CyberschuulNews.com

Editions 261 - 265

CyberschuulNews 265
 

CyberschuulNews 264

Abuja School gets Intel’s PC Support

The FCT/INTEL e-Classroom/Classmate PC Programme took off recently at a local junior secondary school in Jabi, a suburb of Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital.

An unsigned advertorial in newspapers reported that more schools will soon benefit from the programme which the federal Capital Territory Minister said he would replicate in 15 schools for N150million. The advertorial says under the programme 10,000 teachers will be trained over three years and the PC laboratories will be packaged with complete internet access.

Closely related is the One Laptop per Child, OLPC, initiative, a brainchild of Prof Nicholas Negroponte[ MIT Lab], and to which Nigeria has committed interest and funds.

The Universal Service Provision Fund, USPF is also known to be pursuing child computer literacy under its ICT for all Nigerians Program.

There are several opinions on these initiatives which all look good but may require consolidation and fine-tuning by government so as to deal with the clash of politics and business interests.

Adapt OLPC for Total Empowerment
by
Muyiwa Taiwo

There has recently been a lot of comment on the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project for developing countries promoted by Dr. Nicholas Negroponte of MIT. Nigeria recently committed US$100,000,000 to the purchase of 1,000,000 units of the laptop, generating mostly negative comments from many Nigerians, who feel that the money could have been better spent on the provision of classrooms and teachers.

I disagree with these comments, but I also believe that the project needs to be re-designed if it is to succeed.

Firstly, in as much as Nigeria has elected to provide western education to its children, and in as much as Nigeria has elected to be part of the global economy, failure to equip its citizens with the requisite tools for learning and participation in that economy, will be a gross abdication of its responsibilities to its citizens (not that Nigerian governments have any reputation of living up to their responsibilities in any case). The OLPC project is one of the cheapest and most effective ways in which the government can deliver on these responsibilities.

Failure in the twenty-first century to furnish children with this modern literacy tool would be akin to failure to provide children with pencils, and failure to teach children reading or writing skills, on account of the priority being the provision of classrooms and teachers. While the children wait for classrooms and teachers, if they must in the interim use their computers in the shade of a tree, then so be it. If they must use their computers under tutelage by their older siblings reading by light from oil lanterns, then so be it. But for the sake of their future, and for the sake of the future of Nigeria, give the children those computers, and let them learn to use them.

Some antagonists of the OLPC project have also pointed to the absence of electricity. Recall that the nay-sayers once said that mobile phones would not work in Africa on account of lack of steady electricity. We're now all the wiser. And before they point to the profit motive as the driver of the success of the telecoms sector, what the Nigerian government must do, is to become the project's customer, making an on-going commitment to the education and the future of our children.

The OLPC project may however indeed be inappropriate and ill-advised the way it is currently designed, but for a reason that the Indian government official and some other contributors to this debate fail to grasp. The reason is that the project has not been designed with a full understanding of the environment in which it is expected to operate. It is surprising, albeit understandable, that the promoters of the project seem to have missed one of the most life-changing technological developments in most of Africa, one which, had they taken it into consideration in their designs, would have silenced critics of the project. I will return to the issue of what that development is shortly, but first, let me address what in my opinion, is a major flaw, a shocking one for people who claim to be IT experts, in the reasons adduced for concluding that the OLPC laptop is underpowered.

Although they don't say so explicitly, it is clear that these critics have arrived at their conclusion based on the assumption that the laptop will be running Microsoft's bloated and inefficient software. Some who argue in favour of the project also suffer from this lack of the most rudimentary knowledge of the dynamics of their professed profession when they support their argument by quoting the hardware requirements for Microsoft's software. It is common knowledge that the OLPC laptop will run a version of the free and open source Linux operating system, and it therefore goes without saying that the application software will also be free and open source.

This has several advantages, the easiest to see of which is the zero cost. Another advantage is even more profound and far-reaching, and that is the open-source nature of the software. This affords the children, or members of their household who would otherwise not qualify to get the laptop, to poke at the source code of the software, thereby learning programming, and potentially creating localised versions of the software, and even entirely new software. Now, if that is not empowering, I don't know what is.

Now, let me return to how the OLPC project could have been designed to be more viable by taking advantage of existing technological developments. As I pointed out earlier, the telecoms sector has enjoyed unprecedented growth and penetration in the developing world, and in Nigeria in particular. The OLPC project must take advantage of this success in two ways:
By modifying the broadband modem in the OLPC into one that connects to a broadband infrastructure based around the existing mobile phone base towers, atop which are mounted antennas for a new broadband infrastructure. Such a broadband infrastructure has the potential to provide bandwidths far in excess of the bandwidths being proposed for the OLPC laptop.
Rather than have applications installed locally on the laptop, the applications will be installed on a network of servers acting pretty much like a power grid, ready to be delivered to the laptop for running. The Linux technology that supports this, the Linux Terminal Server Project (LTSP) is extensively deployed in thousands of schools all over the world. The specifications for OLPC laptop are far in excess of the requirements for the client computers on an LTSP network.
By re-designing the project as an end-to-end system as I've proposed, one in which the laptop is only a client workstation, the project becomes immune to the disease of constant updates and upgrades enforced by slavery to Microsoft's bloated, inefficient, and insecure software, which governments all over the world are turning away from, especially when it comes to educational software.

Moving the OLPC project to an LTSP architecture has the potential to create, or at the least empower Nigerians who wish to create educational content. The bottom line will be that the OLPC project will empower not only the children, but also a cadre of content creators, and perhaps more importantly and more far-reaching, will promote the development of educational software that is appropriate to the needs of Nigerian children.
Culled from www.muyiwataiwo.com June 2007

Mandriva on Classmate PC:
A Linux Education for Everyone

All throughout the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) debate, Intel has been cast as the bad guy, the dark force of Microsoft propagation hell-bent on destroying the forces of good, of education, of Nicholas Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child vision. Partly because Intel was an early OLPC critic and also partly because the Classmate PC ran Microsoft Windows.
The rhetoric got so hot that at one point, I was even accused of being an Intel agent, because I wasn't a 100% OLPC XO fanboy and pointed out where I think Intel has a better implantation plan.

Dual Linux OS distrosWhile there still are people who viscerally despise any part of the dying WinTel duopoly, might the recent announcement of Mandriva Linux 2007 pre-installed Intel's Classmate PC be a good sign for educational systems in the developing world?

Mandriva, a France-based Linux distributor, spent eight months customizing its operating system for the Classmate, and adapting education applications specially developed for Intel's World Ahead program. In addition, these Linux-based Classmates will be produced in Brazil, part of Intel's local laptop assembly manufacturing plan, for delivery to Brazil, Mexico, India, and other assorted developing countries.

