The Nation Newspaper

Tag: internet

  • Kenya news now: Zuku Internet Packages 2018

    Zuku TV is probably the only company offering both the digital pay TV and internet in Kenya. Zuku fiber internet packages come in two slightly different categories; The Zuku home internet packages and the commercial packages. The latter is fit for use in homes, and the former is designed to give maximum benefits to commercial entities.

    Zuku TV is probably the only company offering both the digital pay TV and internet in Kenya. Zuku fiber internet packages come in two slightly different categories; The Zuku home internet packages and the commercial packages. The latter is fit for use in homes, and the former is designed to give maximum benefits to commercial entities.

    The need to recoup operating costs that come with increasing internet speeds has seen the company increase the prices of its Zuku packages with internet and TV in the last two or so years. The latest increase in Zuku internet packages is the one it effected on September 8th this year. The cheapest internet package currently stands at 1299 Kenyan shillings. Continue reading to know Kenya news on Zuku Internet now.

    Zuku internet packages and prices

    For purposes of clarity, we will classify Zuku internet packages and prices in terms of speeds offered. It is important to remember that this classification is not the official Zuku classification.

    Zuku internet packages with speeds between two Mbps and five Mbps

    This category presents Zuku internet plans that offer you speeds ranging between 2-5 megabytes per second. The cheapest of this category is the J2 Zuku internet plan that goes for 1,299 Kenya shillings while giving you a speed of 2 Mbps.

    The other is the i2 package that goes for 3,199 and gives you the same speed of 2 Mbps. The R2 offers the same speed and goes for 3,499 Kenyan shillings. The J5 gives you a superior speed of 5 Mbps and goes for 2,199 Kenyan shillings.

    The i5 closes our list of this category and offers you a speed of 5 Mbps and will cost you 3,199 Kenyan shillings.

    Zuku internet packages with speeds between 10 Mbps and 30 Mbps

    Zuku fiber packages can give you varying speeds depending on the consumer’s ability to pay for those looking for a bargain and for those interested in the speed of doing things. To start us off in this category we have the J10 that brings you 10 Mbps worth of speed and costs you 3,499 Kenyan shillings.

    The package previously known as R20 is now known as R30, and its speed has been updated from 20 Mbps to 30Mbps.

    The package will now cost you an average of 4999 per month. The other one that has now been renamed is the i20 which offered 20 Mbps of speed.

    It is now called the i30 and currently offers 30 Mbps of speed at 4,699 Kenyan shillings.

    Zuku internet packages with speeds over 50 Mbps.

    This category contains packages with some of the fastest internet speeds in the country. The R50 brings high speeds of 50 Mbps and costs 6199. The i50 brings you the same level of speed and is a bit cheaper at 5,999 Kenyan shillings.

    The i100 gives you speeds that are as high as 100 Mbps and chips into your pockets at 9,999, while the R100 gives you the same speed at the cost of 10,499. The i250 will close this category for us, and it gives 250 Mbps worth of speed at the price of 19,999 Kenyan shillings.

    Zuku home internet packages

    The company offers you what it calls standard packages that include the Home Basic Package that brings you 30 Mbps worth of speed at the cost 4,699 for the unlimited access to the internet.

    The other plan is the Home Preferred that gives 50 Mbps at 5,999 Kenyan shillings. For those interested in higher speed, the Home Premium plan is most likely your choice. It comes with speeds of 100 Mbps and goes for 9,999 Kenyan shillings.

    If 100 Mbps is still slow for you, then what you probably are looking for is the Home Advanced Zuku internet plan. It offers you 250 Mbps worth of speed and will cost you 19,999 Kenyan shillings.

    Source: Tuko Kenya

  • Can the Internet replace pay  Television in Nigeria?

    Back in 1996, when the the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) licenced 38 internet service providers to sell internet services in Nigeria, many ICT experts expressed the view that the development would lead to the end of traditional television as a medium of influence. I do not think there is anybody in the modern age with a doubt that the internet is a powerful medium of communication.

