Sunday, December 29, 2013

Ojedeji, 2 other Nigerians for Singapore’14 on fellowship


The Principal Network Engineer at the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Oluwaseun Samson Ojedeji and two other Nigerians have been selected by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to attend the 49th Public Meeting in Singapore, scheduled for March 23-27, 2014 on fellowship, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

The fellowship programme, DigitalSENSE Business News recalls brings global voices together at ICANN, while the Singapore meeting has 45 fellows scaling through the selection process with three being Nigerians, mostly from the academia and not-for-profit entities.

The other two Nigerians are Bukola Fawole also from academia and Benjamin Akintunde Akinmoyeje who came from Not-for-Profit organization background.

In all, 42 fellows will be attending the Singapore meeting from 31 countries for the 49th Public Meeting holding between March 2014.

Also, 15 fellows are alumni from at least one of the past 20 programmes, 23 are first-time attendees to an ICANN meeting, and four have attended meetings in past but are fellows for the first time.

The fellows represent all sectors of society including civil, government, academia, business, not-for-profit and user groups. The country code supporting groups are also represented.
Some of the fellow awardees include Xandra Fong from Fiji; Yungyung Teng – People's Republic of China; Mamadou Lo – Senegal; Maricarmen Sequera – Paraguay; João Carlos Rebello Caribé – Brazil; Md. Jahangir Hossain – Bangladesh, Inam Ali – Jordan, Hanen Idoudi – Tunisia – Academic, Farzaneh Badiei – Iran, Karel Douglas – Trinidad and Tobago, and Pascal Guillaume Bekono – Cameroon.

Additionally, Ephraim Percy Kenyanito – Kenya, Shakeel Ahmed – Pakistan, Emani Fakaotimanava-Lui – Niue, Yousef Torman – Jordan, Rommel Natividad – Philippines, Taravatu Arua Taravatu – Papua New Guinea, Gul-e Rana – Pakistan, Wisdom Kwasi Donkor – Ghana, Rahul Sharma – India, Zakir Syed – Pakistan, Mario Aleman Zapata – Nicaragua, Bonface Witaba of Kenya, Ibrahim Alfayoumi – West Bank and Gaza, Etuate Cocker – Tonga, Lianna Galstyan – Armenia, Aasis Karan – Fiji, and Philip Adar – Kenya, made the list.

Others are Bram Fudzulani – Malawi, Matilda Pamao – Papua New Guinea, Vernon O'Brien – Dominica, Valentina Pavel Burloiu – Romania, Hasnaa Soraya Melyani – Morocco, Zhang Zuan – People's Republic of China, Jason Hynds – Barbados, Mohamed Adas – West Bank and Gaza, Mohamed Elshaikh – Sudan, Walid Al-Saqaf – Yemen, and Andreas Sifiso Dlamini – Swaziland.


ICANN received 121 fellowship applications for the Singapore meeting. Applications for each meeting are assessed by an independent selection committee. Priority is given to applicants who meet minimum program requirements, are current residents of developing and least developed nations in the five ICANN regions, and who are interested in participating in ICANN and its supporting organizations, advisory committees or stakeholder groups.

Remmy Nweke
... Making SENSE of digital revolution!
Pix: Oluwaseun Samson Ojedeji

NIRA recognizes six registrars for outstanding performance


Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA) has recognized some six registrars for their outstanding performances for the year ended 2013.

DigitalSENSE Business News gathered that out of these six, three registrars including UpperLink Limited, Web4Africa and WhoGoHost were pronounced the most consistent registrars.

Also, another three registrars were named the most consistent on premium category, namely Web4Africa, NetEnergy and UpperLink.

Confirming these to DigitalSENSE Business News at the end of the year get together hosted by NIRA for registrars in Lagos, recently, the acting Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Akinbo Adebunmi said that the aforementioned three registrars made it as most consistent registrars with varying degrees succes

While commended those who crossed the threshold to keep up the good work, he charged other registrars to up their games in all ramification to ensure they are listed among top runners in the coming year.

According to him, this recognition is to encourage NIRA registrars to be innovative in conducting their .NG businesses so as to always grow the domain name industry in Nigeria.

He expressed optimism that in the coming years, NIRA is looking forward to making the recognition a big event that will attract stakeholders.

Correspondent/GEE
... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Ericsson ConsumerLab says Apps are changing society


The latest Ericsson ConsumerLab research has shown that Applications (apps) are changing our society, including the way people live their lives with Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
The research outcome made available to DigitalSENSE Business News showed that people’s body is fast becoming their new passwords and sensors in everyday places are some of the trends with far-reaching implications.
Additionally, DigitalSENSE Business News was informed that video consumption has increased as friends influence highly what people watch with  2013 coming to an end.
Ericsson ConsumerLab also has identified the hottest consumer trends for the coming year, 2014, saying that the most important trend was seeing the mass demand for apps and services across all industries and societal sectors, which has the potential to fundamentally change everyday life.
According to Michael Björn, Head of Research at ConsumerLab, apps change society and the fast global uptake of smartphones has completely changed the way people communicate and use the internet.
“Now we enter a new phase of rapidly-diversifying smartphone use, and people are looking for apps across all sectors of society. This includes everything from shopping and daycare to communication with authorities, and transportation. Apps are becoming more important than what phone you use,” he said.
The research, Mr Bjorn says Internet experience has been falling behind voice, an indication that shows smartphone users are realizing that the signal bars on their phones no longer provide reliable guidance, since a signal that is adequate for a voice call may not be good enough for internet services.
“Our research found that the lowest satisfaction is with the internet quality experienced on the subway,” he asserted.
Nenye Dom/GEE
... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Say hello’14 on Emirates – Antinori


The Emirates’ Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Thierry Antinori, has said that customers who have made a New Year’s resolution to see more of the world, could now say Hello to 2014 with some very attractive fares in both Business Class and Economy Class, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

It was also observed by DigitalSENSE Business News that bookings to all destinations across Emirates’ network on six continents have to be made between 24th December 2013 to 6th January 2014, for travel between the 1st February and 14th July 2014.

