The Nation Newspaper

Category: Infotech

  • Terragon Group unveils mobile solutions

    Digital media  firm, Terragon Group has unveiled two of its latest mobile solutions, – tmoni and Twinpine Performance Advertising (TPA).

    Speaking at the unveiling in Lagos, tmoni Product Manager, Tunde Adeniran, said it is a product borne out of the firm’s longstanding relationships with Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in Nigeria.  He said as a mobile operator billing solution, tmoni enables content developers and aggregators effectively monetise digital content, goods and services from over 80 million mobile internet users in the country.

    “Content developers and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) can now monetise previously hard to reach demographics as they expand into a fast growing and emerging market. Its benefits includes better conversion rates on mobile, flexible price points and cross-platform integration,” he said.

    Speaking on the other solution unveiled, Product Manager TPA, Eniola Moronfolu, said it allows advertisers pay only when there are measurable results from their online mobile campaigns, adding that it provides advertisers with opportunities in real-time measurement and optimisation.

    She said: “The overall intention is to allow advertisers drive consumer action, thereby going beyond awareness to creating great experiences for mobile users and give brands prime positioning.”

     

  • Why e-transaction policies were made, by CBN

    Why e-transaction policies were made, by CBN

    Deputy Governor, Operations at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Alhaji Suleiman Barau, has said the introduction of electronic transaction policies by the apex bank was meant to ensure efficiency in financial transactions and curb financial corruption in the system.

    He said while the Federal Government and its paratstatals have also embraced a number of information communications technology (ICT)-related initiatives in recent past in services delivery with the resultant cost-saving and ability to plug the leakages in its financial dealings, there is an urgent need to popularise wider and holistic embrace of e-government in its totality.

    He notedthat  with the passage of three major bills relating to electronic transactions in Nigeria by the National Assembly, the coast is now clear for e-payment to flourish in the country to intitutionalise  increased sanity.

    Barau, who spoke during a two-day E-Government Summit 2015 organised by the E-Payment Providers Association of Nigeria (E-PPAN), in collaboration with the Financial Services Strategy (FSS) 2020 and the CBN in Abuja, said government officials should not be allowed to deal with physical cash.

    Speaking on the occasion, Anambra State Governor, Dr. Willie Obiano, said the adoption of e-government in Anambra, especially in the area of tax collection has raised the state’s Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) from less than N1 billion to its current N1.1 billion monthly with the ultimate objective to increase it  to N3 billion monthly.

    “In Anambra, our aggressive pursuit of a vision and mission strategies through an efficient use of ICT has attracted an inflow of investment to the tune of N2.4 billion to Anambra State in the past one year.

    “The whole idea is to use government machinery to channel private sector interest to the advantages of the citizens by making the environment condusive through efficient use of ICT to achieve this.”

    Head, Programme Office, FSS2020, Mr. Oluwatoyin Joko, said the collaboration with E-PPAN was considered critical as it allows FSS2020 Office to see how it can better re-organise the major markets of financial market, insurance, pension,mortgage,  agriculture and the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) using e-government as strategy.

    “Beyond restructuring all these sectors, we also know that cases of financial corruptions, as we have been told to have witnessed in the last 10 years by Mr. President where about $150 billion was said to have been stolen and taken outside the country, would be minimised,” he said.

    E-PPAN President, Mr. Macaulay Atase, said the forum was organised to facilitate dialogue that would result in the evaluation of how the adoption of ICT tools into service delivery by the government at all levels could result in increased transparency, efficiency and accountability, especially in the area of financial management.

    Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communication Technology, Dr. Tunji Olaopa, said the ministry came up with a National E-Government Master Plan last year, which recommended strategies which government at all levels can implement to have a uniform e-government strategy that guarantees improved efficiency, transparency, convenience and lower cost of accessing services.

    Group Head, Customer Operations and Services at Galaxy Backbone, Mr. Frank Ugbodaga, said e-government relies on two basic principles of connectivity and government cloud which, he said, are driven by Galaxy Backbone.

  • Glo’s reduction in international calls’ tariff excites subscribers

    Glo’s reduction in international calls’ tariff excites subscribers

    The reduction of tariffs on international calls from 39k per second to 20k per second by Nigeria’s total information and communications technology solutions provider, Globacom, has been praised by subscribers who described the gesture as a welcome cost-saving measure.

    Globacom said the reduction is to enhance the communication experience of subscribers, adding that the tariff slash is for calls to the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK), Canada, China and India while interested subscribers are expected to dial *101*6*1# to enjoy the package.

    A cross section of its subscribers said the 50 per cent reduction was another thoughtful move by the truly Nigerian telco.