    The belief that internet will replace traditional television is not peculiar to Nigeria. When the internet launched in America, many in the industry thought that television viewing, as we still know it here, had reached its end. Locally, fears for traditional television heightened in January 2016, when Netflix announced its global expansion to 130 additional countries, including Nigeria. What followed was huge excitement in the country. This was mostly on account of the pricing, which many consumers assumed was way lower than for pay television. The claim on the street was that traditional television was on its last leg.

    A little over a month later, the excitement had drained. Netflix’s basic plan, which gives the subscriber to all the content, costs $7.99 (N2,916.35). The next tier, standard plan, costs $9.99 (N3,646.35), while the premium plan, which comes with improved audio-visual quality costs $11.99 (N4,376.35) monthly.

    Compared with a satellite television package, Netflix, on the surface, is a bargain heaven. The lowest bouquet on MultiChoice’s DStv (Access) platform, for example, costs N1,900 Naira ($5.21) monthly. DStv premium bouquet, which provides access to all the channels, costs N14, 700 ($40.27). This implies that the higher a subscriber pays, the wider the access to premium content. It is the same with all the country’s pay television companies. A major allure of Netflix and other on-demand services is that even the lowest plan offers access to all its content.

    That, however, is as good as it gets. It took Nigerians a very short time to realise that there are associated costs and challenges. Payment to Netflix, as they would find out, was only for content and access. It does not cover internet services, which are not exactly cheap. Etisalat’s videopak, which costs N400 for two hours of unlimited streaming at four hours of video viewing daily, will cost N24,000. The cost is some way lower than the DStv premium bouquet at N14,700. Airtel’s unlimited video streaming comes slightly cheaper at N180 per hour. At N720 for four hours of viewing, the subscriber would incur a bill of N21,600 in addition to the cost of access.

    For now, there are no hints that cheaper data plans are coming soon. Next is the challenge of internet capacity, which we all know is anything but reliable. What this implies is that payment for data offers no guarantee that you will watch your favourite content. Nigeria’s internet penetration is estimated to be at 50 per cent, a development that excludes half of the population, especially in rural areas, from whatever benefits internet-based on-demand services provide. With satellite television, a clear sky is the basic requirement.

    The truth is that television has become even more important because it is the destination for big-ticket, big-event, heart-of-the-nation programming. This is unlikely to change any time soon.MultiChoice-owned SuperSport channels are the go-to platform for live sports, especially matches of the prestigious European football leagues. No on-demand service offers that yet. Hard to see Nigerians thinking an on-demand service is a substitute for the joys of the English Premier League or Spanish La Liga, for example. Matches of the 2018 World Cup will not be watched live on any on-demand service.

    The prediction that it would kill off the television networks has proved to be unfounded. What has happened is that both services have co-existed in Nigeria, with traditional television still way ahead in terms of audience. While reports indicate that more people are watching television via the internet in developed countries, where internet capacity and other infrastructure are top-notch, traditional television is still a long way from the predicted demise. In It is hard to see the demise happening in Nigeria any time soon, given that television viewing is more or less a family thing or with our attachment to things we are used to. The death of radio was predicted was predicted when music streaming platforms like Spotify arrived on the scene. I am yet to see the signs of a grim future for radio in Nigeria, just as I do not see it for traditional television in the country vis-à-vis the internet.

    The internet is here and always will be, but it will not replace traditional television any time soon. Pay television providers like MultiChoice will for a long time remain insulated from the presumed threat of the internet.

  • Experts worried about cybercrime

    Experts worried about cybercrime

    Experts in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) yesterday raised the alarm over the high rate Nigerians release personal information on the internet.

    The experts said this could aid cybercrime and related criminal activities in the country.

    They expressed serious concerns at the opening of a two-day seminar on data privacy and security at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    Participants from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and other African countries are attending the seminar with representatives of government regulatory and other relevant agencies.

    The seminar, with the theme: Data Privacy and Protection in Africa – Developing an Evidence-driven Multi-stakeholder-based Approach, was hosted by the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy (ISGPP).

    The President of Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), Mr Sunday Folayan, who led the voices of concerns, said many Nigerians are ignorant of the danger inherent in giving personal information on the internet to the level that they deliberately provide the public with detailed information about themselves, particularly on the social media and other internet-based activities.

    He said the trend had grown to a worrisome level, adding that those guilty of the practice ignore warnings and education on the problem, thereby softly frustrating experts.

