The Nation Newspaper

Category: Infotech

  • Cyber insurance scepticism exposes firms to attacks

    Distrust of insurers is leaving businesses vulnerable to the effects of cyber attacks, a KPMG survey has revealed.

    Nearly 80 per cent of organisations belonging to KPMG’s International Information Integrity Institute (I-4) do not have cyber insurance in place.

    Belief that insurers will not pay out on a claim is the top reason information security heads are not buying cyber insurance, the survey revealed.

    This is despite 79 per cent believing that cyber security threats are likely to increase over the next year and 74 per cent regarding organised crime and state-sponsored activity as the biggest threats.

    For those I-4 members whose businesses have purchased cyber insurance, 48 per cent think the policies may not pay out if they need it.

    “It is worrying to see that so many businesses would rather risk having no insurance in place to protect themselves against a threat they believe is very real,” said I-4 head Mark Waghorne.

    “It is also disappointing that cyber insurance is viewed as providing little comfort to those who have it, as almost half don’t believe they would be compensated properly if push came to shove.”

    According to the survey, about a third of respondents believe the market for cyber insurance is not yet mature enough.

    Waghorne said insurers will need to deliver more comprehensive packages to convince the business community that they can and will protect against losses on cyber crime.

    However, he said discussions during a later debate at the most recent I-4 Forum showed that the availability of specialist, focused cyber-related insurance has much improved during the past year with clear evidence that carriers do pay out.

    “This indicates that those organisations which have avoided cyber insurance in the past should perhaps revisit their positions,” said Waghorne.

     In February 2015, a study by The Corporate Executive Programme (CEP) revealed that United Kingdom (UK) companies are lagging behind US companies in taking out insurance to cushion the financial impact of cyber attacks.

    Only 13 per cent of large and mid-sized companies in the UK with annual turnover of $1million to $1billion have dedicated cyber insurance, the study showed.

    Some 40 per cent of United States (U.S.) companies polled said they had dedicated cyber insurance, indicating greater familiarity with cyber security product offerings than their UK counterparts.

    Overall, only 20 per cent of respondents said their organisation had dedicated cyber cover – an equal number had no cover at all.

    In November 2014, the UK government joined forces with the insurance industry to improve how UK businesses manage cyber security risk.

    The initiative builds on the government’s 10 Steps to Cyber Security and the Cyber Essentials Scheme as part of the UK Cyber Security Strategy.

    The UK government believes working with the insurance industry to develop a comprehensive cyber security insurance model will encourage private sector firms to manage cyber risk.

    However, the government has emphasised that cyber insurance does not replace the need for good cyber security practice.

  • Phone: Huawei P8

    Phone: Huawei P8

    The Huawei P8 takes the Chinese smartphone manufacturer up a level, but can it really challenge Samsung, HTC and Apple?

    Huawei Ascend P7 smartphone impressed with its slimline good looks and top-quality camera, but it was undermined by sluggish performance and an over-fussy UI. This year, the company is aiming to improve on that with its latest flagship device, the Huawei P8

    It certainly seems to have achieved that from a design perspective. The P8 is super-slim, measuring a mere 6.9mm from front to back, it weighs only 144g, and it looks great. The curved edges contrast pleasingly with the dead flat front and matte-finish rear, and the bevelled edges give it an expensive look that’s not too dissimilar to the Samsung Galaxy S6 – impressive considering the P8 is considerably cheaper.

    There are a couple of areas where the Huawei P8 trumps the S6, too. Although there’s no removable battery, the P8 has a microSD slot for storage expansion, it’s water- and dust-resistant – so it should survive an encounter with a hot cup of tea, or a soaking in a rain shower – and the camera doesn’t protrude at the rear of the handset.

    The only major downside is a lack of Gorilla Glass on the front, so in time one may find it picks up scuffs and scratches more easily than its pricier rivals. So far, there no evidence of that.

      Camera

    A smartphone is about more than looks, and Huawei has done plenty to boost the phone’s credentials in other areas as well. In particular, the 13-megapixel camera sees a couple of innovations. First on the list is the “world’s first” four-colour imaging sensor: instead of merely three sub-pixels, the sensor has an extra white pixel. Huawei claims this RGBW arrangement is able to capture more accurate colours than a traditional RGB sensor.

    Second is that the camera has its own image processor, which is supposed to deliver improved scene recognition and more balanced exposures. The above innovations are accompanied by optical image stabilisation (OIS) and a dual-LED flash, plus an 8-megapixel camera on the front.

