The Nation Newspaper

Category: Infotech

  • NCC to focus on data provision

    THE Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said it is working on how to make cheap data available to Nigerians. The data would be delivered through the Digital Awareness Programme (DAP) and Digital Awareness Programme for Tertiary Institutions (ADAPTI).

    NCC Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer Eugene Juwah spoke during the inauguration of DAP at Erijiyan Government High School in Ekiti State.

    Juwah, represented by Mrs. Biodun Olujimi, a Commissioner of the NCC, said more than 222 higher institutions across the country have so far benefited from DAP, adding that 93 at the higher institution are beneficiaries of another programme called Wireless Cloud.

    He said by making internet facilities available to the youth, the commission is helping to bridge the digital divide.

    “DAP is part of the major objectives of the Commission to achieve universal access for ICT. Having conquered the voice telephony, the area of data has become our major focus at the NCC. DAP, and the related programmes, are some of the ways that the Commission has strived to key the Nigerian youth into accelerated universal access. By making Internet services available to the younger generation, we are helping to build the bridge to connect this generation to the next,” he said.

    He said DAP and related programmes in schools by the commission are designed to equip the students and the lecturers with the resources to improve on their various skills and endeavours using the latest technologies.

    Chairman, House Committee on Communications, Oyetunde Oladimeji Ojo, praised the NCC boss for his leadership, adding that the project is an indication of how the commission has utilised the budgets appropriated to it by the government, especially at this period when the availability of infrastructure has become the basic criteria for performance measurement.

    He said the impact of the project could be felt even in the rural areas, adding that the commission had taken the decision to secure the future of the youth in an area that is very crucial to the development of the nation. In support of the commission, he also pledged to pay for the bandwidth fees for the school for the next three years after the expiration of the initial payment by the NCC, to ensure that the school does not experience any down time on its internet connection in the next four years.

    Hon. Ojo also inspected the Emergency Communications Centre (ECC) under construction in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital where he also commended the commission for helping government to tackle the key issues of security and emergency situations which has become a recurrent problem in the country.

    DAP and ADAPTI are programmes of the NCC where it equips secondary and tertiary institutions across the country with ICT facilities to improve ICT skills and access to the internet by providing computers and other infrastructure as well as establishing a link to the internet to the respective institutions while ECC are being constructed by the commission in all the state capitals and Abuja, where it provides a centre that would handle and communicate emergency situations to institutions capable of handling them like ambulance services, police, fire service, road safety, and similar services as done in other parts of the world. When completed, Nigerians would be able to dial one number already designated as 122 to reach the centre.

  • How Galaxy Backbone is tackling graft, by MD

    THE Federal Government is using the integrated information communication technology (ICT) company Galaxy Backbone Plc, to fight graft and enthrone transparency in government, the firm’s Managing Director, Gerald Ilukwe, has said.

    He spoke during a discussion at the e-Learning Centre, Lagos.

    Ilukwe, represented by the Head of Marketing, Galaxy Backbone, Amara Nwankpa, said the firm was able to do this through 1-Gov.net, which has about 4,000 nodes that provide connectivity to over 350 ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

    “A key objective of 1-Gov.net is to facilitate efficient and effective service delivery to the citizens of the country. From prompt processing of travellers at the Immigrations’ desk or issuance of drivers’ licenses, to prompt payment of workers’ salaries, to efficient conduct of the Federal Executive Council deliberations, Galaxy Backbone is enhancing e-government and good governance in Nigeria,” he said.

    “We are also supporting the Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) to track the movement of petroleum products from the various depots in the country, facilitating accountability in ensuring the uniform pricing of these products across the nation,” he added.

    According to him, the firm’s services also help improve government’s internal efficiency, by making it to be more effective and responsive.

    The Electronic Documents Management System/Council Chambers Automation System (EDMS/CCAS) that has transformed the mode of preparing council memos from manual to digital; and the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) that has revolutionised the payroll system to reduce incidence of fraud and time spent on computation of workers’ salaries are some of the ways the platform has helped to check leakages in the economy.

  • Software: An untapped goldmine

    To grow the software  subsector of the economy,  the Federal Government plans to build two incubation centres in Lagos and Calabar, Cross River State. One year after, the project has not taken off. LUCAS AJANAKU reports that there is the need to revisit the projects because of its economic potential.

    AFTER graduation, Bayo Puddicombe, the Chief Executive Officer, Pledge 51, ventured into mobile application development in Lagos. Today, he is not regretting his action as his applications run on some Nokia devices.

    He said mobile application development could be the answer to unemployment, adding that the requirement to enter the industry is simple.