    According to him, personal information, including date of birth, data on family members, residential address and personal worth, is private and should be seriously guarded.

    Folayan said personal information, for instance, on hospital patients, pupils, students and bank customers, is readily available on the waste paper released to petty traders to wrap roasted plantain, groundnuts and others.

    Instead of shredding such papers or keeping them because of the sensitivity of the information, the NIRA president noted that such organisations expose people to criminals who need such information as raw materials for their criminal activities.

    He advised stakeholders to raise awareness on the problem before it gets out of hands.

    Other speakers highlighted similar dangerous cultures in other African countries.

    A member of the Steering Committee of the African Academic Network on Internet Policy, which organised the seminar, Dr Temitope Aladesanmi, said the seminar was aimed at providing the framework for African perspective on data protection and security in the global internet community.

    He said the outcome would provide policy briefs that would be presented to government to aid policy formulation on data protection and security in African countries.

    ISGPP’s Executive Vice Chairman Dr Tunji Olaopa said the seminar was the first step at identifying research gaps in internet policy in African countries.

    He added that the seminar series would also raise the African voice within the global internet community from its current abysmally low level.

  • How internet could kill business

    How internet could kill business

    Internet may kill some businesses, even if they reside on the web. The year was 2001 when Marketing Strategist, Michael E. Porter wrote in Harvard Business Review that internet will jeopardise competitive advantage. Fast-forward to 2016 when almost everybody is on the internet, everybody on the internet claim to be a professional, facebook is seen to be more efficient than billboards and twitter breaks news faster than cable-based televisions.

    The internet has brought a bank of data nearer to companies than researches have ever done. Companies may now be victims of extreme competition, as all information about them, their strategies, product portfolio and clients can be gleaned from the internet. It is easy for competing companies to copy each other and whatever Unique Service Proposition (USP) means is sunk in competitive convergence. Therefore, the need for digital capabilities emerged as the trends change faster. Only companies that are fast developing new capabilities will survive.

    Perhaps the worst harm the internet is doing to the business landscape is the opportunity given to everybody to be whoever  he/she wants to be on the web. Amateurs can launch a website, which is even more competitive in contents than the websites of professionals. Online content has superimposed the need for value and structures; social media savoir-faire is the new professionalism; and copied pictures and false testimonials seem more adequately credible.

  • Airtel’s Unlimited Data plans to empower consumers, boost internet connectivity

    Airtel’s Unlimited Data plans to empower consumers, boost internet connectivity

    Airtel Nigeria has said that its newly introduced Unlimited Data plans will empower and create more prosperity opportunities for telecoms consumers as well as boost mobile broadband connectivity. Airtel recently rolled out the Home Broadband Service, which allows customers to share data with colleagues, friends and family members with a promise that the new package will empower telecoms consumers to have access to unlimited internet service at reasonable cost.

    The new Airtel Home Broadband delivers superfast broadband service via data terminals such as dongle, MiFi and routers as it comes in various packages and affordable price range to suit the lifestyles of different customer segments. Customers can get unlimited data on packages such as Unlimited 10, Unlimited 15 and Unlimited 20, which are offered at N10,000, N15,000 and N20,000 respectively and valid for 30 days.

    According to the Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Ahmad Mohkles, the telco is changing the paradigm, breaking new frontiers and inspiring new behaviour in relation to data sharing and delivering seamless data to improve customer lifestyle and enable them take charge. “Airtel is committed to pioneering innovation, superior data experience and affordability. Our new Unlimited is truly unlimited as we have stretched the threshold to deliver up to 100GB to telecoms consumers so that they can empower more people within their circle of influence,” he said.

    Airtel brand ambassador, Gabriel Afolayan, who played the role of Bayo in the Unlimited Home Broadband TVC, while speaking at the launch, commended Airtel Nigeria for bring affordable data to customers. In his words: “Data is life. And Airtel has just made life better for all customers through Home Broadband. It is a breath of fresh air and I must thank Airtel for making data more affordable and accessible to us all. Now, no more fear of sharing data with family and friends.”

