Cost forces telecom firms to embrace equipment sharing

•To trim network operating expenditure
Ben Uzor Jr

Determined to step up their game in the new business year, telecommunications companies (Telcos) have placed infrastructure sharing as top priority for 2011. Sources close to some of the networks told BusinessDay that most operators have finally found a better way of reducing the prevailing cost of doing business in Nigeria. According to the sources, the telcos intend to trim network operating expenditure, which is taking a huge toll on their profit margins, a move said to be headed in the right direction.

Analysts, who spoke with BusinessDay, affirmed that the telcos are determined to go down this path because infrastructure sharing (Collocation) allows for greater flexibility in terms of administration and implementation of services. They argued that with falling average revenue per user (ARPUs) due to heightened competition in Nigeria’s telecoms industry, operating companies are seeking to derive significant savings on capital expenditure (CAPEX) and OPEX required for site build.

This, the analysts maintained, would allow for more efficient utilisation of CAPEX to expand coverage and capacity. More importantly, scarce capital and management attention can now be diverted to key value-creating activities such as the opening up of Nigeria’s data market, which over the years, has remained untapped, the analysts noted. According to a notable industry watcher, the massive capital requirement involved in infrastructure roll out has made it quite difficult for telcos to operate profitably.
As a result, expansion plans geared towards meeting growing subscriber demands are very difficult to execute. Available statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) reveal that Nigeria has 84 million mobile subscriptions. Telcos have also complained at various fora about operational constraints with regard to getting approvals from local and state government authorities in the laying of transmission links such as cables, fibre and building communications towers.

Initially, telecom firms, particularly GSM operators had resisted plans by the Federal Government to make them embrace co-location to protect the environment and aesthetics of major cities in Nigeria. Former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) minister, Nasir El-Rufai had a long drawn battle with the operators in Abuja where he forced them to co-locate their equipment. However, huge operational cost has now forced them to seek for equipment use and co-location.

Undoubtedly, infrastructure sharing has become a global practice within the telecoms landscape and CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) operator, Starcomms Plc is showing considerable leadership in this regard. Understandably, these are not the best of times for CDMAs, as a significant number of them are finding it extremely difficult to survive the stiff competition in the nation’s telecommunications industry. CDMAs have insisted that their poor performances were primarily due to the high operating cost.

Starcomms Plc recently announced that it had successfully concluded a sale and leaseback agreement with Swap Telecomms and Technologies relating to 407 of its 557 Base Station for a consideration of N12.2 billion ($81.4 million) in cash. Maher Qubain, chief executive officer, Starcomms Plc, strongly believes that leasing, rather than owning these passive infrastructure network facilities can free up capital to fund additional growth, reduce debts and operational costs in the company.

Alluding to the need for telecoms companies to adopt cutting-edge co-location models that would assist management of telecom firms focus on their core business of providing best-in-class telecoms services, Qubain revealed that $67 million of the proceeds realised from the sale will be channelled towards repayment of a sizeable portion of the company’s bank debts.

He further explained that this would significantly strengthen the balance sheet of the company and also reduce interest charges. Presently, most operators are faced with challenges that include - theft and vandalisation of equipment as well as pressure from authorities to reduce the number of towers scattered all over the country. In the estimation of analysts, sharing of such infrastructure would greatly reduce cost of operations, duplication of equipment and waste of scarce resources.

“It is incredibly important that rather than duplicate sites across the nation, it will be much more sensible if all parties were able to co-locate so that we don’t have to duplicate infrastructure. “We can also save money and reduce our costs and the cost of other operators. This will also translate to reduced costs to customers”, Steve Evans, chief executive officer, Etisalat Nigeria, maintained.

Evans, however, expressed optimism that his firm will be a leader in the area of infrastructure sharing by the end of 2011, further suggesting that all telecoms companies operating in Nigeria should aggressively implement infrastructure sharing in line with global best practices. Other telecoms companies were however rather vague on what they intend to do in the new business year with regard to infrastructure sharing. A senior executive at Helios Towers told Business Day that two GSM firms were already in talks with his organization, especially on how to initiate a sale and lease back agreement.