    Puddicombe said:“This is probably one of the many answers to youth unemployment in our nation. The conditions to join the industry for an aspiring developer are relatively low. If well- harnessed, this can be transformed into a huge industry with significant potential for growth. When critically analysed, the major resources required to develop mobile applications are your mind, a half-decent computer and internet access.”

    He said the requirements for the development of software are similar to those for mobile applications, emphasising the importance of the internet through which the tools will run.

    It is probably in realisation of this that the Federal Government has made available about $4.5 million (N700 million) through the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA)/National Information Technology Development Fund (NITDEVF) for the setting up of the software incubation centres. It is a seed fund for Venture Capital fund intended to attract local and international investors to grow the industry through the establishment of six software incubation centres in some parts of the country.

    Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, said as part of efforts to grow the software sub-sector of the ICT industry and make it contribute substantially to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the government decided to set up the centres with the pilot project to be based in Lagos and Calabar, Cross River State capital.

    She said the e-Learning Centre would host the software incubation centre in Lagos while Tinapa Knowledge City would house its Cross River State counterpart. After the promise of the minister, nothing has been heard except the inauguration of the Governing Board of the National ICT Incubation Programme tagged IDEA, last week.

    The software industry has been identified by experts as one growth area for Nigeria. It is reputed to be the strength of the Indian economy, contributing substantially to the growth of the country’s economy.

    President, Information Technology (Industry) Association of Nigeria Ltd (ITAN),Mrs Florence Seriki, said the government should make the ICT sector the driver of the economy. According to her, while Taiwan used hardware to push her economy to global relevance, India leveraged on the software sub-sector.

    The incubation centres, according to the plan, rather than being government-owned, would be ‘government-inspired’ or ‘government-catalysed’, but would eventually be run by a non-profit organisation to be set up.

    The Programme Manager in charge of the implementation of the programme, Ms. Helen Anatogo,said the Federal Goverment plans to establish six incubation software incubation centres by the end of 2015.

    Abeokuta, Enugu, Ile-Ife and Abuja have been chosen as likely centres for the project. The choice is based on parameters, such as presence of large students and availability of contiguous tertiary institutions in the areas.

    The focus of the software incubation programme and centres include enterprise software development, linguistic software, custom programming, mobile software, business intelligence and gaming.

    Essentially targeted at students, start-ups and software development companies, the programme would offer business and technological training, free access to software development tools, use of facilities and computer resources for development purposes, mentoring, assistance with marketing and promotion, as well as access to finance.

    Anatogo said there is significant and positive correlation between maturity of the software sector to economic productivity and, by definition, to national competitiveness. She added that use of software technologies increase the capacity of firms to achieve higher levels of productivity, thereby increasing per capita (GDP) which in turn increases overall national productivity, standards of living, and competitiveness.

    She said research showed that effective coupling of innovation and entrepreneurship requires an ecosystem with active linkages between financiers, academia, policymakers and the business community.

    “Business incubators play a key role in the ecosystem as they should interact with all the actors in the ecosystem, directly or indirectly. For the successful implementation of Nigerian ICT incubation strategy, it is crucial that these incubators are built in collaboration with stakeholders. This is the only way to ensure the successful implementation as the Nigerian environment, like many other developing economies, is challenging for new entrepreneurs,” she explained.

    Speaking on the primary purposes of the programme, she explained that it is to nurture, grow and help new software technology businesses succeed, thereby creating wealth and employment opportunities for Nigerians.

    “The purpose of a Technology Business Incubator (TBI) is enterprise creation focused on technology based ventures, broadly defined. Essentially, the TBI is an environment with a small management staff that provides the physical space, shared facilities, counseling, training and information specific to selected technology ventures (in this case software), with access to university research, finance and technical support services in one integrated and affordable package. Such caring and sharing have been shown to facilitate business start-ups by reducing initial costs and delays, and to diminish the chances of failure at a fledgling enterprise,” she said.

    The government said the programme should build growth-oriented companies with impact on employment in the ICT sector and place Nigeria on the international ICT map.

    She said in South Africa, the ICT sector attracted the lion’s share of venture capital funding in the three and a half years to July last year, receiving about R265.6-million (equivalent of N5 billion). Venture capital investments reached R830-million (equivalent of N15.5 billion). Venture capital firms backed by the government were the most active, accounting for 51 per cent of deals compared with 46 per cent of deals executed by private-equity players.

    Jordan, often referred to as the ICT leader in the Arab world, accounts for only two per cent of the region’s population, but produces and manages 75 per cent of all Arabic-language internet content.