The VP notes what could be  better way to begin 2014 by travelling to a destination that one have never been to, or making that much promised visit to a friend or family member.

“We’ve combined the great flight connections offered by our global network with great special fares and by doing so we hope to help our customers fulfill their travel aspirations in 2014,” he said.

DigitalSENSE Business News gathered that all inclusive Business Class fares from this region start at USD 3,600 (N572,040.00) to Europe, USD 4,080 (N652,800.00)to the Far East and Australasia and USD 4,358(N697,680.00)to Africa; with Economy Class fares starting at USD 974 (N154768.60) to Europe, USD 1,001 (N160,160.00)to the Far East and Australasia and  USD 805 (N128,800.00)to Africa.

A total of eight new destinations have been added to the Emirates network since the beginning of 2013 including Stockholm, Tokyo Haneda and Clark in the Philippines; with Taipei, Kiev and Boston to join the network in early 2014.

“It is not only the destinations that are increasing, Emirates also continues to add the latest aircraft to its fleet which now stands at 210 in including 41 Airbus A380s flying to 24 destinations,” he said.

Ayo Omidele/GEE
... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Monday, December 23, 2013

1st quarter 2014: Zinox set to open two mega facilities in Abuja, Owerri


Zinox Group has advanced plans to open two of its mega facilities in the first quarter of 2014, at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja and Owerri respectively, DigitalSENSE Business News can authoritatively report.

The group chairman, Dr. Leo-Stan Ekeh confided in DigitalSENSE Business News saying that everything plan has been executed with zeal required meeting up with the dates set aside for the commissioning of both mega plazas.

According him, while the Abuja mega warehouse cum multipurpose facility would be opened for business in February 2014, the open facility would open in January 2014.

These facilities, he said, would position Zinox Group in its dream state as the leading light for the nation’s Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) centre stage.

DigitalSENSE Business News recalls that Microsoft Corporation recently appointed the chairman, Zinox Group, Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh, as one of its Global Partner Advisors, for a-two year tenure, which is coming as the first from Africa.

Ekeh’s appointment, DigitalSENSE Business News gathered was  in recognition of his pioneering and pivotal role in ICT development in the continent, more so, for his intuitive leadership and capacity to define market trends.

In the past, according to DigitalSENSE Business News records, Dr. Leo Stan Ekeh, attained a Fellow of the Nigeria Computer Society and won several industry awards including  the IT Personality of the Year 2011, he was honored on October 1, 2002 as an ICON of Hope by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, to name a few.

Equally, Dr. Ekeh’s role as the Global Advisor is expected to enhance the objectives of the Digital Knowledge Democracy and create technology value for Africans.

Remmy Nweke 
... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Friday, December 20, 2013

Microsoft names Leo Stan Ekeh, first African global advisor


The world software giant, Microsoft has named the chairman of Zinox Group, Dr. Leo-Stan Ekeh, the first of its Global Partner Advisors, for a-two year term, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

Ekeh, DigitalSENSE Business News learnt is the only African among the Advisors currently and was appointed in recognition of his pioneering and pivotal role in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) development in the continent, most especially, for his intuitive leadership and capacity to define market trends.

In his acceptance speech, Dr. Ekeh, a Fellow of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) and IT Personality of the Year 2011, appreciated Microsoft for identifying with his vision to move Africa from the analogue to digital platform.

He also commended Microsoft, the software multinational, for upholding the relevance and merits of the channel thereby helping to grow the IT market in Africa according to international standards.

Ekeh praised Microsoft for its belief in customer feedback as necessary consideration for business planning, product rollout and strategy development in both developed and emerging markets.

The Zinox Chairman told DigitalSENSE Business News that he would use the Global Advisor platform to advance the objectives of the Digital Knowledge Democracy and create technology value for Africans.

DigitalSENSE Business News recalls that on October 1st, 2002, Dr. Ekeh was honoured as an icon of Hope by President Olusegun Obasanjo, for his sustained entrepreneurial efforts in Information Technology, he pointed out that part of his responsibility would be to advise Microsoft on how best to domesticate technology and catalyze development in Africa.

He pledged to work closely with ICT institutions, professionals, governments, and the trade to ensure that his contributions to Microsoft are truly representative.

Also commenting, the President, Institute of Software Professionals of Nigeria (ISPON), Chief Chris Uwaje, described the appointment of Leo Stan Ekeh into the committee of Global Partner Advisors for Microsoft as a welcome development.

As said by him, the appointment of an African is a reflection of the growing importance of the African IT market.

He said that Leo Stan Ekeh has the experience, exposure and goodwill as pioneer of many strategic ICT platforms to make Africa proud in this endeavor, recalling that Ekeh’s sustained innovations have propelled many international OEMs to the Number One position in sub Saharan Africa.


Chief Uwaje said that this appointment means more than business for Africans because it would also be a source of inspiration for the development of IT capacities among professionals.
   
The Microsoft Global Advisor Committee is a committee of distinguished IT icons around the world who serve as feedback channel to Microsoft for business models and strategy for product rollout and meets two times every year. They also act as an advocacy group for customers and channel partners.

