The Nation Newspaper

Category: Infotech

  • SIM registration: How agents extort subscribers

    The registration of the subscriber identification module (SIM) card is being sabotaged by agents hired by the network operators for the exercise.

    The registration agents, they said, extort subscribers; are hostile and refuse to take the customers photographs. The exercise is expected to end this month.

    Contrary to the Nigerian Communications Commssion (NCC) directive that SIM registration should attract zero cost to subscribers, the agents, who operate in clusters in some part of the country extort N100 for each SIM card registerd.

    “If you are buying a new SIM, you pay N100 for the new SIM and N100 for its activation. That is the practice here. If you cannot pay, please go and look for a place where you will register the SIM,” a female agent told a subscriber.

    Some agents, in their quest to make more money, turned themselves to itinerant mobile registration agents, moving around the nook and cranny of the state to get subscribers registered.

    One agent, who introduced himself as Elvis from Cameroon, said he moved round to make more money since he is paid based on the number of subscribers registered. He was spotted at Ayetoro, on the outskirts of the city. Like, his stationary colleagues, he also charges N100 per SIM regsitered.

    Again, some of these agents are barely literate such that at the slightest provocation, they resort to use of uncouth words on people who wish to register their SIM cards with them. They insult people, especially those who dared to ask them if they could spell their names correctly.

    Contrary to the specification of the NCC, face shot capture of subscribers is rarely done. When it is ever done, it is done haphazardly with all manners of objects as background. “My face photo capture was done with the brand name of the competitor as bakcground,” one subscriber said.

    An expert said this practice does not meet international requirement. ”That is just an ordinary passport photograph. If you want to convert it into something that can be used to conduct face recognition, it is useless. They just asked me to stand and I did and they took my shot in their office. The place was not well lit and I shook my head that this is not what we recommended. There were certain parameters for all these,” he said.

    The NCC said any operator, whose agent is asking for money before SIM registration, is doing its principal a diservice. Director, Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo, insisted that SIM card registration “is free and no subscriber should be made to pay anything.”

    Responding to media enquiries, Manager, Public Affairs Relations, Etisalat, Chineze Amanfo, said the telco was working closely with the regulator to ensure the success of

    the exercise., insisting that it is at no cost at all. “Etisalat carries out SIM registrations at points of customer engagements and we have worked hand in hand to support NCC at ensuring strict adherence to the subscriber registration guidelines. Our agents across all channels are duly trained on the guidelines of subscriber registrations and do not demand money for this exercise.

    “SIM registration services are at no cost to our subscribers and our supervisors in charge of SIM Registration regularly carry out checks at the points of registration to ensure all agents are following laid down guidelines. We withdraw our device and terminate our contract with any agent that goes against these rules,” she said.

  • OEMs lack e-waste management strategies

    Most of the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that flood the maket with mobile phones and consumer electronics products do not have a sustainable management of the wastes from their use, The Nation has learnt.

    These products fall into disuse either as a result of obsolete technology or irreparable damage and are unleashed on the environment with the attendant threat to health, safety and the environment (HSE).

    Most of the OEMs do not have any strategy in place to take back household electronic products like the carthode ray tube (CRT) television sets which technologies like plasma, liquid crystal display (LCD), light emitting-diode (LED) and organic light-emitting display (OLED) have displaced.

    Similarly, there is no plan to take back disused mobile phones, chargers, batteries and other accessories experts say cause health hazards.

    Director, Consumer Electronics, B2B& IT, Samsung West Electronics Africa, Sunil Kumar, said the firm has tried to instutionalise the culture of exchanging old products for new, lamenting that the mentality of consumers in the country does not seem to buy into the idea.

    “Nigeria is till evolving as a country in terms of e-waste mangement but sepcifically, in Samsung, what we are doing is that when we launch a new product, we offer a form of exchange policies for the older product some of which still exist in the market within Nigeria and outside Nigeria. But most of the time, what we do is that we dismantle those products and try and knock them down into bits, destroy them in a manner that it does do any harm to the environment. That is eesentially what we do,” he said.