    The results are impressive. The camera is quick to launch and take pictures, plus it focuses quickly and confidently. The quality is fantastic, particularly in low light, where the OIS and a wide-angle f/2.0 lens mean the user can take handheld shots at shutter speeds as low as 1/4sec.

    In good light, the camera dealt well with even tricky scenes, retaining detail in bright skies without losing detail in shadowy areas. Video looks just as good – crisp and rock-steady in all but the most extreme situations.

    The only gripes are that in some conditions, pictures can look slightly washed out. That’s easily fixed by bumping up the saturation in a photo editor. There’s no 4K video capture, however.

    There are also a number of gimmicky software functions that you’ll probably use only once or twice: a light-painting mode, aimed at making it easy to capture tail-light streaks, misty water and star trail photographs; and Director Mode, which allows you to combine four videos captured on different phones into the same project for multi-angle videos. More usefully, the camera’s macro mode can capture subjects from as close as 4cm.

     Performance

    Core components comprise a Hisilicon Kirin 930/935 octa-core processor with twin quad-core CPUs running at frequencies of 2GHz and 1.5GHz respectively. There’s 3GB of RAM, a Mali T624 GPU, and either 16GB or 64GB of storage, depending on the model you choose.

    It feels nippy – much more so than last year’s P7 – but benchmarks reveal that despite the impressive-sounding statistics, the P8 isn’t in the same league as top-end phones such as the HTC One M9 and Samsung Galaxy S6, with the GPU particularly letting the side down.

    Pure number crunching is, in fact, pretty strong, with Geekbench 3 results only a touch behind the HTC One M9, but a frame rate of 18fps in the GFXBench T-Rex HD test is a long way behind the M9’s 49fps.

    The battery looks competitive at a capacity of 2,680mAh, but it, too, lags behind. With moderate use, hardly any gaming and only a modicum of web browsing and photography, we found it would make it through a day, but it needed recharging every evening. Competitors such as the Sony Xperia Z3 and Samsung Galaxy S6 would comfortably last into the second day under such use. This was very much reflected in our battery tests, with video playback depleting capacity at a rate of 14.9% per hour and audio streaming using it up at 6.9 per cent per hour – both results are well below average.

    The P8’s 1080p screen is better. Brightness is fine, reaching 419cd/m2 at maximum settings, and viewing angles are excellent. The IPS-Neo technology helps it to achieve a contrast ration of 1,461:1 – higher than normal for IPS panels. However, its colour accuracy isn’t all that great, and as a result it lacks the visual impact that phones such as the Samsung Galaxy S6 possess.

     Other features, software

    Elsewhere, as with most Huawei devices, the P8 is packed with novelty features. There’s a crazy feature called “Knuckle sense” that allows you to capture a screenshot with a tap of your knuckle; utterly pointless unless you’re an IT journalist. In fact, we could do entirely without Huawei’s rather heavy-handed Emotion UI, which in our view doesn’t improve a jot on the underlying Android 5.02.

    Still, Huawei has added some more useful features, including improvements to call quality via wind-noise reduction, automatic microphone sensitivity and earpiece volume control. We had no complaints about call quality whether indoors or outdoors, although during speakerphone calls, the speaker had an unpleasant scratchy quality when we turned up the volume

    You can also wake up the phone with a customisable key phrase, then say, “where are you?” to help you find the unit if it’s lost down the side of the sofa. Huawei has also introduced a number of features aimed at improving the phone’s ability to hold a strong signal. In the absence of an anechoic chamber in which to scientifically test this, however, it’s impossible to say definitively whether the P8 is better or worse than the average smartphone.There’s even a dual-SIM version of the phone, where the micro SD slot can cleverly double as a second nano SIM slot. A simple idea, and one that could prove useful to frequent travellers.

     Verdict

    The Huawei P8 finds itself in an awkward position. On the one hand, it isn’t a match for the very best smartphones we’ve seen. The S6 is secure on its throne at the very top, and the HTC One M9, Sony Xperia Z3, Nexus 6 and iPhone 6 are all better phones, with superior battery life and graphics performance in particular.

    On the other hand, it isn’t quite cheap enough to get our wholehearted recommendation, especially with its disappointing battery life. The P8 is certainly an interesting proposition, especially if you value great camera quality above all else, but we recommend you investigate options such as Samsung Galaxy S5, which is cheaper SIM-free, or the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, which can be had for around 420 pounds, before you take the plunge.

     

    •Culled from PC PRO

  • Digital migration blues

    Digital migration blues

    On June 17 , Nigeria is expected to join other members of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to migrate from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT). A digital television service provider, StarTimes, says it has prepared for the switchover. But there fears that this country may miss the global timeline because of tardy preparation, LUCAS AJANAKU reports.

