The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Airtel

  • Airtel‘s service from Mars

    SIR: Recently, Airtel Nigeria sent a system generated message to me: “Dear Valued customer, your data bundle will expire in two days. To stay connected to the internet on your device, kindly ensure you have sufficient airtime for renewal.”

    And again; “Dear Valued customer, your data bundle will expire tomorrow. Don’t miss that important email, social network update and more, kindly ensure you have sufficient airtime for renewal.”

    Finally: “Dear subscriber, you have been deactivated. You no longer have an active data plan. Dial *141# to buy a bundle OR *424# to browse at PAYG rates of 5 kobo/KB.”

    And so in order not to, “miss that important email,” I subscribed to a new data bundle after which, I got this “Your Airtel Unlimited Plan was successful. Your Airtel Unlimited plan is active. Re-insert your battery. This plan is usable on Blackberry devices and other device type. You have successfully subscribed to BB Unlimited Monthly plan. Please restart your phone to get this service running…”

    That was on Tuesday, December 8 but I couldn’t browse immediately after doing the needful as I was supposed to and I got this feedback after numerous efforts: “Unable to connect to the internet, please try again later. If the problem persists please contact your service provider.”

    It persisted, so I called online customer care agent (call centre 111) to complain after which I got a text message “Dear Valued Customer, Thank you for contacting Airtel. Your Case ID is ANG20151208006963825. We will notify you once issue is resolved.”

    With the status quo unchanged, on Thursday December 10, I called customer care again and care agent said, “I can see you logged this complaint on December 8, we are still working on your line.”

    Then I reminded the agent that for more than six months running, I have had to call care agents to connect me to the internet after having paid for subscription for a service that was advertised to be efficient, provided to folks on the go. Even when all settings are on the default mode on my phone with no problem from my end but theirs, it took (takes) three days or more to resolve complaints.

    “We are so sorry. We will notify you as soon as possible. Thank you for choosing Airtel.” I hear this oft repeated platitude always from care agents. They thank me for choosing Airtel (I wish they could see the puckered brow I wear when I call care agents) even when my complaints hadn’t been resolved. Does Airtel have a one call resolution policy? Has Airtel coached online care agents the last principle in customer service?

    You haven’t solved my challenge and yet, you thank me. For what?

    By default on the day I subscribed for this current service I was reminded: “Dear subscriber, your current Airtel Unlimited Monthly service expires on Thu 7 Jan, 2016.”

    And on that day if the Almighty Creator permits, I will call care agents again and again after subscription to hook me up. Trust me! I have gone through same circuitous nightmare for more than six months.

    And I will most likely hear, “We are working on your line,” guess it might be for eternity again.

    Airtel deserves commendation for gross inefficiency in service delivery.

    • Simon Abah,

    Port Harcourt, Rivers State

  • Airtel voted best company in CSR Health Intervention at SERAs 2015

    Airtel voted best company in CSR Health Intervention at SERAs 2015

    Leading telecoms operator, Airtel Nigeria, has emerged the ‘Best Company in CSR Health Intervention’ at the 2015 Nigeria CSR Award, otherwise known as the Social Enterprise Report Awards (SERAs).

    Themed: “Building Partnership for a Sustainable Future”, the 2015 SERAs Awards, which is the 9th edition, held at the Muson Centre, Onikan Lagos, with notable personalities in attendance.

    Airtel, at the event, bagged the award category, which had Shell, Exxon Mobil, Sahara Oil and Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) as key contenders. The telco was also nominated in other categories including the ‘Best Companies in Partnership for Development,’ ‘Best Company in Promotion of Gender Equality,’ and Best Company in Sustainability Reporting.’

    According to the organisers, Airtel Nigeria won the Best Company in CSR Health Intervention’ owing to its outstanding impact through its health intervention programmes in Millennium Village Projects (MVP) in Pampaida, Kaduna that has improved healthcare system and saved many lives.

    The Chief Sales Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Godfrey Efeurhobo, received the award on behalf of the company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Segun Ogunsanya.

    Commenting on the award, Mr. Ogunsanya said the award is a much appreciated testimony of Airtel’s efforts at positively impacting society and creating credible platforms to uplift the underprivileged.

    He also noted that Airtel is committed to connecting more Nigerians to their dreams, empowering more telecoms consumers and creating more opportunities for underprivileged persons.

    MD, Total Nigeria Plc., Alexis Vovk; MD, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, Mr. Bayo Ojulari were at the event.