    Abeokuta-based Mrs. Aduke Sodunke whose husband relocated to Canada last year praised the reduction, adding that she could now speak for longer time with her family.

    She said: “The tariff reduction has immensely facilitated communication between the rest of the family and daddy, as we increased our daily discussion from once daily to three times. Now, we even pray on the phone first thing in the morning and last thing at night. We are grateful to Glo.”

    Another subscriber, Mrs. Yinka Moses, who has a son at the University of Lincoln, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom also said the reduction has increased his bond with her son as she now speaks with him so often.

    She said: “I used to spend about N1000 for a 25 minute-call but with the slash, the call cost will now come to less than half of that. I am glad that Globacom has again made the cost of telephony more affordable.”

    Benin based Ekhorountomwen Victory said the Glo international call rate is the lowest today in the country, adding that before the reduction, she used to spend a lot of money calling her sisters in America. “With this reduction now, calling overseas is very cheap and I now talk for as long as I want. Glo has done very well for us”.

    For Aguinede Patience, the tariff reduction is great as it made her to regularly call America nowadays, adding that this has greatly added value to her business by expanding her contacts.She said just as Glo pioneered the per second billing system in the country, the telco has blazed the trail for copy-cats to follow.”This is the power of indigenous ownership and patriotism. When these people first came, they said it will require rocket science to get per second billing effective but when Glo came, it shattered the myth completely,” she said.

    In the words of Abuja based Haruna Idris, “Glo has been my preferred line since 2003 and the company has never disappointed me. The reduction in IDD rate is very good. We are enjoying it. keep it coming, Glo!”

    In  Enugu, a 60-year old man, Hyacinth Jiwuaku, is ecstatic that Glo slashed tariffs on international calls, noting “as the head of my family, I have to maintain regular communication with our siblings in the Diaspora where they reside and Glo has helped a lot. About five are based in the UK while three are resident in the United States and one is in China”.

    An Indian based in Lagos, Pradesh Singh, described the reduction as a big boost to communication and a veritable support for the talk more campaign, adding that this had turned Globacom to the network of choice for Indians in Nigeria who now call home fairly more regularly than before the reduction.

  • Solar ‘ll cut power consumption by 85 per cent, says Omatek CEO

    Solar ‘ll cut power consumption by 85 per cent, says Omatek CEO

    Manufacturing industries, factories, banks, schools, government parastatals, Small Scale Enterprises (SMEs) and other private organisations have been urged to embrace solar energy maximise profit.

    Speaking to reporters after a tour round the company’s solar solution, the Chief Executive Officer, Omatek Ventures Plc, Mrs Florence Seriki said the adoption of solar energy would help to cut down on wasteful consumption of electricity by 80 to 85 percent, thereby saving it and making it useful for other Nigerians.

    She added that solar energy would also reduce the cost of production.

    According to her, “adopting solar solution as an alternative source of power will help the country to achieve 24/7 power lighting with the digital all-in-one solar powered solutions.

    She said the solar solution, off-grid or hybrid, is available for both domestic and industrial use noting that with the solar solution, the cost of diesel or fuel on generators will be a thing of the past.

    She encouraged Nigerians to embrace the technology which she said is cheaper and saver when all the expenses of the generating set are considered.

    “Our solar solution comes in different models. We have the very small ones of 12 watt which has capacity to lighting. Once it is fully charged, it can last for 24 hours and can be used to serve students, farmers, small homes, like a one bed room apartment, shops, kiosks, and a large number of SME. It has USB port, can charge phone and it has a torch light. We also have the 20, 30, 40, 50 watts and on like that. The solar power by default is 25 years, inverter is 10 years, battery is five years and bulb is five years.

    “We are trying to move with banks to create consumer markets for this entire product. We decided to put a manual in the pack with drawing so that people can install by them self. We will also train the local engineers in the companies so that they can continue in the maintenance. W e need them to manage it by themselves, and by so doing we are also building human capacity by training internally everywhere we go.

    “When we come to your office, we do chart, we calculate your NEPA bill, your diesel bill, for one year only, the amount of energy you have saved, and it is equivalent, by the time you see it as a corporate body, you will see that this is cheaper.

    “The solar solution can take a whole town just like we are working with Shell to do a whole community that would run on solar. They will tap the sun directly; the only risk is that when the sun is not too hot, they will switch to NEPA and it can only be used day time, which is still not bad,” she said.

    Head of Production, Saheed Onifade added that the advantage of the solar alternative is that it cuts you off the grid and the energy from the grid is available for other people, because you are generating your own energy.

    “Light Emitting Dilute consumes less power like we have in the conventional electricity and the life span is longer”.