    The country has a per capita GDP of $4,666 in 2011, placing it 103rd among nations with high per capita. It has no oil deposits yet 14 per cent of the country’s GDP comes from ICT. Accelerator Technology Holdings’ $30 million Badia Impact Fund provides early-stage finance for Jordanian tech start-ups and has raised a total of $80 million from investors and invested in 20 companies. One of its most successful investments is Rubicon Group Holding, an Amman-based computer animation company set up in 1994 with just $150,000 but now generating about $40 million annual revenue.

    It is in the light of these that the Federal Government should get its acts together and not allow the laudable dreams of the software incubation centre to fall through.

  • NITDA chief decries high cybercrime rate

    Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Prof. Officer Cleopas-Angaye, has decried the high cyber crime in the country. He said a situation where the country falls within the same bracket with super powers, such as the United States (US), China and the United Kingdom (UK) is worrisome.

    Angaye told The Nation in Lagos that though the country aspires to develop like these countries, such development should not bein the area of crimes.

    “Nigeria is rated as one of the worst cybercimes (nations in the world). If you go to the internet (and click) cybercrime Nigeria, you will see that Nigeria is one of the four (leading cybercrime countries of the world). It becomes of utmost concern when you count the US and may be China and the UK and Nigeria is there. We shouldn’t be there. Nigeria is not as advanced as these countries. We want to be advanced in other areas, but certainly not in crime. So, we are concerned. We want our cyberspace to be free,” he said.

    He explained that the cybercrime bill at the National Assemby was a ‘baby of necessity’ as the nation was becoming notorious for cybercrimes among the comity of nations. He said when the bill is passed into law, it will help address emerging cyber crimes in the country.

    According to him, there are two strands to the bill. The cybercrime and cybersecurity.“There is the cybercrime and the cybersecurity issue. The cybersecurity part of the bill spells out penalties for that will be meted out to the people who contravene the bill. Security is about how we prepare ourselves and make sure that we secure our cyberspace against crime,” he said.

    Angaye, who said Nigeria is leading other African countries in the use of the short message service (SMS), added that the development translated to the readiness of the country to continue to take leadership position in the application of information communication technology (ICT) tools to its daily lives.

    Though he could neither say specifically what the development translated to in terms of revenue to the operators nor the actual volume figures, he said with the development, the country is ready for e-mobile computing.

    “Nigeria is leading in text message volumes in Africa. (This means that) Nigeria is ready for e-mobile. It is not about being bad or good. What we are saying is that Nigeria, as country in sub-Saharan Africa, is ready to capture the (market). We have many applications for mobile computing. We can even utilise SMS and save the stress of going from Lagos to Abuja or to Maiduguri to know what is there,” he added.

  • ‘Why Lagos software institute is yet to take off’

    The Lagos State government is planning to float a Software Institute in the state to create jobs and harness the huge financial potentials of information communication technology.

    State Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr. Adebiyi Mabadeje, who made this known this at the Abat Centre, said that the project has not taken off because of the need to do proper homework on it.

    He said the government is however, resolutely committed to using science and technology to drive the economic development of the state.

    According to him, software development is one aspect of the technological space that is capable of local value add to both the state and national economy.

    “We are still on the project. The concept is there. It has a physical component which is the building. What we want to do is do something differently. We want to be creative and build something that is futuristic. We want to use sustainable materials that are friendly to the environment, we are looking at alternative sources of power not only because power is problem but because it is environment-friendly. A lot has been done at the back end as to what we want to achieve (form the project),” he said.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Otudeko to chair digital confab

    Airtel Nigeria Chairman, Mr Ayoola Oba Otudeko, will chair the forthcoming Digital Africa Conference & Exhibition, slated for April 23 to 25 in Abuja.

    According to a statement from the convener of the confab, Dr. Evans Woherem, MD/CEO of Compumetrics Solutions Limited, he is excited by the gesture of the foremost industrialist. “We are delighted that this distinguished Nigerian, foremost investor, and respected African business leader will chair the 3-day Digital Africa 2013.”

    Mr Oba Otudeko was the pioneer chairman of the Nigerian-South African Chamber of Commerce which he led from May 2000 till June 2011. During this period, trade between both countries grew from $16.5 million in 1999 to $2.9 billion in 2010.

    Giving an update about the event, Woherem said, “Our focus is to bring ICT people from Africa and the rest of the world to interact closely with the users and consumers of ICT across major sectors of the society such as agriculture, SMEs, hospitals and clinics.”

