ntel Makes History With First Voice over LTE Call In Nigeria

*ntel CEO, Kamar Abass

History was made in Lagos on Thursday, this week when NatCom Development and Investment Limited (trading as ‘ntel’), the company that acquired the core assets of NiTel/MTel (in liquidation) made its first Voice over LTE (VoLTE) call.

The test VoLTE call was made at 3.30pm at ntel’s new Tier III data centre located on Lagos Island.

VoLTE calls are enabled over a carrier’s high-speed data network instead of on a voice network. Voice over LTE calls also connect faster upon dialling and feature ultra-clear high-definition voice quality.

The VoLTE call was completed in partnership with Original Equipment Manufacturers, LM Ericsson of Sweden and Sony Electronics of Japan. This follows ntel’s first data call on 18 January, 2016 and its first SIP voice call on 18 February, 2016.

ntel will now progress work with Nigeria’s other mobile operators and international partners to perform cross-network VoLTE calls. This will ensure that ntel’s customers can connect with each other as easily as they can to both customers in Nigeria and to those elsewhere in the world: a network now comprising more

NCC Fine: MTN’s Sifiso Dabengwa Quits

…. Nhleko Named Acting CEO

The fallout over MTN Nigeria’s fine saga has claimed the company’s CEO Sifiso Dabengwa‚ it was announced on Monday.

The company said it had appointed Phuthuma Nhleko as executive chairman “in a temporary capacity” after Dabengwa resigned, according to agency reports.

“Due to the most unfortunate prevailing circumstances occurring at MTN Nigeria‚ I‚ in the interest of the company and its shareholders‚ have tendered my resignation with immediate effect‚” said Dabengwa.

Nhleko‚ who is the current non-executive chairman‚ has agreed to act as executive chairman “for a maximum period of six months while the company identifies a successor for Dabengwa”.

“I will assume responsibility as executive chairman…as I proactively deal with the Nigerian

Etisalat Nigeria Partners NIBSS to Roll Out BVN Query Service

(L-R) ED, Technology & Operation, NIBSS, Niyi Ajao; 

CMO, Etisalat Nigeria, Francesco Angelone and 

MD, NIBSS, Ade Shonubi during the press conference

Etisalat Nigeria has scored another first in its quest to drive transformational services that touch customer’s lives through its collaboration with Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS) to roll out Bank Verification Number (BVN) Query Service.

The service, which was unveiled at the NIBSS headquarters on Thursday, is designed to help the banking Nigerian public Query their BVN on-the-go via their mobile phones. This is coming on the heels of the extended deadline for the Bank Verification Number registration which ends on October 31 nationwide.

The BVN registration was a directive from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to all Deposit Money Banks (commercial banks) in the country to register all their customers biometrically in furtherance of the Know Your Customer policy.

Francesco Angelone, Chief Marketing Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, said the partnership with NIBSS on USSD BVN Notification Service was in line with the telco’s commitment to continue to create

Lenovo’s PHAB Plus Hits Nigeria's Mobile Market

(L-R) Bolade Oyekanmi, Marketing Manager, 

Nkechi Okolo, Service Manager, and Graham Braum, GM,  

all of Lenovo Tech, West Africa; at the media briefing 

Lenovo has unveiled in Nigeria, Lenovo’s PHAB Plus, the latest innovation in the mobile telephone device. 

Graham Braum, the General Manager of Lenovo Technology Africa, described Lenovo PHAB Plus as a beautifully designed premium phablet, optimized for single –hand use.

Targeted at today’s diverse needs of consumers in the mobile market, Braum said the Lenovo PHAB Plus will help to eliminate the dilemma of choosing between costly smartphones with big screens and underwhelming small tablets by offering a single-spot 6.8-innch device with best-in-class entertainment, speedy internet, and all-day battery life.

According to him, “With today’s tech-savvy millennial generation in mind, Lenovo is addressing the popularity of larger-screen personal devices, while acknowledging the portability struggles

BREAKING!!! Buhari Appoints Danbatta As New NCC Boss

President Muhamadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Professor Umaru Garba Danbatta as the new Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Prof. Danbatta a Doctorate Degree holder in Electronic Engineering, takes over from Dr. Eugene Juwah whose tenure expired on July 29, 2015.

The new NCC Chief Executive’s other academic qualifications include a Bachelors Degree in Electronic Engineering and Telecommunications as well as a Masters Degree in the same field.

He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and has had a meritorious career in which he rose to become Professor of Electrical Engineering and Electronics at Bayero University, Kano, specializing in Telecommunications Engineering and Information and Communications Technology.

Before his new appointment, Prof. Danbatta held top management and leadership positions at different times including Head of Department, Dean Of Faculty, Director, Centre for Information Technology, Chairman of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (Kano Branch), Deputy Vice Chancellor and Acting Vice Chancellor.

Danbatta was the Vice President of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), an International Centre

Samsung Brings First Curved TV to Nigerian Consumers

Samsung Electronics West Africa has at a launch organized to unveil its new range of Ultra High Definition televisions introduced the world’s first Curved SUHD TV to Nigerian consumers.

To this end, Nigerian consumers now have the opportunity to purchase the new SUHD TV which marks a monumental leap into the future of television viewing, setting a new standard in premium UHD content and elevating consumers’ viewing experience to new levels.

At the unveiling of the TV, Managing Director at Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr. Brovo Kim, said that the TV gives a new meaning to TV experience and consumers, providing users with easy access to desired content, an integrated entertainment experience and more choices than ever before.

Kim reiterated that the new SUHD TV highlight the most refined television experience ever, with the adoption of the latest technology that users should expect from Samsung’s smart TVs.

“The SUHD TV celebrates a major milestone in the UHD era, delivering superior picture quality with stunning contrast and striking brightness. Included in the product is the SUHD re-mastering engine which automatically analyses the brightness of images to minimize additional power consumption, whilst expressing excellent contrast levels. Images have much darker blacks and an elevated brightness two-and-a-half times brighter than conventional TVs, with twice the color adjustment points” he added.

Exploring the High Tech Wearable Future for Africa

From July 20-23, 2015, Africa and indeed the whole world will converge at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, Nigeria’s political capital, for the 2015 edition of the Digital Africa Conference & Exhibition, and the third in a series, following two previous successful editions in 2013 and 2014.

The two previous events had provided the platform for renowned ICT experts to discuss the development of Africa’s ICT sector and proffer solutions to the challenges limiting the continent’s advancement to the point of digital singularity with the rest of the globe. This year’s edition is themed:“Expanding African Capacity for Digital Technology,” and is expected to address broad range of topics aimed at broadening Africa’s IT capability. ROMMY IMAH writes…..

One of the topics that’s high on the list for Africa’s digital transformation is Wearable Technology.  These are devices, unlike mobile phones, that are worn on the body and have built-in sensors to monitor certain functions (like steps taken or precise location) and then communicate information through Bluetooth and the cloud.

Bracelets, necklaces and garments that fuse utility with fashion, function with form, can make the daily life of Africans healthier, safer and keep them in better contact. They’ll enable everything from commerce to managing chronic illnesses. And they’ll revolutionize the fashion industry with clothing that interacts with the environment. The Wearables industry is still in its infancy, but the market is expected to skyrocket to $19 billion by 2018.

According to a 2014 IDC report, “The worldwide wearable computing devices market (commonly referred to as ‘wearables’) will reach a total of 19.2 million units in 2014, driven