    He noted that the company has no limit to the expansion of its capacity, saying that as long as there is sun in the city, it the solar power can be used.

     

  • ‘Broadband ‘ll drive Nigeria’s GDP growth’

    The Chief Executive Officer, West Africa’s leading broadband communications provider, MainOne, Ms Funke Opeke has said broadband penetration will drive Nigeria’s growth, urging further collaboration in the industry in order to provide broadband connectivity services to more of the Nigerian populace.

    She stressed the need for stakeholders to jointly address the challenges of low broadband penetration as a community of concerned parties with benefits from improvement poised to accrue to all.

    Speaking at a Broadband Summit held at the WheatBaker Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos with Driving Accelerated Broadband Penetration in Nigeria as focus, she said:”The Broadband Summit provides a platform for the telecom industry to articulate its perspectives on the landscape, and devise strategies that will hasten broadband penetration in Nigeria.”

    She called on all stakeholders in the industry and the government to take necessary steps towards achieving the massive infrastructure rollout required to bring broadband services to more Nigerians, stressing the role of broadband in driving GDP growth in the economies of developing countries.

    The summit which featured major industry players including mobile network operators and the country’s telecoms regulator, reviewed the country’s current broadband status and brainstormed strategies to achieve more effective and pervasive broadband coverage across the country.

     

  • Apple is in talks to launch virtual network service

    Apple is in talks to launch virtual network service

    Apple is in talks to launch a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) service in the US and Europe, Business Insider has learned.

    Sources close to Apple say the company is privately trialling an MVNO service in the US but is also in talks with telecoms companies in Europe about bringing the service there too.

    An MVNO is a virtual carrier network that sees technology companies lease space from established carriers and sell it to customers directly.

    Here’s how an Apple MVNO will work: Instead of paying your carrier every month, you will pay Apple directly for data, calls, and texts. Apple then provides you with everything you used to get from your carrier, but the Apple SIM switches between carriers to get the best service. The telecoms companies auction capacity to Apple so it can run the service.

    There is no guarantee Apple’s service will launch beyond a test phase, and if it does, it will not roll out anytime soon. Telecoms sources say Apple is looking long-term with its MVNO and could take at least five years to fully launch the service. Apple has been in talks with telecoms companies for years over its MVNO plans, those sources say, adding that it’s an “open secret” among carriers that a virtual Apple network is on the way.

    Business Insider earlier on Monday reported that Apple was testing a service called iCloud Voicemail that will automatically transcribe voicemail messages using Siri.

    It makes sense that Apple wants to take control of voicemail before it launches an MVNO. Right now your voicemails are stored with your carrier. Once Apple is taking money from customers for data and calls, customers will not have direct relationships with carriers. Once Apple launches iCloud Voicemail, you will not have that problem and will be free to sign up to Apple’s MVNO.

    Apple already signalled its intent to become the gateway to carriers when it launched the Apple SIM in 2014. It allowed customers to switch between networks through their device using a SIM card that could connect to lots of different carriers. Right now it’s available only for the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3, but future versions of the SIM card could be used to launch an Apple MVNO for iPhones.

    Google is already testing its own MVNO. Project Fi is available only for the Nexus 6 smartphone in the US, but it is a signal that the tech company sees an MVNO as a potential area for expansion in the future.

    But not every MVNO is successful. Gigaom pointed out back in 2012 that both Disney and ESPN tried to launch their own MVNO services but later had to shut them down.

     

  • Cisco sees internet users in Nigeria, others rise to 425million

    Dd for mobile access and video services, internet users in Nigeria, other parts of Africa and the Middle East will rise steeply to 425million, a United States tech giants, Cisco has predicted.

    According to the 10th annual Cisco Visual Networking Index (VNI) Forecast for this year, by 2019, there will be nearly 3.9 billion global internet users (more than 51 per cent of the world’s population), up from 2.8 billion last year.

    In Middle East and Africa, internet protocol (IP) traffic will grow six-fold by 2019, a compound annual growth rate of 44 per cent. Factors expected to drive traffic growth include global increases in internet users, personal devices and machine-to-machine (M2M) connections, faster broadband speeds, and the adoption of advanced video services.

    Internet traffic will grow 6.8-fold from last year to 2019, a compound annual growth rate of 47 per cent and there will be 2.1 billion networked devices in 2019, up from 1.4 billion last year.