    Upon activating any of the unlimited plans, customers enjoy superfast data experience until a threshold is reached. After this, the data speed is throttled to a lower speed in line with the Fair Usage policy. According to this policy, the threshold for Unlimited 10 is 40GB; unlimited 15 come with 65GB while unlimited 20 is 100GB, after which the speed comes to 256kpbs. However, customers can continue to enjoy unlimited browsing until plan expires.

  • Internet’ll be made affordable for young people, says minister

    The Minister of Communications, Mr Adebayo Shittu, has charged the youth to leverage the Internet to boost their innovative and entrepreneurial skills.

    The minister spoke to a group of Internet enthusiasts at the yearly Nigerian Internet Business Conference (NIBC) organised by Lukmon Fasasi, a blogger and student of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State.

    The event held at the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER) in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    Shittu, represented by Mr Akeem Yussuf, his Special Assistant on Digital and Optimisation, said he was delighted by the courage of the participants to improve their entrepreneurial skills by learning about internet business.

    He said: “The Internet has offered young people opportunities to get themselves engaged in various legitimate businesses. There are thousands of internet businesses that young people can start today, with little capital. We will continue to make Internet affordable and create platform for the growth of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), so that young people can leverage the Internet to harness their entrepreneurial potential.”

    The event was graced by notable ICT and Internet business experts, including Depanker Rustagi, Anyinoluwa Akinyemi, Aderonke Bamidele, Aisha Raufu, Ayeni Ekundayo, Nollywood actor Yomi Fabiyi, and many others.

    Rustagi, an Indian and Chief Executive Officer of Vconnect, spoke on how young people could build a business network online. He gave the participants tips for conducting successful businesses on the Internet and how they could engage new customers.

    The event featured interactive session, during which the participants had opportunity to engage the facilitators in discussions about creating sustainable employment through Internet businesses.

    According to the organiser, the aim of the event was to bring Internet enthusiasts across the country together, with the objective to create values and bring development to the country’s Internet business.

    Lukmon said: “This is the third edition and NIBC has come to stay. What matters in the 21st century is how young people should use the Internet to maneuver their life goals.”

    Uthman Samad, an OAU student, described the event as an “eye-opener”, saying: “I am fortunate to attend this conference, because I have learnt how to create job for myself through the Internet.”

    The Publicity Secretary for the conference, Kabir Adejumo, said: “Through our researches, we want to let the youth know that, no matter their level of education or social status, they can earn good income through legitimate Internet business. A recent statistics showed that, there are almost four billion people on the internet daily. This means that, if anyone has an Internet-enabled phone, he has all he needs to make ends meet at his fingertips.”

    The conference was attended by students from OAU, University of Ibadan (UI), University of Lagos (UNILAG), Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi (FUAM), Benue State, and Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUETCH), among others.

  • Nigeria ranks 3rd in Africa’s internet affordability index

    Nigeria ranks 3rd in Africa’s internet affordability index

    The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) has ranked Nigeria third in its Africa Affordability Drivers Index, out of 27 countries studied by the group.

    The Africa Regional Coordinator of the group, Onica Makwakwa, made the disclosure at the unveiling of the Africa Affordability Report 2017 in Lagos on Tuesday.

    The report is an annual publication of A4AI, examining the policy and regulatory framework that had allowed some countries to make the internet more affordable, accessible and universal.

    It suggested what other countries could do to catch up on internet affordability.

    A detailed breakdown of the report showed that Mauritius topped the table with 61.70 per cent, followed by Morocco with 57.75 per cent.

    Nigeria came third with 56.58 percent, with Botswana on the fourth position with 55.37 percent and Cote d’Ivoire scoring 53.25 per cent.

    Rwanda is on the sixth position with 61.48 per cent, while South Africa scores 51.20 percent and Ghana, 50.01 per cent.

    Benin and Kenya post 48.95 per cent and 48.82 per cent, respectively.

    According to the report, only five out of the 27 African countries have affordable internet– they are Mauritius, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Sudan.

    “Affordable internet is one Gigabyte (1GB) of mobile pre-paid data for two percent or less of average monthly income.

    “However, 1GB of data costs an average citizen nearly 18 percent of their monthly income.

    “Overall, African countries score less than five out of 10 in all policy areas, indicating the crucial need for improvement.”

    The report cites the International Telecommunication Union as saying that only 25 percent of the African population is online.

