The Nation Newspaper

Tag: MTN

  • MTN, stop this madness

    MTN, stop this madness

    SIR: It  has  become  imperative  to protest  in the  strongest  term, the  dastardly  act  of robbing telephone   subscribers  of  their  hard  earned money.  I  will  focus  on  MTN because  the  network  is  worse off  in  this  cheating  game.

    MTN like  other  networks  offer various  services  including information.  But,  what  really pains  me  is  the penchant by MTN  to enrol  subscribers  for  services for  which  they  did  not subscribe  to  in  the  first  place and then  charging  them  for  such.

    The  worst  part  of  it  is  that  it is  very  difficult,  if  not impossible,  to  opt  out  of  such service. Anytime  one  sends  a text  to  a  code  made  available by  the  network,  it  will  not  go through.

    Meanwhile,  one’s  account  is deducted  every  month.

    MTN  has  been  sending  ”Job Connect”  alert  to  my  line (08165660953)  through  38051 or  MTN N.  At  no  time  did  I subscribe  to  this  service  and my  attempt  to  stop  it  has been unsuccessful.  This  service  cost N100  per  month.  On  Dec  23, 2013, N100 was  deducted  from  my  account and  next  deduction  is  slated  for  Jan  20.

    I  am  very  angry  at  this.  This   has  happened  many  times.

    I  request  MTN to  refund  my  money  illegally deducted  from  my  account  and stop  sending  alert  to  me. Should  my  account  further  be deducted,  I  will  not  hesitate  to port  to  another  network.

    I  am  also  using  this opportunity  to  appeal  to  NCC and  National  Assembly  to  call MTN  to  order.  Subscribers  are made  poorer  daily  with  this kind  of  impunity  and daylight robbery.

    • Abimbola Blessing,

    Ikare-Akoko

  • Poor service: NCC threatens sanctions against telecoms

    Poor service: NCC threatens sanctions against telecoms

    •Says poor service may attract initial N5m fine, N500, 000 per day

    All the eight telecommunication companies in the country have up till the end of this month to improve their services or start paying hefty fines to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) under fresh regulations just rolled out by the agency.

    The NCC is to the telecoms what the Central Bank is to the banking sector.

    Under the new dispensation ,any errant operator could be banned from selling SIM cards from December 31.

    Each of the operators with poor service may henceforth pay fines ranging between half a million naira and N5million per day.

    The eight operators asked to buckle up are: MTN; Airtel; Etisalat; Globacom; Swift Networks; Intercellular; Multilinks; and Visafone.

    The NCC communicated its decision to the operators in a December 10, 2013 letter by its Executive Chairman, Eugene Juwah,S through the Director, Legal and Regulatory Services, Josephine Amuwa.

    The letter entitled “Notice of intention to issue Direction pursuant to Sections 53 and 54 of the NCC Act, 2003” asked the operators to sit up.

    It said: “Whereas: (a) The Quality of Service Regulations, 2012 developed and published by the Commission specified certain Key Performance Indicators (KPI) threshold to be maintainedby telecommunication service providers.

    “(b) The commission after careful investigation of the Quality of Services of all the major network operators has concluded that the present service being provided by telecommunication service providers falls below the KPI published by the Commission in the Quality of Service Regulations, 2012.

    “Now therefore, the Commission having critically reviewed the declining Quality of Service and in exercise of its statutory powers intends to issue a direction in the following terms:

    • Failure to comply with any direction that may be issued pursuant to the above notice will result in the imposition of sanction in the amount of five million naira (N5, 000,000) and a further sum of N500, 000 per day after the expiration of the notice for as long as the contravention persists and calculated from the deadline specified by the Commission for the operator to meet the minimum standard of quality of service.

    • Your comments/ submissions on this notice should be submitted on or before 20th December, 2013; failing which, the Commission shall issue the direction as aforesaid compelling you to comply.

    •Your comments/ submissions on this notice of intention to issue a direction should be forwarded to the Executive Chairman, NCC.”

    This is the second time the NCC will be forced to call the operators to order on poor services.

    All the operators were sanctioned N1,170,000, 000 in May 2012 for failing in different KPI s.

    Each of the operators was sanctioned as follows: MTN Nigeria Communications and Etisalat, N360,000,000 ( Three Hundred and Sixty Million ) each; Airtel -N270,000,000 (Two Hundred and Seventy Million Naira); and Globacom attracted a penalty of N180,000,000 (One Hundred and Eighty Million Naira).