“I can confirm to you that we are in talks with two GSM firms on a sale and lease back deal but due to the nature of the deal, I can’t give you their names. But I assure you, telcos will embrace co-location in 2011. “Telcos will have no option but to embrace infrastructure sharing. Running of base stations constitutes a big challenge for telcos in the country. A GSM operator for instance spends an average of $5, 000 monthly to run a base station.

This expenditure include - servicing of generators, fuelling, and security among others”, a senior executive at IHS telecoms told BusinessDay. The huge financial commitment, he said, was a limitation to most providers - big or small, adding that the return on investment (ROI) is slow after huge amounts of money would have been spent on this infrastructure. He disclosed that like Swap, IHS was also working on a sale and lease deal with two telcos whose identities he declined to reveal.

It was learnt that IHS Plc and Helios Towers, two licensed infrastructure building companies together own more than 2,500 co-located sites. BusinessDay checks reveal that pioneer infrastructure building company, IHS has 1, 500 co-located sites occupied by operators whilst Helios Towers has over 1,000 of its sites already occupied.

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Nokia N8 - All hail the king of camera phones!

These days, mobile phones are very personal and people use it to do lots of things other than the original purpose it was designed for, making calls. If a device can give you a higher sense of personalization, would you go for it? Well, smart phone faithful’s itching for a high-end smartphone from the stable of the world mobility leader, Nokia, need not wait any longer. The highly anticipated Nokia N8 has finally hit the Nigerian market. Besides, the N8 can be compared to the second coming of Christ, not because it’s necessarily deliverance in a phone, but because it’s taken a long time to get here.

Nokia's reputation as a leader in the smartphone market has come under increasing pressure in recent years, as a string of 'high end' handsets have failed to capture the minds and wallets of the phone-buying public. To address this challenge, Nokia went back to the drawing board and came up with the N8, featuring a new OS (Operating System) and a huge amount of high end tech packed under the hood. It is expected that the device will restore Nokia’s standing as a serious player in the smartphone market.

With the N8, and the new Symbian software, Nokia is bringing a familiar, faster and more intuitive user experience to the world’s most popular smartphone platform. Moreover, the Nokia N8 has received the highest amount of consumer pre-orders in Nokia history and Nokia says it is thrilled that the wide acceptance the device is getting globally. The first of a series of smartphone based on the new Symbian, the N8 is fast and easy to use and supports true multitasking, allowing users to run multiple apps simultaneously and switch between them easily.

Dubbed the world’s best camera phone, the Nokia N8 lets you take the highest quality photos and shoot HD (High Definition) -quality videos in supreme clarity with the 12-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics. You can edit photos and videos on-screen and choose from multiple ways to share them; transfer large files to an external hard drive with USB-on-the-go, or upload photos to social networks like Facebook, Twitter straight from the homescreen. All this is delivered in a robust aluminum body in a range of vibrant colours with a real-glass 3.5” AMOLED display. The Nokia N8 has a black belt in entertainment. Its Web Television (TV) apps from channels like E! Entertainment, National Geographic and CNN and the intuitive music player inject an element of fun into idle moments.

Plug the device to the home entertainment centre to watch HD-quality videos from the big screen with full Dolby Digital Plus Surround Sound. The latest version of Ovi Store, available first on the Nokia N8, gives easy access to more apps – from social networking services like Foursquare to games like Need for Speed Shift or productivity apps like Tesco in the United Kingdom (UK). Like other Nokia smartphone, the Nokia N8 comes with free Ovi Maps walk & drive navigation in more than 70 countries worldwide, with no hidden costs. The latest beta release of Ovi Maps is also available for transport in 85 cities around the world, as well as real-time traffic, safety and speed limit warnings.