Remmy Nweke
... Making SENSE of digital revolution!
Pix: Dr. Leo-Stan Ekeh, chairman, Zinox Group

Why Etisalat backs Computer Village carnival


The management of fastest growing telecommunications company, Etisalat has adduced reasons why it’s partnering with organisers of the annual Computer Village Fair and Carnival 20o13, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

The series of events, DigitalSENSE Business News gathered kicks off this weekend at the Computer Village Ikeja, for a five-day programme that serves to showcase the market and its products to the world. It will feature several activities like seminars, exhibition of electronic devices and equipments, a carnival and a special day dedicated to Etisalat Nigeria as the Telecom Sponsor of the fair.

Shading light on the development, Mr. Lucas Dada, Director, Business Segment at Etisalat Nigeria, told DigitalSENSE Business News the company was delighted to be a part of such a programme that showcases the best technological devices in the world.

The Ikeja Computer Village, he noted, is the biggest market in West Africa, famous for information and communication technology devices.

"The market enjoys the patronage of thousands of people from across Nigeria and other parts of Africa daily, which makes it a good point for us to connect with customers and prospects. Our team will be on ground to resolve customer issues and meet the demands of prospects as a way of enriching the fair," he said.

DigitalSENSE Business News reports that highlight of the Etisalat Day, on Saturday December 21, would be a performance by Nigeria's King of Rap, Olamide to the delight of shoppers, guests and traders. Other activities built into the carnival include courtesy call on the Oba of Lagos, raffle draws and colorful street carnival to round up the weeklong event.

Ayo Omidele/GEE
... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Yakubu, a Journalist emerges Airtel’s N10m winner


A journalist with Radio Nigeria Precious FM in Lafia, Nassarawa State, Mr. Danjuma Ibrahim Yakubu, has emerged the grand prize winner in the just concluded Red Hot Promo by Nigeria’s leading mobile Internet Company, Airtel Nigeria, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

Yakubu, 40, a National Assembly correspondent, reportedly broke down in tears at the Headquarters of Airtel’s Northern operations in Abuja, yesterday, when he came to personally verify the authenticity of the promo and the fact that he emerged grand prize winner of 10 million naira.

An Airtel Regional Management team led by Olufemi Oyewole, the Regional Operations Director, North, welcomed the journalist and confirmed to him that the promo was real. An overwhelmed Yakubu was literally overtaken by emotions as he battled to complete the acceptance form.

“This is like a dream to me; I just can’t believe that this is real and happening. May God be praised,” Yakubu said in a trembling voice and teary eyes.

Yakubu, married with five children and a resident of Doma, Doma Local Government Area (LGA) of Nassarawa state, profusely thanked Airtel for the generosity, saying that the company “should continue with the good and transparent work, and may God bless the management for their wisdom and consideration for the welfare of the common man.”

Oyewole used the opportunity to assure the winner that Airtel is passionate about empowering Nigerians and creating credible platforms to reward and excite its customers, and also enable them realize their dreams and passions.

DigitalSENSE Business News recalls that Yakubu emerged winner in a draw supervised by leading systems’ audit specialist, TCQA and conducted on Tuesday, December 17th, 2013 at the Corporate Headquarters of Airtel Nigeria located in highbrow Banana Island, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Airtel drew the curtain on the Red Hot Recharge and Win promo after sixty days of doling out cash prizes, phones and free airtime worth hundreds of millions of naira to customers.

The loyalty reward scheme, which has seen scores of Nigerians realise their dream of financial empowerment, was designed as raffle draw, with participation open to customers who simply needed to either recharge, purchase or renew data bundle subscriptions, meet their 5X target, subscribe to ‘Talkmore’ or join the Airtel network.

The nationwide promo produced a daily winner of one million naira for 60 days and a grand prize winner of ten million naira. Other prizes included high-end smart phones to 100 winners per week, in addition to free talktime to over 5,000 customers. Also, for the entire 60 days of the promo all customers on the network got 5 free SMS and subscription services to choose from.
Speaking about the completion of the promo, Airtel Nigeria’s Chief Operating Officer and Executive 
Director, Deepak Srivastava, expressed satisfaction with the success of the promo just as he commended customers for their faith in the operator and its promise to continually seek out credible platforms for empowerment.

“We are glad to have provided the platform for our customers to express their huge faith in us as testified to by their participation, indeed, they have always done so; but more so is the fact we are keeping our promise to empower our customers and help them realise their dreams of financial freedom and fulfillment,“ Deepak posited.

Speaking further, Mr. Srivastava assured of the company’s readiness to remain at the vanguard of delivering quality telecommunication products and offerings as well as other social benefits to the teeming subscribers on the network.


Among those who won one million naira each include  Lagos-based Yusuf Lawal Adeniyi, Aremu Akeem Adewale, and Olabisi Odufuwa; Riro Esigbone from Delta; Ali Ibrahim, a Borno businessman; Umoh Okon, a trader in Akwa Ibom; Catechist Samuel Ogummobi and Port Harcourt-based business woman, Sylvia Amadasun.

Chuks Egbuna/GEE

... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

ITU Standards to propel market for e-health devices


The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Standards directorate has said that an important milestone for global e-health standardization has been achieved with final approval of a new standard that will better enable interoperability between e-health devices, reports DigitalSENSE Business News.

The standard - Recommendation ITU-T H.810, DigitalSENSE Business News gathered was contained in the Continua Health Alliance’s Design Guidelines which provide “Interoperability design guidelines for personal health systems”.

Also, DigitalSENSE Business News gathered from a press statement available to correspondent that the Continua Design Guidelines provide for end-to-end, plug-and-play connectivity in personal connected health devices, which are based on global industry standards for interoperability.

Devices such as wireless blood pressure cuffs, weight scales and a wide range of activity trackers can play a critical role in the prevention and improved management of chronic conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Establishing global interoperability standards will stimulate innovation and nourish the personal connected health ecosystem.


