Mubadala’s Yahsat drives down cost of internet service

Ben Uzor Jr

YahSat, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mubudala Development Company, with reported revenues of AED 27.9 billion (about $7.59 billion) in 2011, is spearheading the resurgence of satellite business in Nigeria. The satellite communications company is pushing the boundaries of competition further, with strategic pricing and an investment drive that is expected to put them in prime position to assist in deepening broadband availability. The firm is entering Nigeria’s internet market with a range of high speed, flexible and cost effective packages, boasting of speeds as high as 15 Mbps, and monthly rates as low as N4, 950, suited to servicing the most underserved market where internet connectivity is scarce, and even some of the better connected urban areas for backup solutions.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of the United States of America defines broadband as data transmission speeds of at least 4 megbits per second (mbps) downstream, from the internet to the users computer, and one megabit upstream. In recent times, the growing number of undersea cables on Nigeria’s shores has left many to believe that satellite business is no longer a feasible venture. Analysts have argued that the importance of satellite in the entire broadband ecosystem is waning, as fibre cables gradually become rooted in the country. According to them, the market for satellite is gradually being eroded due cheaper fibre optic services. YahSat however thinks otherwise.

A senior executive of the satellite firm who pleaded anonymity told Benuzorreports, at the NigeriaCom conference and exhibition in Lagos, that internet connectivity in Nigeria would continue to ride on the back of satellite for the next 15 years. “Nigeria has a low broadband penetration rate. The country needs satellite to complement fibre-optic infrastructure roll-out because there are so many areas in the country that fibre optics cannot get to, but satellite can”. With an estimated investment of about N365 billion ($2.24bn) in underwater cables in the country over the past five years, Nigerians are yet to feel the impact of this investment and are starved of access to reliable and affordable broadband services. Analyst say the absence of distribution networks and backbone network needed to move the available bandwidth capacity across the length and breadth of Nigeria has slowed down internet growth.

They further argue that Nigeria’s low mobile Average Revenue per User (ARPU) is discouraging investment in last mile networks, required to take internet capacity to the end user. YahSat, according to industry analysts is awake to the reality that Nigeria still requires huge investment to address the lastmile challenge, and explains why they are coming into this market. Lanre Ajayi, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) told Benuzorreports, in a phone interview, that the emergence of underwater cables only means expanded business for satellite operators. According to Ajayi, satellite technology is extremely effective in reaching places where the volume of traffic would not justify a fibre connection.

“The tendency is to think that the submarine cables will eliminate satellite communication, but it might actually expand the business of satellite in Nigeria. The truth is that fibre cannot get everywhere. “Most of the national fibre backbones and fibre rings would run through large cities and towns. But for the rural populace, the way for them to get internet connectivity would be through satellite technology”, Ajayi said. George Opara, deputy managing director, Hyperia, a distributor, noted that YahSat would indeed assist in reducing the high cost of broadband internet service in Nigeria. “We have been working for two to three years to bring this solution into the market. Hyperia already has major VSAT products in the C-band and KU band. When we saw the importance of YahSat’s project and how it’s going to help reduce the cost of internet broadband services, Hyperia Limited become very much interested. 

“We have tested the C and KU bands and with emergence of KA band, we have seen immense potential” , Opara said. The satellite service, according to him, would complement the recently launched NIGCOMSAT-2 satellite, enabling more Nigerians to connect to the information superhighway without having to wait for terrestial systems to roll out expensive fibre networks or suffer service cut. Even in areas of heavy rainfall, Opara pointed out that the technology would adjust the power required by virtue of the advanced modulation feature, which enables dynamic rain-fade migration to ensure the link is maintained. But more importantly, he said the service is cost-efficient, due to the affordability of terminals and service pricing, as well as the quick installation time-line, owing to the small antenna size which makes it easy to install.

YahClick, which is the name of the solution, is offered through the Y1B satellite, which is YahSat’s second satellite that was launched successfully into orbit on 24th April 2012. YahClick is available across specific regions in 28 countries in South West Asia, Africa and the Middle East: Afghanistan, Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Nigeria, Oman, Palestine, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Turkey, UAE, Yemen, and Uganda. Benuzorreports gathered that Mubudala’s strong capital base places YahSat in good stead to play a pivotal role in President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation strategy, by providing more Nigerians, especially those in underserved and unserved areas, with efficient and reasonably priced broadband internet service, via satellite technology.

