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Welcome to
CyberschuulNews.com , foremost online telecommunications publication delivered daily on this site and also by weekly email delivery. Since 2001, CyberschuulNews has served its readers as a valuable source of industry and market insights. It is the place to hook on to stay current with telecommunications.
 

 

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Permanent but dynamic CyberschuulNews Columns. Please Click to read:
 

A File on The DINO MELAYE MOTION

Talking IP

Books/Lectures on TAI SOLARIN

A Review of Nigeria’s Telecommunications Industry in 2008

A File on THE OBASANJO LIBRARY

Footsteps in the Dark- The failure of a Power Holding Company

A File on Bakassi

A file on EXCELLENCE, SERVICE AND PATRIOTISM

A file on MEN WHO LIVE IN OUR HEARTS

A file on THE BRITISH AIRWAYS SAGA

All files are on continuous update with readers' comments and emerging materials

 

 

 

 

  • NEWSreview
  • TECHNOLOGYreview
  • Product Promotion
  • Training & Professional Development
  • Jobs
  • Meetings & Conference Announcement

 

 

 

Vision
An information rich environment comparable globally in quality telecom services provision, regulated by a responsive, world class organization.
 

 

The Mission Statement

 

 

 

TAA's Job-Find notices

 

Announcement of Result for Interview held in Kaduna on June 23, 24, 2009 

Report of scores earned by candidates who attended the recruitment interview held in Kaduna June 23, 24, 25, 2009 are hereby published for general information. All candidates have already received individual notices.

Those who scored 60% and above in the interview are advised to expect invitation for a negotiation session in due course. 

Exam No

Position Recommended

Exam Score

Interview Score

Interview Location

461

Network Mtce Engineer

60

73

Kaduna

463

Product Marketer

62

53

Kaduna

464

Customer Care

60

48

Kaduna

474

Customer Care

67

66

Kaduna

476

Network Mtce Engineer

67

72

Kaduna

477

Customer Care

66

55

Kaduna

483

Customer Care

60

50

Kaduna

485

Customer Care

60

56

Kaduna

503

Product Marketer

60

61

Kaduna

508

Product Marketer

61

54

Kaduna

510

Network Mtce Engineer

69

71

Kaduna

524

Network Mtce Engineer

62

68

Kaduna

525

Network Mtce Engineer

84

58

Kaduna

526

Customer Care

68

45

Kaduna

531

Customer Care

60

69

Kaduna

534

Customer Care

65

55

Kaduna

537

analyst/ administrator

71

47

Kaduna

585

Network Mtce Engineer

72

66

Kaduna

594

Customer Care

60

Absent

Kaduna

616

Customer Care

63

56

Kaduna

631

Customer Care

71

71

Kaduna

633

analyst/ administrator

71

51

Kaduna

645

Network Mtce Engineer

76

61

Kaduna

653

Product Marketer

60

53

Kaduna

658

Customer Care

68

61

Kaduna

671

Product Marketer

60

63

Kaduna

673

Product Marketer

69

30

Kaduna

674

analyst/ administrator

63

64

Kaduna

676

Customer Care

62

61

Kaduna

678

Product Marketer

62

78

Kaduna

680

Customer Care

64

Absent

Kaduna

703

Customer Care

62

67

Kaduna

 

 

 

 

 

Please send all enquires to titi@cyberschuulnews.com

 

 

Invitation to interview
for successful candidates at May 2, 2009 Pre-recruitment Examination
 

 

Information is brought to the attention of candidates who scored 60% and above in the May 2 pre-recruitment examination held in Lagos on May 2, 2009 that interview with Globaltouch WA Ltd will hold on July 14, 15, 16, and 17, 2009. 

Candidates who qualify for the interview have already been advised individually and they are expected to attend according the following schedule. 

Venue: University of Lagos Guest Houses Conference Centre Committee Room A 

Date

Scheduled Candidates

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Customer Care candidates whose surnames start with alphabets A - M

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Customer Care candidates whose surnames start with alphabets N - Z

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Candidates for Engineering and Technical positions whose surnames start with alphabets  A – M

Friday, July 17, 2009

Candidates for Engineering and Technical positions whose surnames start with alphabets  N – Z

Interview will hold form 9.00am till 4.00pm daily and candidates will be attended to according to their arrival at the venue. 