    Cisco said 78 per cent of all networked devices will be mobile-connected in 2019 with M2M modules accounting for 17 per cent (358.9 million) of all networked devices in 2019, compared to eight per cent (112.1 million) last year; tablets will account for four per cent (93.1 million) of all networked devices in 2019, compared to two per cent (24.7 million) last year while smartphones will account for 31 per cent (652.0 million) of all networked devices in 2019, compared to 14 per cent (196.6 million) last year and non-smartphones will account for 38.3 per cent (818.9 million) of all networked devices in 2019, compared to 68 per cent (943.6 million) last year.

    Connected TVs will account for three per cent (69.4 million) of all networked devices in 2019, compared to two per cent (23.8 million) in 2014. In Middle East and Africa, TVs accounted for two per cent of total internet traffic in 2014, and will be two per cent of total Internet traffic in 2019, Cisco averred.

    General Manager, Cisco Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Mr. Dare Ogunlade, said the relevance of VNI is underscored by the rise in internet of everything.

    He said: “As consumers, businesses and societies in Nigeria head towards the digital era with the Internet of Everything gaining momentum, VNI is even more relevant now in its 10th year than it was in its first. For our customers and the industry ecosystem as a whole, we look forward to continuing to report on these trends, the challenges they bring, and the immense opportunities ahead.

    “We are entering into a very dynamic technological era and the rapid increase in connected devices will benefit a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, transportation, oil and gas, utilities, government, healthcare, sports and entertainment, education, in terms of increased efficiency, reduced costs, and, most important, improvement of the lives of citizens.”

    Key global IP traffic and service predictions by Cisco also showed that several elements will shape IP traffic in the coming years, adding that on more internet users, last year, there were 2.8 billion internet users, or 39 per cent of the world’s population of 7.2 billion, adding that by 2019, there will be about 3.9 billion internet users, or 51 per cent of the world’s projected population of 7.6 billion quoting Population Division of the Dept. of Economic & Social Affairs of the United Nations.

    On proliferation of devices and connections, the firm said 24 billion networked devices/connections is expected online by 2019, compared with 14 billion last year. It urged service provider networks to adapt to an influx of sophisticated devices. These devices include tablets, smartphones, and Internet-enabled ultra-high definition (UHD) TVs, as well as M2M connections and wearables (including new smart watches, health monitors, and others.)

    “Globally, the average fixed broadband speed will increase two-fold from 20.3 Mbps in 2014 to 42.5 Mbps in 2019. Year-over-year, the average global fixed broadband speed grew 26 per cent from 16 Mbps in 2013 to 20.3 Mbps in 2014. From a regional perspective, Western Europe and Asia Pacific continue to lead the world in fixed broadband network speeds.

    New and Advanced Video Services – IP video will account for 80 per cent of all IP traffic by 2019, up from 67 per cent in 2014. The evolution of advanced video services (fr example UHD and spherical/360 video) and increasingly video centric M2M applications are anticipated to create new bandwidth and scalability requirements for service providers. Residential, business and mobile consumers continue to have strong demand for advanced video services across all network and device types, making quality, convenience, content/experience and price key success factors.

    “Mobility Momentum – By 2019, more than 14 percent of monthly IP traffic will derive from cellular connections, and 53 percent of monthly IP traffic will come from Wi-Fi connections globally, making differentiated and monetizable mobile strategies more important for all service providers,” it added.

    On the Internet of Everything (IoE) and M2M Growth, Cisco said IoE trend is showing tangible growth as M2M connections and will more than triple over the next five years (growing to 10.5 billion by 2019). There will be significant IoE adoption across many business verticals (agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, and transportation) as well as connected home deployments (that is video security, smart meters, lighting/temperature control, etc.). Connected Health consumer segment will have the fastest M2M connections growth at 8.6-fold (54 per cent compound annual growth rate or CAGR) from 2014 to 2019

    Cisco predicts a marked increase in network traffic associated with game downloads driven by availability of storage capacity on gaming consoles, an increase in upstream cloud traffic, and increasing fiber connections.

    “Online music will be the fastest-growing residential Internet service with a CAGR of 7.7 percent from 2014-2019, growing from 1.2 billion users to 1.7 billion users by 2019. Mobile location-based service (LBS) will be the fastest growing consumer mobile service with a CAGR of 27.5 percent from 2014-19, growing from 597 million users in 2014 to over two billion users by 2019. Desktop and personal videoconferencing will be the fastest growing business Internet service with a CAGR of 23.5 per cent from 2014-2019, growing from 76 million users in 2014 to 220 million users by 2019,” Cisco said.

     

  • Good, bad, ugly sides of social media platforms

    Good, bad, ugly sides of social media platforms

    The rise of the internet has redefined how man carries out his daily activities. It has broken down the fetters erected by distance and converted the world into a global village. But, by far the most defining moment in the internet age is the boom in social media platforms. Marriages have been consummated through this platform; life-changing jobs secured and many have lost life savings to scammers. Even unlucky ones have lost their lives, LUCAS AJANAKU reports. 

