Promo: NCC insists on ban, sanctions Airtel, Etisalat, Glo, MTN

Telecoms regulator in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has sanctioned four mobile network operators to the tune of N22 million for contravention of the ban on lotteries and promotions, since last quarter of 2012.

Head, Media and Public Relations, at NCC, Mr. Reuben Muoka, confirmed this to DigitalSENSE Business News on Thursday and listed the defaulting operators to include Airtel Networks Ltd, Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services Ltd trading as Etisalat, Globacom Ltd and MTN Communications Nigeria Ltd.

He also said that they were to pay a total sum of N22, 000,000 (Twenty Two Million Naira Only) being the cumulative amount in sanctions for contravening the ban on promotions and lotteries in their respective networks as placed by the Commission.

According to him, MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd, is to pay N10,000,000 (Ten Million Naira) on account of five promotions at N2,000,000(Two Million Naira) for each promotion while Etisalat  is to pay N6,000,000 (Six Million Naira) for three promotions in its network. Airtel is to pay N4,000,000 (Four Million Naira) for running two promotions against the ban while Globacom will pay N2,000,000 ( Two Million) for one promotion.

All the operators have seven days to pay their respective sanction amounts from date of receipt of the sanction notice on February 22, 2013,  and are liable to  payment of the sum of N1,000,000 ( One Million Naira) for any day that the contravention persists.

Sanctions on MTN were as a result of five promotions viz:

1.     Free Airtime for MTN to MTN calls (8AM – 5PM), MTN to MTN SMS and free MB for Data. Dial *559#.

2.     Free N100.00 airtime for MTN to MTN calls, Airtime Bonus valid for life. Dial *559#.

3.     MTN Super Saver, get 500%, bonus valid till midnight. Dial *507#.

4.     Recharge with N100.00 today and get N500 FREE credit instantly. Hurry and recharge before January 22^nd.

In the case of Etisalat, three promotions that attracted it sanctions include:

1.     Buy a MIFI device and get 1GB free for six months.

2.     Buy a Router device and get 50 MB free data spread over four months.

3.     Get 30% instant bonus on every plan subscription/renewal over 200MB.

On the other hand, Airtel is being sanctioned for two promotions:

1.     Dongle and MIFI Offerings

2.     Reverse Auction Service.

Globacom’s contravention is for one promotion:

1.     BUY Samsung Galaxy SIII, or Galaxy Note II and get free 500 MB on activation, and free 100MB X 6 Months.

The notice of the sanctions, signed by the Commission’s Director of Legal and Regulatory Services, Ms. Josephine Amuwa, said “in the event of further non-compliance with the ban, and or refusal to pay the sanction amount within the stipulated time, the Commission shall have no other option than to impose stiffer penalties in accordance with the powers of the Commission, including but not limited to payment of N1,000,000 (One Million Naira) for each day that the contravention persists.”

The notice added that the failure of the service providers to discontinue the promotions in accordance with the commission’s directives is a direct contravention of Guidelines on Adverts and Promotions, as well as the Nigerian Communications (Enforcement Processes, etc) Regulations 2005.

The Commission had in a letter dated November 8, 2012, directed all the licensees to discontinue all promotions and lotteries running on their networks with immediate effect.

This ban, Amuwa noted, covers proposed and approved promotions and lotteries after the Commission was inundated with several complaints from consumers and stakeholders against various promotions in the various networks.

RN/DSBNews

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Google, a ‘threat to democracy’ - Study

Breaking News

The latest study by United States-based psychologists-led by Dr. Robert Epstein of American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, have contended that Google could be a major ‘threat to any democracy in the world’ given the quality and quantity of data at its disposal.

The study due for official presentation at the annual meeting of the Association for Psychological Science, in Washington, D.C. was entitled ‘Democracy at Risk: Search Rankings Can Shift Voter Preferences Substantially.’

An extract of the study made available to DigitalSENSE Business News exclusively by American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, showed that Dr Robert Epstein and Dr. Ronald Robertson, may have concluded that Google has the capability to influence the outcome of democratic elections by manipulating search rankings.

The study also revealed that findings are worrisome in that the time has come for regulatory intervention, especially on the Internet.

Dr. Epstein was quoted as saying that “Never in the history of the world has one company held so much power or influence.”

According to him, it is extremely important for public policy makers and regulators to understand why the ability to manipulate search results is so threatening, stressing that this study shows that even democracy could be at risk.

“Search results are already vital to the success or failure of many businesses. Being placed higher in the rankings can mean a significant increase in traffic and revenue; being ranked lower can destroy both,” he said.

Dr. Epstein explained that when you examine this process further, for instance, it shows that if a search engine company wanted to manipulate elections, it could do so without anyone knowing, and it could do it with no financial cost.  At the moment, that is entirely legal.

“Given this influence, I cannot see how this can end up anywhere else but in the hands of regulators.”

In a controlled experiment, conducted on behalf of the American Institute for Behavioral Research and Technology, Dr. Epstein and colleague Ronald Robertson presented three groups of eligible American voters with actual web pages and search engine results from the 2010 Australian general election.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: rankings favoring Julia Gillard; rankings favoring Tony Abbott; or rankings that favored neither.  Beforehand, individuals reported having little or no familiarity with the candidates at all.  Based on short biographies, they were asked to rate each candidate and say how they would vote.

They then spent time gathering information using a mock search engine, after which they again rated the candidates in various ways and again said how they would vote.

Before their Internet search, there were no significant differences in how they rated the candidates.  Afterwards, however, two thirds of the people in the first two groups said they would vote for the candidate that was favored in the search rankings – a dramatic shift that could easily “flip” the results of many elections, especially close ones, concludes the report.