For manufacturers, standards will decrease time-to-market, reduce development costs and increase efficiencies. In particular they will enable quicker, less expensive integration to electronic medical records (EMR) or health information exchange (HIE) platforms.

Chuks Egbuna/GEE


... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Keshi’s appointment, signs of dynamic growth in African markets - Heirs


The United Bank for Africa (UBA) recent appointment of the new board chairman, Ambassador Joe Keshi has been described as a good omen that bequeaths dynamic growth for African markets.

DigitalSENSE Business News recalls that the pan-African financial services group in which investment company Heirs Holdings has a strategic interest, had announced the appointment of a new board chairman, Ambassador Joe Keshi.

The appointment of Ambassador Keshi, brings significant foreign service experience, as the management of Heirs Holding says signals the increasing importance of UBA’s pan-African and global network.

Heirs Holdings chairman, Tony O. Elumelu, who retired as Group Managing Director and CEO of UBA in 2010 and whose strategic vision is responsible for today’s UBA, confirmed that Keshi's appointment would add significant value to UBA’s shareholders.

"Joe Keshi brings to this position a track record of rigorous governance, an international perspective and experience in policy formulation. These qualities are critical to UBA’s strategy of consolidating its position as the leading pan-African financial services group in Africa," he said.

Elumelu pointed out DigitalSENSE Business News that this appointment lays to rest some of the ill-informed speculation relating to his possible return to UBA. 

“With Heirs Holdings developing an increasingly diversified portfolio, including Transcorp as well as Tenoil, Afriland, our real estate business, and Avon Healthcare, leading Heirs Holdings and ensuring that we capture the many exciting opportunities in Nigeria and across Africa, requires my full time attention. I can think of no better person than Joe Keshi to lead UBA,” he said.

Ambassador Keshi has over 35 years of public service, working at the highest levels of government administration in Africa and during his career served as Permanent Secretary, at the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Charge d’Affaires, Embassy of Nigeria, The Hague, Netherlands and Consul-General of Nigeria in Atlanta, USA. Ambassador Keshi was first appointed to the UBA Board in 2010 and became Vice Chairman in 2011. Ambassador Keshi’s appointment follows the retirement of Chief Israel Ogbue, a member of the UBA Board since 2005 and who has served as Chairman since January 1, 2011.

Speaking on his appointment, Ambassador Keshi DigitalSENSE Business News that UBA has demonstrated ability for creating sustained value for various stakeholders.
“Our pan-African footprint, particularly, gives UBA an extremely effective platform for harnessing and indeed contributing to, the growing economic potential of African markets,” he said.

Remmy Nweke with additional report from APO


... Making SENSE of digital revolution!
Pix: Amb Joe Keshi in handshake with Chief Israel Ogbue, former UBA chairman

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Legislating on peering by govt’ll be counter productive –AfriNIC CEO


 The Chief Executive Officer, AfriNIC, the Regional Internet Registry for Africa, Mr. Adiel Akplogan spoke with the Group Executive Editor, DigitalSENSE Business News, REMMY NWEKE at the recently ended African ICT Week 2013 at the African Union headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He shared his thoughts on Internet eco-system in Africa, Fund for Research and Education (FIRE) and ICT Week.

 What is AfriNIC all about for the common man in Africa?
WHAT we are mainly created for is to manage the identifiers which are used to connect to the internet. We have a way of identifying these numbers. Like you have your phone connected to the Internet, every equipment connected is identified on the internet and it’s global.
Registry like AfriNIC are set up around the globe, there are five of them in charge of specific regions, managing those identifiers and making sure that these numbers are allocated in a very professional way, to avoid duplication and register them as well as make them available in a public database, so that anyone can check who is using what.
AfriNIC specifically was set up for our region to help and support network operators to engage in these resources, because they need them to run their networks and if we are in the region that is seeing the most tremendous growth on the internet usage, we can obviously understand that those resources become very critical.

During your presentation earlier, you made mention of some 47m uptake on Internet Protocols. Do you think that’s commensurate to the population of Africa?
No! Of course not! the ratio between that and the population of Africa is still very, very low, however, it’s a work in progress and something that has significantly improved and even as I mentioned this morning; in 20 years, only 10m IP addresses were allocated, but over the past 8 years, we have gone 47m, almost 500+ growth within this period of the past eight years.

Yes, there is a huge work for awareness and capacity building and to understand that to build a resilient, reliable and secure network, and long-term network, you have to use the IP because that is what they are meant for and Internet has been designed to use public IP. In Africa, by default we go to nothing, because at the very early days of the Internet, there was no registry, so operators sold IP addresses and even sold the idea to the people that there are no IP addresses. So they now become the default solution. Well, that is the solution when you are running out of IP addresses or you don’t have IP address and you want to catch-up.

There is a lot of work to be done in terms of sensitising the operators on the importance of using their own IP addresses and the importance of using that to strengthen their networks and grow their network and ensure that its reliable, which is what the end-user wants; a reliable network they can rely on anytime and that is going by proper design of the network.

It does not commensurate, but at least, it shows things are progressing. We will continue to do that for operators to grow and have access to IP addresses as much as they want. I am not sure we are going to reach the one person per IP ratio very soon but we shall increase it to the extent that we have efficient network running. At least, we can project into the future.

One other excuse some of the operators do give is the cost of acquiring the IP addresses. What do you have to say on that?

Really, the cost is not very big. The cost of an IP address is less than 10 cents per an IP address, but the best thing is to compare the cost today to accessing IP address and the benefit of having IP addresses. Everything has a cost, nothing is free. So, you have to compare that with the advantage that that IPs bring to you. Nothing is free, now you have to compare that with the benefit that you get in getting a resilient network. Because if I am running a network, I would put everything in place to make sure that the network is reliable.