Of course, Slashdot has a vibrant discussion around the announcement with interesting twists. Mainly it's much Classmate comparison to OLPC with commentary like abigsmurf's:
This seems to be a much better system for Western school kids (and geeks). A 900mhz ULV intel opposed to a 350mhz AMD Geode will be a huge huge difference. Also key is the fact it's using a real life OS, either XP or this linux distro. The OLPC uses a highly customised OS which bears little resemblance in terms of usage to anything else and despite being OSS, doesn't have a great deal of compatibility from what the devs are saying.
Interesting. No matter the computer specs, Intel' World Ahead program, with its pro-teacher implementations will be better accepted in developed countries. While, right or wrong, OLPC will not be in USA schools anytime soon.

Still, on the overall Mandriva + Classmate PC debate, I have to agree with TihSon's comments:
I find it curious that, at the time of my posting anyway, not one person seemed interested in discussing this article from the perspective of Mandriva's future plans. All discussions seem to be based on the value of the OLPC or an OLPC clone, or the value of cheap systems to third world nations, food vs. education, etc, etc ...
Considering Mandriva has attempted to make inroads into certain African nations recently, and remembering that they still have the easiest to install and maintain system out there for the average Linux rookie, I would think a gang of Linux geeks (such as is the norm on /.) would be speculating as to the future goals of our favourite french distro.
Shouldn't we at least have a distro flame war or something? :-)
Or better yet, let's discuss what the effect of a Linux OS on both computers targeting students in the developing world means to their education and our Open Source Software efforts.
Might this be the first step to OLPC's Sugar on Intel's Classmate PC?

Posted on the web April 04, 2007 by Wayan Vota

Halloween horror story:
Nigeria buys Windows XP Classmates

Open Source Software fans were happy when Mandriva met the ClassMate PC last year, and recently they still could cheer when Nigeria decided to buy Intel's Classmate PC loaded with Mandriva Linux. But now, Mandriva Linux's Chief Executive Officer François Bancilhon is telling a Halloween horror story of Microsoft in Nigeria:
"We recently closed a deal with the Nigerian Government. Maybe you heard about it, Steve [Balmer]. They were looking for an affordable hardware+software solution for their schools. The initial batch was 17,000 machines.
We had a good answer to their need: the Classmate PC from Intel, with a customized Mandriva Linux solution. We presented the solution to the local government, they liked the machine, they liked our system, they liked what we offered them, the fact that it was open, that we could customize it for their country and so on.
Then your people entered the game and the deal got more competitive. I would not say it got dirty, but someone could have said that. They fought and fought the deal, but still the customer was happy to get CMPC and Mandriva. So we closed the deal, we got the order, we qualified the software, we got the machine shipped. In other word, we did our job. I understand the machine[s] are being delivered right now.
And then, today, we hear from the customer a totally different story: we shall pay for the Mandriva Software as agreed, but we shall replace it by Windows afterward.

There's a lot of speculation about exactly what went on between deciding on ClassMate/Mandriva laptops and deciding to put Windows on after they get them, but it mostly revolves around various versions of bribery. Let's keep at least some of the conspiracy theories over at slashdot and focus instead on the impact that this has on the OLPC Project.
Obviously, Microsoft has woken up and is playing catch up to the low-cost computing market, and is willing to cut some very attractive loss-leader style deals to not lose its grip on the desktop in developing markets. They're definitely in it for the long term, and if it means giving away their OS and Office suite for a few years in return for protecting their monopoly position through extending their lock-in effect, then it just makes plain business sense -- marginal cost of a copy of XP? Zero. Licensing the next copies of Microsoft software, indefinitely, for all of these new users? Priceless, even with piracy.

But wait, it gets worse. We already knew that Microsoft is working on getting XP on the XO, and that there are some good reasons not to do that; but more Halloween horror news via Reuters and Yahoo from Microsoft reveals:
"We're spending a nontrivial amount of money on [XP on the XO]," Microsoft Corporate Vice President Will Poole said in an interview on Thursday. "We remain hopeful with our progress to date, we still have significant work ahead to finalize our analysis and testing processes," he said. "At the end of the day, there's no guarantees."

ZDNet expands this with information from Negroponte:
"It would be hard for OLPC to say it was 'open' and then be closed to Microsoft. Open means open," Negroponte said.
"Microsoft has always been working on Windows for the XO. We put the SD (secure digital) slot into our laptop over one year ago, for them," Negroponte said [no so, according to Jim Gettys, OLPC Software Engineer], explaining that the SD slot allows the XO's memory to be expanded, making it easier for users to run Windows.
Windows on XO "has not only been happening with our consent, but (also our) collaboration. Some of the first engineering models from any given build go to them," Negroponte said.

What if both were XP clones?!I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about these turns of events. I don't want to say that there's a One Laptop Per Child and Microsoft conspiracy going on, as I suspect that the coders over at OLPC HQ would be in all-out revolt in that case.

Yet the last thing I want to see is Microsoft extend its domain through the XO after all the excellent work that's gone in to the Sugar UI and eToys. However, courting Microsoft is playing with fire. Sure, open does indeed mean open, but unless the Windows running on the XO is released with full source, then something has gone awry.
Windows is not Constructivist, some would say its not even good code, and it would destroy the whole educational underpinnings of the laptop and the OLPC program. And if nothing else, what happens to the View Source key in XP?

Taken from www.olpcnews.com

Nigeria favors Mandriva over Microsoft once more

Nigeria's Universal Service Provision Fund wants to keep Mandriva Linux on its Classmate PCs. Microsoft may not have beaten French Linux vendor Mandriva in a large deal to supply Nigerian elementary schools with laptop computers and software after all. Mandriva had closed a deal in mid-August to provide a customized Linux operating system and support for 17,000 Intel Classmate PCs intended for Nigerian schools, but found out last week that the company deploying the computers for the government, Technology Support Center (TSC), planned to wipe the computers' disks and install Windows XP instead. Now, however, a government agency funding 11,000 of the PCs has overruled the supplier: Nigeria's Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) wants to keep Mandriva Linux on the Classmate PCs, said an official who identified himself as the program manager for USPF's Classmate PCs project.

"We are sticking with that platform," said the official, who would not give his name. The organization reserves the right to choose whichever platform is best for Nigerian students, which could also include Microsoft's software in the future, said the official. Last week, Mandriva heard that TSC planned to pay Mandriva for its customization work -- but then abruptly change the OS on the computers to Windows XP. TSC had placed an order with a local Microsoft supplier for Windows XP and Office productivity software. The switch raised the question of why TSC would commit public money to buy computers with Mandriva, and then absorb the cost of buying Windows and installing it on the computers. Which operating system ultimately prevails is important since TSC is the biggest supplier of Intel Classmate PCs in West Africa, and is expected to eventually ship more than 100,000 of the computers. It also highlights the battle Microsoft is waging in developing countries against Linux, which appeals to governments looking for software with lower licensing costs.