    Sometime in 2005, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in Geneva, announced to its 193 members consisting of 70 private members, that June 17, this year is the final switch off date from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT).

    TechTarget, an online search networking platform, defines DTT “as digital television (DTV) broadcast entirely over earthbound circuits. A satellite is not used for any part of the link between the broadcaster and the end user. DTT provides a clearer picture and superior sound quality when compared to analogue TV, with less interference. DTT offers far more channels, thus providing the viewer with a greater variety of programmes to choose from. DTTV can be viewed on personal computers. Using a split-screen format, a computer user can surf the Web while watching TV.”

    According to ITU, digital television allows for better picture and sound quality, as well as more choice of channels and programmes.

    Former ITU Secretary General, Dr Hamadoun Toure, said the migration exercise will lead to freeing up of about one-third of frequencies which can then be used for the provision of other services.

    Over the past years, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has been giving assurances that the country will meet the June deadline.

    Its Director General, Emeka Mba said after the ITU deadline, there would be no more international support for analogue spectrum as any operator still operating on the platform would have been technically edged out.

    He said in pursuit of meeting the ITU deadline, the Federal Government has finalised and harmonised discussions over the transmission network parameters with all Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member states.

    According to him, specifications for the set-top-box and Digital Television Receivers (DTR) had also been finalised with other countries in the sub-region to ensure a seamless transition.

    According to him, broadcasters would be responsible for content while a Signal Distributor or Carrier would be saddled with Transmission of the signals to viewers.

    Aside the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), the NBC chief said the Federal Government would licence two other signal carriers for optimum benefit for viewers across the country, adding that the Federal Government has begun the process of licensing the second Signal Distributor.

    Mr. Mba said the focus of the NBC now is ensuring more broadcasting services are created such that the current gaps in the industry are effectively addressed.

    He said: “Our focus at the NBC is promoting more broadcasting services to fill current gaps in content and services such as themed channels, special interest channels, educational and children’s channels, regional channels as well as new HD services.”

    But an Executive Director, Pinnacle Communications, Mr. Dipo Onifade, has said it is wishful thinking that Nigeria will be there. Pinnacle is a leading broadcasting firm that won a bid to distribute signals to homes in the DTT programme.

    He said the June digital switch-over was a hoax, designed to hoodwink the government and give it the impression that it was working.

    According to him, it will be impossible for the country to distribute 26 million set-top-boxes to households with less than 40 days to go, adding that there is a pending legal action before the law court which could also hamper the country’s switch-over plan before the deadline date.

    Onifade insisted that the NBC was not prepared for DTT as more than 95 per cent of television boxes in Nigeria are analogue while 26 million households are yet to get the set-top-boxes, accusing that the NBC conniving with a South African-based firm to shut out indigenous firms from participating in the process.

    He said every household may be compelled to pay over N6,000  to secure the set-top-boxes to enjoy the dividends of the digital migration.

    “We are talking about digital switchover. Nigeria is nowhere near being ready to switchover. This takes time. About 95 per cent of television boxes in Nigeria are analogue. How are you going to distribute 26 million boxes to households in Nigeria before the deadline? These issues have not been ironed out. So, we are not ready to migrate yet,” he said.

    But despite the pall of doubts hanging over digital migration, StarTimes said it has put its house in order for the programme.

    “Creativity and innovation are keys to success. Having adopted these keys, StarTimes, foremost digital TV service provider, reassures its existing and potential subscribers of its determination to offer more innovative and affordable sought-after channels across its bouquets in line with its vision,” the firm explained.

    It added that having broken the barrier hindering Nigerians from owning a Pay TV, StarTimes links several homes across social status to digital television (DTV), which is a global phenomenon, with its four-television bouquet fully loaded, sought-after channels. Now, StarTimes makes digital TV affordable and enjoyable for Nigerians, including those who are yet to get a decoder. Getting a decoder and recharging regularly has been made very easy and convenient.

    Its Public Relations Manager, StarTimes, NTA Star-TV Network, Mr. Israel Bolaji, said DTV is for all; and as such, it should be affordable to all Nigerians. He said: “The increase in the number of relevant channels on the bouquet was done in a bid to continue to satisfy Nigerians. We are working hard and smart to prepare Nigerians towards digital migration by offering our customers affordable bundle that makes a convenient switch over from analogue to digital television and promote inspirational television experience that creates values.”