Telcos shift battle for market share to $1bn SMS, e-mail platforms

Ben Uzor Jr

               

A new war front is emerging in Nigeria’s telecommunications market - mobile data. Mobile network operators (MNOs) are shifting attention to deepening their share of revenue from data service provisioning, with mobile data valued at about $1 billion expected to contribute a significant portion of revenues by 2015. Mobile data includes paging, text messaging, e-mail, Web access and other specialised data applications and specifically excludes voice transmission. In the last three years, Nigeria’s telecoms industry has witnessed fierce competition in the voice segment of the market, which ushered in lower mobile call tariffs and rates.

Most networks are now engaging in heated price wars in the mobile data ecosystem, offering cheaper and innovative packages with a view to taking advantage of the growing number of internet hungry smartphones and tablets users. Operators are conscious of the fact that the number of Nigerian users accessing the internet via mobile phones has surpassed the number accessing through Personal Computers (PCs), marking a significant milestone created by the boom of smartphones.

Nigeria still has the highest online population in Africa with 45 million users. But reports from Opera mini’s Q4 2011 mobile browser stats for Nigeria reveal that 54 percent of the above figure accesses the internet via mobile phones, amounting to about 24 million. To this end, mobile networks are looking to increase mobile data revenues with innovative pricing. Under its mobile browsing plan, MTN Nigeria is offering to customers 1GB of mobile data for N3, 500 per month. On the other hand, Airtel Nigeria’s 1GB of mobile data costs N3,000, five hundred naira less than MTN’s plan. Globacom is offering 1GB of mobile data for N3, 000 under its ‘Always Macro’ plan (Just dial *127*54#). Lastly, Etisalat Nigeria is offering 1.5GB of mobile data for N4, 000.

Besides, global phone makers such as Research in Motion (RIM), Samsung, Nokia, LG, Huawei are not left out. They are jostling to expand the scope of the market by entering strategic partnerships with telecom operators, app developers, Value Added Service (VAS) companies to bundle exclusive solutions targeted at the Nigerian market. They are also strengthening their presence in the country through investments in distribution networks. Recently, Apple announced its official entry into Nigeria’s competitive mobile phone market. Femi Akinwunmi, creative director, BrandEdge, told Benuzorreports in a phone interview that the competition in the mobile data space is becoming fierce.

“Mobile networks are pushing cheaper mobile data packages into the market. This is largely because of the smartphone boom and the growing number of tablets. It’s all about mobility. Many Nigerians now watch television and movies on their mobile phones. The mobile device is accessible and convenient and more Nigerians will prefer to access the internet through their mobile phones than computers. More people do their emails, visit social network sites such as Facebook via their mobile phones. I think this is one reason why operators are focusing on mobile data.” Jude Omozegie, head, product marketing at Samsung Electronics West Africa, told Benuzorreports that “Nigeria is a fast growing market and there are huge opportunities for phone makers to come in and sell their products. Telecoms operators are spreading their networks across the country.

Mobile and internet penetration is growing. Phone makers see the opportunity and are bringing in devices, smartphones at varied price-points, obviously to meet the growing demand in the country. “Interestingly, a huge number of Nigerians will access the internet for the first time through their mobile phones, rather than through a PC”, he added.

BlackBerry maker deepens presence in Nigeria

Ben Uzor Jr

Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry smartphones, is raising its stakes in Nigeria’s mobile broadband device market valued at N245 billion with the establishment of a local office as well as the expansion of its retail and distribution network. The move, according to the phone manufacturer on Tuesday, marks the expansion of RIM’s footprint in Africa from its headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, and further underlines the strategic importance of the Nigerian market in RIM’s global business strategy. Robert Bose, managing director for Middle East and Africa, RIM, told journalists at a media briefing in Lagos, that BlackBerry was presently the highest selling smartphone in Nigeria and South Africa, further revealing that BlackBerry devices are currently been sold in about 300 retail stores nationwide.

This robust retail presence, according to Bose, will assist customers get the most out of their BlackBerry smartphones. “We are pleased to cement our physical presence with local staff, establishment of a new legal entity and work with local business partners to expand our retail and customer care across Nigeria.” In addition, RIM said it is providing software upgrade stations in 60 more retail stores nationwide. The smartphone company also disclosed plans to introduce in-warranty repair and after-sales support in retail stores located in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. To further deepen its presence in Nigeria, RIM noted that it had signed up Yaba College of Education into its academic programme which enables colleges and universities globally offer courses in developing solutions for the BlackBerry platform.