Yes, you have to pay to become AfriNIC member and then have access to those resources. The cost for me is very minimal. We are talking about a $1000 per year to become a small member and get those resources. If you are an operator that is providing real business services and providing bandwidth, the cost of our service; $1000 could be too much, but this is an argument we are used to and are used generally. So, we don’t sell IP addresses, but allocate to you to offer services and the membership is for those who offer these services.

Now, how does that translate to cheaper Internet for Africans?

It translates to cheaper internet because when you are running that and adding complexity to your network, obviously the cost of running that network goes up. That cost where does it go? Of course, to the end users. So, the first thing is that by running with your own IP address, you will one, de-complexify your network; secondly, you have the autonomy which allows you to change the operator without fearing renumbering.

For many operators, renumbering has a cost, meaning that if you don’t have your own IP address, you simply get you own IP address from an optimal provider, but by having that, you are linking yourself to them. In a way that it is their IP address, like I said, you don’t own IP addresses; they lend you IP addresses to do your businesses with.

The day you say, I have cheaper IP addresses and want to move, you are stuck, because if you move, you have to reinvest in renumbering all your IP infrastructure that your new operator will give you. Just because of that, many operators don’t move but would like to negotiate with the one they are with to get something, but I am not sure they are getting the optimum price. While if you have your own IP address, if you decide to move, you can move without any tie with your operators, so it gives you an independence that you don’t have if you don’t have your own IP addresses. This means that you can negotiate best price for your connection and then replicate that to the customers as well. So, it impacts on the affordability to access for the customers.

Overall, we do IP addresses. On top of that we also try to help to support all initiatives that help to drop the cost like the eXchange Points by helping people to understand peering and the role of peering which could help them drop the cost significantly by properly choosing who they want to peer with. One thing is to have the link and once you have the link you can peer with anyone. And as soon as you decide that, that is where I am sending my links. But it’s not automatic that you are sending your traffics where you are lending your leased lines from.

So, these are some of the tricks, which are the basics of the Internet business which some operators do not know. Hence, it is part of our capacity building as well in different engagement initiatives in the region, like the African Peering Forum where we put on situation on how you negotiate your situation; negotiate the best price and how you peer with your counterpart on the internet. That is also part of our direction.

Are you satisfied with the number of Internet Exchange Points on the continent?
Satisfied? We can never be satisfied. Satisfaction is not an end goal, but something that will continue. We have come a long way and made a lot of progress, though a lot more still need to be done.
Like what and what?

To build more exchange points and sensitise people on the use of the Exchange Points as the focal points for their local traffic and the operators and government must facilitate that. Is not the one government would say they are coming in to set up exchange points and bringing people in. No! Peering is fundamentally something that is negotiated on bilateral agreement, which is a business agreement.

Like I mentioned earlier, people may have links to an exchange, nothing says they must send their traffics there. May be in their business rules it is more expensive to send their traffic there, because they may have a cheaper agreement with somebody else who they are peering with outside the region, who is offering them the cheapest price.

So, the Exchange Point has to be in a clear strategy of development and where operators are fully buying into them. It is their exchange point and it’s their point of exchanging traffic and they have to be completely committed to that. Government has to facilitate that those Exchange points are there, because the role of managing the exchange remain that of the operators. At the end of the day, it’s an element supporting the whole industry.

Do you think that legislating on eXchange Point could boost adaption?
I am personally skeptical about that approach of forcing people to do that through legislation. We have seen many examples where government did that and it did not work. Again, like I said earlier, yes, you may ask people to do it but you cannot force them to send their traffic there. The impact may not be there by forcing and then the Internet is a technology but a culture that follows a different business model. That’s again what we need to understand that culture, absorb it and understand that it’s a culture build on shared-responsibility.

For a shared-responsibility to be a vision, we need all the elements of shared-responsibility to be engaged. So, I am not convinced at all that imposing on operators’ in a country to peer at the Exchange Point will bring any benefit. In contrary, it will derail the logic behind peering agreement.

What will you tell us about the AfriNIC’s Fund for Internet Research and Education (FIRE)?
Two years ago, we set up Fund for Internet Research and Education (FIRE) to which AfriNIC and few others contributed to encourage research in education, like Dr. Nii Quaynor, IDFC, CIDA and a few others; trying to support innovation in our region. We always praise the Internet as a wonderful tool which has to be a tool of innovation for our region. Address some critical issues we are facing today.

So, this fund will help those innovative creativities by providing them with small grants to kick-off their research and there is a part of it that is also for education; we training people on how to manage their projects and make it visible to more technical issue. It is a fund that we have launched to support again work on innovation.

Are there specific areas FIRE is focusing at now?
We have some three key areas for now. We have technology innovation on mobile environment, openness and freedom of speech and we also have human rights. All the information is on the website www.FIREAfrica.org.

What message are you leaving Africans with at this year’s African ICT Week?
For me, the initiative is a very good one coming from the African Union to bring the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) actors together, despite their differences in their backgrounds to talk about these issues on ICT development and internet particularly. I think it’s something we should always take-back as a continent. We cannot be talking at the global levels when we have not grown an ecosystem and environment that facilitate those talks. So, we have to take those talks back to make enabling environment to bring in different actors on ICT. ICT is a complex thing that no one can have a unique solution to.

We have to take in the multi-actors, multi-stakeholders, and multi-interest parties approach locally to build an environment that is conducive for internet development and for business development generally and also for human development. So, my main message here is that it should not stop here in Addis Ababa, so that at the end of the week, people must have enough to take back home, trying to enhance local environment for internet development and especially by engaging local capacity.