    He explained that the company introduced new channels to break the barrier and offer more affordable and efficient services to both existing and potential subscribers, adding that DTV is not meant for the high and mighty in the society but for all; and as such, affordable service should not be a barrier for all Nigerians. “The increase in the number of relevant channels on our bouquets was done in a bid to continue to satisfy Nigerians. We work smart to improve the quality and quantity of our services and also wet the appetite of Nigerians towards digital migration with our priceless bundle. We are determined to ensure no Nigerian home is left behind in the DTV migration expected to happen by middle of next month,” he said.

    The firm also launched StarTimes Light, a new stylish and compact DVB-T2 decoder which Bolaji said is smaller, lighter and handy set-top-box designed to suit the fashionable, classy and trendy lifestyle of subscribers without paying anything extra. “It is fully DVB-T2 and DVB-T compliant with digital picture quality, simple remote control and friendly user interface. It also comes with automatic software upgrade, allows users edit favourite channels and enjoy parental control,” he added.

    With an array of interesting channels for sports, music, movies, news, kids and teens’ entertainment, documentary, religion and gadget, Bolaji said: “ StarTimes is set to support Nigerians towards digital migration by offering them valuable family entertainment at an affordable rate that makes a convenient switch over from analogue to digital television and promote inspirational television experience that creates values.”

    He said the channels are aimed at offering the company’s countless subscribers more robust and improved DTV experience as the country approaches the full DTV switch-over. He said: “With this help of StarTimes, Nigerians now enjoy a refreshing digital television experience with N600 subscription on Nova, N1,200 for Basic, Classic for N2,400 and Unique goes for N3,600 every month.  With focus on ensuring that DTV becomes affordable and enjoyable to all, StarTimes decoder now goes for N990 with N2,400 minimum subscription.”

    Apart from the affordable bouquets, the indigenous service provider also recorded a milestone recently when it signed an exclusive deal with iROKOtv, an online movie platform in France. StarTimes formed a formidable partnership with the company  to offer its over 4.6 million subscribers two new sought-after channels, which are iROKO PLAY and iROKO PLUS, on the leading African Pay TV platform in 14 countries across the globe.

    He said its subscribers now have the choice of viewing several entertaining and educating channels like iROKO PLAY, which is available on the StarTimes Classic Bouquet, with classic Nollywood movies from 2007 onwards, with a brand new exclusive movie added to the schedule each month or iROKO PLUS that is on the StarTimes Unique Bouquet offering premium Nollywood movies from 2011 till date, with the addition of an exclusive brand new movie every week. Others are AMC Series, Star Zone, Child Smile, Star Kungfu, Star Dadin Kowa, CCTV News, Star Music, IQRAA and TBN, and Star Sport Focus.

    He said the Star Sport Focus, an exclusive sports news bulletin channel, can be viewed on both StarTimes (channel 250) and on StarSat (channel 240). This new channel is available on all StarTimes and StarSat bouquets. The channel offers subscribers a dynamic fast-paced overview of sports as a whole, and brings to viewers a 90-minutes sports news content block daily and content for magazine shows. Viewers can also watch the best action of top leagues in Africa, La Liga, Bundesliga and many more on Goalissimo.

    It promotes African Sports via Sports News Africa and shows exciting news and information on wrestling, Bundesliga, Top football leagues and other favourite sports actions. Viewers can follow choice legendary sports stars from Africa and all over the world on the new channel.

    Bolaji emphasised that StarTimes provides door-to-door services, which unveils the originality and selfless service of the brand as its major concern is not just to provide digital television experience. “We show care and give needed support to our customers; our door to door after sales duties includes: outdoor antennal installation to subscribers on purchase of the decoder, product usage, technical assistance and other services required to be delivered,” he said.

  • Smartphone penetration in Nigeria hits 30%

    Global leader in personal computer (PCs, Lenovo, has said smartphone penetration in the country has reached 30 per cent mark, adding that there are still more rooms for growth in the smartphone segment considering the population of the country and huge youth population.

    Its Executive Director, Mobile Business Group, Middle East and Africa (MEA), Shashank Sharma, who spoke during the unveiling of three smartphones into the market, said Nigeria remains strategic to the firm in its African operations.

    He said: “Nigeria is one of the fastest growing smartphone markets globally. With about 30 per cent smartphone penetration, the country represents huge growth potential for Lenovo.

    “In the past one year, Lenovo has made strong progress with its Nigerian consumers. We consider the region as a principal destination for investment, even as we continue to record robust growth in sales.  Sustaining a solid in-country presence is very important to us from both social and economic standpoints. We will continue to expand our business and invest heavily in this market.”