Here’s what I think about this very amazing device. N8 feels lightweight, yet sturdy in hands. N8 gives superb and attractive looks to its users. The hardware button lets you switch between the home screen and menu screen and when held down, shows you all of your open applications. If you want to purchase a new mobile phone, then N8 is the best deal for you. I am impressed with its slick hardware and superb multimedia features. That’s not to say I am Nokia sales person, peeps, I am just in love with the N8.

Design
If there is one thing different about Nokia N8, it's certainly the way it looks. The smartphone is quite a sight for sore eyes. Nokia used an anodized aluminum alloy that gives the phone a solid look. To make it feel even better, the phone doesn't have a battery cover. That means that you will never be able to pull out the battery unless you shred it to pieces, literally. The generous 3.5-inch touchscreen display takes hold of the entire front part of the device.

Just above the screen there's a secondary video-call camera and an ambient light sensor, while at the bottom there's a small mic. All three standard Symbian keys have been replaced by a single button, which was placed a little to the left. That makes it a little bit awkward to reach when you keep the phone with your right hand, but it's perfectly usable for a left handed person. The top side of the phone features a 3.5mm audio jack port, a HDMI port, as well as the usual power off button. The charging port has been placed on the bottom side of the phone.

Display
Nokia N8 comes with an AMOLED 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen that supports 16 Million colors and 360 x 640-pixels resolution. This is the second Nokia phone to include a capacitive touchscreen, after Nokia X6, which was released on the market at the end of 2009. Even though it's a capacitive display it cannot be compared with Samsung's Super AMOLED displays. The image shows high quality, but I had some troubles when I tried to use it outdoors in sunlight.

The screen is covered by scratch resistant Gorilla glass, which makes it almost unbreakable. Oh, well, not quite, but at least it won't scratch when kept in your pocket with other metallic items. The phone also features built-in accelerometer for display auto-rotation, multi-touch input method, as well as proximity sensor for auto turn-off.

Camera
The 12-megapixel camera of N8 features autofocus, mechanical shutter, Xenon flash, geo-tagging and a pretty standard interface. Nokia has partnered with Carl Zeiss for this one, so you will get Carl Zeiss optics. Other notable features include: 1/1.83-inch sensor size, ND filter, and face detection feature. The camera UI is its only downside, as it seems old and obsolete, but you will be getting the usual settings: White balance, ISO, Colors, Contrast, Sharpness and Scene modes.

One of the main reasons that make Nokia N8 the best camera phone is the embedded 1/1.83-inch sensor, which is bigger than Samsung Pixon's 1/2.5" sensor, previously known as the best camera-phone on the market. Furthermore, another interesting thing is the processing software of the camera, which barely interferes with the pictures. Even though this should be translated in more noisy picture, unresolved detail and/or color degradation.

Communication
Nokia N8 is a quad-band GSM (850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900) handset, HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 (10.2 Mbps) compatible, which features GPRS class 33, EDGE class 33. The smartphone is a real “swiss knife” when it comes to connectivity. It has all the possible tools that one would need on the go. Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, UPnP technology, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, microUSB v2.0, USB On-the-go support, HSDPA, 10.2 Mbps, HSUPA 2.0 Mbps offer users enough connectivity options for any budget.

The USB On-the-go feature is extremely useful, especially if you're an active person who likes to travel a lot. Basically, you will be able to attach an USB stick to the phone, or even connect another compatible smartphone directly to the N8 through an USB cable. There's no list of the compatible phones, but most Nokia phone will work, while others like Motorola Milestone won't. I was surprised to be able to connect a Samsung Galaxy S device to the Nokia N8 through the micro USB cable.

The integrated browser is the same that you can get in the older N97, but got small improvements and bug fixes. It has now full Flash Lite 4.0 support, kinetic scrolling and pinch to zoom. Other features included in the browser: auto fill-in, RSS reader, download manager, password manager, pop-up blocker. The device features a GPS receiver, which works in conjunction with Ovi Maps 3.0 Touch.

Processor and Memory
Nokia N8 is powered by and ARM11 family processor running at speeds of up to 680 MHz, and also includes a 3D Graphics HW accelerator. The device works pretty smooth, without having the usual hiccups and lags when the web browser was running in the background. The smartphone also features 16GB internal memory, as well as 256 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM. The memory can be expanded up to 32GB, thanks to the hot-swappable card slot.