    An NCC said that the commission had no choice than to wield the big stick again in light of persistent complaints by Nigerians.

    “The ultimatum on the improvement on Quality of Service is from December 31st, implying the Commission would take another measurement on this date,” the source said.

    “These operators have not improved in spite of the sanctions imposed on them in 2012.

    “The implication is that if any of the operators failed in KPI by 31 December , it would warrant stoppage of sale of SIM cards by the offending operators.

    “ All the operators may be affected as most of them are not performing to the satisfaction of the key consumers especially in the area of drop calls which has become more rampant in recent times.

    “The failure of the operators to meet with the terms of agreement with the Commission in 2012, will warrant implementation of the Key Performance Indicators early instituted by the Commission, which would imply much more drastic action.

    “The stoppage of SIM card, would not preclude issuance of sanctions as done in 2012 as the Commission is angered by the fact that the KPI’s were lowered after the sanctions but the operators did not meet to the terms of agreement it entered with the Commission to improve quality over a 12 months period during which it promised to meet with the KPI’s.”

  • Password gets MTN’s Porsche

    Password gets MTN’s Porsche

    Ever imagined singing your way to owning a Porsche? That was what Password (real name Patrick Mathias) did Thursday evening as he crooned his way to win the final of MTN Song Star, which held at Oriental Hotel, Lagos.

    Password, who in addition to winning the Porsche, got a record deal with top music producer, Don Jazzy, was ecstatic, and said, “It’s just like a dream to me” after he was presented with the key of the Porsche.

    Amongst the five contestants, three (Obino, Habila, and Mike) were monthly winners that emerged while the contest lasted in different regions of the country while the remaining two, of which Password was one of them, were wild cards.

    And with a sonorous rendition of ‘Wactha say’ by Jason Derulo, Password sealed his place as the winner. Whipping up the crowd, the three judges, Chris Obosi, Ayo Olaosju, and Don Jazzy didn’t have a hard time anointing Password a winner, making him sweep away keys from Obino, his closest competitor.

    Patrick said he got the name ‘Password’ from friends who believe he can do anything.

    Password was presented with his Porsche car while Obino, Habila and Mike were also presented with their Hyuandai Cerato cars.

  • Kcee, Chindinma, Don Jazzy for MTN Chat Room

    Kcee, Chindinma, Don Jazzy for MTN Chat Room

    As a fall-out of its successful digital marketing of Nigerian artistes’ songs, MTN has hit another landmark, with overwhelming social media engagement, within the space of two weeks, with record tweets and interaction following its ongoing musical concert and tour, tagged MTN ‘Loud in Naija’.

    According to the MTN’s Events and Sponsorship Manager, Mr. Okundola Bamgboye, who spoke with reporters yesterday said popular artistes such as Wizkid, Banky W and Davido, amongst others, have been twit guests, on the ICT and Telecommunications Company’s Twitter handle chatting and engaging the network service provider’s Twitter followers.

    Bamgboye said public has been delighted knowing more about these artistes as they get answers to questions, especially those relating to the concert, their personal lives and issues surrounding the entertainment industry – most notably, Banky W., whose involvement with MTN has begun a widespread rumour, linking him to joining the league of MTN ambassadors and musical super-stars, soon.

    “Meanwhile, Kingsley Okonkwo, aka KCEE, who just recorded over a million download on MTN Callertunez, in less than two weeks, after the launch of his debut album, ‘Take Over’, will take over discussions, this week Wednesday, on the MTN Twitter handle, to further establish the digital revolution and charge led by Nigeria’s largest ICT company and elaborate more on the next concert, coming up in Abuja, this weekend. He will be preceded by the MTN Project Fame season 3 winner, Chidinma while Don Jazzy take turn on Thursday” he said.

    Bamgboye noted that over the years, MTN has been in the fore-front of delivering innovative services and organizing events that match the consumers’ desires.

    He went on that:” This is the reason why it is taking the ‘Loud in Naija’ musical concert to different cities, across the country, to give its subscribers a memorable experience, as the yuletide approaches.

    “It is imperative to ensure that the consumers’ passions and love for entertainment be put into consideration, this is why MTN has come up with a most unique musical concert, featuring Nigeria’s array of musical superstars”.