    He was an unemployed engineer based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital. Since he has done all he needed to do by studying hard in the university to make a good grade, he kept faith and believed that one day God will open doors for him.

    A neighbour drew his attention to LinkedIn, one of the about a 100 social media platforms that have sprung out in response to popular demands of a growing youthful global population. LinkedIn, he was told by his ‘good neighbour’ is a professional platform where practitioners in different spheres of human endeavours meet and exchange ideas. He promptly signed onto it and he started building his network of professional friends.

    A job opening opened up elsewhere and one of his professional friends on LinkedIn asked him to apply online and he did. Just like a scene from a movie, he was invited to Lagos for an interview. He did well and was given the job with a multi-national company in the country. He was given a car and accommodation by his employers.

    Mr. Collins Olawale (not real name) relocated to the United States (U.S) about a decade ago in search of a greener pasture. He needed a life partner preferably from his Ilesha, Osun State stock. He signed onto Fecbook, placed his picture and started receiving and placing invites for friendship from prospective friends.

    He met a lady on the platform and after a round of e-dating that spanned three months, he flew into Nigeria, went to Ilesha for the traditional wedding; returned to Lagos and headed to the popular Ikoyi Registry where they signed the dotted lines in their marriage certificate.

    These are but just a few good stories that have come from social media platforms. There are others, ranging from extending financial assistance to ‘needy friends’ and providing offshore accommodation to friends on transit.

    However, the rise of social media has created a “goldmine” for online scammers who are searching dating sites and social media platforms to identify victims and troll endlessly for their personal information, a new report by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has shown.

    Government’s Internet Crime Complaints Centre or ICE said in its annual report that complaints about scammers using social media to perpetrate frauds are on the rise with online dating fraud the most common, according to a report by New York Daily News.

    Overall, online scams reported to government cost America $800million last year alone, according to IC3. But that is only a fraction of the real cost, says IC3 which puts the real figure in the neighbourhood of $3.5billion.

    Victims on online dating fraud are conned out of more than $14,000 on the average with many perpetrators posing as military personnel pretending to look for that special someone. Women, especially those over 40 years of age were more likely to be swindled.

    ICE report says: “Criminals search dating websites, chat rooms and social media websites for personally identifiable information and use well-rehearsed scripts to attract potential victims.

    “Victims of these scams believe they are in a relationship with someone who is honest and trust worthy without meeting them in person.”

    Criminals can easily gain access to peoples’ personal information by setting up spam links for them, to ‘like’ or share online; clicking on the links unknown to them, installs viruses and other malware on their computers.

    IC3 also said the rise of internet currencies such as Britcoin have increased the menace as cybercrimes have doubled  since 2013.

    Other common scams include auction fraud and credit card fraud, impersonation emails (such as the notorious “Nigerian letter”), non-romantic confidence scams and identity theft.

    So many people are in jail across the world because of crimes committed using social media platforms as their operational base.  Christian Nnadike, 34, and Collins Deke, 37, were found guilty by a Vietnamese court for operating a fraud syndicate which specialises in hacking in the email of companies and posing as their foreign partners so as to swindle them. The group were also said to have used the social media platform, Facebook to defraud many unsuspecting victims.

    They were thus sentenced to 12 years imprisonment by the Vietnamese court.

    His Vietnamese wife, Kim who was also implicated as a member of the syndicate, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

    Kim and her Nigerian husband were accused of spearheading the hack syndicate which gained illegal access to the emails of several Vietnamese companies doing business with foreign companies.

    A 21-year-old boy was recently arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for defrauding a Briton in an internet love scam.

    Identified only as Obiechina, he allegedly swindled Kieran Oakes of the sum of 54,000euros (approximately N16.3million) after a social media romance.

    EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, explained in a statement that Obiechina started an affair with Oakes after they met on Facebook in 2013.

    He fooled the woman by claiming to be an American businessman Lisa Jackson and began to take money from her under the pretext of coming over to the United Kingdom (UK) to see her.

    ‘Jackson’ promised to marry his unsuspecting victim and was able to fleece her of a total sum of 54,000 euros before she realised she was being scammed. Oakes petitioned the EFCC after her ‘lover’ failed to show up despite sending money to him.

    Uwujaren said the scammer was arrested in a sting operation and would be charged to court soon.

    The case of Cynthia Osukogu made headlines about four years ago. She was allegedly lured into Lagos by her Facebook friend, drugged, abused, robbed and subsequently tethered to  the bed in her captors’ hotel room at Cosmilla Hotel, Festac Town, Lagos and left to die.