    “We are building on the strong relationships that we have with Nigerians by meeting their demand for smartphones with first-class design, smarter features and improved functionality, with special focus on our latest range of mobile devices. Our continued organic growth and expansion puts us in a great position to maintain our momentum.  We have tremendous balance between our core business, especially a profitable PC business, and growth engines in tablets, enterprise, ecosystem and smartphones.  We expect to continue to build on these strong results.”

    At the event, the firm unveiled its new entrants into the market; the Lenovo P70 with an epic 4000mAh battery which can lasts up to three days, the Lenovo S90, a perfect selfie companion with an 8-megapixel front-facing camera and front light emitting diode (LED) flash and the ergonomically designed Lenovo S60 that showcases users’ fun and social sides.

    The dual-SIM 4G LTE Lenovo P70 smartphone packs an epic 4000mAh battery that could last up to three days for an always-on life. It comes with a 5-inch display, high definition resolution of 720×1280 pixels, a 1.7 GHz quad-core processor, Mediatek MT6752 64-bit chip, 2 GB of RAM as well as 16 GB of internal memory which can be expanded to up to 32 GB using the device’s microSD card slot. The P70 also features a 13-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front camera. The device is powered by the latest Android 4.4 KitKat operating system.

    Also powered by Android’s 4.4 KitKat operating system,  the dual-SIM 4G LTE Lenovo S90 smartphone comes  with a Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8916 64-bit 1.2GHz Quad Core processor, a five-inch Super AMOLED high definition display, a 13-megapixel rear auto-focus with LED Flash and PureCel Sensor as well as a front eight-megapixel fixed-focus with LED Flash and back-illuminated (BSI) Sensor. It boasts 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory

    On its part, the dual-SIM and light (128 gram) Lenovo S60 4G LTE smartphone comes with a 13-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel f2.2 wide-angle selfie camera, 2GB RAM, 8GB ROM and 32GB of expandable storage for a large library. Photos, videos, and web content can be viewed in vibrant high definition on the device’s crisp five-inch high definition screen. The combination of an Android 4.4 KitKat operating system and a  superb Qualcomm  Snapdragon 1.2GHz 64-bit Quad Core processor ensures that  the Lenovo S60 is primed to provide users with unlimited fun.

  • Telcos lose N20b yearly to opex, arbitrary fees

    Telcos in Nigeria lose about N20 billion annually to punitive operating expenditure (opex) and multiple taxation and arbitrary charges, the Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Segun Ogunsanya has said.

    He has therefore urged the Federal Government to come up with a unified tax system to enable businesses and investors know what taxes are supposed to be paid to the government.

    Ogunsanya who spoke in Lagos at CEO Forum organised by Business Day said it is estimated that increased operating costs and lost revenue costs around N9billion each year to the telecoms industry or about N20billion if most of the arbitrary fees/charges in some key states are upheld.

    He said the government should unify taxes under one code and also bring to book vandals who deliberately destroy telecoms infrastructure.

    With Nigerian Telecoms Industry: Five Years Ahead, as the theme of discussion at the forum, he noted that strong growth is expected from the mobile financial services over the forecasting period and operators should ensure they are able to offer products to the large unbanked population of Nigeria, while growing demand for mobile apps and e-commerce will have a positive knock-on effect on mobile operators.

    According to the Airtel CEO, Nigeria offers exciting opportunities for telecoms investors as a large population with rising incomes position the country as one of the most attractive destinations for investment on the African continent.‘

    He said the country has massive bandwidth capacity from the four undersea cables that is yet untapped, arguing that the capacity from these undersea cables will provide opportunities to domestic and international investors to take advantage of the growing broadband and data industry.

    But for the industry to attain its full potentials, he said key bottlenecks must urgently be removed telecoms industry to reach its full market potential. He listed these issues to include spectrum availability and adequacy, government commitment to the National Broadband Plan (NBP), tackling multiple-taxation, reliable and cost-effective power supply, protection of telecoms infrastructure from vandalism and resolving restrictions on telcos’ activity in mobile money.

    He said due to explosive growth in mobile data traffic, operators require more spectrum to support this growth, adding that there is an urgent need to expedite the release / award of frequency to operators as this will facilitate industry development.

    Ogunsanya also decried the incident of multiple-taxation, lamenting that revenue loss from idle or shut down base stations represents the main source of negative impact of multiple taxation and network vandalism for the industry. Between two and three per cent of Nigeria’s sites are affected by arbitrary shutdown and vandalism at any given point in time, he lamented.

  • ‘How to achieve gender parity in ICT’

    Phase 3 Telecom has urged parents/guardians, private and public institutions to expose girls to information communication technology (ICT) tools in their early stages to enable them appreciate and pursue careers in the industry. It said it is only by doing so that the current gap between male and female ICT professionals could be bridged and gender parity achieved.