Microsoft claims Nigeria is still demanding Windows. Microsoft's country manager in Nigeria, Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu, provided a statement to IDG News Service on Thursday that said the company was informed by TSC that there was "a preference for a tested platform," meaning Windows, without elaborating further. In fact, Intel has tested and certified three operating systems for the Classmate PC: Mandriva Linux, Metasys Linux, and Microsoft Windows XP Pro.Mba-Uzoukwu wrote that Microsoft is still negotiating an agreement that would give TSC US$400,000 for marketing activities around the Classmate PCs when those computers are converted to Windows. "Microsoft is able to offer a comprehensive education solution -- including software, training and support -- on the 17,000 Classmate PCs for 200 schools across Nigeria," the statement said. After public statements from Mandriva officials implied the marketing deal is legally questionable, Microsoft said last week that it complies with international law and the law of the countries in which it operates.It's not clear how much TSC would pay for each Windows XP license. Efforts to reach senior managers at TSC, which is a subsidiary of Alteq.ict, an IT consulting business in Nigeria, were unsuccessful. However, details on Mandriva's deal with TSC have emerged. Mandriva is providing a customized OS for Nigeria for under $10 per license, including support, according to its local partner.

Culled from NIGERIATODAY ONLINE

Linux wins Nigerian School Desktops back from Microsoft
Government thwarts supplier's plan to install Windows XP
by
Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service

Microsoft may not have beaten French Linux vendor Mandriva in a large deal to supply Nigerian elementary schools with laptop computers and software after all.

Mandriva had closed a deal in mid-August to provide a customised Linux operating system and support for 17,000 Intel Classmate PCs intended for Nigerian schools, but found out last week that the company deploying the computers for the government, Technology Support Center (TSC), planned to wipe the computers' disks and install Windows XP instead.
Now, however, a government agency funding 11,000 of the PCs has overruled the supplier. Nigeria's Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) wants to keep Mandriva Linux on the Classmate PCs, said an official who identified himself as the programme manager for USPF's Classmate PCs project.
"We are sticking with that platform," said the official, who would not give his name.
The organisation reserves the right to choose whichever platform is best for Nigerian students, which could also include Microsoft's software in the future, said the official.

Last week, Mandriva heard that TSC planned to pay Mandriva for its customisation work - but then abruptly change the OS on the computers to Windows XP. TSC had placed an order with a local Microsoft supplier for Windows XP and Office productivity software.

The switch raised the question of why TSC would commit public money to buy computers with Mandriva, and then absorb the cost of buying Windows and installing it on the computers.

Which operating system ultimately prevails is important since TSC is the biggest supplier of Intel Classmate PCs in West Africa, and is expected to eventually ship more than 100,000 of the computers.
It also highlights the battle Microsoft is waging in developing countries against Linux, which appeals to governments looking for software with lower licensing costs.
Microsoft claims Nigeria is still demanding Windows. Microsoft's country manager in Nigeria, Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu, provided a statement to IDG News Service on Thursday that said the company was informed by TSC that there was "a preference for a tested platform," meaning Windows, without elaborating further.
In fact, Intel has tested and certified three operating systems for the Classmate PC: Mandriva Linux, Metasys Linux and Microsoft Windows XP Pro.

Mba-Uzoukwu wrote that Microsoft is still negotiating an agreement that would give TSC US$400,000 (£190,323) for marketing activities around the Classmate PCs when those computers are converted to Windows.
"Microsoft is able to offer a comprehensive education solution - including software, training and support - on the 17,000 Classmate PCs for 200 schools across Nigeria," the statement said.

After public statements from Mandriva officials implied the marketing deal is legally questionable, Microsoft said last week that it complies with international law and the law of the countries in which it operates.
It's not clear how much TSC would pay for each Windows XP licence. Efforts to reach senior managers at TSC, which is a subsidiary of Alteq.ict, an IT consulting business in Nigeria, were unsuccessful.
However, details on Mandriva's deal with TSC have emerged. Mandriva is providing a customised OS for Nigeria for under $10 (£4.7) per licence, including support, according to its local partner.

Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service posted this at www.computerworlduk.com

Nicholas Negroponte circulates a Note

Mid-November 2007, Prof Nicholas Negroponte sent the following note: ‘From now through November 26, the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) non-profit association is offering a unique opportunity to help provide connected laptops to the poorest and most remote children of the world, while receiving an XO laptop for your own child. Please look at www.laptopgiving.org . You have the opportunity to Give One Get One for $399, or give many, if you wish. By popular demand, there are ways to direct 60 or more to your favorite school, as well. (This is applicable in USA and Canada only)

OLPC is an education project, not a laptop project. Children are a mission, not a market. After 30+ years of research at the MIT Media Lab, based on Seymour Papert's theories of constructionism, we have had three years to pilot in primary schools around the world, in Cambodia, India, Nigeria, Brazil, Peru and other places. The XO laptop is now in mass production. It was reviewed recently by the NY Times . If you have a chance, I urge you glance at David Pogue's video as well.

Our goal is to reach the poorest and most remote children, in countries where as many as 50% do not even go to school. The long term purpose is to eliminate poverty.

The reason you are getting this e-mail is that at some time over the past ten years, you received or sent an e-mail from or to me, or were on a cc list. I know, this is a kind of spam and, in some cases the recipient will be somebody I wrote this week, in other cases the recipient may not even be alive. I did not try to edit the 30,000+ e-mail addresses. But more than anything, whether you join Give One Get One or not, please tell your friends and family. This really could change the world.

Sngnd.
Nicholas Negroponte
Nov 15, 2007

PS: If you participate in Give One Get One, your donation comes with one year of complimentary access to T-Mobile HotSpot locations throughout the United States (a $350 value). Details are on www.laptopgiving.org

CyberschuulNews received a copy of this Nov 15, 2007

CPN reconstructs IT curriculum in primary and junior secondary schools
The Computer Professionals (Registration Council of Nigeria), CPN, has presented new IT training curricular for Primary and Junior Secondary schools to the Federal Government. This was the highlight of its discussion at the Annual General meeting of all IT professionals in Nigeria mid-week in Abuja. The President, Dr. Mrs. Adenike Osofisan, told Minister of Education that the Council is also taking a critical look at the curriculum being used for computing training in tertiary institutions and reviewing it to reflect present realities and development.

CyberschuulNews Edition 259
 

CyberschuulNews 263

NITEL’s sale to TRANSCORP goes for probe

The sale of Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) to the Transnational Corporation Plc (TRANSCORP) will soon be reviewed going by a statement credited to the Senate Committee on Communications. A meeting of the Committee, attended also by industry stakeholders, and the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, agreed to the need for a review of the transaction and BPE has been ordered to furnish the Committee with details of the deal.

Meanwhile another initiative of the National Assembly is currently warming up to open the books on how NITEL was contracted to Pentascope in 2003.


A Bribe-List from Abroad
Siemens official names Nigerians in over 10 million Euros bribe deals

Almost every newspaper in Nigeria has been making a meal of recent news from Germany, in which the Munich State Court released names of Nigerian officials who were reported to have received various sums of money, in euros, as bribe from Siemens officials – especially as disbursed by Mr. Seidel. Mr. Seidel was for a long time, until recently, the head of Siemens’ operations in Nigeria.