Registration Desk will open at 8.00am daily 

Candidates are advised to bring along their credentials, three copies of their Curriculum Vitae prepared in accordance with the advice contained in 300 slides and to forward a copy of the CV ahead of the interview to titi@cyberschuulnews.com  

Enquires should be taken up in the usual manner by email to titi@cyberschuulnews.com  

 

 Overseas candidates are not yet involved in the interview excercises.

 

 

What the law says about NCC's 2.3MHz frequency spectrum licensing
by
Paul Usoro



Background facts

SO much brouhaha has been created by the recent 2.3MHz frequency spectrum licensing round by the Nigerian Communications Commission ("NCC" or "the Commission").

In capsule, NCC had advertised its planned 2.3MHz-licensing programme on April 30th, 2009 and had invited interested persons to indicate their interest. The process continued to near completion on May 8th, 2009, with the naming of successful bidders.

Thereafter, it was alleged that the Honourable Minister for Communications ("the Minister"), Prof. Dora Akunyili, demanded the annulment of the process and the commencement of a fresh process consequent upon complaints that she received from interested stakeholders in regard to the licensing process. As at date, the NCC is yet to annul the process and the minister is yet to rescind her instructions. It would be fruitful in the present circumstance to examine what the law provides.

Licensing and procedures

The Nigerian Communications Act Cap N97 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 ("NCA" or "the Act") is the Bible for the industry and should guide the minister and the NCC in this matter. Section 4(1)(e) of the Act vests NCC with sole responsibility for "granting and renewing communications licences . . . in accordance with the provisions of this Act and monitoring and enforcing compliance with licence terms and conditions by licensees."

In Section 32(1) of the Act, the NCC's responsibility therefore is amplified further and made unequivocal with the stipulation that "the Commission shall issue communications licences for the operation and provision of communications services or facilities by way of class or individual licences on such terms and conditions as the Commission may from time to time determine taking into consideration the objectives of this Act and the provisions of section 33(3) of this Act."

Now, the present imbroglio, as PUC Journal understands it, is not about the licensing powers of the NCC per se, but more about the licensing procedures. Who is responsible, under the Act, for establishing the licensing procedures? Again, it is the NCC that has sole responsibility therefor. Section 33(2) of the Act leaves no one in any doubt on this issue when it stipulates "subject to subsection (3) of this section, the Commission shall from time to time determine and publish its licensing procedures which may include but shall not be limited to auction, selection processes, public tender invitation or competitive bidding processes."

In drawing up the licensing procedures; however, the NCC must be guided by the objectives of the Act and in particular, the principles that are outlined in Section 33(3) of the Act which are

transparency, fairness and non-discrimination,
efficient use and management of radio frequencies,
available numbers under the national numbering plan,
the need to promote fair competition and investment in the communications industry,
the need to provide modern, qualitative, affordable and readily available communications services in all parts of Nigeria, and
such other principles and considerations as the Commission may from time to time consider necessary and in the national interest.

In the event that the NCC deviates from these guiding principles, the Act provides remedies for aggrieved persons. However, just before addressing the remedies of and for such aggrieved persons, we need to examine the place of the minister generally under the Communications Act.

As a set out, it needs to be stated that the NCA established and envisaged NCC as a regulatory and licensing agency that is independent of the minister. This independence is captured in Chapter III Part 1 of the NCA, which provides for the functions of the minister. Section 23 of the Act gives the minister the following responsibilities and functions:

the formulation, determination and monitoring, of the general policy for the communications sector in Nigeria with a view to ensuring, amongst others, the utilisation of the sector as a platform for the economic and social development of Nigeria,
the negotiation and execution of international communications treaties and agreements, on behalf of Nigeria, between sovereign countries and international organisations and bodies, and
the representation of Nigeria, in conjunction with the Commission, at proceedings of international organisations and fora on matters relating to communications.
To reinforce the independence of the Commission and erase any doubts whatsoever in that regard, Section 25(2) of the Act stipulates, "in the execution of his functions and relationship with the Commission, the Minister shall at all times ensure that the independence of the Commission, in regard to the discharge of its functions and operations under this Act, is protected and not compromised in any manner whatsoever." In effect, the NCC, pursuant to the NCA, has complete control over its regulatory and licensing responsibilities and functions.