    Its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Stanley Jegede who spoke during this year’s Girls in ICT Day, argued that early education, digitalised training as well as developing technology skills for women and harnessing those skills promptly is critical to Africa’s rapid socio-economic development and sustainability.

    He said: “One of the key elements in addressing poverty is the empowerment of women. There is no better way to do this than ensuring the sustained representation of women in the world of technology to aid rapid socio-economic development of the African continent.”

    He maintains that this and building a crop of young African girls to actively participate and compete in the evolving digital world as well as innovative global ICT space; is the basis for Phase3 Telecom’s commitment to continue to support the International Girls in ICT Day initiative.

    Jegede expressed optimism that the global ICT evolution will gain greater momentum in Africa as more and more institutions and agencies advocate ICT skills for women on the continent. He believes that “young African girls must be encouraged early to see the advantages and dividends of the dynamic and fast-evolving ICT sector”.

    Phase 3 Telecom collaborated with e-Business Life Communications to mark this year’s edition of the globally celebrated International Girls in ICT Day which is an initiative of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

    With Expanding Horizons and Changing Attitudes as its theme, the initiative is a global effort to raise awareness on empowering and encouraging girls and young women to consider studies and careers in ICTs. To date, over 111,000 girls and young women have taken  part in more than 3,500 events held in 140 countries around the world.

    Jegede praised the commitment of eBusiness Life to ensuring the programme holds year-on-year to mentor and support girls who have keen interest in walking the ICT career path whether in engineering, design, operations or research. It is notable that in West Africa, women are significantly under-represented across the board in ICT sector – from education and training programmes right through to high level careers both in the academia or industry.

    Managing Director of eBusiness Life Communication Mrs. Ufuoma Emuophedaro said the need to sensitise young girls is premised on the fact that society has unconsciously promoted the stereotypical ideals that technical discipline, especially ICT-based careers, are best suited for the male gender.

    She said efforts should be made to introduce young girls to career opportunities in technical fields in both the public and private sectors to help them have a wider range of options and contribute their quota to the industry and in the development of the economy. She added that the ICT Girls’ Day workshop and attending campaign will further open up opportunities for girls in the sector.

  • ‘Local capacity devt vital for industry growth’

    ‘Local capacity devt vital for industry growth’

    Etisalat has said the development of indigenous capacity in the telecoms sector is important if the gains made so far would be sustained.

    The telco said it realised this early enough and had since taken steps in that direction, promisng that it will continue do more to help train the requisite man power to grow the sector.

    Its Public Relations Manager, Chineze Amanfo, who spoke in Lagos during the quarterly seminar organised by the Nigeria Information and Communications Technology Reporters’ Association (NITRA) which the telco supported, said no nation develops without first developing its manpower requirements.

    She said it was in the realisation of this that the telco in May 16, 2013, introduced the Masters in Telecommunications Engineering Programme at the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

    According to her, the Etisalat Telecoms Engineering Programme, a Master’s Degree course in Telecommunications Engineering run at the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, provides training and exposure to about 20 students annually.

    To provide the  needed local expertise to sustain the initiative, Etisalat also sponsors four lecturers to study for a PhD in Telecommunications Engineering at Plymouth University, United Kingdom (UK).

    As a demonstration of its commitment to celebrate excellence, she said the telco  also takes the top three students of the programme on an all-expense paid trip to Dubai for training at the Etisalat Academy to allow the students to have practical experience of what they have learned in the classroom.

    According to her, other initiatives directed at developing local man power through education include the Adopt-a-School programme in collaboration with the Lagos State government. Under the initiative, Etisalat adopted three schools namely, Akande Dahunsi Memorial Secondary School Ikoyi, Edward Blyden Primary School Okesuna and Rabiatu Thompson Primary School, Surulere in Lagos State.

    According to Amanfo, Etisalat has also been at the forefront of promoting local innovation in the telecoms industry, and promised that the company would do more in engendering participation in local innovation, especially now that the subscriber number across all networks is increasing daily, with its current figure put at 142 million active subscribers. She emphasised the need to further grow the telecoms sector through capacity building and local innovation solutions.

    Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Eugene Juwah, who was represented at the seminar by NCC Commissioner, Dr. Mike Onyia, said: “From a regulatory point of view, innovation is key to the telecom industry. After the initial discoveries and development in the telecom sector, it is innovation that has catapulted growth in the sector to the height that it is achieved today. Innovation in the industry is also an attribute that is not exclusive to nations or states. The ready examples of uncountable number of apps developed in different parts of the world, riding on all available networks or platforms, shows that innovation is driving the industry.”