The list raises curious issues in view of its irreconcilable facts and figures. Something is likely to be wrong somewhere. If there is still another list somewhere, then something may not be wrong after all. It is strange that it is only the names of government officials who served during the immediate past regime or those who served in earlier regimes being bribed during the life of the immediate past regime that Mr. Seidel, who is the central giver of the bribe, has named. What about those who received bribes from him before then? Could it be that he has forgotten their names?

Those who know Seidel in the telecom community in Nigeria would attest to his capability at playing games. Any game!!! What business did Siemens do in Nigeria since 1999 that was making it pay such heavy bribes? And is Mr. Seidel saying he did not pay bribes when his company got fat and strange contracts in those earlier days?

Siemens was not known to have been chasing any telecommunications contract in Nigeria since 1999. If anything, it could only have been chasing contracts in the power sector and curiously the list does not include people who are in the power sector. In fact, the manner in which the names were spelt and the dates on which the bribed were purportedly given tells a lot of tales about the mindlessness of the list author.

Of course, agencies who can probe into such matters have vowed to get to the root of the matter. Hopefully they will do a good job, lest Nigerians allow one common criminal to make the world think that criminals exist only in Nigeria. Nigerians are known to be highly emotive on corruption matters understandably because of a history of serial kleptomaniac leadership. Nevertheless, this is one bad story Nigerians may not have been handling rightly.



Beyond brief
House Committee submits report of its investigation into poor Quality of Service.

The Recommendations:

(i) In order to ensure quality service at all times, so that a regime of lower tariffs is enjoyed in Nigeria, collocation facilities, must be adopted by the industry now;

(ii) The role of interconnect exchange houses in reducing congestion on the network operators cannot be overemphasized. The NCC should immediately issue directive to all network operators specifying interconnect exchanges as the approved pafu for handling inter-network traffic and compelling them to make use of existing licensed interconnect exchange houses. This will check call barring, by network operators and allow for concentration by network operators on intra network traffic;

(ili) The regulatory authority in the telecommunications industry, that is the NCC must ensure that international call termination rates are not lower than local call termination rate to avoid restriction of local traffic on the network of GSM operators and to eliminate the loss to the national economy inherent in such a pricing structure;

(iv) Convinced that the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) can positively improve quality of service and the provisions of telecommunications to the rural, unserved and underserved areas, if the fund is properly applied, armed with competent knowledge that the USPF has been shrouded in secrecy between 2001 to first half of 2006 where the USPF Board never existed, we recommend that the USP fund be properly probed by the House Committee on Communications. GSM companies that have not paid their Annual Operation Levy (AOL) as stipulated by the NCC Act of 2003 must be sanctioned and made to pay their Annual Operation Levy (AOL) with interest at the prevailing lending rate;

(v) As a matter of respect for the highest constituted authority in Nigeria that is, the office of the President and to demonstrate patriotism and commitment to the concern of the House of Representatives and other stakeholders to finding a lasting solution to the problem of poor quality of service, we recommend that the NCC should issue the 3G spectrum license to NIGCOMSAT as directed by the former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Federal Executive Council to enable the company provide last miles services. This, we hope would give room for competition, bringing down high tariff in line with the government deregulations policy;

(vi) Telecom is a major technical and engineering profession and only trained and experienced professionals can make optimum decisions. Problems being experienced today originated from poor planning and lack of proper control mechanism put in place from inception when license were issued to the GSM companies. It is important to note that the GSM companies are selling services they do not have. The poor quality of telecom services cannot be corrected by incompetent planners. They would only exacerbate an already bad situation because of lack of know how:

(vii) The Nigerian Communications Commission as presently constituted, lacks the competent personnel, will and capacity to enforce the provisions of the Act that sets it up and has shown in glaring terms its inability to provide adequate regulatory oversight for the industry. The non adherence to budgetary provisions as stipulated by section 19 of the NCC Act of 2003 and the violation of Section SI of the 1999 constitution is unacceptable. Accordingly, we recommend an immediate reorganization of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the prosecution of the management by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, for spending money that are supposed to be credited to the Federation Account without the approval of the National Assembly, as stipulated by Section 162 and sections I of the 1999 Constitution;

(viiI) We also recommend a ban of 12 months on the sale of SIM Cards and organized promotions of all networks pending when quality of service improves;

(ix) A review of the 2003 Communications Act, with immediate amendment is hereby recommended;

(x) The committee recommends the immediate hand over of the 1st phase of the rural telephone project to NIGCOMSAT that will hook all the rural network to their satellite and connect them to the interconnect houses for connections to other networks for effective operations. The details could be worked out between the ministry of communications and that of Science and Technology;

(xl) All the Government officials from the ministry of communications and the Due process office that were involved in the unauthorized release of the sum of N5,376, 753,692.21 (Five billion, three hundred and seventy-six million, Seven hundred and fifty-three thousand, six hundred and ninety two Naira, twenty one Kobo) to ZTE, Alcatel, Shangai Bell and Messrs Hauwei Technologies company Nig. Ltd without the approval of the National Assembly, which is a clear violation of section 81 of the 1999 Constitution should be prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice. This will serve as a deterrent to others;

(xiii) The service providers must try and adopt the habit of out-sourcing of their working requirement, rather than the spirit of do it alone, the out-sourced providers will see themselves as partners in progress and will do everything possible to protect the equipment.

Who will save NITEL?
by
Tayo Ekundayo

About a year ago when Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp) was announced as the core investor in the privatisation programme of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), keen observers in the Nigerian business-economy were convinced that the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the acquisition, Transcorp, was a small cesspool with its own peculiar financing that would be grossly inadequate to make any meaningful impact on the enormous investments that the first telecommunications carrier needed.

Earnings announcements dressed up by even the most proficient of public relations teams did not easily fool investors. But the sponsors of Transcorp did much more than window dressing for Transcorp in the twilight of the last administration in order to garner legitimacy for the IPO in the offing then. As part of this foundation laying, the private placement was described as very, very successful. Of course, that paved way for the gullible public to rush the offer. Not so with the institutional investors who had used the PEST (Political/regulatory, Economic, Social and, Technological) approach to see the end of the media hype on Transcorp from the very beginning.

Today, Transcorp share has continued to tumble with the listing of the company¢s equity on the stock exchange. Even after chief executives of Stock Broking firms cheerily said that the company had seen "continued opportunities to outpace the market."

How and why did NITEL/Mtel find itself in this mess? The Director General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Professor (Mrs.) Ndi Okereke Onyuike the Czar of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) put the icing on the cake that made the privatisation of NITEL sweet. On the day the Transcorp team signed the Sales Purchase Agreement (SPA) with BPE, she had declared with every sense of commitment that the sponsors of Transcorp had secured one billion Euro loan facility from an agency of the European Union. That, perhaps, was the finest statement any one ever made at the twilight of the privatisation of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL).