    Asked where the collection points were, he said: “As I said, that (take back point) is still not organised. Our intention is to do that. People still do not believe in having that exchange, we have done so many campaigns urging customers to bring their old airconditioners, promising that they get a price off that will enable them to take a new one. But somehow mentally, people are not ready for it here.”

    According to him, in other markets, the practice has become instutionalised, adding that in one or two years, the people may have changed their culture in this respect. “If you look at many other markets around the world, these things are very common. In India, fifteen years ago and people use to come and bring their old products, take some benefits on that and buy a new one. But Nigeria is still evolving and I guess, in one or two years, you will see actual change in that angle,” he said.

    Finnish mobile phone major, Nokia, about five years ago, launched its take-back initiative, encouraging its customers to take their disused mobile phones, chargers and other accessories to designated collection points in the country where they could recycled. It is not known what others are doing in this respect.

  • ‘Nigerians ignorant of warranty terms’

    Many consumers of electronic products in Nigeria do not know what warranty terms entail. This ignorance has led some of them to go into litigation, thereby losing their money and wasting their time, the Managing Director of Slot Systems, Nnamdi Ezeigbo, has said.

    Speaking at a forum organised by the firm and the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) in Ikeja, Lagos, the Managing Director of Slot Systems, Nnamdi Ezeigbo, lamented that lack of proper awareness about the terms of warranty has led many customers to seek legal redress which they lose.

    According to him, the warranty terms given by the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are the same that are extended to the customers, adding that the firm cannot give what it does not have.

    He listed the damages not covered by warranty on mobile phones to include those arising from water/moisture/sweat, accidental fall and other such damages that are not “factory faults.

  • NCC, Phase 3 partner over underserved areas

    NCC, Phase 3 partner over underserved areas

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has struck a partnership deal with Phase3 Telecom under the Universal Service Provisioning Fund (USPF) B-Train project to extend fibre infrastructure to unserved and underserved areas of the country.

    Business Solution Manager of the firm, Mr.Otuya Okecha, disclosed this to The Nation in Lagos, adding that the project will bring telecoms services to the rural areas of the country.

    According to him, this will help speed up the realisation of Federal Government’s initiatives targeted at addressing the sleuth of OTC infrastructure to the rural areas.Otuya further said that this will make an impact in the country’s broadband development from the point of infrastructure setting the platform for broadband penetration and coverage in especially the underserved areas.

    He also said that the government should make the sector attractive by giving enough funding and grant for broadband investor to get to the underserved areas.

  • Why low service quality persists, by MTN

    Why low service quality persists, by MTN

    Telecom giant MTN has explained why the quality of service (Qos) is still low. It blamed the problem on the bureaucracy surrounding the rolling out of new base transmission station (BTS) and vandalism of optic fibre cables.

    MTN Corporate Services Executive Akinwale Goodluck said in Lagos that the issue of service quality is essentially that of “capacity problem” occasioned by the dearth of infrastructure. He said even when the operators were willing to roll out, there was always the frustration of getting the necessary approvals from various government agencies and communities who demand money from operators. Added to this is the constant vandalisation of optic fibre cables for commercial reasons. The cables, he said, are also damaged by construction workers. Goodluck noted that there is massive road construction works going across the country leading to inadvertent damage to the cables.

    He said: “People vandalise the cables in the night, sometimes, as early as 2 am. The fibre is not much of use because it is not copper and this is the worry for us. People actually set out to damage the network so that during repairs, the vandals make all sorts of spurious demands.”

    He disclosed that, in May, the telco integrated 250 2G BTS to the network to improve customers’ experience, adding that persistent fibre cuts rendered capacities meaningless.

    “We are working with the government, security agencies to guarantee this vulnerable infrastructure. Members of the public must also regard telecommunications infrastructure as theirs and not that of MTN because it allows them to communicate with their loved ones easily,” he said.

    He urged the public to be vigilant.

  • ‘Bureaucracy delayed software incubation centre’

    Bureaucracy stalled the citing of the Lagos software incubation centre at the e-Learning Centre, Marina, it has been learnt.

    Project Manager, Information Technology Developers Entrepreneurship Accelerator (iDEA), Helen Anatogu, said the green light to use the Marina facility did not come on time, necessitating the search for a new venue. iDEA is a not-for-profit organisation set as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to drive the success of the incubation centres nationwide.