    Other members of the Airtel team in attendance were, Head of PR, Adefemi Adeniran; Head, High Value Customer Experience, Sarwiyat Rahaman; Digital and PR Manager, Erhumu Bayagbon and Assistant CSR Manager, Chioma Okolie.

    As part of Airtel’s technological support to the Millennium Villages Projects in Nigeria, the telco provided base stations and complimentary data to enhance exchange of information between the central server and the community health workers, while also boosting communication between the health workers and villagers. This in effect has drastically reduced infant and maternal mortality in the region.

    Airtel’s innovative services such as Dial-a-Doctor and Mobile Midwife have also contributed to quality healthcare delivery in Nigeria.

  • NCC to sanction MTN, Airtel, Globacom over auto data service migration

    NCC to sanction MTN, Airtel, Globacom over auto data service migration

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday  said it would sanction MTN, Airtel and Globacom for defying its directive on automatic migration to Pay-As-You-Go data bundle.

    The Commission made this known in its ‘2015 third quarter Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Report’ obtained pasted on its website.

    NCC said it had continued to receive complaints from subscribers on automatic migration of data bundle package to Pay-As-You-Go Billing on depletion of their data bundle.

    ‘’Consequently and pursuant to section 53(1) of the NCC Act, 2003. The commission on 3rd August 2015 directed all mobile service operators to comply with the data bundle directions.

    According to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), NCC said “where a subscriber’s data bundle account is fully depleted before the due date, service providers should notify the subscriber via SMS, giving information regarding the tariff/ billing rate for automatic migration.

    ‘’That all service providers should henceforth stop auto-migration of subscriber’s data service to the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) account upon depletion of the data bundle account, except with the express consent and authorisation of the subscriber via SMS.’’

    NCC said that a follow-up compliance check was carried out which revealed that Etisalat was in compliance with the directives, adding  that Etisalat through SMS, notified its subscribers of depletion of their data bundle accounts, before due dates.

    The telecoms regulator also said that Etisalat sought the consent of subscribers before automatically migrating them to the Pay-As-You-Go data service.

    It pointed out that ‘’Globacom is in compliance with Direction No. One as subscribers receive SMS detailing tariff rate for auto-migration on depletion of their data bundle, stating however, that Globacom failed to obtain express consent from subscribers before migration to PAYG and therefore in violation of Direction No. Two.

    NCC explained that ‘’MTN is in compliance with Direction No.One, but failed to highlight the tariff rate for PAYG billing. In addition, data service is not suspended on depletion of the data bundle account even without an authorisation via an SMS from the subscriber.

    It said ‘’Airtel is not in compliance with the above directions, stating that consequent upon the above, “the Commission has issued a notice of intention to sanction the concerned service providers.”

  • Airtel backs group to raise funds for IDPs

    Airtel backs group to raise funds for IDPs

    In its continued efforts at providing succour and relief to internally displaced people across the country, leading telecoms services provider, Airtel Nigeria, has announced the sponsorship of an initiative tagged ‘Climb with Remi,’ aimed at raising funds to care for internally displaced people (IDP) in Nigeria.

    Under the programme, a group of six passionate Nigerian women have decided to climb the highest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, as part of activities to attract global attention and raise funds in support of government’s efforts at improving the living conditions of displaced women and children in IDP camps across the country.

    Backed by Airtel Nigeria, the project is championed by Mrs. Remi Abere, the oldest Nigerian woman to reach the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro. She is joined by other women including the wife of Ogun State governor, Mrs Funsho Amosu; former member, Federal House of representatives, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa; Mrs. Joke Olanipekun; Mrs. Uzo Nwani and Mrs. Debo Laditan.

    Speaking on the initiative, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, noted that the telco remains committed towards bringing relief and giving hope to internally displaced persons across the country.

    “Through the ‘Climb with Remi’ intervention, Airtel Nigeria has joined these committed, compassionate and selfless women and mothers on the need to sensitise more Nigerians to give andextendlove to underprivileged people including women and children who are victims of unfortunate social menace in our society.

    “By defying height and other unfavourable conditions known with climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, these women have shown that as individuals or collective groups we can overcome challenges when we unite,” Mr. Ogunsanya said.

    At the press launch of the ‘Climb with Remi’ initiative held at GRA, Ikeja, Mrs. Abere, explained that the group is committed to rehabilitating and reintegrating internally displaced women and children back into the society.