     

    What you gain giving up social networking

     

    Many people have become so addicted to social networking that they feel life will end when they give up visiting the sites. It has been discovered that visiting sites such as Google+, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, MyLife, hi5 and others, take up so much time.

    Life does not end when people give up social networking sites. Instead, life actually improves for the better without social networks. According to thoughtcatalog.com life improves when people give up social networking sites because people will concentrate on their own life rather than on other peoples’ lives.

    When you are not constantly looking at other people’s lives and achievements, you can concentrate on your own and take pleasure in your own achievements rather than constantly worrying about keeping up with others.

    When you stay away from social networking sites, you interact with the real world more far away from illusion.   When you do not have to keep checking your mobile telephone to see what is going on in the digital world, you actually have to talk to people in the real world. When you actually discuss with people, you learn far more than you do from the inconsequential stuff that people post on social networking sites. You also make real friends rather than acquaintances friends.

    When you keep off, you no longer have to worry whether people are re-tweeting your tweets or ‘liking’ your Facebook page neither do you have to interact with people you do not like.

    Thoughtcatalog.com argues that just because you went to school with people, it does not mean that you have anything at all in common with them now. Indeed you may have grown into such different person, that you do not actually like the person that they have now become.

    Again, you safe yourself the hassles of being cyber-stalked neither would you need to be irritated by those who insist on telling the most banal or private details of their day on social networking sites. You will equally safe your sights of those goofy nude pictures people post on these sites. Really would you stand outside the Town Hall and announce to all and sundry some of the things that people say on social networking sites.

    You will get more time to attend to your work because of the distractions that go with each alert of some useless postings on social networking sites, especially Facebook.

    Looking at your social networking feed takes up more time than you think it does. When you stop doing it you will get so much more done both at work and in other areas of your life endeavours.

    You will actually have a life to call your own. When you no longer allow social networking sites to rule your life, you might have a life–one in which you are actually thinking about something more than who has posted some stupid mundane update. You will have the time to actually talk to and listen to others. You might actually live life actively rather than waiting passively for life to come to you via a social networking site.

    Also of importance is the impact of these sites on marriages. Some couples are always at loggerheads because one of them will so often lock himself/herself up in the washroom, opening messages, downloading pictures and responding to latest posts on some of these sites, especially WhatsApp an instant message platform.

    But to stay safe online, IC3 warns users not to respond to unsolicited emails, phone calls or snail mail requesting personal details; not to click links in emails and to regularly check their bank accounts to watch for fraud activity.

  • Govt must enact laws for digital switch-over

    Govt must enact laws for digital switch-over

    Last month, Nigeria missed the digital switch-over deadline set by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Chairman, StarTimes, Mr. Xinxing Pang, says for the country to achieve analogue switch-out, government must clamp down on illegal operators in the digital pay TV sector. He says relevant laws will also need to be enacted while adequate funding must be provided. Pang, who was in the country as part of activities to mark the fifth anniversary of the firm’s operations in Nigeria, spoke with reporters in Abuja. Blessing Olaifa and  Jill Okeke, were there.

    Nigeria is said to be a difficult terrain to do business. Do you subscribe to this?

    In order to operate in some areas, we need to be granted licenses to commence operations and sometimes the approval from the National Broadcasting Commission [NBC] actually takes longer time. This is one major reason our DTT deployment appears to be travelling on the slow lane. However, this year, we have been able to set up 16 transmitting sites so that we can reach wider areas and the current coverage will certainly improve. For DTT to work, there must be presence of transmitter in that area and NBC needs to grant us frequency per location and sometimes these takes up to six months. We feel it is too slow as we feel that if we apply for licenses because of the digitisation, we should be able to benefit from it and when it takes six months, the whole year is already gone.

    We need the frequency to be able to operate in those areas. DTT is different from satellite broadcasting where you can operate from one location and reach everywhere. With DTT, for you to reach everybody, you must be in multiple locations.

    Startimes has clocked five years in business in Nigeria, how would you describe the journey so far?

    Generally, in the last five years, the company has been growing in leaps and bounds as you can see. Today, we are one of the largest in the pay digital TV market in the country. Currently our DTT platform covers more than 40 cities in the country and last year we launched our DTH which covers the entire country. Meanwhile we have started introducing more channels even with local content. We have also been training and retraining our workers for better efficiency with richer content and the quality of these contents and the quality of our programme is increasing gradually. Our subscriber base is now up to 2.6 million in the country and that has been achieved within the past five years. While we are growing and developing ourselves, we are also contributing to the Nigerian society. Today we have created direct job of about 1000 and indirect jobs of over 10,000 for Nigerians. And since we started business in Nigeria five years ago, we have also contributed almost N4 billion as tax revenue to the coffers of the government. All these are testimonies of StarTimes’ achievements within our years of operation in the country. Our services are being enjoyed a lot more by users and for the three consecutive years, we have been awarded the most popular operator in the country.