    “When we started this journey, the initial proposition was to have the Lagos centre on Marina at the e-Learning Centre. However, what happened was that we found that there were some delays from the Lagos State government to actually make the decision to concession that e-Learning Centre to the manager. I don’t think that has been solved yet.

    “That venue was our first choice but when we saw that the venue was going to take even longer time to get off the ground, we started looking for a new place. So, that was why there was delay. At the time we got it, we agreed with the manager of the e-Learning Centre that we will need the place. We have got everything on ground to take off. But, unfortunately, that did not work out. We started running around for another space in Lagos,” she explained, adding that the new search led to where the centre is currently located in Yaba.

    According to her, the location is apt for the project as it is at the centre of tertiary institutions and it is popularly called Silicon Lagoon.

    “In a way, we were fortunate we got the centre (where it is presently), that is why I say delay is not denial. So, we are tapping into a very rich area for the success of the software ecosystem. There are many tertiary institutions there,” she said.

    The centre was established to stimulate local industry growth and employment by accelerating the success of technology entrepreneurs and early stage start-ups, Vice Chairman, iDEA Governing Board, Mr Pius Okigbo Jnr, said.According to him, the centres will help address the typical barriers to success – the lack of access to funding; the costs associated with acquiring technology, knowledge and expertise; and the limited ability to obtain broad exposure for creations and innovations.

    “iDEA is partnering with technology companies to offer training and access to software development tools across a number of platforms.

    “Entrepreneurs will also have access to guidance from our network of mentors. iDEA will engage the student community by getting them involved in many activities organised by the centres.

    “They will also attend low or no- cost technical training at the centres. iDEA will engage established local software development companies to build new innovations or assist in bridging the gaps preventing the companies from fully exploiting and commercialising existing innovations,” he said.

  • ‘Computer Society’s honours not for highest bidder’

    President of the Nigerian Computer Society (NCS) Sir Demola Aladekomo has said its honours and awards are not for the highest bidder. He said the honours and awards are given on merit and distinguished service to the industry and the nation.

    He spoke when the society inducted the Chairman of Visafone Communications Limited, Jim Ovia, into its hall of Fellows in Lagos.

    The Honorary Fellowship, he said, was bestowed on Ovia for his outstanding contributions to the development of the information communication technology (ICT) industry.

    According to him, as founder and pioneer group chief executive officer of Zenith Bank, Ovia deployed information technology (IT) tools in facilitating the bank’s operations.

    “As founder of Zenith Bank Plc and former group CEO of the bank, he introduced a great deal of technology-driven innovations into the banking industry. Being the first president of the Nigerian Internet Group (NIG), he is not only an avid IT promoter, but has also invested massively in Nigeria’s technology sector.

    “He is the promoter and founder of Visafone Communications Limited and has led several national IT -related initiatives, such as the Nigerian Software Development Initiative (NSDI), the National Information Technology Advisory Council (NITAC) and the National Broadband Committee. He is also the founder of Youth Empowerment through ICT,” he said.

    Responding, Ovia said he felt elated by the award, adding that he saw it more as a call to service. He pledged to promote and mentor the growth and development of the youth to assist them in using software and hardware, adding that nothing can be done without computer.

  • SIM registration: Operators kick against June deadline

    Ahead the June 30 official end to ongoing national registration of subscriber identification module (SIM) in the country, telecoms operators have kicked against the decision of the regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to end the programme, arguing that it is like putting the cart before the horse.

    The Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) said they were not prepared to end the exercise.

    The group’s Chairman, Gbenga Adebayo, said: “Given the reality of what we face today, you know we have had significant disruption in our activities in some parts of the country, which has also affected the movement of persons and business activities. So, circumstances in the last three or four months haven’t really helped situation as it were. Therefore, readiness, as we have today, I can say to you is not 100 per cent.”

    According to him, disconnecting subscribers on the network is improper, adding that the regulator should show leadership and direction by first coming clean with information about the integrity of the data it gathered too in the course of the exercise.

    “I think what the NCC itself should do is to provide a direction of the data base it has registered. Recall that we did some part and NCC also did some part. So, if NCC is putting the deadline of 30th of June, I think also situation demand that NCC should give a declaration of the readiness or integrity of the data it has recorded over the period before putting a blanket disconnection order on service providers.