    It said that the continent had 16 per cent of mobile broadband penetration and that there was 23 per cent internet use gender gap in Africa.

  • Internet association receives 300 complaints on internet abuse

    Internet association receives 300 complaints on internet abuse

    The Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) says it has received over 300 complaints on internet abuse using the .ng domain name.

    The President of NIRA, Mr Sunday Folayan, said in a statement on Saturday in Lagos that the complaints ranged from domain name abuse to theft of individuals’ personal details and financial fraud.

    Folayan said that the rate of crimes was alarming and NiRA had taken concrete steps to deal with the menace of abuse within the internet ecosystem.

    He said that the association had created a desk for dealing with internet abuse within the .ng ecosystem and had begun investigation into those cases within its purview.

    ”As part of its efforts, NiRA convened a meeting of representatives of relevant Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA) and stakeholders, on the need to collaborate to curtail the menace.

    ”Agencies represented include the Nigeria Police through the Lagos State Police Command, the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), Special Fraud Unit, the Nigerian Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT), Central Bank of Nigeria Plc, among others.

    ”Participants reviewed the Internal Procedural process developed in-house by NIRA to deal with the incidents of abuse, taking note of the areas of cooperation and collaboration,” he said.

    Folayan said that the law enforcement agencies had expressed willingness to collaborate to tackle the identified abuse in the internet ecosystem and protect Nigerians.

    He said that the group would meet quarterly, to ensure that the issues of internet abuse were tackled.

    The NIRA president called on anyone who was privy to any form of abuse using .ng domain names, to send email to abuse@nira.org.ng. (NAN)

  • EFCC arrests “Sheikh” over N11m internet fraud

    EFCC arrests “Sheikh” over N11m internet fraud

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested one Saheed Omoniyi over alleged N11 million fraud perpetrated through the Internet.

    Mr Ayo Oyewole, the Head of Public Affairs, EFCC Ibadan Zonal Office, told newsmen in Ibadan on Thursday that Omoniyi, 24, lured his victims to defraud them by posing as a renowned Islamic cleric.

    He said that the suspect had impersonated a popular Lagos-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Sulaiman Onikijipa on the internet seeking donations from his unsuspecting followers.

    Oyewole said that the suspect had lured the unsuspecting followers of the popular cleric to pay donations into an account purportedly opened by the Sheikh.

    He stated that the commission got wind of Omoniyi’s fraudulent activities through a petition sent to the anti-graft agency by the Islamic cleric.

    Oyewole stated that the commission’s investigations revealed that the suspect had obtained over N11 million before his arrest on Monday, March 13.

    He said that the suspect was arrested on his way to the bank to withdraw the latest donations of one million naira into the fraudulent account.

    Oyewole stated that Omoniyi, who hails from Offa in Kwara State, had made confessional statement to operatives of the commission.

    He said that the suspect would be charged to court as soon as the investigation was concluded. (NAN)

  • Internet users decline to 91.2m in January – NCC

    Internet users decline to 91.2m in January – NCC

    The number of internet users in Nigeria’s telecommunications networks declined to 91, 274,446 in January, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said.

    The NCC made the disclosure in its Monthly Internet Subscribers Data for January 2017 on its website on Tuesday in Abuja.

    According to the data released, internet users dropped to 91,274,446 in January as against 91,880.032 users recorded in December 2016, showing a decline of 605,586.

    The data also showed that the GSM service providers lost 605,586 internet customers after recording 91, 274,446 in January as against 91,880,032 users in December 2016.

    The data revealed that MTN had 31,015.45 subscribers browsing the internet on its network in the month of January.

    It explained that MTN recorded a drop of 737, 964 internet subscribers in January after recording 31,753.369 in December 2016.

    Airtel had 19,618.485 internet users in January, adding 254, 94 customers to its December record of 19,363.545.

    In Etisalat, the data showed 13,564.284 customers who browsed the internet in January revealing a decrease of 188.656 users against the 13,752.940 users recorded in December 2016.

    The data showed that Globacom had 27,076,272 customers browsing the internet on its network in January.

    This amounted to an increase of 66,094 users from the 27,010.178 users of the internet on the network in December 2016. (NAN)