    He also established the fact that the company has never relented in its efforts to cause a massive revolution in entertainment and digital engagement.

     

  • Africa needs $300b investment for connectivity, says MTN chief

    Africa needs $300b investment for connectivity, says MTN chief

    Africa requires $300billion in fresh financial inflow to expand telecommunications infrastructure and enhance wider connectivity, Chief Technical Officer (CTO), MTN South Africa, Lambp Kanagaratnam, has said.

    He lamented that the continent was lagging behind in connectivity despite the availability of huge bandwidth capacity brought by several submarine cables, adding that MTN invested in four of those submarine cables.

    Kanagaratnam, who spoke on Guaranteeing quality connectivity Across Africa at the weekend during the just-concluded Africacom conference at Cape Town International Convention Centre, South Africa, operators in the continent faced a lot of challenges during the process of laying optic fibre cables.

    According to him, problems arise because of the huge number of communities that have to be covered while the regulatory environment was also not helping matters.

    He lamented that while heavy machines had to be deployed in laying cables because of the difficult terrains, operators were spending huge amount in the process. He said the rural areas are historically known ot to have infrastructure, adding that African governments must give incentive to operators and other investors interested in investing on the provision of infrastructure in the rural areas.

     

    He urged the government on the need to make regulations more investment friendly, adding that issues such as spectrum allocation and licensing are done on time. He also advised African leaders to start thinking in thd area of granting smart subsidies to operators to enable them deploy more fibre

     

  • Chidinma: ‘I didn’t make any sex tape’

    Chidinma: ‘I didn’t make any sex tape’

    Budding songstress, Chidinma Ekile has denied being the one in the sex tape that has gone viral on the Internet.

    The sex tape that has been trending on the social media feature a lady who had a striking resemblance to the popular Miss Kedike.

    Many thought this was a mere attack at the singer’s thriving career while others believed this new development would ruin her career.

    To this allegation, Chidinma cries out with a response that has completely set things back to normal “I didn’t make any sex tape o, I have no idea where that tape is from and I am still a virgin o!”

    She has also promised to sure the people who made this slanderous tape.

     

  • Fighting piracy, according to Iyanya, Davido, KC, others

    Fighting piracy, according to Iyanya, Davido, KC, others

    IN the face of the unchecked scourge of piracy, Nigerian artistes are now smiling to the banks and getting the deserved royalties for their creative abilities from the MTN Callertunez service as they now use the platform to monetise their songs.

    This, according to findings, is because the MTN Callertunez service has grown to become one of the safest and largest distribution platforms for music content in Nigeria, having over 17 million subscribers patronising the service. This number holds a yet unbeaten record in the telecommunications industry.

    Many Nigerian artistes now see the MTN Callertunez service, which was launched in 2008, as one of the inimitable ways to monetise their creative content and offer solutions to the distribution problems, facing the Nigerian music industry. Besides, it’s impossible for the service to be duplicated or pirated. With its wide outreach to millions of subscribers, the service has a library of over 12, 000 Callertunez. This library warehouses Callertunez, of various artistes, including those of Nigeria’s leading artistes like Iyanya, Davido, Kcee, Tiwa Savage, Wizkid, Chidinma.

    Iyanya’s hit track, Kukere, which was released on December 11, 2011, was the first to cross three million downloads on any mobile telecommunications network in Nigeria, thus making the MTN Project Fame maiden edition winner to continually smile to the bank. Worthy of note, Kate Henshaw’s song, Treasure, is the most downloaded tune on the MTN Callertunez service.

    Talk-of-the-moment song, Skelewu, by Davido, has become the tune of many MTN Callertunez subscribers, with over a million downloads. The song, which is making waves, is also using the MTN Callertunez service to create popularity. This week, the tune is occupying sixth position on the MTN Callertunez Weekly Top 10. Following the Skelewu king, Davido, is the Limpopo master, KCee. Kcee’s song, Limpopo, has also become an anthem to many Callertunez subscribers.

    Other songs making it big on the MTN Callertunez are: Tiwa Savage’s Eminado, Wizkid’s Jaye Jaye, Jaywon’s Odun Yi and the legendary Fela’s Water No Get Enemy, among others.