    “The aim of this continental technology gathering is to promote a better integrated Africa, using modern ICT tools. The event is therefore an important platform to network, share knowledge on the latest developments in the ICT world, do business, and sign deals”.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Airtel, others partner on Blackberry 10

    AirteL and MTN have sealed deals with Research In Motion (RIM). The deal will see Nigerians have the opportunity to own the latest BlackBerry Z10 smartphone by pre-ordering for the device through their shops across the country.

    Airtel says customers who pre-orderfor the latest BlackBerry Z10 smartphone would be provided with the opportunity of having the device delivered to the nearest sales point of their choice for pick up.

    For N100, 000 only, Airtel customers would have the privilege of owning the latest device from BlackBerry complete with smart features that would provide them with distinctive communication experience.

    Airtel’s Chief Marketing Officer, Olu Akanmu, said the company’s superior and widest 3.75G coverage across the country would complement the unique computing features of the smartphone to provide customers with a delightful internet experience irrespective of their location.

    “Our partnership with BlackBerry to serve Nigerian consumers with one of the best in-class telecommunication technology product firms up Airtel’s resolve to dictate the pace of innovation and value creation in the Nigerian telecoms market in our quest to become the most loved brand in the daily lives of Nigerians”, he said.

    For MTN, the deal will make its customers in Nigeria to be among the first users in the world to experience the new, wave-making Blackberry Z10 smartphone which is the first smartphone based on the re-designed, re-engineered and re-invented BlackBerry 10 platform, giving customers a powerful and unique new mobile computing experience.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Benefits of social networking sites, by expert

    Sharing ideas about entrepreneurship and getting feedback from customers are some of the advantages of social networking sites, Mr Gboyega Adelowore, general manager, Yookos Nigeria, a pan African social networking site, has said.

    “Social networking sites are platforms that make social engagement a lot easier. It’s not just about making friends but also engaging brands for products and services. With greater inclusion in social networking, we see more idea sharing and entrepreneur rising. Also, brands now find it a lot easier to engage their customers and get useful feedbacks that can help them grow. These are important for the growth of any economy,” he told The Nation in Lagos.

    He added: “Deep internet penetration directly impacts trade through exchange of ideas, goods and services and social networking sites make it easy. This is extremely important.”

    Speaking about Yookos, he said the firm has embarked on initiatives to match the social networking requirements of social media users by offering an exciting and engaging product.

    He said that the release of the desktop version dovetails the recent launch of its much anticipated mobile web version late last year in Johannesburg, South Africa. By offering the mobile version meant especially for feature phones, Yookos has made it possible for more people to join the fastest growing social network in Africa, he explained.

    According to him, what makes Yookos to be a social networking site of choice is its ability to blend a multiplicity of social media functionalities and features into one intuitive and robust platform. Thus, its users do not have to have accounts on diverse social media platforms as all their requirements are met on a single platform.

     

  • Sidmach Tech rewards workers

    Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited, a foremost ICT company in a bid to motivate staff and friends of the company, recently celebrated them for their efforts at moving the company forward.

    The company presented special awards to Major General Sebastian Achulike Owuama (Rtd); Dr. Mohammed Sakiwa Abdulrahman and Mrs. Deborah Tinuola Ajayi in appreciation of their support and contributions to the growth of company.

    The chairman, Mr. Mike Olajide speaking on the awards said: “Today is awesome; I am excited that Sidmach has grown to this level. We have been in business for 18 years now and we have no abandoned project.”

    Mr. Olajide explained that the Company also maintained its presence in the public and private sectors of the economy and delivered best-in-class solutions and services to customers and stakeholders.

     

  • Subscribers’ gain, operators’ loss

    Subscribers’ gain, operators’ loss

    Telecom operators used to charge subscribers exorbitantly for off-net short message service (SMS). Now the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has pegged the price at N4. Subscribers are happy, operators are licking their wounds. LUCAS AJANAKU reports

     •NCC pegs sms price at N4

    Many did not believe it when they first saw the message, which came from their service providers. Before now, they had paid through their nose for sending messages. Then came the message placing a ceiling on the charge for short message service, popularly known as SMS.

    When Kehinde Albert heard about the slash in the price of off-net SMS through his service provider, his initial reaction was that of disbelief. “I saw the message of capping of off-net SMS price on my phone. I thought it was one of the gimmicks these service providers play to get customers. So, I ignored it and moved on. But I was surprised that subsequent text messages sent attracted N4. This is a good development from the NCC. It should move a little further by ensuring that service quality improves,” he said.

    For Wale Olaogun, secretary, Community Development Committee (CDC), Alimosho Local Government Area, his problem is that he had to pay twice for sending SMS even after the announcement of the slash by the government. “Immediately, I sent the first text, I noticed a debit of N4 before the message was sent; few seconds later, another debit for same amount. To make sure I wasn’t seeing double, I decided to confirm the balance after each message,” he recounted in a letter to The Nation, insisting that he was ripped off.