But of course, those regulatory and licensing functions must be exercised in the context and within the framework of the "general policy for the communications sector in Nigeria," the "formulation, determination and monitoring" of which are within the purview of the minister's statutory responsibility.

Now, we return to the remedies under the NCA for a person that is aggrieved by NCC's decisions under the Act. Section 86(1) of the Act anticipated that not everyone would be satisfied with NCC's decisions under the Act and therefore provides, "a person who is aggrieved or whose interest is adversely affected by any decision of the Commission made pursuant to the exercise of the powers and functions under this Act or its subsidiary legislation ('aggrieved person') may request in writing to the Commission for a statement of the reasons for the decision.

It is important to note that the scope of such complaints is very wide and covers "any decision of the Commission made pursuant to the exercise of the powers and functions under this Act or its subsidiary legislation." That includes any NCC decision in regard to any licensing procedures e.g. the 2.3MHz licensing procedure. Upon receipt of "such written request by an aggrieved person", the Commission is mandatorily required under Section 86(2) of the Act to "provide a copy of a statement of reasons for the decision and any relevant information taken into account in making the decision."

The Act again envisaged that the aggrieved person may not be satisfied with the NCC statement of reasons and therefore stipulates in Section 87(1) of the Act, "an aggrieved person may at any time within but not later than 30 days after the date of receipt of the Commission's statement of reasons . . . request the Commission in writing for a review of the Commission's decision and specify therein the reasons and basis for his request."

Upon receipt of such request, the NCC is mandatorily required pursuant to Section 87(2) of the Act "to review its decision taking into consideration the submissions of the aggrieved person."

As a follow-up, Section 87(4) of the Act provides, "the Commission shall not later than 60 days from the date of receipt of the aggrieved person's written submissions, conclude its review of the decision and inform the aggrieved person in writing of its final decision thereon and the reasons therefor."

It is still possible that the aggrieved person will be unsatisfied with the NCC's final decision on the matter. In that event, Section 88(1) of the Act stipulates that such "an aggrieved person may appeal to the Court for a judicial review of the Commission's decision or other action" provided that, as further stipulated in Section 88(3) thereof, "a person shall not apply to the Court for a judicial review unless that person has first exhausted all other remedies provided under this Act."

Now, the review process as outlined above makes no room for complaints to be lodged by aggrieved persons with the minister or for the giving of ministerial directives to the NCC. The Act stipulates a direct complaint channel between the aggrieved person and the NCC and in the event that the NCC does not satisfactorily resolve the complaint, recourse may be had by the aggrieved person to the judicial process.

It merely remains to address some poorly defined complaints about NCC's competence to allocate spectrum frequencies independent of National Frequency Management Council ("NFMC") and/or Nigerian Broadcasting Commission ("NBC"). The Communications Act makes the NCC solely responsible for the management of the communications spectrum. Section 4(1)(j) of the Act is explicit in this regard by stipulating that the Commission shall have responsibility for the "management and administration of frequency spectrum for the communications sector and assisting the National Frequency Management . . . Council in developing a national frequency plan.

The NCA indeed acknowledges that the NCC is but one of the statutory bodies with responsibility for allocating frequency spectrum to end-users - NBC, for example, is another - and therefore established the NFMC as a central clearing house. NFMC is therefore required by Section 28 of the Act to, inter alia, "carry out bulk trans-sectoral allocation of spectrum to statutory bodies that are authorised by enabling laws to allocate spectrum to end-users, and . . . receive and collate returns and statistics on spectrum allocation to end-users from the statutory bodies specified in paragraph (e) of this section and co-ordinate their respective activities."

If the NFMC had, prior to the controversial licensing exercise, released the 2.3MHz frequency spectrum band to the NCC for onward allocation to end-users, pursuant to Section 28(e) of the NCA, then that is the entirety of the NFMC's function and responsibility under the Act. Thereafter, the NCC has sole responsibility for the allocation of the spectrum slots to end-users pursuant to Section 4(1)(j) of the Act.