    According to Juwah, the Commission has adopted technology neutrality in its licensing process. The reason for this is to provide opportunity for creativity and innovation in the provision of services. Restriction of service to specific technologies may not allow for innovation.

    Provision of choice with the entry of multiple providers, and encouraging competition using regulatory tools is also designed to encourage

  • Technology, integrity gave Buhari victory, says Zinox chief

    The deployment of the tools of information communication technology (ICT) to the last general elections and the integrity of the chairman of the electoral umpire, the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), have been identified as the two factors that aided the transparent victory of Gen Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) at the polls.

    Chairman, Zinox Group, Chief Leo Stan Ekeh said the adoption of card readers which reduced very significantly incidences of rigging, impersonation, multiple voting and other electoral vices paved the way for the peaceful conduct of the election.

    He added that the personal integrity of the INEC chair, Prof. Attahiru Jega went a long way in lending credibility to the process while helping the nation to avert a needless electoral crisis.

    Ekeh, who is chairman of the biggest ICT group in sub-Saharan Africa and who has been at the vanguard of the campaign of digital technology adoption in Africa, spoke in Lagos.

    Ekeh urged improvement on the card reader technology to graduate to a more innovative level such as electronic voting as a means of eliminating fraud in the electoral process.

    He said: “Innovation is very important; we must embrace technology in every facet of our nation-hood to make this a reality. The just concluded elections went a long way in improving voters’ confidence in the process and this was due to the adoption of card readers and the personal integrity of Prof. Jega which saved the nation from crisis which could have resulted from an otherwise flawed process.

    “However, we must keep our fingers on the handle of innovation to build more credibility in the system. In future elections, the option of electronic voting could be considered as this will definitely put paid to various forms of rigging. This will help create a situation where over 95 per cent of the electorate will begin to accept the outcome of an election as representing the will of the majority.”

    Ekeh, whose Zinox Technologies demystified electoral registration for the 2007 and 2011 polls with the supply of computers and card readers which aided the building of a voter database for INEC, also urged government to give the youths freedom to succeed through technology.

    He said: “Technology helps unleash skill and style to the world and anyone who fails to embrace it runs the risk of being left behind. We must encourage the younger generation to achieve global success through technology.

    “With the enabling environment and right policies by government, we can create many more billionaires of the calibre of Aliko Dangote and Mike Adenuga from our youths and the multiplier effects on our economy will go a long way in creating wealth and more jobs for a lot more people.”

  • Smartphone users and battery headache

    Smartphone users and battery headache

    Since the liberalisation of the telecoms sector over a decade ago, subscriber figures have risen to nearly 150 million over the period. Feature phones have given way to smartphones. Social media platforms too have grown with huge data generation. In all these, battery life of smartphones has become a big headache as a result of  power challenges. LUCAS AJANAKU writes on how subscribers are coping. 

    Praise Kokumo was stranded at Oshodi Bus Stop a few weeks ago. She had an important meeting to attend at Obalende on Lagos Island and was pressed for time. Desperate to leave the bus stop notorious for harbouring all manners of characters, ranging from pick-pockets to petty thieves, she flagged down a private car. The driver, a reporter, offered her a ride.

    No sooner had she settled in the car that she reached for her bag,  unzipped it and brought out a mobile phone car charger. “Sir, if you don’t mind, I’d like to charge one of my phones. I use three mobile phones and all the batteries have gone down. I couldn’t get fuel to run my generator and charge them. That is the condition we find ourselves now,” she told the reporter.

    The reporter was bewildered because for one, she does not own a car. Even if she owns one, since she was not driving, she was supposed to leave the charger in the car.

    Kokumo is not alone.  Ask smartphone users in the country to list three things they do not like about their phones, there are chances that one will be battery running down far too quickly.

    A friend recently narrated the story about his Nokia 3310, which he misplaced somewhere in his home in 2001. He later discovered it two weeks later and was shocked that its battery still had two bars left on it.

    In Nigeria, many people seem to have resigned to charging their smartphones every day, plugging it overnight for it to be ready the following morning. People have even identified this and have taken advantage of it to come up with power bank. So, while the phone is being charged, the power bank too is charged along so that when the phone runs out of battery, they resort to the power bank. To those, who like going out light, power bank is certainly an additional burden.

    In time past, BlackBerry phones battery often lasted for between three and four days between charges. The situation has since changed, no thanks to its a failed attempt to ape Apple and Android.

    Phone users will certainly never get back to that “last-all-week” stamina of pre-smart handsets. Battery life has become quite miserable nowadays for users.