    Deolu Ognbanjo, president, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), commended the NCC, arguing that with the directive, on-net SMS that used to attract N5 should now be reduced to N1 preparatory to eventual removal of payment for SMS. “We welcome the development. Since on-net SMS attracts 50 per cent of off-net charges, the operators should reduce on-net SMS to N1 per SMS,” he told The Nation.

    The NCC recently set a price cap of N4 per every SMS for all domestic off-net messages with effect from February 5, 2013. Before the NCC directive, it used to cost between N9 and N10 depending on the operator. No cap was placed on international SMS as demanded by the operators because interconnect rates for international SMS are determined by extraneous factors as they are terminated through carrier service providers in various jurisdictions.

    the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ALTON), the umbrella body of telecoms operators in the country, said the new price cap has become the last straw that will break the SMS camel’s back, saying it is not a good deal for the operators.

    It president Gbenga Adebayo, said the new price cap is not profitable for the telcos, lamenting that a situation where the NCC indulges in micro-managing commercial venture was not in the best interest of the industry.

    He said the NCC directive would push a lot of small and medium businesses out of the industry, adding that most of them have entered into contractual agreement with the service providers before the regulator’s directive.

    “SMS traffic over the last two or three years when Blackberry messenger and WhatsApp introduced free internet-based messages, which became popular, has dwindled. So, this last straw that the NCC has thrown is just to kill SMS business for service providers because there is meagre revenue from there. Few people use SMS and NCC is placing a N4 price cap on it. It is very bad for our business.

    “Other than operators, there other value adding providers who buy bulk SMS and resell. This kind of directive would kill this business segment. A lot of them have contracts with the operators, which are long-term contracts,” the ALTON boss said.

    ALTON’s fears may not be funfounded. According to a report by Ovum, by next year, telecoms carriers globally would lose $54 billion accruing from the use of SMS due to the increasing popularity of social messaging services – messaging within social networks – on smartphones.

    Aside Blackberry, WhatsApp, one of the more prominent social messaging brands, has seen its levels of penetration increase in Nigeria, Singapore and the Netherlands. Ovum said this level of growth would continue as smartphone and mobile broadband penetration increases, and expects smaller players, such as textPlus, Pinterest, and Fring to cause further disruption in the messaging space.

    He noted that the figure is more than double the $23 billion they are expected to have lost by the end of last year, adding that collaboration with handset manufacturers is imperative if operators are to remain relevant and competitive in the instant messaging industry.

    The new report, which addresses how operators can counteract the social messaging threat from over-the-top (OTT) players, also highlighted the rapid increase in the number of such players, and demonstrates that social messaging is not a short-term trend, but a shift in communication patterns.

    Said Neha Dharia, “Social messaging is becoming more pervasive, and operators are coming under increased pressure to drive revenues from the messaging component of their communications businesses.

    “Operators need to understand the impact of social messaging apps on consumer behaviour, both in terms of changing communication patterns and the impact on SMS revenues, and offer services to suit. OTT players are changing consumers’ messaging preferences, and the pressure they are exerting on operators’ messaging services is forcing them to offer increased SMS bundles and to experiment with messaging pricing models, further dampening revenue growth,” says Dharia.

    According to Ovum, the importance of collaboration cannot be underestimated as operators look to a Rich Communication Suite (RCS) platform to provide consumers with features such as file sharing, video calls, and internet protocol (IP)-based messaging. But RCS is not expected to reach the mass market before 2014, so for the time being operators will have to rely on innovative pricing strategies, partnerships, and launching operator-branded IP messaging services to keep up with the changing demand.

    “To take advantage of RCS when the time comes, operators will have to have a strong market presence. This means that they need to move to social messaging now in order to make sure OTT players are not in a better position to take advantage of future opportunities,” says Dharia.

    But the Director, Legal and Regulatory Services of NCC, Ms. Josephine Amuwa, disagrees. She said the decision was taken after evaluating and analysing SMS traffic information provided by the operators. “There was a recognition that the cost of SMS is too high, especially in view of the inter-connection rate of N1.02 for SMS as determined by the Commission in 2009.”

    Ms. Amuwa said based on these considerations, and in the interest of striking a balance between sustaining operator’s profitability and ensuring consumer satisfaction, and also in accordance with the powers conferred on the Commission under Sections 4 and Chapter V11 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, it took the decision to set the price cap which “shall be implemented within 30 days from the date of the directive.”