... Making SENSE of digital revolution!

Sporting Nigeria 2013: So fair, so far


 SPORT is a major source of entertainment and relaxation for Nigerians. In recent times,  the love for the round leather game (football), has spilled over to other sporting activities like weight lifting, table and lawn tennis, and of course, athletics. Based on the achievements of the country in the year ending 2013, one can safely say that GOODLUCK has really been our watch word. In various sports sectors, the name Nigeria has consistently been put on the world map.

Track and Field
After 14 years of absence on the medal table of the IAAF Championships, Blessing Okagbare won two medals for Nigeria in the last edition of the tourney, which took place in Russia in August 2013. She won a silver medal in long jump and abronze medal in the 200 meter race. The last time Nigeria won any medal was at the Seville’99 IAAF World Championship in Seville, Spain, where Gloria Alozie and Francis Obikwelu won a silver medal in the 100m hurdles and a bronze medal in the 200m respectively.

Nigeria’s Track and Long Jump Queen, Blessing Okagbare was honoured with the prestigious award of 2013 Athlete of the Year by the Nigeria Olympic Committee, (NOC), for her incredible performance in the year under review. Okagbare's sterling performance at the Moscow World Athletics championship where she won silver and bronze medals in the long jump and tracks and broke a 14-year jinx which had plagued the country no doubt, has put her in good stead for the award.

Blessing Okagbare did upset favorites Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Carmelita Jeter to win the 200 meters at the Diamond League meeting in Birmingham.

Our motherland (Nigeria) has become the number one sports nation in Africa. Never in the history of African athletics had one country been winner of the Senior, Junior and Youth Championships at the same time. Nigeria, indeed, has laid a record by winning the threesome in the last two years! First, we won the Senior Athletics Championship in Port Novo (June 27–July1,2012), followed by the inaugural Youth Championshipin Warri, Delta State (March 2013) and recently, we won the Junior Championship in Mauritius (August-September 2013).

. This same year, Nigerian juniors in Bambous, Mauritius topped the medals table of the African Junior Championships. Divine Oduduru and Nkiru Uwakwe added two gold medals on the final day of the event to cement Nigeria’s position at the top.
Team Nigeria completed the hat-trick of clinching the continent’s three major track and field titles, capping it with the Africa Junior Athletics Championships. Nigeria won the 11th Africa Junior championship which held in the Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius with nine gold, seven silver and three bronze medals to push arch rivals South Africa to the second place that collected seven gold, nine silver and eight bronze medals.

Indoor Sports
Our fine run in sports continued in Malaysia where the nation’s weightlifting team won the 2013 Commonwealth weightlifting championship. Nigeria won a total of eight gold, three silver and three bronze medals to lift the female championship trophy, while India lifted the male diadem.The closing ceremony was a glorious night for Nigeria as she carted away a total of four trophies. Agatha Obioma Okoli won a trophy as the best female lifter of the championship, while Joy Chika won two trophies after being voted as the best junior and youth lifter of the championship.

Nigeria's supremacy over Australia at both senior and junior levels in global table tennis will continue for a longtime due to the enormous talents in the pool of the West African nation. This was the verdict of the High Performance/ National Head Coach of Australia, Jens Lang based on Nigeria's performance after his lads lost 3-1 to Nigeria in the boys' team event of the  International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) organised World Junior Championships which held in Rabat, Morocco.

Football
Coming out of 19 years of discomforting obscurity, Nigeria won the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa in February. On that note, the year had kicked off gloriously for the  national team, the Super Eagles, with the AFCON cap. Despite little or no faith placed on the team, they Nigerians by surprise and took Africa by storm; winning the competition. They made a name for themselves beating hitherto dreaded ‘power house’ of African football, the Elephants of Cote d'ivore and Burkina Faso (twice) to claim the trophy.

Similarly, our Under 17 side, the Golden Eaglets, recently won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates thereby making 2013 end memorably with the Golden Eaglets becoming the first country to win the FIFA Under-17 World Cup for the fourth time, and the first team to score as many as 26 goals in the history of the tourney after unleashing a comprehensive 3-0 punishment on their Mexican counterparts at the El Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. With the discovery of young talents like Dele Alampasu, Taiwo Awoniyi, Kelechi Iheanacho and a host of others, the future of Nigerian sports is secure.

In the statement entitled "Triple Congratulations to a Blessed Nation", Globacom said "by winning the African Cup of Nations in February, the Under 17 World Cup just last week and now qualifying for the World Cup, Nigeria’s football is clearly on the ascendancy."

With the recent draw of the Super Eagles into Group F for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, it promises to be a sizzling and productive affair as we look forward to clashing with our usual almost ever present group member Argentina (whom Nigerians love to play against), Iran and surprise qualifiers Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In athletics, just like football and weightlifting, Nigeria in the out-going year, has proved beyond any reasonable doubt, that this most populous country in black Africa has regained her place of pride in African continental sports and the world beyond.

Having achieved this much in the year of goodluck, 2013, it is hoped that 2014 will bring more blessing and goodwill for Team Nigeria. Fellow Nigerians, what if our beloved Super Eagles- I mean the combination of a fully indigenised technical crew of magic Big Boss, Stephen Keshi    and his never-say-die players bring  the World Cup home in this coming year? Just imagine the Armageddon of jubilation that will take place on the street of this Obodo Niger! Wow! Compliments of the season.