Multimedia
The smartphone features a newly designed good looking music player, which is now including a Cover-flow album art feature. The rest of the settings are also there, such as: pre-installed equalizer modes (Bass booster, Classical, Jazz, Pop and Rock), Balance, Loudness and Stereo widening. Sound quality is simply exceptional, so N8 can be used as a music phone with no problems at all.

The device features Radio FM with RDS function, as well as a FM transmitter. Reception is very good, and sound is above average. The Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP support enables you to listen to music wirelessly. The included video player comes with DivX and XviD codecs, but it won't display subtitles.

This is one of the new things that you get with the device. Add to that the HDMI port and you get yourself a real portable multimedia studio. I only got one “System error” message after running about 5-6 short trailer movie, but I would put it on the fact that my unit was a test sample. All in all, Nokia N8 includes stellar multimedia features, so customers have one more reason to try it out besides the excellent camera.

Menu and Software
The N8 is the first Nokia smartphone released that runs Symbian ^3 operating system. If you're expecting innovations or amazing new things, then you will be very disappointed. Lack of time or ideas made Nokia engineers continue the Symbian project, which turned in the end in Symbian ^3, which is still far from its main competitors, Android and iOS.

At first glance, one can notice the main homescreen, which is now stretched on three panes. Users will now be able to use any of the three homescreens to add widgets, shortcuts, contacts, or favorite websites. The interface is now a little bit faster during browsing and more responsive. The latter is due to the removal of the “touch-to-select-touch-again-to-open” approach, that was specific to all Nokia touchscreen phones. Unfortunately, there are a lot of things that are not user-friendly or intuitive, but I should probably overlook it as this is Nokia's first try on Symbian ^3.

The same block-like layout for the homescreen had been implemented, so if you want to add contacts, widgets and other stuff, you can only do it in the form of block. You can change between them or remove them with ease, by tapping and holding on any of them. Kinetic scrolling is also present, so you'll be able to scroll much faster. Clicking near the battery icon, on the upper right corner of the homescreen will give you quick access to the clock, alarms, while by clicking on the connection icon you'll be able to get to connectivity settings.

Battery

The 1,200 mAh Li-Ion (BL-4D) battery has an officially stated life expectancy of 390 hours in standby (400 for 3G) and of about 12 hours and 30 minutes in talk time mode (5 hours and 30 minutes for 3G).The manufacturer also states that the smartphone's battery should last about 50 hours of continuous music playback. Unfortunately, I noticed big gaps between the real numbers and the official ones.

The phone's battery is draining fast when the phone is used mildly, and I had to charge it 3-4 times per week. I hope this will be corrected in a future update, because the device is suffering from the same low-battery life issue like Nokia N97. Add to that the fact that the smartphone includes a non-replaceable battery, which means there's no way you can buy another one.

Hardware
The Nokia N8 feels great in your hand. It’s mostly made from anodized aluminum which comes in vibrant colors. The chrome accents around the camera lens, camera button, and volume controls get the thumbs up too. There are no wiggly parts and the buttons all feel solid. As expected, the hardware design is top-notch. The build quality is excellent, too. The screen is made of gorilla glass which is damage and scratch resistant. I tried scratching the display with my keys using a lot of force and did not notice any effect. The Nokia N8 isn’t the thinnest phone in the world, but it sits comfortably in the pocket. It measures 113.5 x 59 x 12.9 mm and weighs 135g.

Internals
Inside the Nokia N8 is an ARM 11 microprocessor clocked at 680 MHz with 256MB RAM. All the latest Symbian^3 devices such as the C7, E7, and C6-01 have the same CPU and RAM. This is an increase from previous Nokia devices, but not as high as the numbers featured in the latest devices from other manufacturers such as HTC, Samsung, or Motorola. Some would argue that Symbian has better memory and CPU management compared to other smartphone OS out there and I have to agree. I haven’t seen any memory full messages, but I wouldn’t exactly say the Nokia N8 as a speedy device. It zips through menus, photos, and apps, but the app that’s not very fast is an important one: the web browser.