    According to PC Pro, an online ICT industry platform, when choosing a new phone, there are a few things one should consider in order to get as much runtime as possible.

    The first, pretty obviously, is to pick the phone with the biggest battery.

    Most manufacturers seem to be in a race to produce the slimmest units possible. For example, each new iPhone is always a little slimmer than the previous one – but as the phone becomes slimmer, so does the battery inside.

    A few manufacturers have tried to buck this trend, such as Motorola with its various Maxx handsets, which avoids svelteness for stamina; for example, the recent Droid Maxx has a 3,500mAh battery beneath its back cover. Unlike some of the earlier Maxx phones, the Droid Maxx isn’t particularly porky at 8.5mm thicker than the ever-popular Samsung Galaxy S4 (7.9mm).

    This ability to fit bigger batteries into more recent phones is also partly due to larger screens – as they become bigger, there’s more space behind them for a battery. HTC’s One max, which has a whopping 5.9in screen width, packs a 3,300mAh battery.

    Of course, there’s a trade-off for having a bigger screen. More pixels require more battery juice to switch on and off, and the bigger graphic processing unit (GPU) is needed to keep those pixels updated also uses more power.  A GPU is a single-chip processor that creates lighting effects and transforms objects every time a 3D scene is redrawn. A bigger screen will also need a bigger backlight, making it tricky for handset manufacturers to achieve the right balance.

    Extended battery

    According to PC Pro, if there’s a particular phone you’re after that doesn’t have a huge battery, all is not yet lost. So long as that phone battery is replaceable, there’s always a chance that an enterprising manufacturer will have produced an extended replacement.

    If there’s a particular phone you’re after that doesn’t have a huge battery, all is not yet lost

    Usually these will be physically larger than the original, so they’ll ship with a replacement back cover for the phone housing a bulge to accommodate the extra bulk.

    It is reported that such a battery has been successfully fitted to the Samsung Galaxy S4 with excellent result.

    An alternative solution, however, is to carry a rechargeable battery pack, which is though burdensome along so that one can top up the mobile phone if it gets low and there is neither the charger nor the electricity supply from the national grid.

    Another alternative is the use of solar-powered chargers. This would have been most appropriate for Nigeria being in a tropical climate, it is however not popular as the manufacture of solar-powered chargers have not been manufactured on an industrial scale in the country. The few available are mostly corporate gifts.

  • Mobile money remittances to Nigeria, others to hit $33b

    Mobile money remittances to Nigeria, others to hit $33b

    Global remittances will grow slowly this year, but accelerate again between next year and the year after. However, remittances are projected to reach $586 billion, at a slower growth rate of 0.4 per cent due to economic conditions.

    In  sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya has  shown strongest growth. Remittances to the continent are projected to grow by 0.9 per cent to reach $33 billion this year while the stagnation in remittances to Nigeria was offset by strong growth in Kenya (10.7 per cent), South Africa (7.1 per cent), and Uganda (6.8 per cent). Last year, Kenya received $1.5 billion in remittances.

    According to a World Bank data on the state of global remittances (Migration & Development Brief) analysed by online money transfer service WorldRemit, remittances are however, expected to accelerate again to reach an estimated $636 billion in 2017.

    Fees remain far too high: the average cost of sending $200 to sub-Saharan Africa remains at 12 per cent (far off the G20’s target of five per cent); largely due to the cost of bricks-and-mortar agent  networks of traditional firms.  There is a huge potential for mobile technology to reduce costs on both the send and receive sides, the global lender report indicated.

    Reading these findings in conjunction with a recent report by the Global Service for Mobile (Communication) Association (GSMA) 2014 State of the Industry Report on Mobile Financial Services, Mobile Money will grow to play a huge role in remittances and help to bring down fees:

    Global Mobile Money usage is exploding: 261 mobile money  services are now live across 89 countries with 103 million active users as of December last year. More than half of these services currently in operation are in sub-Saharan Africa. 90 per cent of money transfers to Kenya on WorldRemit go to MPesa mobile wallets.

    Mobile Money helps to reduce remittance fees: the GSMA reports that the median cost of sending $100 via Mobile Money is $4.0, less than half the average cost to send money globally via traditional money transfer channels.

    Mobile Money remittances are growing fast with last year witnessing a steep increase in the number of international remittances via mobile money. The value of Mobile Money remittances represents a tiny fraction of total flows, but was the fastest growing of all Mobile Money services last year.

    One in five international remittance transfers to mobile money accounts in December last year went via WorldRemit. Mobile Money is WorldRemit’s fastest growing receive method.