We must not be taken to suggest that the minister cannot proffer suggestions or pass on complaints from aggrieved persons to the NCC. But of course the minister can and should make requisite suggestions and contributions to the NCC on how best to improve communications services. However, such suggestions and contributions must not encroach upon the independence of the NCC, which is statutorily provided for in Section 25(2) of the NCA.

Where aggrieved persons complain to the minister, it would, in our view, be in order for the minister to pass on such complaints to the NCC for due consideration. However, simultaneous with the onward transmission of such complaints to the NCC, such aggrieved persons must always be advised and directed to follow the statutory provisions in the NCA for grievance redress. Only then will we have a regulatory and licensing framework that is governed by laws and is predictable and attractive for continued investments.

This essay published by Guardian newspaper is taken from http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/
Paul Usoro, Telecom Lawyer, is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria

 

 

 

Engineering Assembly to focus on Education
Assembly holds August 11 - 12, 2009



Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, COREN, rose at its recent meeting to announce that plans have reached final stages to host the annual meeting of all practicing engineering personnel in the country on August 11 – 12, 2009. Venue is the Conference Centre Abuja and the Theme of the conference is “Quality of Engineering Education and Training – Key to Infrastructural Development”.
The assembly will be addressed by seven speakers each taking on different issues relating to engineering education. The speakers include Engr. Barnabas Gemade, Mr. Chris Uwaje, Engr. Ette Etteh, Prof. Barth Nnaji, Prof. V.O.S. Olunloyo, Dr. G. C. Udezue and Dr. Sara Rajala.

The engineering Assembly is a COREN initiative which puts all members of the engineering family, Engineers, Technologists, Technicians and craftsmen together for two days for brainstorm session on common issues. The Act which sets up the council encourages all employers of engineering personnel to support their workers to participate in the assembly.





APOLLO: New devise to detect Mobile Phone theft



A device that will help identify those in possession of stolen mobile phones has been gaining application in several parts of Europe.

Named the ‘Apollo’ the handheld device, provided by Radio Tactics Limited, scans IMEI numbers or barcodes found inside every mobile phone and instantly provides information including the phone’s registered owner, whether it has been reported as stolen or if it has ever been blocked by the network provider.

The technology was introduced around early 2008 and police forces across the UK are reported to be using it in a bid to identify and deter criminals and communicate vital crime prevention advice around registering and securing mobile phones. The device is also able to identify stolen iPods and MP3 players that have been correctly registered by their owners.

Not many countries in developing economies have laws compelling registration of phone users thus making the device inapplicable is such places.

Phone Regulators in Nigeria, NCC, recently announced plans to register phone users citing several reasons including protection of user investment and hoping that the initiative would eventually be backed by an act of parliament.

 

‘War over nothing’
by
titi omo-ettu 

Two things inspired this essay and analysis. The first is something that does not relate to telecommunications while the other is a comment from a telecom enthusiast who proved to me that I have been lying, all along, that what is going on in the industry does not bother me. 

The unrelated story is a report by Dr. Yombo Awojobi, a distinguished rural surgeon who lives and practices in Ibarapa area, Oyo State. He circulated his report of a recent conference on rural health held in Greece and the following portion of the report pricked me: 

Quote

I arrived at the conference centre of Creta Maris hotel on Heraklion Crete on Friday 12th June 2009 after 17 hours of air travel with stopovers in Accra, Rome and Athens. During the conference, I found out only four other Nigerians were present: Dr N Udonwa, Miss K Odunayo, Miss I O Osewa and Miss O Oyekunle.

 

Dr Udonwa is Senior Lecturer and Chief Consultant Family Physician at the University of Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. He was a key figure in the hosting of the WONCA conference in 2008. Several complimentary remarks were made about him at the Crete conference. Some leaders of WONCA were made local chiefs in Calabar (Appendix 2)

 

The young ladies are final year medical students of the University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria. During a discussion with them, two expressed the desire to become family physicians after graduation and the third hoped to obtain a master’s degree in public health.

