Monday, 17 February 2014

NCC Auctions 2.3GHz Spectrum Wednesday, Assures Bidders of Transparency

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will on Wednesday and Thursday this week, begin the actual auctioning of the 2.3GHz spectrum licence between two pre-qualified bidders, Globacom Limited and Bitflux Communications Limited.

The two companies emerged at the pre-qualification stage, after some of the contenders withdrew from the race for various reasons.
The payment of a non-refundable initial bid deposit of $2.3 million, among other factors, qualified them for the next round, which is the proper bidding exercise.
NCC had fixed a minimum reserved price of $23 million for the auction. This means that the bidding, which opens on Wednesday this week, will start from $23 million and the highest bidder will emerge the winner of the licence.
The Executive Vice-Chairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, told THISDAY that the auction exercise would be computer-base while the commission would strictly adhere to the computerised process, to make the entire bid process highly transparent.
Other contenders that willingly withdrew from the race were Zinox Telecommunications, an arm of Zinox Group, Airtel Nigeria, MTN, Etisalat and Spectranet.
Reacting to the emergence of the two bidders and the planned strategy by NCC to allow the highest bidder win the licence, a Lagos based telecoms analyst and Chief Executive Officer of Cyberschuul News, Mr. Titi Omo-Ettu, told THISDAY that he was shocked that other contenders had to withdraw, leaving only two bidders to emerge.
According to him: “The announcement that two firms, Bitflux Communications Limited and Globacom Limited are the only shortlisted bidders to participate in the forthcoming 2.3GHz Frequency Auction shocks me.
“Baring the NCC giving a good explanation that I am unable to forecast, I am surprised that the lack of interest shown in the licence, tells a very bad story of the industry, and that our Second National Operator is also on the list and on its way to cornering the licence into its bouquet of licences gives some worry.
“I have done some industry search and found that those who constitute Bitflux Communications Limited are young enterprising Nigerian professionals who have made a point of excellence in the industry although are far away from being money bags. I understand Bitflux is a Consortium of VDT Communications Limited, Bitcom Systems Limited and Superflux International Limited. Those are companies that are the hopes of the industry when the prospects of a well managed broadband landscape is considered.” Omo-Etto said.
He, however, said his comment was not a protest against Globacom but a strong feeling against monopoly, which he foresees.
Omo-Etto, who said there was nothing legally wrong in Globacom picking up the available licence, insisted that the purpose of regulation goes far beyond playing legally, but more with the need to examine legal, moral and development objectives, make interventions and go ahead to legislate what ordinarily would end up having an industry, where the yawning gaps between peoples and classes are truly closed.
“Of course we cannot pretend that it is all good that our Second National Operator (SNO) for eight years has no known rollout of fixed services, which depicts the status of SNO,” Omo-Ettu said.
Another analyst, expressed some form of apprehension over the planned bidding, since NCC had put a reserved bidding price.
According to him, what that means is that the winner would be anyone with bigger financial muscle.
He insisted that the true winner that would make better use of the spectrum licence would not emerge, since the bidding had to do with money.
He suggested that the NCC should consider other important factors, aside money, in announcing the eventual winner.
Group Chief Operating Officer of Globacom, Mr. Mohammed Jameel, told THISDAY that the 2.3GHz spectrum band would further help Globacom in rolling out its fixed line services.
Giving reasons why the Second National Operator had not been able to rollout its fixed lines services, Jameel said the challenges of fiber cut and delay in getting approval to dig up ground to lay cables, contributed to the delay.
He, however, promised Nigerians that it would use the 2.3GHz spectrum licence to rollout its fixed lines, if it eventually wins it.
But NCC said it would go ahead with the process, and make it transparent.