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Transport Sector: Experts list Challenges, Solutions and Opportunities


 CHALLENGES met solutions and opportunities at the Commercial Vehicle Conference held at the Johannesburg Truck & Bus Show on 24 October, where delegates were able to focus on industry matters crucial to the ongoing viability of this vibrant sector of the South African economy.
Industry analyst Frank Beeton of Econometrix presented an overview of the SA Truck market from 1971 to date, indicating trends in sales of medium (MCV), Heavy (HCV) and Extra Heavy (EHCV) Commercial Vehicles and Buses, indicating how political and economic circumstances influenced the truck market during the past 42 years.
The growing share of EHCV’s in the truck sector is an indication of a change on the market structure underpinned by the development of long haul operations into Africa. Sales wise, the total truck market for 2013 is estimated to top at between 29 000 and 30 000 units with a forecast growth in sales for the next 3 years to 35 600 units in 2017.
With load optimisation, driver wellness, vehicle maintenance and productivity as the key focus areas of self- regulation through a voluntary accreditation process under the government-supported Road Traffic Management System ( RTMS) , Chairman of the Road Transport Management System Committee  Adrian van Tonder of Barloworld Logistics reported on the vast difference which this concept, launched in 2007 with only 74 accredited vehicles and now standing at 4 450 accredited vehicles,  has made to participants.
He quoted case studies to indicate how this unique system of voluntary self-regulation that was mooted in 2007 to assist fleet owners in legal compliance and optimisation of their fleet management requirements has contributed to efficient fleet maintenance and cited examples where fleets under the system have experienced a 50% reduction in downtime, accidents and huge improvements in fuel economy. The poor state of the secondary road network and the negative effects on road safety and maintenance costs were generally lamented.              
Dr Vaughan Mostert of the Department of Transport & Supply Management at the University of Johannesburg focused attention on the challenges facing public transportation, which was beset by uncoordinated planning efforts by local, provincial and national authorities and highlighted the need for a coordinated approach and the realignment of political will as key to any effort to improve the current unsatisfactory situation in the sector.
The extent to which research was being done on an ongoing basis to improve truck specifications and the manner in which the CSIR’s performance-based research is improving the design specification of truck bodies and trailers, resulting in safer and more economical operations of fleets, was demonstrated by Paul Nordengen, Research Group Leader of Network Asset Management Systems at the CSIR ‘s Built Environment Division.
Patrick O’ Leary, Editor of Fleetwatch Magazine stunned the conference with the realities of fatalities and damage resulting from truck accidents and the huge responsibility on the public and private sector alike to address the matter.
South Africa resolute to promote locally made cars
The Department of Trade and Industry (dti), in collaboration with the Department Environmental Affairs (DEA), has produced the Electric Vehicle (EV) Industry Road Map at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg.
It seeks to promote the establishment of a domestic EV Industry, thereby contributing to the mitigation of the impact made by harmful gases to the environment as well as promoting further investments and job creation in the automotive industry.
Trade and Industry Minister Dr Rob Davies said in a media statement that the road map will achieve the vision through a number of strategic interventions including but not limited to: demand stimulation, public education, investment support and an accommodative regulatory framework.
Davies added that EV Industry Road Map will be constantly monitored and reviewed as the industry is experiencing rapid technological advancement that would need to be taken into consideration.
Tax incentives could include a personal income tax rebate, the reduction of value-added taxes on the selling price of electric-powered vehicles, as well as reduced EV registration costs.
South Africa has already seen the introduction of hybrid vehicles over the last few years, however due to EVs providing greater benefits but having specific peculiarities, a need for a targeted framework in the form of a Road Map for their introduction in South Africa is necessary.
Government said it would also drive additional investment in local EV manufacturing operations through amendments to the existing Automotive Production and Development Programme, which currently provided original-equipment manufacturers that produce more than 50 000 units with a 20% return on projected investment in new plant and machinery.
“There are, however, some significant improvements in these incentives for EV manufacturers that produce over 5 000 EV [units], which will receive a 35% return on their investment,” Davies said at the programme launch.
Research and development support for EV manufacturers would also be provided by several parastatal and independent research organisations, including the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, the Industrial Development Corporation and Eskom.
The dti has called for public participation/comments in order to align the EV strategy with broader Government policies and plans.
“In June, we will open the road map for public comment, after which an EV industry steering committee, comprising industry and government, will be established. This committee will then evaluate the input from various stakeholders and, by September, submit implementation proposals to Cabinet,” Davies explained.
The DEA announced in February, that it would, as part of a Zero Emission Electric Vehicle Pilot Programme, test a fleet of electric vehicles to determine the viability of EVs under South African conditions.
Nissan South Africa has undertaken to provide the DEA with four Nissan Leaf EVs for the initial phase of the project, which would run for three years.


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Honda Accord Sedan with automatic fuel-consuming adjust systems


 THE Honda Accord Sedan has an ECON button which allows users to adjust fuel-consuming systems in order to maximize efficiency. Pushing the button once again take user back to taking advantage of the vehicle’s exceptional performance.
6-Speed Automatic Transmission
We’ve added a sixth gear to the Accord, because sometimes you just need to kick it up a notch. The 6-speed automatic transmission uses the engine’s broad torque curve for brisk acceleration, optimized fuel economy using ECON button and smooth shifting.
The Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) makes use of the audio system to generate out-of-phase sound waves to reduce engine noise inside the cabin and create a more pleasant driving experience.
And with its The Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE)II body structure features which is Honda’s highest-grade steel. ACE as a Honda exclusive body design utilizes a network of connected structural elements to distribute frontal crash energy more evenly throughout the front of the vehicle. This also helps reduce the force transferred to the cabin and evenly disperse the forces transferred to other vehicles involved.
In the event of a moderate-to-severe side impact, the SmartVent side airbag is designed to deploy and inflate quickly to maximize potential protection for properly seated occupants, helping to protect the driver’s or front passenger’s upper body from injury, or vent before fully inflating if an occupant is in the side airbag deployment path, thereby decreasing the likelihood for an airbag-related injury.