 

To my utter surprise, the four Nigerians came to the conference on their own steam! The students were sponsored by their parents. When it was realised that air fare from Nigeria to Crete was €1 000.00, registration for the conference was €490 for Dr Udonwa, €365 each for the students, hotel accommodation was €200 per night, bed and breakfast, for three days, Dr Udonwa would have spent about €2 090.00 (N501 600.00 in local currency) and each student €1 965.00 (N471 600.00) for this conference. I expressed my admiration and appreciation to them for their great sacrifices, more so to Dr Udonwa who could now report on the opinion of WONCA about the Calabar conference and the reactions of delegates to my keynote address.

Unquote

 The emphasis in the quote above is mine. 

I have always imagined that the current government pays no attention to telecommunications because its key officials see the industry as one area where we have had some accomplishment and therefore it can run on its own, even on autopilot. Now I begin to see that even in such areas where we have performed very poorly, as in health services, the situation is not any better. 

We have the responsibility to let government know that we are watching and that we are concerned. 

The other guy who proved that I have been lying is probably a journalist since my response to his question, indicating that I have no interest in the altercations that are entertaining everybody at this time, is what motivated him to rightly fire at me. Yes, I actually admit that government’s direct performance in telecommunications in the recent times has been on the decline but it does not bother me because it was not government that brought the industry to its present level in the first place. What we could arrogate to government was that it was not obstructive to growth in the industry. But the story has changed in recent times. 

My consulting apparatus had recently professed that we would, in the remaining lap to 2011, engage the industry in mounting awareness activities that could sustain the industry because failure to do that might allow things to degenerate such that we may not have anywhere to start from in 2011 – when hopefully a new government shall be in place. 

What I consider necessary and constructive at this time is the need to restructure and harmonize the emerging ICT industry and I have used a few opportunities of my public dissertations to stress the point. 

Regrettably, not only does the present arrangement of government remain unfocused, it is also a fact that current actions of its principal officials may put the little achievement of growth (not yet development, by the way) in jeopardy. 

The aspect that does not bother me is the ‘two fighting’ scenario which has provided some entertainment for Nigerians in recent time. Two people fighting cannot bring stress to the telecom industry the way the ‘do-nothing’ posture of government can. And to that extent, we can ignore the fight and move on. I am not saying that ‘two fighting’ is good but that we can ignore it. 

Incidentally the two fellows who are fighting are good matches for themselves. They are both achievers in public service; one in transparency and professionalism, and the other in raw courage and commitment to a cause. Building on their personal accomplishments, they have also been made by the media and both seem aiming at making the media to unmake them. They both share praises in this instant and they also both share blames. One is attempting to prove to the other that the sanctity of our laws should be supreme and that is good. And the other is proving that if anyone is doing wrong he or she must be brought to book no matter what his or her past records are. Which is also good. 

The differences are that one has read the National Communications Act very well while the other might not have read it at all. 

Above all, one is equating the other to being the same as the Commission that we call the NCC. If the Commission takes a decision and you are taking it on one person who incidentally is not even the Chairman, you are getting it wrong. 

A few days ago, a newspaper speculated that the Hon. Minister of Information and Communications has argued that NITDA should migrate to her Ministry. This is one but only an aspect of the restructuring which, if it is what the minister is implementing, is good for the industry. But if that is the only issue that the Minister is seeing, she will be well advised to dust up and read the report which the Committee commissioned by the last government on the subject of restructuring of the industry and see that her desire is but just a part of a begging restructuring of the industry which we can call ICT. 

Evidences abound to show that the Hon. Minister has not found time to read the National Communications Act 2003. Those who show to have read it are her advisers who, by merely doing their work, help her to overplay her oversight functions and underplay her constitutional functions.  

But that is not the issue here now. 

The issue is that a restructuring of the industry is desirable, failure to do which Nigerians will be paying more for telecommunications while the world is paying less – and at a time when management, and not government fiat, is what the world is now using to tame tariff in telecommunications, and also to make good quality service a right and not a privilege of the people.

titi omo-ettu is a Lagos based telecommunications consultant

 

 

CyberschuulNews 342

 For sale, NOT for sale
Disposal of NITEL sets officials confused. 

Newspaper accounts of what may be going on in the mind of officials in Nigeria regarding the disposal of NITEL paint a picture of confusion and helplessness. Although NITEL has moved from its height of dominant operator to the low end of an insignificant player, any wrong move at this moment may permanently take its name off the industry database. 