The revelation was intended to underscore the state of financial preparedness of Messrs. Transnational Corporation of Nigeria for the transformation and complete rehabilitation of an organisation seemingly in comatose. The technical readiness was further reinforced with the announcement that Transcorp was in partnership with British Telecoms. BT had undergone a similar experience more than two decades earlier and made a success out of it.

With the privatisation timetable of NITEL partially consummated, anyone with the fore knowledge of what the steady decline the company was cruising into would applaud the grand statement made by Professor of Capital Market Ndi Okereke Onyuike at the official announcement of the financial bid price for NITEL by the Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the purchase of NITEL.

Discerning investment technocrats know that telecommunications business is highly capital intensive and that is why we often hear billion dollar investment. That is the language in this industry. The profile of the sponsors of Transcorp leaves no one in doubts about their investment savvies. From the Czar of the NSE, Professor Onyuike, to business mogul Aliko Dangote, financial gurus, Mr. Fola Adeola, Jim Ovia, Tony Elumelu and the likes.

To many observers, the announcement that Transcorp had secured one billion Euro facility ready for draw down, and the fact that British Telecom was the technical partner for the management of NITEL was the icing on the cake of NITEL privatisation. Again, the initial line up of people projected as the backers of Transcorp was a necessary elixir to the waning confidence in NITEL restoration. I plead guilty that I was one of them.

It was against this background that I had to take on critics of that transaction including my friend, Hon. Nasir Dantiye of the House Committee on Communications , in an article published in ThisDay newspaper in July 2006, arguing that Nigerians especially the workers of NITEL were tired of the endless privatization that has literally killed the Company. In that article, I stated clearly that the problem of the Company can be narrowed down to Government¢s undue intervention in the activity of NITEL and paucity of funds to modernize and expand the network. The issue of lack of funding was sequel to various payments amounting to about N10billion which NITEL was forced to pay to Government before it was handed over to Pentascope to manage in 2003. I was saddened that NITEL was forced by a Board chaired by BPE to pay that huge money to a Government that was owing Nitel more than 8 billion Naira as at that time. I made this feeling known to the then MD/CE of NITEL because I felt strongly about it.

My other reason for supporting the transaction was insider knowledge that if a new owner was willing to invest about one billion USD, which Transcorp had promised, NITEL would soon be up and running. And following two failed privatization attempts and a criminal management contract, I felt there was no better option remaining as time was fast running against the Company in face of growing competition in the Nigerian telecommunication market. For the first time, Telecommunication industry Labour Union supported the acquisition by Transcorp.

NITEL¢s privatisation had suffered several summersaults before the eventual acquisition of its 50 per cent equity by Transcorp, thereby leaving the balance of 50 per cent with the federal government of Nigeria , the original owner. Even the sale to Transcorp was not without its pitfalls. Why is Government closing its eyes to the 50% shares still held thereby leaving the company solely to Transcorp?

Transcorp had initially negotiated 75 per cent equity ownership of the company with the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE). The inability to cough out the agreed sales price of $750 million compelled BPE to cede only 50 per cent and management control for fixed and firm price of $500 million.

Curiously, however, the inability of Transcorp to meet the payment obligation for 75 per cent equity ownership of NITEL (Mtel inclusive) did not open the inner minds of the watchers of events in the industry. The early withdrawal of the initial partnership deal with Etisalat did little to also send the early warning signal to onlookers. We were all, in euphoria of at least finding a buyer, simply fooled.

And in a steady progression, the initial composition of the owners of the company began to disintegrate with the withdrawal of Dangote from the group. Fola Adeola was kicked out to political consideration and the bank chiefs side stepped in a contrived manner.

Bernard Longe who inherited Adeola¢s portfolio was eased out in an ignoble manner. Even Funke Opeke with her rich pedigree as an engineer did not enjoy a stable tenure as the Chief Operating Officer of NITEL. From then, I started to have my worries.

British Telecom suffered no less humiliation in its incompatible relationship with Transcorp for the turnaround of NITEL and Mtel. I do understand that the marriage between Transcorp and BT did not work out because there was no turn around funds. Since losing the partnership with BT, Transcorp officials have been running from pillar to post in search of a new bride as its technical partner for the overhaul of the two telecommunications firms.

Placed side by side, Celtel also bought into the former Vmobile and made a princely payment of $1.14 billion for its equity stake. From then till now the total investment by Celtel in the company is about $3.4 billion. And the company has been waxing stronger ever since then. May be some people should be reminded that Etisalat had earlier shown interest in the acquisition of NITEL but for the politics of exclusion that forced the Middle East company out of the bargain.

Even attempt by this Egyptian firm to acquire the firm ended in frustration. The grand design was to have a Nigerian firm assume responsibility over a company built on taxpayers¢ money which may have been good thinking. But the notoriety associated with poorly managed Nigerian firms by Nigerian competences is yet in place. And the so-called ¡foreign¢ firms have enjoyed incredible forward progression in terms of network capacity, subscriber base, revenue base, and brand visibility, awareness and acceptance.

I am compelled to write this essay as I am aware that Nitel is dying slowly. And the reason for this is that Transcorp has failed to fund the turn around process of the company. Where then is the promised 1 Billion Euro funding by the new owner?

If care is not taken, the hitherto perceived finest hour of NITEL/Mtel during the take over by Transcorp might turn out to be the darkest hour of the two organisations. With less than serious commitment to the kind of huge capital outlay required for the transformation of NITEL/Mtel, the time for government to redeem the situation is now.

Within the Sales Purchase Agreement, the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) can still salvage the two companies from Transcorp that has demonstrated sufficient financial incapacitation to raise the two companies from the woods. The memories of what befell the Nigerian Airways, Nigerian National Shipping Lines, Nigeria Railway Corporation and others are very fresh in our memories.

For crying out loud, the Boards of NITEL, Mtel and the Transcorp management are working in opposite directions. This is enough signal that government must immediately intervene to safe our national assets from imminent extinction. From 1.2 million subscriber base and about N1 billion monthly revenue, Mtel for instance, has nosed dived to less than 50, 000 active subscriber and about N25 million monthly revenue. A few days ago,Interstlella got a N14 Billion court judgement agaist Nitel.

The Mtel and NITEL staff are leaving in droves. I am one of them! These are highly skillful personnel, trained with public funds but are now being poached by the private owned companies.

By the time Transcorp will claim that it is ready to do business the way others are , it may be too late to find the crop of experienced hands at the rock bottom remunerations that Nitel currently pays its employees. What NITEL needs now is salvation.

•Tayo Ekundayo was Corporate Affairs Manager of NITEL up till 2006. The essay is culled from THISDAY Newspaper

Radio spectrum freed for mobiles
By
Frances Williams

Valuable radio spectrum now used mainly by broadcasters is to be opened up to broadband services offered by mobile phone operators under a United Nations agreement endorsed on Friday by governments from over 160 countries.

For the first time, the decision will provide a common chunk of spectrum for mobile broadband services globally, boosting the market for new wireless technologies. It is also expected to reduce significantly the cost of expanding mobile networks in poor or predominantly rural nations.