According to NCC, the two companies that emerged in the pre-qualifying stage had complied with the pre-qualification criteria set out in the Information Memorandum for the 2.3GHz spectrum licence, and the commission had announced both communications companies as the approved bidders for the auction of one frequency spectrum licence in the 2.3GHz band.
In order to ensure transparency in the exercise, the NCC ensured that pre-qualification criteria did not make it necessarily mandatory for applicants to have any telecommunications operational licence in Nigeria, to qualify to bid.
However, applicants should be companies registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and must transfer an Intention-to-Bid Deposit of $2.3 million into the designated bank account.
The deposit would bind the applicant to take up a licence, should it be a successful bidder, at the reserve price or any higher bid value submitted during the process.
Also, applicants should be independent from all other applicants under this allocation process.
Again, licensed operators participating in the process must fulfill all existing obligations to the commission including payments of annual operational levy and Spectrum and National Numbering Plan fees prior to pre-qualification.
At the end of the exercise, the successful bidder will be granted a Whosale Wireless Access Service Licence (WWASL) and the specified should be paid before the licence is issued.
The tenure for the WWASL licence will be 10 years and subject to renewal.
Stating reasons for their pull-out in the auction, Zinox said it’s withdrawal was based on its subsequent decision, where it prefer to focus on its core end to service delivery.
Corporate Communications Adviser to Zinox Telecoms, Mr. Uche Nnadozie said: “There was a last minute decision by the company’s board which discouraged the management from the bid. The board argues that 2.3GHz license will divert attention from our core competence.”  He added, “We are already an end to end solutions service provider in the ICT sector. So the advice of the board is that we should focus on our core competence.”
Airtel’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, also stated in Lagos that Airtel decided to back out from the 2.3GHz spectrum preferring to wait for the 700MHz spectrum of digital dividend that would be available to operators come 2015 after migration from analogue to digital broadcasting must have been successfully implemented in Nigeria.
However, THISDAY gathered that some of the key reasons why they withdrew were  not unconnected with their fear of losing the initial deposit of $2.3 million, which represents 10 per cent of the bidding price and fear of subsequent litigation.
Some of the companies reckoned that since the auction is a wholesale licence of the 30Mhz of the remaining 40Mzh of the 2.3GHz spectrum band to a single company, meaning that those who are not winners would automatically lose their initial $2.3 million, which is non-refundable.
On the fear of litigation, the solicitors to one Snytel I. G. Wills Communications Limited (Snytel), had on January 30, 2014 published a notice, and made reference to a 2.3 GHz spectrum to belong to Nigeria Telecommunications Plc (NITEL)/MTEL and a warning was issued that any person, company, corporation or commission who buys or sells the assets and shares of NITEL would be liable for contempt and the sale is liable to be set aside.
However, NCC had, in a reaction through a public notice, allayed “the fears (if any) of all persons who have either expressed interest or are desirous of participating in the 2.3 GHz Spectrum Auction which will hold on February 19 and 20, 2014.”
The commission said it had reviewed the National Frequency Plan, the court order and the originating process in Suit No. FHC/PH/CS/471/2011 filed by Snytel against the Federal Government of Nigeria, Attorney General of the Federation, National Council on Privatisation, Ministry of Finance, Bureau for Public Enterprise and NITEL.
NCC said it remained the agency reposed with responsibility to assign spectrum, and that it had not assigned spectrum in the 2.3 GHz Band to either NITEL or MTEL, saying: “It is therefore untrue and mischievous to claim that the spectrum constitutes part of the assets of NITEL/MTEL.”
According to NCC: “By virtue of a widely publicised process, the Commission had in 2009 assigned 2 frequency slots in the 2.3 GHz Band to deserving applicants. To date, the assignment has not been challenged and the winners have been successfully deploying services on this spectrum since 2009.”