The Camera
The Nokia N8 is a photographer’s dream phone. The images it produces are awesome and it’s really quick to share what you capture. The cameras on Nokia Nseries devices have always been ahead of the competition, but the Nokia N8 really shines. Nokia combined the largest sensor ever put into a mobile for incredible detail with Carl Zeiss optics and a hands-off attitude with imaging software to produce really natural photos.

Speakers
Call quality is loud and clear on all the calls I’ve placed and received. Listening to music, the speakers are reasonably loud and have nothing to complain about. The location of the loudspeaker is at the back of the phone. That seems to be the favorite spot for new devices even from other manufacturers.

For more interesting articles, check out my blog, www.benedictspace.blogspot.com

Cyber criminals invade West African countries, says EFCC

. . . Region plans to harmonise cybercrime legislation by 2011
Ben Uzor Jr

Nigerian cyber criminals, fleeing from the heightened surveillance and crackdown from the anti-graft agency - the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), have moved en mass to other West African countries. This mass exodus of the cyber criminals to neighbouring countries was confirmed to BusinessDay by Farida Waziri, chairman of the EFCC, in an exclusive interview in Abuja.

Waziri told BusinessDay the development was disturbing and that Nigeria would not allow a few misguided individuals running from the law to cause undue hardship to its neighbours. Total loss from all referred cases globally was $559.7 million in 2009. This is up from the $264.6million in total reported losses in 2008, according to the 2009 Internet Crime Report.

To help the agency and its counterparts in West Africa win the war against the criminals, Waziri said governments in the sub-region must, as a matter of expediency, begin to adopt common measures for combating cyber crime. The measures, the anti-graft czar noted, should include the establishment and harmonisation of legislation on cyber crime and electronic evidence throughout the region.

Sources close to the secretariat of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) informed Business Day that plans in this direction were already underway and by June 2011, legislation on cyber crime will be approved by all presidents in the sub-region.“We have noticed a movement of cyber criminals from Nigeria to neighbouring West African states, and it is important that political leadership all through West Africa adopt common measures and strategies for combating cyber crime.

“We must continue to collaborate to evolve common strategies that are beneficial to the sub-region. Today, Nigeria and Ghana are within the top 10 global cyber crime index. Our goal is to ensure that West African countries drop out of the top 10,” Waziri told BusinessDay. She argued that while the growing number of underwater cable systems on the West African coast will spring up new business opportunities, as well as improve the region’s digital index, “it could also expose the sub-region to increased cyber crimes as new sophisticated computer fraud schemes will emerge rapidly,” Waziri declared.

Cyber crime is acknowledged to be on the increase globally, and the Internet Crime Complaint Centre has recorded a 22 percent increase in criminal activities between 2008 and 2009. This, it is believed, could be because more people have access to the internet. “What should be frightening for us is that only about 20 percent of the West African population has access to internet connectivity and it may well mean that if we have the level of connectivity of Europe and North America, we will perpetually remain in the top 10. The challenge for West Africa is how to put in place remedial measures that will ensure that with higher connectivity, crime does not necessarily follow suit,” she said.

Commenting on some of the critical milestones the Commission has achieved with regard to addressing the menace of cyber crime, the EFCC boss stressed, at the first West African Cyber crime Conference held in Abuja, that since the inception of the Commission, the EFCC had secured over 300 convictions in cyber crime while there are over 500 cases pending before various courts across the country. “We have recently set up the Transaction Clearance Platform and within a year, it has stopped over 3, 000 cyber crimes and advised over 400, 000 potential victims,” she explained.

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Airtel fires fresh shot as price war heats up

…Crashes network calls to N9 per minute
Ben Uzor Jr

In the coming weeks, Nigeria’s highly competitive telecommunications market will witness sweeping squeeze in call-rate prices following Airtel Nigeria’s move to crash prices of mobile phone talk-time to as low as N9 per minute from the current industry rate averaging N35 to N42 per minute across networks.