“There are several universities that are making use of free tools and content that can be used in terms of BlackBerry app development. We are now looking at how we can roll out the BlackBerry academic programme to as many universities in Nigeria as possible. We want to ensure that we have a consistent stream of young developers coming through that would enable us develop and maintain locally relevant applications and content”, Waldi Wepener, regional director at RIM told Benuzorreports. The Canadian phone maker has continued to record sterling performances in Nigeria, becoming the highest selling smartphone. According to research firm, Informa Telecom & Media, there are 4 million connected smartphones in the country at the moment, two million of them been BlackBerry devices.

However, a new trend is emerging in Nigeria’s highly competitive handset market. Global phone manufacturers are increasingly focusing on the Nigerian market. Only recently, Apple incorporated with reported revenue of $108 billion in 2011 announced its official entry into Nigeria. What is the rationale behind this new focus on Nigeria? Industry analysts say perhaps credit losses, write-down and financial woes which haunt the financial capitals of the world are compelling phone makers to pay more attention to emerging markets such as Nigeria to make up for dwindling fortunes in advanced economies.

In recent times, the BlackBerry maker has continued to lose market share to other players such Samsung. Wepener pointed out that the loss of market share was simply due to the technology shift to full touch interface. “We are currently the number one smartphone in Africa and in Nigeria. We are trying to maximise global market share with in-roads into Nigeria”. According to him, RIM was already putting finishing touches to its BB 10 platform which would put the company in a prime position to re-capture market share. The platform is expected to be launched next year. Wepener noted that RIM is strengthening relationships with telecom operators to enable them deepen their share of revenue from data service provisioning.

Indian ICT firms seek new opportunities in Nigeria

Ben Uzor Jr

               

With investments in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in excess of N3 trillion within the last eight years, Nigeria is clearly investors’ preferred destination. In line with this, about 20 leading Indian ICT firms came into the country last week with a view to seeking new business opportunities in Nigeria’s burgeoning ICT industry. The Indian firms, under the auspices of the National Association of Computer and Software Companies of Indian (NASSCOM), engaged in a day-long deliberation with Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN), which represents IT firms in the country, aimed at forging business partnerships.

With the theme ‘Empowering and Resuscitating Local IT Entrepreneurs via Local Content Development and Funding’, stakeholders, who attended the business summit, considered various areas of partnership relating to technology transfers, domestication, deployment of local talent by Indian firms and the need to support local IT entrepreneurs to improve growth. Speaking at the forum, Florence Seriki, president, ITAN, said the objective of the summit, which is an annual meetings between the two bodies, was to serve as a statement of need to sustain the creation of platform for local ICT firms to collaborate among key global ICT players.

India’s IT industry has gained a brand identity as a knowledge economy due to its ITES (IT Enabled Services) sector. Over the years, the growth of India’s service sector has been led by the IT–ITES sector, contributing substantially to increase in GDP, employment, and exports. The sector has increased its contribution to India’s GDP from 1.2 percent in FY1998 to 7.5 percent in FY2012. According to NASSCOM, the IT-BPO (IT Business Process Outsourcing) sector in India aggregated revenues of $100 billion in FY2012, where export and domestic revenue stood at $69.1 billion and $31.7 billion respectively, growing by over 9 percent.

Stakeholders at the summit were all agreed that for the country not to experience stunted economic growth and successfully transit to a digital economy there is need to harness ICT as a major enabler. The ITAN president said: “We want to grow into partnership with Indian firms and go into localising some of the technologies foreign IT firms are producing and bringing into Nigeria. “Indeed, our goal ultimately is to bridge the digital divide in competitive capacity development of the local enterprises, by also creating education, by also creating education opportunities, influencing policy formulations in ICT development, promotion. And enhancement of the Nigerian ICT industry with other relevant stakeholders.”

She explained further that local ICT companies currently deserve a lot of private and public sector support in terms of increasing their demand for goods and services supplied, and engendering adequate partnership to promoting local content. Also speaking, Som Mittal, President of NASSCOM, who noted that the group represents about 1, 300 Indian companies, said Nigeria had been identified as a country with large market whose potential for ICT revolution can be bolstered through forging appropriate partnerships with local companies. “We are committed to healthy partnership with our Nigerian counterparts. “Our investments in Nigeria have been continuous and we would ensure that we work with local partners to engage in developing both the Indian market and the Nigerian economy in the area of ICT,” he said.