Saturday, 15 February 2014

JAMB Board to Introduce Computer-Based Tests

Lagos — THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) will, starting next, year replace the standard paper-pencil base examinations with computer-base test (CBT).
The board said the CBT would become the norm as it was easier to administer and had several advantages.
The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, noted that the decision to scrap the paper pencil test and replace it with computer base test was reached at the general meeting of the board.
The registrar explained that the choice of the computer base test was to curb examination malpractices, inappropriate release of results and encourage candidates to prepare adequately.
“Our experience last year showed that the computer base test candidates performed better than the paper pencil test ones. For the computer base test, there was no single examination malpractice, there was no missing result and answer script,” he said.
Ojerinde however said that the board will allow both paper-pencil and computer base test for this year's examination taking place in April and May.
“This year's JAMB PPT and CBT examination will take place in April 12 and May 17 but this is the last time we are going to do PPT.
"It will be all CBT next year. We want education to move forward, one of the ways of moving it forward is to eradicate examination malpractices.
That is our ambition and we believe that CBT will bring us to par with other technological developed nations,” he added.THE Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) will, starting next, year replace the standard paper-pencil base examinations with computer-base test (CBT).
The board said the CBT would become the norm as it was easier to administer and had several advantages.
The Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, noted that the decision to scrap the paper pencil test and replace it with computer base test was reached at the general meeting of the board.
The registrar explained that the choice of the computer base test was to curb examination malpractices, inappropriate release of results and encourage candidates to prepare adequately.

How to Choose a Tablet PC in 2014 (Part 4 – Screen Resolution and Cameras)

This post will cover some general specifications of tablet computers. If you're new to the series, you might want to go back and read Part 1 (types and basic information), Part 2 (size and operating system), and Part 3 (storage and battery life). When you're ready, come back to this page to learn about other specs like screen resolution and cameras.
Most tablets have capacitive touchscreens that respond to skin touch rather than pressure. (Resistive touchscreens, used as POS signature pads in retail stores, require pressure of a stylus or finger to generate a response.) Tablet screens are used for both navigation and viewing on the devices.

Screen Resolution
Display resolution is the number of pixels in each direction. A display being held horizontally with 1024 x 768 resolution has 1024 pixels from right to left and 768 from top to bottom. Most tablets offer a resolution ranging from 1024 x 600 to 2560 x 1600.
Pixel density is another specification you may want to consider. It's the number of pixels per inch (PPI) and ranges from 130 PPI to 400 PPI in most tablets. Apple introduced its Retina display which boasts 264 PPI. It's unlikely that the human eye would detect an improvement in quality at higher pixel densities unless using a microscope.
Considering that widescreen HD movies are 1920 x 1080, it's unlikely that the average user would need a higher screen resolution.

Cameras

Cameras and screen resolution go hand-in-hand, at least to some extent, because what you're photographing will be displayed on the same device's screen for viewing.
Many tablets have cameras on both the front and back of the device. The "front" is the side that faces the user. It typically has a lower resolution than the "back" camera, also known as the rear-facing camera, that is located at the back of the device. A forward-facing camera is used for video conferencing applications like Skype or for taking "selfies." It's useful because the user can view him or herself on the screen while taking the image. A rear-facing camera can be used for the same purpose, or to take photos or videos of things in the user's line of site.
Cameras vary in terms of megapixels (most range from 1 MP - 5 MP), autofocus, flash, and incorporated microphones.

How to Choose a Tablet PC in 2014 (Part 3 – Storage and Battery Life)














This post will cover some general specifications of tablet computers. If you're new to the series, you might want to go back and read Part 1 (types and basic information) and Part 2 (size and operating system). When you're ready, come back to this page to learn about other specs like storage and battery life.

Storage

Most tablets have options for how much storage capacity is available on the device. Keep in mind that with some tablets that use flash memory, like the iPad, it's impossible to add more internal storage at a later date. (The iPad does not offer a USB port or card reader, but there are other options for external storage.)
A range of 8 GB - 64 GB seems to be the most common for consumer tablets. Some rugged tablets have storage capacities of 256 GB or more.
How much storage you need depends on how you'll use the device. Do you want to store photos, music, or videos? Will the tablet be for work with lots of apps? Will you download game apps that have a lot of graphics?
Say your device will be broken up this way:
  • 25% photos
  • 35% music and videos
  • 20% apps
  • 20% other (like the operating system)
The table below explains the number of these types of files that would fit on a typical device broken out in this way. Keep in mind that these are just "guesstimates" as file size varies greatly depending on photo resolution, HD vs. standard video, and other factors. Not to mention, your usage of your device will be broken up differently.
File Type (avg. size) # Files Per Device Storage Size