The accord follows a month-long diplomatic conference that pitted traditional broadcasters against mobile phone operators in a battle over who should benefit from the “digital dividend” provided by the continuing switch from analogue to digital television.

Digital signals require much less bandwidth, freeing space in the coveted ultra-high frequency (UHF) band, which has been the almost exclusive preserve of broadcasters.

Mobile phone companies have pushed for access to the UHF band for two reasons. One is that the quality signals support high-speed mobile broadband connections, enabling faster downloads of data and video to mobile devices and encouraging the development of new internet-based services.

The other is that UHF signals can penetrate buildings and travel long distances, so fewer base stations are required for coverage of large areas, cheapening the cost of rolling out wireless broadband networks.

Under the deal, the Americas and much of Asia, including China and India, will open up the 698-806 Megahertz band to mobile wireless broadband services between now and 2015 as the transition from analogue to digital television proceeds.

In Europe, Africa and the Middle East, where broadcasters have retained a bigger share of UHF spectrum, only the 790-862 Megahertz band will be available for mobile wireless broadband and not before 2015.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007
 

CyberschuulNews 262

Abuja school gets Intel’s PC Support

The FCT/INTEL e-Classroom/Classmate PC Programme took off recently at a local junior secondary school in Jabi, a suburb of Abuja, Nigeria’s federal capital.

An unsigned advertorial in newspapers reported that more schools will soon benefit from the programme which the federal Capital Territory Minister said he would replicate in 15 schools for N150million. The advertorial says under the programme 10,000 teachers will be trained over three years and the PC laboratories will be packaged with complete internet access.

Across the various initiatives such as OLPC [ One Laptop Per child], USPF, [Universal Service provision Fund], e-classroom/Classmate etc., there are interests and conflicts of opinions for the Nigerian Government to reconcile.

A file on these divides will be uploaded in the next edition of CyberschuulNews.

The Information Society may be becoming real already as
Broadband is battleground for political campaign in Australia

Rural dwellers in Australia have made access to broadband an election issue by saying it is only the party that is capable of bringing access in the region of 30 megabits per second that will get their votes. A government spokesman told some rural dwellers that the present government has promoted a competitive telecommunications market, a robust consumer safety and protection rights and is operating a technology neutral regulatory regime but the rural people told him to go and announce that to people in Sydney and Melbourne where the impact of his ‘grammatical statements’ are felt.

But the opposition party says it will implement ‘Australia Connect’ which promises up to 12 megabits per second by 2009 through a mixture of copper, fibre, wireless and satellite technologies. If the people believe them, election results will show when Australia goes to the polls on November 24. In fact the villagers went as far as asking the campaigners to narrow themselves to the choice between fixed location WiMAX (802.16d) and mobile WiMAX (802.16e) and explain how they would do it so they could be taken as serious minded.

A senator was reported to have announced that an ‘expert panel’ has been set up to work the details but the rural dwellers punctured his submission immediately saying ‘If you look at the people on that your expert panel, none of them are technologists, none are telco people’.

Whoever says politicians will keep saying anything and get away with votes on this eve of the information society!!


Are telecom firms poor corporate citizens?

The world appears to be slapping computing and telecommunications companies for being rated low in corporate citizenship, when compared with other players in the mining, financial and industrial sectors. Word came out of South Africa last week that that computing and telecom firms are generally believed to fare badly in the incorporation of social, environmental and broader economic issues into their core business plans. The holders of that view agree also that the degree varies form country to country.

The story may not be entirely true of the Nigerian case though. While computing firms may be rated low, telecommunication firms do better in that regard than other sectors. Except that in Nigeria, a telecom firm comes to reckoning only when it is big – and it is more correct to say Nigerian firms are generally non-compliant. In particular, those who started off with paying attention to entertainment and sports – with little attention paid to core developmental initiatives – have turned in the positive direction in recent time. No one would say MTN has performed badly in this regard. No wonder the firm clinched the best among equals in South Africa last week.

In fairness to Nigerian operators, those who channel good resources into the so-called non developmental projects do so in obedience to the core values of the society in which they operate. After all, it is government officials who launch all the projects in which private firms invest to court government attention. Governments which do not build good schools nor renovate science laboratories are not the type that can motivate private sector firms to invest in such key developmental projects as building future scientists in the manner they struggle to build future dancers and entertainers. Other sectors of the Nigerian economy do not record anything near what the telecom operators have done in the short time they have turned positive in their orientation. In fact, corporate citizenship may just be seen as extended profit sharing and Nigerian firms would rather say they have no profit to share in the manner telecom firms say they are placed.

Initiatives have for some time been mushrooming as seen through all manners of awards of excellence given to operating companies, especially in the telecommunications industry. But it is open secret that such initiatives are fired by cash returns than any serious evaluation of core corporate performance issues.

CHALLENGES OF DEVELOPING THE MOBILE VALUE
ADDED SERVICES MARKET IN NIGERIA
by
Pierre-François KAMANOU

After more than five years of my current experience on the development of mobile VAS market in Africa, I note that in majority of these African countries, regardless of the existence of Telecommunications Regulators, the environment is not favorable for the emergence of Telecommunications VAS Providers. The situation differs from one country to another as follows:
- Case 1: the Regulator has issued a telecommunications value added services license and blocks of special numbers (short-codes and long-codes) to some companies; but mobile operators have not yet signed interconnect and revenue sharing agreements with those companies;
- Case 2: the Regulator has not yet set up the specific lawful environment; however mobile operators have established agreements with some companies enabling them to launch premium SMS services based on operators’ shortcodes; But most of these operator’s agreements are not favorable for a sustainable development;
- Case 3: the Regulator has not yet set up the specific lawful environment; and mobile
operators do not have interconnect offers for Telecom VAS providers.

I would like to highlight 2 best practices cases:
- In Cameroon, the Regulatory Board (ART) has introduced a telecommunications VAS
license type under the regime of Authorization since 2002, and had organized and managed the special numbering plan including short-codes and long-codes since 2003.
- in Senegal, the Sonatel-Orange Operator applies a very good revenue sharing model with the VAS Providers for premium SMS services, with an out-payment of 90% based
on the premium tariff if applicable (end-user tariff less the off-net normal tariff)

The mobile VAS : Key component of the ICT Value Chain
The ICT Value Chain presents the working ecosystem of the different stakeholders in the
telecommunications industry and explains how these resources can enable them offer innovative value-added services, accessible to all end users from the various channels at affordable prices.
Based on the telecommunications regulation, and taking into consideration the evolution of technology, it is worth recalling the main activities of each player in the ICT Value Chain as depicted in the figure below:

