed beyond imagination are now easily accepted and believed to rapidly reach the mass market. With only five years until 2020, the future really does seem closer than ever before.”

    The firm said next year and beyond, media use patterns are globalising. Viewers are shifting towards easy-to-use on-demand services that allow cross-platform access to video content. It said next year will be historic as more people will watch streamed video on a weekly basis than broadcast TV.

    It added that consumers show high interest in having home sensors that alert them to water and electricity issues, or when family members come and go.

    “New ways to communicate will continue to appear, offering us even more ways to keep in touch with our friends and family. Many smartphone owners would like to use a wearable device to communicate with others directly through thought – and believe this will be mainstream by 2020.

    “The idea of smart cities is intriguing – but a lot of that intelligence may actually come about as a side effect of the changing everyday behaviors of citizens. As the internet makes us more informed, we are in turn making better decisions. Consumers believe traffic volume maps, energy use comparison apps and real-time water quality checkers will be mainstream by 2020,” Ericsson said.

    The firm said as the internet enables people to efficiently share information with unprecedented ease, the idea of a sharing economy is potentially huge. Half of all smartphone owners are open to the idea of renting out their spare rooms, personal household appliances and leisure equipment as it is convenient and can save money.

    For digital purse, 48 per cent of smartphone owners would rather use their phone to pay for goods and services while 80 per cent believe that the smartphone will replace their entire purse by 2020.

    Although sharing information when there is a benefit is fine, smartphone owners see no point in making all of their actions open to anyone. 47 per cent of smartphone owners would like to be able to pay electronically without an automatic transfer of personal information. 56 per cent of smartphone owners would like all internet communication to be encrypted.

  • Glo gives telecoms package to aviation workers

    Glo gives telecoms package to aviation workers

    The workers of the Federal Ministry of Aviation have been connected to a special telecoms package by Globacom. The package will assist in the effective delivery of aviation services through seamless, quality and cost-effective communication with one another.

    The package is uniquely designed to cater to the needs of the ministry and will also enable aviation workers to communicate with their families at near zero cost.

    Its Head, Public Sector, Mr. Tunde Amunikoro, said at the launch of the package in Abuja that:  “Communication is key to efficient service delivery and speed and that is why we in Glo are excited to partner with the Aviation Ministry on the special lines. We believe the efficiency of the Aviation Sector is going to move several notches higher with this service.”

    He explained that the essence of the special package is to enable the workers to send or receive alerts and reach out to critical stakeholders, particularly those in distress, without being encumbered by the non-availability of recharge cards, even in the remotest part of the country.

    He further explained that those who receive the lines are only required to pay a relatively low monthly service rental after which they will be able to communicate with all those who have the special lines, including their families, without incurring extra cost on airtime.

    Amunikoro said family members were included in the package to ensure that, apart from on-the-job effectiveness, all the workers of the Ministry who are on the special package lines will have peace of mind as they can remain connected at no extra cost with their families from anywhere in the country.

    While launching the package at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, venue of the event, the  Minister for Aviation, Mr. Osita Chidoka said the special package would make work easier for all staff.

  • Etisalat takes stock, rates 2014 high

    Etisalat takes stock, rates 2014 high

    Etisalat has said this year has been good for its business in the country, promising to delight its customers with innovative products and good service quality in the coming years.

    Its Centre Manager, Marina Flagship Experience Centre, Oluwaseyi Ayebiwo, who spoke on the sideline with The Nation during the commissioning of the centre in Lagos said in six years of its operation, it has achieved the 20 million subscriber milestone, insisting that it is no mean feat considering that the telco came late and enjoyed no any form of incentive which the early birds did.

    He said: “For the year, we have not done badly as a company. Recently, towards the end of October, we hit the 20million subscriber base. That is in less than six years since we came onboard. For us, this is a great feat for any company and I don’t think any other company in the world has done that.  We have grown so fast at so short a time. We intend to maintain that feat.

    According to him, next year will be full of activities as the telco will not rest on its oars but keep redefining customer experience through innovative products.

    “Going into 2015, you are going to see a lot of innovative programme from the company. In terms of service quality, we will always strive to take it higher. We know that customers have to be served and they are the focus of our business. That is why we make customers an important part of our decision process. We organise customer forum from time to time, where customers tell us what the challenges are and what they would want to get from us in the nearest future. So the customers are dear to our heart,” he said.

    Speaking on the uniqueness of the centre, he said the ambiance and the way it is built is interactive with the customers, such that when customers comes in, all the equipment necessary to resolve all their issues and make sure they are happy are available.

    He said: “It starts from the interactive counters for devices, where customers can come in around the devices and they know from that which one they want to use.

    “Aside that, we have other dedicated counters for special customers services. We also have different original equipment manufacturers such as Samsung, Nokia, Apple, Techno and others. .They have their stands here and they are all available to ensure that every customer’s complaints are sorted out. We have a VIP lounge where customers can come in with a fully equipped library for those who wish to read. You can come in, take some time out after passing through the stress our of the day and relax.”