    Geographically, Nigeria is wide. What is the level of reach as a company in the country?

    Right now, we are in 46 locations; we however cover more than 46 cities. Take for example, in Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State, we get as far as to Offa and Omuaran while in Oshogbo, Osun State capital, our coverage gets to as far as Ife and Ilesha.  And in these fringe cities, we intend to improve our coverage. We are in 46 cities but more than 80 cities are benefitting from our services. Actually, we have covered 80 per cent in all the states while our ambition is to be in all the Senatorial zones of the country. It is possible that by the end of this year, we will be in three cities in each of the 36 states. Only about two states are outside our coverage and these are Yobe and Bornu states because of security concerns.  And we shall soon be in the state as soon the security situation improves.

    You just clocked five in Nigeria, in another five years, what are your business plans for the company?

    We have other plans such as improving our DTT networks in order to keep optimising the coverage of the network but since the country is quite big, we have to use the DTH platform as a very good complement to the DTT coverage. The improvement of our network is to promote the popularities of the local content and its development. In order to enable families enjoy digital TV services, we have provided affordable set-top box and also a digital TV set so that every family can afford this and enjoy our services. We are also introducing new programmes which have been provided in our latest bouquets. These bouquets are also affordable for the low income earners.

    You are operating in a competitive environment, yet the price you offer subscribers keep going down, what is the secret? 

    We have lowered our cost so that we can stay in the competition. It is unlike the satellite operators where the cost remains the same no matter their expansion. The same goes for the content fees which is still the same no matter how many people are watching the TV. Here, we need to increase our subscriber base and growth so that we can make profit. The second part is that StarTimes is a high technology enterprise and so therefore, we are involved in research and development as leader in the technology through innovation in designing and producing recast. We hope to use cutting edge technology to lower the cost of just the set-top-boxes. We also have tried to improve our efficiency. We use economies of scale because we are in charge of the technology and we do produce for other people at marginal profit.

    What really do you think is the problem with the inability of the country to meet the digital migration deadline set by ITU?

    Digital migration in the TV industry is not just a simple process as some of you might think. It is like a huge chain that needs adjustment and involves quite a lot in the industry and for different market and entities. This means that all the stakeholders in the process must participate in making it happen because of their different demands. And for StarTimes, we are just a company; what we can do at the moment is the promotion of the digital migration which we have been doing. We cannot make any decision or fully participate in the decision making process. However, there are strange happenings in the digital TV market in the country as some companies are presently operating illegally.

    Secondly, digitalisation is a very complicated process. It consists of several parts such as the shooting, casting, signals from local and states TV stations as well as the private TV and some international channels. We have to aggregate all the signals into one platform. On the same platform, all the channels can be carried in their digital form. Remember that previously, we have been under the analogue system which is just one analogue channel unlike in digital TV where one channel can carry more than 20 channels. At a point, we would advise the government to create some legislation to stop the importation of analogue TV set into the country. It is only when this is done that the digitalisation of the industry can be realised. Also the Nigerian consumers need to be educated on the benefits of digital migration. Also for digitalisation TV to work in this country, government must subsidise the decoder set as it is done in other countries. Digital TV carries rich content, wide coverage and therefore a good marketing strategy must be put in place. Also a professional team which knows the technology, management and operation must be cinstituted. These conditions are really indispensable for the success of digital TV.

    What is your assessment of the market having been around for thses years?

    On operations in Nigeria, we started business in Africa in 2002 and in Nigeria since 2009. We have not stopped promoting the digital migration in the Nigerian market and for StarTimes we have already prepared ourselves for the digital migration. The only issue now is that we cannot decide for the government when they should complete the migration. We wish that the migration can start as soon as possible because we all shall benefit immensely from the migration.

    The issue of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is important as companies are expected to give back to their host communities. What are your firm’s footprints in this area?

    As an enterprise in Nigeria, we have been involved in doing genuine business in compliance with the laws of the land like paying our taxes regularly. Secondly, we have tried to provide high quality product and services to our customers and thirdly we have been providing support to vulnerable communities which we often don’t want to mention in the media.