Government early in June, citing several justifiable but belated reasons for the action, recovered the ailing company from Transcorp which bought 51% of it in 2005 . And BPE which was the undertaker that took the company from good health to distress all in eight years of unfaithful privatization process is up again asking for buyers. 

Some account says the BPE may be considering stripping the company and its subsidiary down to several units for unbundled disposal while some say the two companies of NITEL and Mtel would be sold as the only two separate units on offer.  

Analysts foresee a certain extinction of the company known as NITEL/Mtel if any of the two steps is taken. One Lagos based analyst has since opined that what has remained intact in the NITEL saga is the value of its FNO (First National Operator) License which, in his opinion, remains a good resource that should be withdrawn and resold to worthy buyers at a good fee. 

 

 

Nigeria advances on registration of phone users. 

 

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC has expressed desire to partner with private sector solution providers to develop a widely accepted and continuous SIM Card Registration System. 

A notice at the Commission’s website states that it invites proposals from eligible and experienced firms with proven track record of successful performance in similar capacity to provide the technical services for the conceptualization, design, development, and delivery of a SIM Card Registration Solution that will cover all Mobile phone Operators in Nigeria (including CDMA and fixed lines) and will provide, as a result, detailed subscriber profiles and data in a manner that will facilitate seamless integration into the existing National Identity Database and serve as the primary source of identity verification of all SIM Card subscribers. 

According to the information document, the selected firm would be required to:

·          Assess the current process for the issuance and activation of SIM Cards nationwide across all mobile and other networks;

·          Define a conceptual framework for SIM Card Registration for new and existing subscribers especially with the use of National Identity Cards issued by NIMC;

·          Define a conceptual framework for continued/future registration across all networks;

·          Define and develop SIM Card Database structure which will be verified and integrated into the National Identity Database.

·          Develop key business processes to guide registration;

·          Develop and provide detailed specification for infrastructures including hardware and software, communications links, database and integrated middleware required to implement and automate key aspects of the registration exercise;

·          Develop the implementation plan that will include deliverables and timelines to ensure that registrations of new and existing subscribers are carried out concurrently;

·          Propose necessary amendments to current SIM Card activation process to enable registration before activation; and

·          Provide and build all identified equipment/software requirements and provide professional expertise to deploy all required infrastructures and systems to integrate key stakeholders in the registration process; 

All registration of existing subscribers should start within six (6) months of notification/acceptance of award; the winning bidder is also expected to establish a mechanism for registration of new subscribers on a continuous basis within the same period.

 

 

Microsoft, Google in software row

 

Software giant, Microsoft has claimed that a new Google application disables a key function in Outlook e-mail program. 

The world's largest software company has long desired to play a major role in the lucrative Web search market after watching upstart Google take a stranglehold just as Google is similarly looking to take advantage of its popularity to launch software that competes with Microsoft's, thereby creating a new source of tension between the two companies. 

 

 

LCU/THE CYBERSCHUUL SYNERGISE
TO IMPROVE TRAINING IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS 

LEAD CITY University, Ibadan and THE CYBERSCHUUL, Lagos, are currently implementing a synergy deal to upgrade graduating students of computer and electronics with additional training in Telecommunications business. 

The pilot scheme will soon be completed as 21 out of the 30 hours training has been satisfactorily completed. 

TELECOM ANSWERS ASSOCIATES, founders of the CYBERSCHUUL, had a few years back contested the argument by some extremist employers who made claims that Nigerian graduates are unemployable while TELECOM ANSWERS ASSOCIATES position had been that content of training in universities were excellent but have merely not responded fast enough to making present graduates immediately relevant to the needs of rapidly evolving telecommunications industry. This lapse in TELECOM ANSWERS ASSOCIATES’ view could be corrected by a slight modification in the content and style of training to include materials in telecommunications business. 

Lead City University mid-2008 approached TELECOM ANSWERS ASSOCIATES on the matter and the resources of THE CYBERSCHUUL were put into supplying the missing stuff to graduating students of computer and electronics at the University. 