    ‘’So, for me, I think before we go out to say subscribers that are unregistered should be disconnected, I think we should embark on data clean up where there will be integration of data registered by the operators and those registered by the regulator and after the outcome of that, we can take a decision either to disconnect or not. But as it is today, it will appear that NCC is sitting on its own data, no one knows the integrity of the data it has collated. We haven’t done harmonisation of the data collected by them and by us and (the NCC) is coming to give June deadline, I think there is need to review the decision again,” he said.

    On what the operators have invested in the exercise, he said it was premature to begin to speak on the exercise that gave a whopping National Assembly budgetary approval of N6.1 billion to the NCC.

    “May be when we come to the end of the exercise will be the time to talk about how much we have spent. Don’t forget that works are still ongoing,” he said.

    But the NCC has said total number of registered subscribers will only be available when the exercise ends this month end. Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Tony Ojobo, told The Nation that all the operators are expected to forward their data to the NCC. “NCC ha stopped SIM reg but the operators are still doing it.

    They are still compiling data which they will send to the NCC at the end of the exercise,” he said.

    South Africa, the home of MTN, spent $119 million on SIM reg that ended June 30, 2011. While the MTN Group spent 250 million rand (about $37.10 million) on marketing and news staff, Vodacom and Cell C spent between 300 and 400 rands.

  • $2m for digital hubs

    THE British Council and Microsoft Nigeria have earmarked $2million (about N326.2 million) to set up digital hubs that will promote IT adoption in Nigeria and some other parts of the continent.

    Speaking at the inauguration of one of the projects at Oregun Senior High School, Ikeja, Lagos, the Country Manager, British Council, Mr. David Higgs, said the United Kingdom organisation decided to partner Microsoft, which supplied the computer facilities, because of the desire to promote education using modern ICT tools.

    “We like the approach of collaboration between British Council and Microsoft. Future will be more of collaborations between orgainsations in building institutions for common goods and to build education, our collaboration has become a reality today,” he said.

    He noted that so far, British Council had deployed 90 digital bubs in six countries across the sub-Sahara Africa, stressing that as one of the largest economies in Africa, Nigeria cannot afford to delay in infusing ICT in its educational development.

    “There is a very large population of young people in Nigeria and this means there is a great potential. We need to give the youths ICT tools to compete economically in the 21st century. Today, life is increasingly depending on ICT to drive quality education,” he said.

    Higgs said with the inauguration of the facilities, which will later be maintained by the Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Education, students would have the opportunity to access academic materials from anywhere in the world as well as collaborate with their peers in other countries.

  • Agency explains why Glo’s base station was shut

    THE National Environmental Standards Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has explained why it shut a base transmission station (BTS) belonging to Globacom.

    The BTS was shut because Glo failed to comply with the procedures for the BTS erection, NESREA said.

    A NESREA official said in a telephone interview with The Nation, that the agency took the decision as a last resort. It said it had in the last three months warned the operator to produce a site-specific Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) in line with the provisions of the EIA ACT of 1992, but the operator refused. The affected BTS is located in Dandur in Lantang North Local Government Area of Plateau State.

    “The agency also issued Abatement Notice to Glo, but the telco failed to respond. We were also receiving complaints from people living in the area, so we have no choice but to move and shut down the BTS. We intervened to protect the residents of the area,” he said.

    Asked if the development will not further compound the poor service in the industry, he said NESREA should not be held responsible for any further decline in service quality, adding that the operators were having problems with service quality because they had bitten more than they could chew.

    On whether the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) was carried before swooping on the site, he said the two agencies were working together.

    But an official of the NCC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, denied knowledge of NESREA’s action. The official, who refused to be named, said the agency should be contacted for comments.

    President of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), Deolu Ogunbanjo, had alleged that NESREA took the laws into its hands by swooping on the facility.

    “NESREA is also over exploiting the humility of both the Minister of Communication Technology and the President, he said.

    “The NCC is the regulatory body by law, charged with the responsibility of regulating telecommunications & ICT in Nigeria and should be left alone to do its job.