  • Airtel backs Banana Island Cultural Festival

    Airtel backs Banana Island Cultural Festival

    TELECOM Company, Airtel Nigeria, threw its weight behind the 2015 Banana Island Cultural Festival, which was held recently at Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos.

    At the ceremony, families, friends and guests of Banana Island residents were reported to have been treated to music, intercontinental cuisine and beautiful works of art.

    Held on Saturday, October 3, the event saw residents from India, France, Egypt, Kenya, Senegal, South-Africa, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Jamaica and Nigeria representing their individual countries while showcasing their rich culture through their unique dressing, cuisine, and music.

    Each country represented at the event was assigned a booth to display their food, traditional attires, accessories, artwork, and other items. Airtel Nigeria also showcased its offerings at the event.

    The highpoint of the occasion was the raffle draw conducted by Airtel Brand Ambassador, Ik Osakioduwa. The draw saw some of the participants going home with gifts like bicycles, microwaves, return ticket to United Kingdom, and others gifts by other sponsors.

    Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya; Chairman, Banana Island Property Owners/Residents’ Association (BIPORAL), Mr. Chudi Ubosi including former Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, were among the guests at the event.

    Airtel brand Ambassador, Bowoto Jephta, also known as Akpororo, was on ground to entertain guests.

    The Banana Island Cultural Festival, which is a yearly occasion, avails residents in the estate an opportunity to know one another, and also come together to celebrate the cultural diversity of the estate.

  • Airtel, Liquid Telecom seal fibre deal

    Bharti Airtel’s mobile broadband subscribers in Africa will soon enjoy faster Internet access speeds on its networks. This follows an announcement that Airtel will use Liquid Telecom’s terrestrial fibre network to connect its mobile base stations and enterprises.

    The agreement enables Airtel operations to leverage Liquid Telecom’s existing 20,000km-long fibre network across East, Central and Southern Africa, as well as enjoy new purpose-built fibre infrastructure, to connect Airtel’s mobile base stations and enterprise customers with fibre.

    According to Liquid Telecom, the agreement answers the need for mobile operators to increase the Internet speed delivered over their mobile broadband networks.

    Liquid Telecom Group Chief Executive Officer CEO) Nic Rudnick said: “Mobile operators are relying on Internet access and data services to grow their revenues.”

    Airtel Africa CEO Christian de Faria, said the agreement is a milestone in providing fast broadband services to customers in a cost-effective way.

    “Airtel has invested significantly in mobile broadband technology across its African footprint and this agreement will deliver end-to-end fibre connectivity to our 3G and 4G base stations,” he said.

     

  • Airtel pushes for law against social media abuse

    Airtel Nigeria has made a case for a law to regulate the use of social media platforms.The mobile giant’s point is the country, arguing that such a regulation will not only deter the invasion of people’s privacy but deter people from making spurious allegations and posting such on the internet.

    The telco is seeking amendment to the relevant laws regarding libel, arguing that regulations will help prevent activities of perverts and other groups with ill intentions across the digital sphere.

    Its Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director, Segun Ogunsanya, however, advised business leaders to be innovative and deliberate in their use of technology, e-commerce and social media, stressing that an innovative approach in leveraging technology will help create real value for critical stakeholders of organisations and others along the value chain.

    Ogunsanya, who spoke at the 45th Annual Accountants’ Conference organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Abuja, said Airtel has pioneered this approach with the roll-out of its Catapult-a-Start-up programme, a unique initiative designed to empower exceptional and innovative application developers in Nigeria.

    He noted that the programme has provided a good example of how a company can combine innovation with monetisaation, adding that, under the initiative, the telco has empowered and transformed many lives with groundbreaking mobile application services.

    According to Ogunsanya, these innovative digital platforms are helping to resolve many issues around diesel delivery, boosting students’ performance at important examinations, empowering job seekers, aiding e-commerce and cementing relationships, among others.

    Specifically, he listed mobile application services such as Yuzah, a real time delivery platform that allows the ordering of diesel in minutes; PassNG, an educational service that enables students prepare for important examinations and PushCV, a service equipped to prepare job seekers for opportunities.

    Other apps developed under the Airtel Catapult-a-Start-Up include advertising app, a mobile application that converts mobile phones to a highly efficient and effective advertising platform; MatchUp, a home grown social network that connects people, with strong focus on locality and users’ preferences; Alarm App, an app that alerts users in case of danger and Airtel insurance, a programme that offers middle and low-income earners the opportunity and access to life and hospital insurance.