    Apart from Nigerian artistes making it big through the platform, subscribers are also smiling as MTN Nigeria has started rewarding them with expensive smartphones and other exciting gifts. To further excite and make it easier for customers to discover their favourite songs on MTN Callertunez, the Chief Marketing Officer, MTN, Larry Annetts, has stated that a Facebook app and a smartphone app for the service will both be launched before the end of the year.

  • Free Internet access for customers as MTN, Jumia partner

    Free Internet access for customers as MTN, Jumia partner

    Jumia, the global retail award winner and ‘Best New Retail Launch of the Year’, is partnering MTN Nigeria to bring its customers what it calls “a better experience”.

    The partnership is on the promotion of Internet on mobile devices, especially smart phones, which are becoming major means of accessing the Internet and online shopping.

    The MTN-Jumia partnership offers customers six months of free Internet access on MTN network when a customer buys a smart phone from Jumia.

    Mr. Kola Oyeyemi, MTN’s General Manager, Consumer Marketing, said: “The world has turned to one big digital village and MTN is determined to harness the endless potentials provided by innovative technology and make this available to its Nigerian customers.”

  • MTN supports fight against crime in Bayelsa

    MTN supports fight against crime in Bayelsa

    Telecommunication giant, Mobile Telecommunications Nigeria (MTN) Limited, has joined the operation to flush out criminals in Bayelsa State. The company through its foundation donated five hilux patrol pick-up vehicles to the government.

    The Acting Senior Manager Sales, Eastern Region, MTN Nigeria, Mr Onamari Horsfall, handed the keys to the veicles over to the Governor of the state, Mr. Seriake Dickson.

    He said the vehicles were donated in accordance with the company’s corporate social responsibility and commitment to a secure and safe environment for lives and property across the country.

    Dickson lauded the communication company for keying into his administration’s vision of providing adequate security in the state.

    He said security would engender socio-economic growth by attracting investors.

    Referring to the maintenance of law and order as a collective responsibility, Dickson who was represented by his deputy Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd.) described MTN’s efforts as complementary.

    He said the security patrol vehicles would be added to the already-acquired security assets to combat crime and insecurity.

    The governor also presented vehicles to the newly-completed Okaka Prisons. He said the gesture was aimed at ensuring efficient and effective prison administration in the state.

    He explained that his administration’s support to the security outfit was borne out of “the far-reaching services it renders to society as a place of rehabilitation”.

    He said the present administration collaborated with the Federal Government to complete the Okaka Prison which was commissioned earlier in the year. He said the facility had brought relief to the congested prison in neighbouring Ahoada in Rivers State.

    He said: “We put in a lot of efforts in ensuring that the prison facilities were supported by the State Government. It is an entirely Federal Government concern but the State Government has a responsibility to complement the efforts of the Federal Government.

    “So, we did that and the prison is now in use, saving us from the long journeys we used to make to Ahoada. Prison primarily is not a place for punishment but it is a place we reform people.

    “But, it is also meant to keep away dangerous people away from us so that society will live in peace. This is why the State Government is collaborating with the Nigerian Prisons by providing these vehicles to facilitate the work of the prison.”

  • MTN App Challenge calls for downloads

    MTN App Challenge calls for downloads

    MTN App Developer Challenge, the app competition organised by MTN Nigeria has entered another phase with the call for app downloads. The competition which is focused on promoting the development of locally relevant content for the market was kicked off in July this year. Mobile apps developers were encouraged to upload their works on designated website.

    According to a statement, in this second phase which started on 24 October and is to last till 24 November 2013, customers are encouraged to visit the ‘Developer Challenge’ section of the MTN NextApps Store to download the apps they like the most. Based on the highest number of downloads, 4 apps will be selected per category.

    In addition to the top 4 apps per category, each of the 4 judges will select one wild card app per category. The Best Overall winner as well as winners from each category will be announced by December 13.

    Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria, Larry Annetts expressed optimism that the Challenge would produce results that are beneficial to the country, especially in the area of development of locally relevant applications that address the needs and aspirations of Nigerians.

    To promote their apps, mobile developers are advised to ascertain the direct link to their app from the MTN NextApps Store as this is what they will be sharing to their friends, relatives and the general public to download these apps. The link to all the apps for the competition is: http://nextapps.mtnonline.com/app/mtn-developer-challenge. Alternatively, MTN subscribers can text ‘APPS’ to 131.