    Before 2010, the price of the pay TV services was on the higher side with subscription also very high and unaffordable and with the entrance of StarTimes into the market, a lot of Nigerians can now afford digital TV services. This was made possible with StarTimes which forced our competitors to lower their prices. We realised also that this is a major contribution to the society. We feel honoured to have several awards in the few years of our operation. We are the only digital TV station operating in states with less than $1 gross domestic product (GDP). We are ready to get to the poor even though business may not be doing well in those areas. We are also doing a lot in the areas of healthcare and children. We did a lot to create awareness during the Ebola scourge.

    ‘Digital migration in the TV industry is not just a simple process as some of you might think. It is like a huge chain that needs adjustment and involves quite a lot in the industry and for different market and entities. This means that all the stakeholders in the process must participate in the process because of their different demands. And for StarTimes, we are just a company; what we can do at the moment is the promotion of the digital migration which we have been doing. We cannot make any decision or fully participate in the decision making process’

    Sport is an area where pay TV stations appear to be having interest.  What concrete impacts have you made?

    We believe that the German Bundesliga is an exciting football league in European football right now and we have acquired the media right for the next five seasons. With this, we don’t intend to increase the price of our bouquets as we shall be giving the right to air it free to the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) so that Nigerians can enjoy it. By next week, we shall sign another agreement with another football league in the top five football leagues and with this our sporting content shall hit roof top. We also have the European Cup qualifying series and the qualifiers for the World Cup in Europe and so, altogether there will be more than 500 football matches till 2019. We have concluded the deal with the International Champions Cup for the next five years for the South of the Sahara area. Our platform includes the World Cup Under-20 in the next World Cup in 2017. Our platform is user-friendly to all our customers as our newly launched set top box can receive signal from UHF to DTT.

     

  • Microsoft gives out N5tr worth of software globally

    Microsoft gives out N5tr worth of software globally

    The world’s number one software maker, at the weekend unveiled a $200 billion free software bonanza, with the launch of its new Windows 10 Operating System software.

    Under the plan, virtually every personal computer (PC) user anywhere in the world, will now be entitled to a copy of the new Operating System Software, free of any payments for life. They are available for free download from the Microsoft website and there are currently some two billion Windows users worldwide. More than 100 million downloads have been made worldwide.

    Although Microsoft seems to be offering some conditions for upgrade of old Windows installations, the novel package is possibly the world’s largest software gifting in history, since virtually every PC user is allowed to download the software free of any charges.

    Microsoft says only users of genuine copies of its old Windows 7 or Windows 8 will be able to upgrade to the new software on their old computers. The new installation ensures this by asking for the Serial Number of the old Windows, during the upgrade and declines upgrade of any old Windows installation done with an illegal Windows copy or already black listed Serial number.  Microsoft Corporation has however not placed any restrictions to prevent fresh installation of the new Operating System software, even on PCs on which illegal copies had been previously installed. Only extremely low configuration computers will be unable to run the new software.

    This latest software release by Microsoft Corporation and the free full software offer over the next one year, is apparently the organisation’s strategic way of winning back leadership of the global Operating System software market, which it has lost to the Google-backed Android Operating system, now running on computer Tablets and smart mobile phones worldwide.

    From August next year, every copy of the new Windows Operating System software, will be sold for a minimum of $110 for installation on every new computer. Corporate organisations, government agencies and private business users will however pay to upgrade their existing Windows versions to various Enterprise Editions of the new Windows 10 beginning today.

    Microsoft Corporation’s Windows software, which used to be run on nine of every 10 of the world’s Personal Computers. That market control has dropped to just about two in every 10 Personal Computer products and devices in use worldwide. Microsoft’s new goal may be to ensure that virtually every Personal Computer user worldwide, is running a genuine copy of its flagship Operating System software.

    It is a de javu of sort, with the unique unveiling and free offer,  coming almost exactly 30 years after Microsoft Corporation released its Windows 1 free of any additional payments, with the world’s first personal computers. The Windows 1 Operating System software released in November 1985, became the software running on 90% of the world’s personal computers.

    The introduction of inexpensive, but very stable portable Tablet Computers, running the Google corporation-backed Android Operating System, some 10 years ago, has over the years proved to be the game changer for Microsoft’s hold on the global Operating System software industry.  Today’s Android-based Tablet Computers, have very minimal electric power demand, running for days on single battery charges. They have become very popular replacement for PC notebooks and laptops, because they are capable of doing virtually all that users of Personal Computers can do on PCs running Windows.

    The arrival some six years ago, of inexpensive smart mobile phones, running virtually the same Android Operating System as Tablet computers, totally knocked the bottom off any Microsoft plan at recapturing the market. Today,  there are almost four million Android-based Tablet computers, mobile phones and other devices, all capable of running the same software and interpreting the same programming codes and instructions within themselves.