Remmy Nweke/DSBNews 
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Only digitally compliant parents can monitor wards online – Errol Barnett

EXCLUSIVE WITH ERROL BARNETT!

ERROL BARNETT is an anchor and correspondent for CNN International. He visited Lagos for the Social Media Week and had chat with selected media, NNEKA ALAMAZE was there for DigitalSENSE Business News. 
Excerpts:

Errol Barnett, anchor/correspondent, CNN

Q: Could you give us a brief background about yourself with regards to your education and why you went into journalism?

I originated from England, I went to the university and studied political science at UCLA, I lived in different countries and I want to know how the world works. I graduated from the university and in 2008 I worked as a social media broadcast correspondence in Atlanta, I later moved to UA and anchor a news programme.

Q: What is Nigerian’s response on the social media week event?

Nigerians response to the social media week was good and Nigerians will be driving the social media revolution in Africa. We went to Corporation House in Yaba and it shows that Nigerians are really doing well.

Q: What is the importance of social media in the profession of Journalism?

The importance of social media is that you as a journalist must be able to listen to people all over the world and you have to start a relationship with your audience and be able to take and make good use of what they say.

Q: What’s your view on gender acceptance of social media, especially in curbing social vices?

I didn’t really notice any difference in the gender issue because we spoke with some women who were taking part in the social media week and there was no discrimination in any part.

Q: Africa as a black continent and being very traditional, what changes did social media bring to Africa?

As far as tradition is concerned, the social media has no changes in the tradition of the people but it’s only a platform for people to be able to share their opinions and be able to say what’s on their mind and also for people who have solutions to the problems of the people to be able to help them.

Q: Many people feel that social media should be censored or at least regulated and this is seen in many countries like China for example. What is your opinion?

Social media is just like every other media, like newspapers and it’s something that takes place not only in Africa but in the whole part of the world and so censorship cannot compete with such domestic issues from taking place.

Q: There is this belief that Social media is spoiling our youth in the sense that our youth do spend quality time on the net by facebooking and doing all other things consider ‘irrelevant’ instead of them studying?

When it comes to the issue of youth on social media, the parents are supposed to be able to know what their children are doing on the net and that’s why the parents also should know about social media, because if the parents don’t know what social media, is they won’t be able to log into facebook and see what their children are doing.

Q: To what extend is CNN leveraging on social media in Africa and other parts of the world?

We try to really engage with our views and our audience because we want them to know that they are part of our channel story and we listen, just like when I posted on my facebook page that I was coming to Lagos and people were sending tweets to me on how to go and when I went to Falomo bridge and took pictures and they were like what is Errol doing on the bridge and so they were sending in their tweets to me and it was fun.

Q: Apart from the Island, where else did you visit?

We tried visiting other places but the traffic was really disturbing but apart from the Island we went to Ikeja, and we also went to computer village, we went into the market and the growth of the computer village is really improving.

Q: What was the most fantastic thing you saw in Nigeria and will you love to come back here?

I can’t really say because we visited places and we had fun and we also saw a lot of interesting things and yes I will love to come back to Nigeria.

DSBNews

 

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Airtel Nigeria unveils BlackBerry Z10 in Lagos

Telecommunications service provider in Nigeria, Airtel, has unveiled the latest in stock BlackBerry Z10 at a ceremony with Ikoyi Club in Lagos.

The network operator said the unveiled has made the Blackberry Z10 available across Airtel shops nationwide, while personalized delivery options still available. With this, Airtel has become the first mobile operator in the country to announce the availability of latest BlackBerry Z10 Smartphones in its show rooms across the country.

Akhil Gupta, Deputy Group CEO & Managing Director, Bharti Enterprises; Segun Ogunsanya, CEO, Airtel Nigeria; Manoj Kohli, MD & CEO International, Bharti Airtel; Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman, Bharti Airtel; Osondu Nwokoro, Director, Regulatory Affairs & Special Projects, Airtel Nigeria and Omobola Johnson, Hon. Minister of Communication Technology, Government of Nigeria at the inauguration of the Airtel Pavilion at the Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona, Spain.

According to a press statement made available to DigitalSENSE Business News, Airtel customers who had pre-ordered for the device online and through its retail outlets across the country can now take delivery of the Smartphones at their preferred locations.

Speaking at the launch, Airtel’s Chief Marketing Officer, Mr. Olu Akanmu said the company is delighted to be the first operator in the country to move beyond the pre-ordering process to the commencement of actual sale and distribution of the BlackBerry Z10 device to Nigerians.

“Airtel would continuously seek to consolidate its position as a pioneer of innovation in the telecoms landscape, in line with its vision of being the most loved brand in the daily lives of Nigerians. Our superior and widest 3.75G coverage across the country would further complement the distinctive computing features of the smartphone to provide customers with a delightful internet experience round-the-clock, irrespective of their location” he said.

Wole Abu, General Manager, Acquisitions, Airtel Nigeria(M) presenting the newly launched

BlackBerry Z10 from Airtel Nigeria to Mr. Richard Giwa-Osagie, Chairman of Ikoyi Club (L)

while Tunji Okesola, Entertainment Chairman, Ikoyi Club 1938 (R) looks on...on Sunday

Akanmu also said that the launch of the Blackberry Z10 on the Airtel Network is significant as customers would take advantage of its largest 3.75G network and the most robust data network in the country.

Customers who pre-ordered for the latest BlackBerry Z10 smartphone, he said, would purchase the device at N100, 000 per unit.

DigitalSENSE Business News, recalls that the new BlackBerry flagship Z10 is currently the toast of the smartphone family and is positioned as a premium handheld device with the capacity to hold the interest of High Net-worth Individuals, trendy youths and accomplished professionals across corporate suites.

PR/DSBNews 
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