35 graduating students are benefiting form the pilot training program which exposed the trainees to stuff on traditional telecommunication subjects such as wired and wireless  systems, mobile communication standards and emerging technologies such as Wi-Fi Wimax and internet applications. They were also introduced to industry management tools such as number portability, co-location and sharing of telecommunications infrastructure as well as convergence issues. 

The program does not include a Train-the-Trainers component as the concept is to use current industry practitioners to deliver the stuff to the students on a continuous basis.

 

CyberschuulNews 340

Lagos-Accra-Seixal Marine fibre to be available Mid-2010

 

 Africa’s increasing fleet of submarine fibre will get another boost when mid-2010 the MainOne Cable Company in Nigeria commissions an international voice and internet capacity which its owners said will offer higher speed and much lower cost to consumers.

Landing rights are already secured in Nigeria, Ghana, and also in Portugal where the cable takes off from. Ms Funke Opeke, CEO of the company was quoted in a THISDAY interview midweek to have said ‘we are bringing an alternative and it is private sector owned. It has the latest technology and is efficient. It has a lot more speed and much low cost to deliver that kind of connectivity’. 

According to the CEO, the worst hurdles of the plan have been crossed and there is no going back. $250m is the ultimate investment and $66m of this was recently provided by the Africa Development Bank according to another report. 

The MainOne cable system will have a design capacity of 1.28 Tbps

 

 

NEWS ANALYSIS
Transcorp’s 51% stake in NITEL now cancelled 

 

TRANSCORP and NITEL which President Obasanjo put together in 2006 have now been put asunder by President YarAdua

Nigeria’s federal government during the past week eventually found words to weave around its final cancellation of the sale of 51% shares in NITEL to Transnational Corporation (a.k.a. Transcorp). That came after 30 months of a rudderless sail of NITEL in the hands of a stillborn ‘conglomerate’, called Transcorp which Mr. Obasanjo, Immediate Past President of Nigeria, established in 2005. 

Mr. Christopher Anyanwu, the new boss of Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, made the announcement in a public statement stating the sins of Transcorp to include the exit of BT as the technical operator for the company and Transcorp's failure to inject $129 million into NITEL within 100 days of its takeover to address the immediate liquidity problem facing the company. He also mentioned huge interconnect debt and inability of NITEL’s managers to pay staff salaries for close to 11 months. At the time of the announcement, top executives of the ‘conglomerate’ were in detention answering charges which border on fraud. 

Those who have interest in Transcorp have called the action blue murder and they are likely to mention going to court to seek redress if anyone cares to ask them. 

Although NITEL's story may not have come to a final end, it has gone full circle all the same in so far as the transcorp chapter of it is concerned. The end is still to come as government said it is still in search of a buyer for the First National Operator. 

It is not clear what is being put on sale. NITEL’s name, its assets (and liabilities in tow) or its FNO license. Just another journey, come to think of it. 

 

...TRANSCORP REACTS

Few minutes after Mr Chistopher Anyanwu, Director–General of BPE announced the cancellation of the sale of NITEL’s 51% shares to Transcorp, Transcorp’s Mr Ezedi Udom signing as Head, Corporate Relations Department issued a Press statement thus: 

PRESS STATEMENT 

Transcorp faults BPE’s purported revocation of NITEL sale 

Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) plc has received with shock a letter from the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), purportedly revoking the sale of NITEL to Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) plc. 

Transcorp regards the action as unnecessary and at variance with the position of all the stakeholders of NITEL, who had jointly agreed that Transcorp should give its power of attorney to BPE to facilitate the sale of NITEL/Mtel to a new core investor, an action which Transcorp promptly carried out last week. 

Transcorp fears that the purported revocation of the sale of NITEL may prompt a chain of events that could ultimately jeopardise the sale of NITEL to a new core investor. It will be recalled that the first purported reversal was generally agreed to be counterproductive as it caused a huge setback to efforts aimed at transforming NITEL. 

This latest revocation is coming on the heels of recent successes recorded in the turnaround efforts of NITEL which resulted in the coming alive of the network in some parts of the country recently. 

Transcorp hereby calls on the BPE to rescind on its decision in the interest of justice and for the quick realization of the sale of NITEL/Mtel.

...ends

Ezedi Udom
Head, Corporate Relations Department, TRANSCORP 

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

taken from http://www.transcorpnigeria.com

 

 

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