    Ogunsanya, who spoke on Innovative business models: Leveraging technology, e-Commerce and social Media, however, urged circumspection in the use of social media.

     

     

  • IHS, Airtel complete tower sale, lease deal

    IHS, Airtel complete tower sale, lease deal

    Nigeria-based telecommunications infrastructure group IHS Holding Ltd has completed sale and lease back of telecom towers in Zambia from Airtel Zambia.

    Last December, Bharti Airtel announced that it had sold over 1,100 telecom towers in Zambia and Rwanda to IHS Holding at an estimated $180-200 million to pare debt.

    As part of the 10-year renewable contract, Airtel will lease back the towers from IHS.

    Its Executive Vice Chairman & Group CEO, Issam Darwish, said: “This acquisition will enable us to eventually upgrade these towers and continue to roll-out innovative energy saving technology throughout the continent.”

    Outsourcing tower infrastructure to IHS allows Airtel to focus on its core business and customers; enables it to deleverage through debt reduction, and will significantly reduce its ongoing capital expenditure on passive infrastructure, Airtel said in a statement.

     

  • Airtel, Wari partner over financial inclusion

    As part of its contribution towards Federal Government’s efforts to deepen financial inclusion in the country, leading telecoms operator, Airtel Nigeria, has collaborated with payment solution provider, Wari, to provide an innovative payment platform for Nigerians.

    Designed as a convenient and easy-to-use payment solution, Wari allows users to make payment for goods and services, buy airtime, pay bills, deposit cash and make withdrawals within the country or outside.

    Wari can also be used to transfer money and remit through accredited agents across Nigeria, and the service is available to anyone irrespective of whether they are account holders or not.

    Speaking on the innovative service, Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Maurice Newa described Airtel’s partnership with Wari as a collaboration of two forward-thinking brands, coming together to offer accessible and convenient payment service to millions of Nigerians, helping them carry out their day-to-day transactions seamlessly.

    “‘Wari is designed to meet the needs of Nigerians, including the banked and unbanked; everyone who needs to make or receive payment for good and services. It also reduces the risk of carrying cash while travelling since you can deposit and withdraw at your destination through Wari agents whether within the country or outside Nigeria,” Newa noted.

    In his own remarks, “Mr Damilola Bamiro, Country Manager, Wari Nigeria, says that the partnership will strengthen Wari’s local presence in all the local governments inNigeria. This strategic plan will greatly increase access to financial services of the various institutions especially to the unbanked”.

    According to him, “Wari as an African grown agent network has always ensured the best user experience, taking into consideration all local peculiarities and cultures. This, it has done in its 23 countries of presence”.

     

  • Touching Lives entries still on, says Airtel

    Touching Lives entries still on, says Airtel

    Two weeks after the launch of Touching Lives Season 2, leading telecoms operator, Airtel Nigeria, has said entry is still open for well-meaning Nigerians to nominate beneficiaries in the revolutionary CSR intervention, until August 27 when entries will close.

    During the launch of the  programme in Lagos, the telecoms company said entries can be submitted via SMS, phone calls to the short code 947 or via emails to:  touchinglives@ng.airtel.com.

    It also noted that nomination letters not more than 1000 words can also be submitted at Airtel showrooms, shops and dealers outlets across the country, adding that interested people can also go to Airtel Facebook page and Airtel CSR/Touching Lives web page for further information.

    According to Airtel Nigeria, disadvantaged persons, groups or communities in any part of the country who need help can be nominated by Nigerians while call for entry lasts.

    Its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, said the telco rolled out the second edition of the revolutionary programme based on the monumental successes recorded with the first edition.

    According to him, Airtel went the length and breadth of the country, last year, scouting for people who needed help and for causes to support, noting that “the journey yielded great results as we touched the lives of many Nigerians.

    He also noted that the Airtel Touching Lives initiative marks a significant milestone in the company’s history of CSR interventions just as it perfectly aligns with the telco’s vision of connecting Nigerians to their dreams, enriching lives, uplifting people and creating prosperity for the people and communities we serve.

    “At Airtel, we believe that for us to be a great company we must be a good company and we are very much committed to earning our social license – the love and acceptance of the people we serve, “he said.

    Airtel Touching Lives Season One featured 26 emotion-evoking stories, which brought to limelight the commitment and kind-heartedness of Airtel in uplifting the conditions of underprivileged people across the Nigerian society.