Buba Bindir, director-general of the director-general of the National Office for Technology Promotion and Development (NOTAP), stressed the need for the Indian firms to do business in Nigeria in line with requisite regulatory and legal provisions. He also tasked them to bring necessary funding, technology and technical know-how to assist in bridging Nigeria’s digital divide. According to him, “Nigeria has been recording a lot of capital flight in the economy, especially through ICT and we are ready to turn this around through proper licensing of any foreign IT technologies and solutions coming to Nigeria.” Lanre Ajayi, president, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and Emmanuel Ekuwem, chairman, Teledom Group, stressed the need to always engage in impact assessment of the partnership between the two countries in order to always measure the progress being made.

Samsung adds new iPhone 5 to patents complaint

Ben Uzor Jr

Samsung has confirmed it is adding the new Apple iPhone 5 to the list of Apple products it alleges are infringing its smartphone patents. “Samsung anticipates that it will file, in the near future, a motion to amend its infringement contentions to add the iPhone 5 as an accused product,” the South Korean vendor said in a United States (US) court filing. “Based on the information currently available, Samsung expects that the iPhone 5 will infringe the asserted Samsung patens-in-suit in the same way as the other accused iPhone models,” it added. Meanwhile, consumers seeking mobile devices from which they can derive optimum value need look no further, as Samsung introduces its new Chief Hero E 1500 dual-SIM phone, an ultra-low cost solution designed to cater for the needs of cost-conscious mobile phone users, into the Nigerian market.

The Samsung Chief Hero E 1500 supports GPRS dual band technology and also has a 1000mAh battery that provides phone users with 11 hours of talk time and 550 hours of standby time. Besides, the JAVA-enabled device also features a 1.8” TFT screen, MP3, and FM radio, to deliver the ultimate communication experience to users. Speaking at the launch of the device at the Samsung Experience Store in Lagos, Abiodun Odejayi, head of marketing (Hand Held Products), Samsung Electronics West Africa, reiterated the company’s commitment to providing mobile phones that suit the unique needs and resources of individuals in Nigeria and indeed, the whole of Africa.

“Mobile handsets are rapidly becoming the centre of our lives, even as more and more users desire access to content and to enjoy more features and activities such as gaming, video and music anytime, anywhere, via their devices, “said Odejayi. “At Samsung, we understand that consumer habits and consumption patterns are changing, thus, we strive to smarten up mobile phones and bring smartphone-like experiences to feature phone users. The Chief Hero E 1500 is not only designed to provide the best mobile internet experience at a very competitive price, but it also brings together rich messaging and multimedia features. As such, the Samsung Chief Hero mobile phone is a smart dual-SIM phone that is targeted at the Nigerian market,” Odejayi explained.

Other features of the Samsung Chief Hero E 1500 include access to Internet content, and social network services, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Yahoo. Together with its preloaded Eskimi Link and embedded rich multimedia application support, the device also possesses multilingual features that enable users send text messages and multimedia messages in Nigerian languages, (we would rather not mention the languages) On his part, Samsung’s Head of Sales, (Hand-held Products), Olumide Ojo highlighted the Samsung Chief Hero E 1500’s durability and “Always On” dual-SIM capability as two major unique selling points of the device. “Whether users want to take advantage of different pricing plans from two network operators, or want to keep their business and personal calls separate, the Samsung Chief Hero E 1500’s “Always On” smart dual-SIM feature provides the convenience of two cell phones with one-mobile solution.

Also, there is a perception that low-cost mobile phones are not reliable. Samsung is proud to say that our Chief Hero is not only cost-effective and reliable, but it is also ultra-durable, and with its great battery life, Nigerian local language support and 24-month warranty, the Samsung Chief Hero is certainly designed with the African consumer in mind,” said Ojo. From its inception as a small export business, Samsung has grown to become one of the world’s leading electronics companies, specializing in digital appliances and media, semiconductors, memory, and system integration.

Today Samsung’s innovative and top quality products and processes are recognized all over the world. The company has continued to expand its product lines and reach, following its mission of making life better for consumers all over world.