This move comes barely two weeks after new owners, Bharti, acquired a substantial percentage of Celtel’s shares and re-branded in line with its mother company. Rival firms were non-committal about what kind of response would be forthcoming but analysts say they see a huge specter of price war looming with Airtel’s unexpected move. Analysts view Airtel’s move as strategic for market share as it intends to invite new subscribers on to its network and wrestle existing ones from competing networks.

This, of course, will boost revenue in the long run as Airtel will enjoy better economies of scale through reduced cost per unit of delivering services as volume increases. “This move is in line with Bharti Airtel’s promise to Nigerians to give them affordable telecommunications services. We are indeed fulfilling that promise and we expect more Nigerians to come aboard Airtel”, a senior Airtel executive told Business Day in an interview yesterday.

Bharti Airtel, who took over mobile operations in 15 African countries in a deal that makes it the world’s fifth-biggest mobile company with 180 million customers in 18 countries, is known for its low-cost strategy which has made it India’s market leader. In India, the company’s call rate charges are as low as 1US cents as against the 20US cents charged in Nigeria currently.

The new owners, analysts say, are aiming basically to squeeze the current leadership of the market and this could force a new price war that has the potential of revolutionising GSM usage in the country.
In the past four months, innovative promotional schemes from telecom companies (telcos) have reduced prices of voice calls and internet download access by 50 percent.

The internet download price slash has forced prices down to as low as N3, 000 from N10, 000 in less than three months with MTN leading the slash race. Industry experts believe the price will in no time drop to levels comparable to UK charges which is currently about N1, 250 or 5 UK pounds sterling. Industry analysts thus strongly believe that the move by Bharti will force other operators to further review their present voice call rate in order to stay competitive.

Some analysts are however skeptical about the Airtel’s price strategy. “In my opinion, I don’t think N9 per minute will be profitable for them considering the current interconnect rate. As you know, the difference between the price of voice call and the interconnect rate is what makes them profitable. So, for instance, if the current interconnect rate is N10.12 and they intend to offer N9, then it makes no sense business wise. I believe this price reduction will be for on-net calls and not for off-net call”, one analyst who pleaded anonymity told BusinessDay.

Recently, Ernest Ndukwe, past executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), told a gathering of Information Communication Technology (ICT) stakeholders that the Commission had laid the foundation for tariff reduction with the issuance of a new interconnect regime in December 2009. Interconnection rate represents the rate which a telecommunications operator who originates a call pays to another operator on whose network a call is terminated.

“I have continued to see tariff drop since the last exercise with respect to interconnect rates. Going forward, prices will continue to fall because we have always insisted that more competition will affect tariffs in a positive way”. It would be recalled that in August, MTN Nigeria floated a new set of value added propositions which featured product offerings that allow customers enjoy more call time at a highly reduced cost across its market segments, causing increased competition among telecom players.

For instance, customers on MTN Smartlink will enjoy retrogressive tariff plan which allows the customer to pay less for more time spent calling; voice call price could then fall to as low as 25 kobo/second from a peak 50 kobo, a whopping reduction of 50 percent.

In a swift reaction to the earlier strategic move by MTN which enticed teeming subscribers to its network with its new tariff plan (MTN Funlink, Smartlink, Prolink, Bizlink and Happilink), the fifth licensed GSM operator, Etisalat Nigeria, introduced a new tariff plan that allows subscribers enjoy lower rates of 25 kobo per second for voice calls from a peak of 50 kobo per second.

The unique selling point of the value proposition is that subscribers could make calls to anyone regardless of time, network or even location. National operator, Globacom, launched a package in Port Harcourt that enables telecoms subscribers pay 25 kobo per second for all calls to any network in the country without any rental or access fee. In addition, the package, ‘Glo Infinito’ offers free midnight calls from 12 midnight to 5a.m as well as a bonus of between 10 percent and 20 percent for every recharge with N500 and higher.

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