- End Users equipped with a terminal (fixed phone, mobile handset, PC desktop/laptop,
PDA) enabling access to basic services offered by network operators or value added
services offered by VAS Providers.
- Telecommunications Network Operators under the regime of public network license.
Their missions are to deploy telecommunication network infrastructures with national coverage for the provision of basic telephone services and value added services to their subscribers as well as carrier services to other operators and services providers. They provide their subscribers with the interface for accessing the services and collect revenues generated from the use of the services by end users.
- Telecommunications Value Added Services Providers licensed by the regulatory authority. In this category, there are two types of Providers:
o The Internet Access Providers, whose core business is to offer to the general public, Internet access services via connectivity to the backbone infrastructures from national or international operators. Various access technologies are available today, amongst Dial-Up, Fixed Wireless, ADSL, VSAT, WIFI, WiMax, GSM/GPRS/Edge and UMTS.
o The Telecom Access Providers (or VAS Aggregators) whose core business is to provide and operate special numbers (short-codes or long-codes) to third party services providers, enabling them to market their on-line service across all mobile operators ; this requires the set up of interconnect and revenue sharing agreements between each mobile operator and the VAS Aggregator.
- Applications Services Providers including Internet Services Providers (ISP) and Wireless Application Services Providers (WASP) over Web, Vocal/IVR, SMS, WAP, MMS, Video under the regulation. WASP provide, operate and manage the dedicated middleware application platforms, for both Operators and third parties, on revenue sharing basis.
- Value Added Services Providers (VASP) any body (Telco Operator or non Telco), wishing to use ICT to offer to its clientele some value added services over Web, Voice, SMS, WAP in complement to its basic services.
- Content Providers produce and source different types of contents in native format or
mobile terminal format (text, audio, picture, video...).

ICT development consists to provide any information/content service in various form (audio, text, video,) and to facilitate its on-line access to the greatest number of end-users under transparency and non-discriminatory conditions. The objective of each ICT development is to enable the creation of added value for the service provider as well as the end-users.
As such, taking into consideration the high penetration rate of mobile handsets adoption
compared to the use of PC devices, it clearly appears that mobile VAS sector represents a key component in the ICT Value Chain, and can intensively contribute to the economic and social development of the country
In the context of the Nigerian market, I have noted that the position of the VAS Aggregator is missing, which result to the very low development of the mobile VAS market by mobile operators and very few VAS Providers.

It is worth noting that the existing “Connectivity and revenue sharing” Offers from each GSM operator is not suitable for a VAS Aggregator and present the following weaknesses:
- They are only limited to premium SMS services;
- The minimum end-user tariff imposed by some operators is high (N30 per SMS for any
premium service);
- The revenue share percentage to the WASP/VASP is based on end-user tariff rather
than on premium value and is very low.

Due to the commitment of the Government of The Federal Republic of Nigeria to its vision, which is to make Nigeria the window of excellence for ICT services in Africa, and the strong growth of mobile telephony services under the dynamic administration of the NCC, may I propose the restructuring of the mobile VAS market, so as to bring many advantages among which include:
? Development of a large number of premium SMS or IVR based services, accessible to all mobile subscribers in the country, at the same end-user tariff per service offered;
? Facilitating the promotion of the service by the communication of only one special number to the public by the VAS Provider;
? New possible source of income for the Mobile Operators, the VAS Providers and the NCC.

With respect to the setting up of a favorable environment for the sustainable development of the mobile VAS market by third parties, we hope that NCC will finalize and release as soon as possible, the new National Numbering Plan for Telephony in Nigeria.

CyberschuulNews 261

ITU and AfDB join forces to Interconnect African Capitals and Major Cities

At the end of Connect Africa Summit in Kigali, Rwanda on October 30, 2007, the International Telecommunication Union, ITU and the African Development Bank (AfDB) agreed to collaborate on interconnecting all African capitals and major cities with ICT broadband infrastructure and strengthen connectivity to the rest of the world by 2012.

The two bodies concurred that in recent years, private investment in ICT infrastructure, especially in mobile phone networks, has had an enormous impact in many parts of Africa, but major gaps remain. The development banks and other financing partners have a responsibility to step in where these gaps are holding back development in the region. The solution for African development is not charity. African countries need modern, reliable broadband ICT infrastructure to attract investment for jobs and economic growth. This is about economic independence and strengthening Africa’s competitive position in the global economy.

As part of this collaboration, ITU and AfDB will actively mobilize partners and financing to close ICT broadband infrastructure gaps between major centres in Africa. AfDB hosts the Secretariat of the African Infrastructure Consortium, which brings together major donors and financial institutions active in the region. This group plays a crucial role in the financing of projects, as well as in ensuring a coherent approach among those involved.

The Bank says it aims to stimulate economic growth and facilitate economic integration. It wants to make the economies of Africa more competitive, and therefore AfDB is committing to the development of information and communication technology across the continent.

To support the implementation of ICT infrastructure projects funded by the AfDB or other interested financing partners, ITU will serve as an executing agency and provide telecommunications expertise and technical assistance, where the need arises. ITU will also mobilize its base of more than 650 Sector Members, including many leading ICT industry players.

To support new ICT infrastructure investments and fill in remaining gaps, ITU and AfDB will jointly undertake feasibility studies and develop project proposals in consultation with Member States and other stakeholders in the region.

With the aim of rationalizing available funds and building on efforts in other sectors, ITU and AfDB will also work together to promote wider integration of ICT with other major infrastructure investments. This would include laying broadband fibre alongside transport and energy projects, as well as encouraging innovative infrastructure sharing approaches among telecommunication/ICT operators.

ITU and AfDB also agreed to collaborate in assisting countries to develop policies and regulations to encourage new ICT infrastructure investments.

'$100 laptop' begins production

Mass production of the so-called $100 laptop has begun, five years after the concept was first proposed. Computer manufacturer Quanta has started building the low-cost laptops at a factory in Changshu, China. One Laptop per Child (OLPC), the group behind the project, said that children in developing countries would begin receiving machines this month. Last month, OLPC received its first official order for 100,000 machines from the government of Uruguay. "Today represents an important milestone in the evolution of the One Laptop per Child project," said Nicholas Negroponte, founder of OLPC. The organisation had reached the critical stage despite "all the naysayers," he said.

Since Professor Negroponte first put forward the idea of distributing low-cost laptop to children in developing countries in 2002, the plan has been both praised and mocked. Intel chairman Craig Barret described the XO laptop, as the machine is known, as a "$100 gadget" whilst Microsoft founder Bill Gates questioned its lack of hard drive and "tiny screen". Other critics have questioned the need for the laptops in countries which, they said, had more pressing needs such as sanitation and health care. But Professor Negroponte has always maintained that the project is about education not technology. However, the green and white XO machines pack a number of innovations which make them suitable for use in remote and environmentally hostile areas. The machine has no moving parts and can be easily maintained. It has a sunlight-readable display that allows children to use it outside and, importantly for areas with little access to electricity, it is ultra low power and can be charged by a variety of devices including solar panels.