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FG pays N200bn, end of ASUU strike in sight



 The federal government has documented an agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) after the confirmation of the payment as earlier stipulated. This is coming as hope has risen for students to return to class rooms, invariably by January 2013.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is to end the strike that has crippled the country’s public universities since July 1, 2013. However, the reported new idea came 24 hours after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) confirmed that a sum of N200 billion agreed has been paid into the appropriate ‘infrastructure’ account.
DigitalSENSE Campus Pavilion reports that a few weeks ago, President of the TUC Comrade Kaigama Bobboi revealed this in a chat in Abuja, where he explained that the current stalemate in negotiations was a result of a “communication problem.”
However, special Assistant on Media to the President, Dr Doyin Okupe recently said he has personally seen the bank balance confirming the payment of the N200 billion promised by the federal government to the universities.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja, he said: “I can confirm to you that it contains the requisite amount and disbursement will commence as soon as ongoing administrative processes are sorted out.”
Okupe who brandished documents to confirm that the revitalization of Universities Infrastructure Account was duly opened and credited with the N200 billion insisted that government had fulfilled its own part of the bargain with ASUU hence the need for them to resume work without further delay.
Both the TUC and the NLC facilitated the meeting of ASUU leadership and President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House last month but the lecturers and the presidency have engaged on blame game on why the strike has not ended ever since.
The TUC president Kaigama said a fresh meeting would be facilitated before the deadline issued by government to lecturers to return to class.
He said: “I see it from the perspective of a little break in communication because all they are saying are one and the same thing. You want an agreement signed, and you also want lecturers to go back to work. Yes, sit down, write and sign the agreement and the problem is sorted out. I don’t believe in the two sides making too much noise about it.”
“Me and the NLC president have to mediate and pull the two parties together to sign. In fact by the time the two parties sit, within three hours, the issues would be resolved. We are working on that together with the NLC and I am pretty sure sooner than later, we will get over it,” he said.


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JAMB commences survey on Nigeria universities e-Learning option


THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has commenced survey on if Nigerians would like to earn degrees online through electronic education otherwise known as eLearning, reports DigitalSENSE Campus Pavilion.
Nigerians students can now study and obtain degree at their own pace through e-learning facility provided by Nigerian universities. Will you like the opportunity to study at your own pace using the e-Learning platform.
Meanwhile JAMB is showcasing the 2013 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and has advised potential candidates to retrieval their registration number; Verification of results, printing of result slips, check admission status, printing of admission letter for Direct Entry (DE) inclusive and amended data for regularized candidate only.
DigitalSENSE Campus Pavilion reports that the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) is Nigeria’s official entrance examination board for tertiary-level institutions.
These examinations, DigitalSENSE Campus Pavilion recalls are being administered for most students who choose to apply to Nigerian public and private mono-technics, polytechnics, and universities.
Most of these candidates must already have concluded their external examinations, administered either by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) or the Nigerian National Examinations Council (NECO).
Meanwhile, the ongoing ASUU strike is not affecting the sale of JAMB forms, says the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Joint Admission and Matriculations Board (JAMB), Professor Dibu Ojerinde.
He explained that despite the ongoing strike action by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the activities of the Board would not be affected, especially as it concerns the sale of forms for next year’s Universal Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Professor Ojerinde, who made the disclosure while responding to questions on why JAMB embarked on sale of forms when the last batch of successful candidates were yet to secure admissions into the universities, said the strike could not deter JAMB from selling forms, noting that the universities would know how to handle the situation.
“The universities will know how to sort the situation to ensure that the two batches are admitted. JAMB cannot wait for the universities that are on strike; after all, private universities will also have to admit and we cannot stop the exam unless we don’t want private universities to admit. In any case, the federal universities know how to handle the situation to ensure that the backlog is not many, and if any of them informs JAMB that it cannot admit, we will delete that university from the admission exercise for this year,” he said.
Professor Ojerinde, however, noted that so far, none of the universities had approached JAMB that it could not admit and should be delisted because it still had a pending batch, noting that most of the universities had been doing their admissions, with some of them having completed the admission exercise.
“University of Benin has done 100 per cent of its admission; Obafemi Awolowo University has done more than 70 per cent, and even LAUTECH has done its admission. The only university that I know has a problem is the University of Maiduguri and that is because of the Boko Haram debacle. So, they will sort things out,” he added.
It will be recalled that the UTME platform had collapsed matriculation examinations into universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, another reason advanced by JAMB for the sales of JAMB forms despite the strike action by university lecturers.
DigitalSENSE Campus Pavilion notes that by 1974, there were seven federal universities in the country, with every one conducting its own concessional examination and admitting students. Nevertheless, this system of admission revealed serious limitations and quite often waste of resources in the process of administering the concessional examination, especially on the part of the candidates.
The overall disorder therefore in the uncoordinated system of admissions into universities and the attendant problems were sufficient cause for concern to the committee of vice chancellors.
In the 2009 University Matriculation Exam, the grading system of the normally reputable examination body was subject to serious controversy when the overall performance was one of the poorest on records.
Much to JAMB’s embarrassment, it was later revealed that the machines which optically graded the papers had erroneous answers and the JAMB changed some students scores by as much as 15 per cent.
These problems had assumed new dimensions when by 1976, the then federal military government, under the leadership of General Olusegun Obasanjo, established six additional universities. Consequently, the government set up a national committee on university entrance under the chairmanship of Mr. M. S. Angulu.
*Additional reports from Nigerian Tribune


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