Although OLPC eventually plan to sell the machines for $100 or less, the current price is $188 (£93). Initially OLPC has said that it required three million orders of the XO to make production viable. So far, however, the organisation's only confirmed order is from Uruguay. The South American country has ordered 100,000 of the machines with an option to purchase a further 300,000. Other governments have expressed interest in the machines. For example, the government of Mongolia has announced that it plans to launch a pilot project providing 20,000 laptops, to children aged six to 12. OLPC has also allowed a limited number of the machines to be bought by people in North America through its Give 1 Get 1 programme (G1G1), which will allow members of the public to buy a machine for themselves as well as one for a child in a developing country. The programme will offer laptops between the 12 and 26 November. OLPC said that the start of production means that people participating in the scheme will receive their XO by December this year.

This report is culled from NIGERIA TODAY ONLINE


Telecommunications as an Agent for Socio-Economic Integration in Nigeria
Challenges and Framework for Action
by
'Bayo Ligali

There are a number of challenges which have to be surmounted for the opportunities offered by the (telecommunications) industry to be effectively harnessed and optimized. We have classified these as found below and made recommendations for remedying same.

Power and other Infrastructure Deficiencies

Power is a very key challenge. I know that Nigerians are tired of hearing this, but the truth is that it is a reality that we must face. Independent generation of power constitutes a very significant cost head in operations. The industry is presently the highest user of generators (over 9000 in 2007, at purchase and maintenance cost of N80 billion) and diesel (conservatively put at 200 million litres in 2007. The sum of the foregoing is that the cost of generating power for each base station is 35% of its total construction costs, and about 68% of its operating cost. Current power supply is grossly inadequate to meet the needs of the industry as NEPA provides only 16.87% of requirements, compelling Operators to independently generate the balance of about 84%. The 138% increase in generation, from 4200 MW in 2003 to about 10000 MW, in 2007 and about 17000 by 2011, as proposed under NEEDS is urgently needed to satisfy the industry’s requirements given its projected growth rate.

The power sector reform process should be accorded National Priority in view of its direct impact on telecommunications and national industrial development generally. In this regard, it is expected that government would incorporate specific and stringent electrification targets as prerequisites for issuance of concessions and licences to the generation, transmission and distribution companies that would emerge from the power sector reform process. It will also be necessary to accord priority Power Consumer Status to the GSM Operators and for synergy between the NCC and the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for optimal service delivery between the industries.

Again, the lack of (good) roads continues to present its special challenges, especially in the rural areas and in the Niger Delta. Operators have on occasion had to provide roads in other to access key facilities that provide much needed service.

Transmission Backbone

As NITEL’s infrastructure is inadequate to meet the present and future needs of the wider telecommunications industry, Operators have had to construct separate transmission (fibre optic and micro wave) networks to support rollout obligations and provision of efficient services. As the development of an expansive national telecommunications backbone is imperative for effective and varied service delivery, government should provide adequate incentives to encourage the on going construction of multi media compatible fibre optic networks by mobile operators. Transparent Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and guidelines agreed with wider industry interests such as the Internet Service Providers Association (ISPAN) and the Association of Licenced Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) amongst others would ensure the optimal use of such backbone infrastructure.

Multiple Taxation

Operators are currently contending with replicated demands for taxes, levies and various charges at the three levels of government as well as astronomical increases in same. The recent increase in Aviation Clearance Charges by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) to the tune of 1000% and 5000% is a case in point. NEEDS enjoins the Federal Government to enact comprehensive legislation and establish the Joint Tax Board to be responsible for determining which tier should collect specific taxes, the basis for increments (which should be typically indexed against inflation and other relevant economic factors ) as well as a peer review mechanism. The ongoing multiplicity of taxation has continued despite the efforts of FIRS. Operators have always supported the harmonisation process and Government’s effort by paying their taxes.


Security
The security situation in Nigeria is a source of concern not only to operators, but everybody. Celtel Nigeria currently employs about 5000 security personnel across the country. It must be understood that these are of the ‘mai guard’ variety and only deters pilferers and such petty thieves. Entire generators are stolen and diesel tanks emptied regularly at installations. It must be understood that unlike other products, one can not store up GSM service for latter use. Once the base station goes down service is lost. This is a major source of revenue loss for mobile telephony companies, and also a cause of concern for subscribers who consequently receive less than satisfactory quality of service. Again, the activities of communities who frequently prevent access to base stations for necessary maintenance compounds the issues. Unfortunately, these communities treat operators like extractive industry players believing that their resources are being exploited, not realizing that on the contrary we provide them with a very important resource for socio economic development.

Customs Clearance Processes

In view of the fact that about 95% of mobile telecommunications network components are imported, the sector has significant stake in the customs clearance process. Imports are however currently subjected to a tedious and unpredictable clearance process which impacts directly on the pace of network roll out, maintenance and support, and ultimately on general quality of service.
With a view to reducing clearance periods to 48 hours and abridging trade processing as prescribed under NEEDS, government should simplify tariff classifications, reduce Clean Report of Inspection (CRI) lead-time to 24 hours after shipment, allow clearance from payment of duty subject to requisite conditions and expedite Ports concessioning under its Ports Reform. Initiative. Operators on their part, would commit to supporting the implementation of the Automated System for Custom Data (ASYCUDA) and to provide ICT support for port reform processes

Pragmatic regulatory framework:

A situation where the Authorities introduce far reaching regulatory and Policy changes without due consultation with stakeholders does not make for pragmatism. Regulation should be enforced, in a transparent and clear manner taking into consideration all circumstances at play at any particular point in time. Thus, issues such as Enforcement of licence conditions, e.g. unfair cross-subsidy, refusal of some to honour interconnection debts and roll-out obligations should be decisively addressed. I am glad to state that we are now turning the corner in this respect as all parties are presently in consultation for the conclusive and urgent resolution of the Quality of Service (QoS) challenges facing the industry. The outcome of this will be significantly enhanced QoS for GSM services in the coming weeks.

Telecommunications as National Infrastructure:

Government should declare Telecommunications an essential infrastructure and develop a National Policy on Telecommunications Masts and Towers to ensure that delays in roll-out which impact on service availability and quality, occasioned by unreasonable financial demands and impediments imposed by government agencies at various tiers and levels are arrested.

Personal message on ethics

It is a well established fact that one major challenge facing the Nigerian nation is the re orientation of our societal values. NEEDS also reaffirms this aspiration by identifying value reorientation as one of its developmental aims. Robust debates have been mounted on the significance of business ethics, but my strongly held view is that there is really no distinction between business and personal ethics as one’s personal standards will invariably influence his attitude to business and corporate relationships; someone who drives against the normal flow of traffic is not likely see anything wrong with giving or receiving gratification in the course of business. If standards for personal ethics are defined and accepted, then challenges with business ethics compliance will largely be arrested. The basic standard for personal (and business) ethics should be: Before I do anything, can I adequately explain and justify same to my 11year old daughter, knowing that her future outlook would be influenced by such, without any feeling of guilt? The honest answer we give to this question should inform our decision to proceed with the proposed line of action.
I am sure that if we constantly and honestly apply this test in all our dealings, there will be a significant improvement of our ethical standards, with Nigeria becoming a much better place to live and do business in.

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