8 GB16 GB32 GB64 GB128 GB
Photos (0.002 GB) 1,000 2,000 4,000 8,000 16,000
Songs (0.004 GB) HD Movies (3 GB) 700 0 650 1 550 3 1,100 6 2,200 12
Apps (0.024 GB) 66 132 264 528 1,056
Other (4 GB) - - - - -

Battery Life

Once you've got all of your files on your device you're going to wonder how long it'll last between charges. Reported battery life varies between resources - what the manufacturer says may vary from what you and other users experience. Battery life can vary based on what apps you're running, screen backlight brightness, and whether you're taking photos or watching a movie.
culled from appliance technology

How to Choose a Tablet PC in 2014 (Part 2 – Size and Operating System)

Many factors go into the selection of a tablet computer. If you're new to the series, click here to read Part 1 about some general considerations. Then, move onto this post which explains two of the most important criteria: the size of the device and the operating system (OS) that runs its software.

Size

Most tablet computers are distinguished by their size. The two most common classes of size among tablets are 7-8 inch and 9-11 inch. The Samsung Galaxy Tab, for example, comes in both 8.0 and 10.1 inch sizes.
The best size for you depends on what you'd like to do with the tablet and how small it needs to be to meet your needs. If you'd rather have a large screen size for viewing video or navigating spreadsheets, the bigger size would work. If you'd rather have something that takes up less space, the smaller option would be best.

Operating System

Operating system is a big factor when deciding on a tablet. More than 75% of tablet users have devices that run on iOS (Apple) or Android (available on a variety of devices). It's a matter of preference, just as you would consider when selecting a smartphone.
If you're not sure which operating system you prefer, consider these points:
  • What OS runs on your other devices, such as your phone and computer?
  • Do you need to sync data between devices?
  • What types of programs, or apps, will you run on the tablet?
  • Which interface are you more comfortable with?                                                                 Culled from APPLIANCE TECHNOLOGY

How to Choose a Tablet PC in 2014 (Part 1 - General Characteristics)

By today's standards your laptop is too clunky to be portable and your smartphone screen is too small to be productive. You've decided a tablet computer, right in between those two sizes, is something you need to try.
But where to begin? This multi-part series will walk you through some of the factors to consider when selecting a tablet computer.

Is a Tablet Right for Me?

Tablets, just like other devices, have certain pros and cons. Each person's needs and working style will dictate the device that will work best for that individual.
Many people think that tablets are for the casual user who's interested in browsing the web and playing games. That's true, but tablets have so many more applications; many of them professional. Tablets are used in the healthcare and medical fields, for transportation and logistics, as POS terminals, and in utilities, manufacturing, construction, and military applications.

Types of Tablets

Most tablets fall into one of four categories: slate, convertible, booklet, and rugged.
Slates are standalone tablets, like the Apple iPad.
Convertible tablets, like the Ideapad Yoga, have an attached keyboard and can be folded into various configurations.
Booklet-style tablets have two screens that face one another, like pages in a book.
Rugged tablets are for use in conditions where a durable product is required. Some applications include research, military, or construction.

Pros and Cons of Tablets

Tablets have the following things going for them:
  • Portability - lighter and thinner than a laptop
  • Connectivity - WiFi or LTE built in
  • Compatibility - OS may allow for syncing with a phone or computer
Some factors, however, may push users toward computers or smartphones:
  • Storage - some lack ability to expand storage
  • Peripherals - some have Bluetooth keyboards; most do not work with a mouse
  • Ports - some devices do not have the ability to plug in USB and other devices

SanDisk Creates Dual USB Flash Drive that Works on Android Devices

If you've used enough memory sticks in your lifetime, chances are you've come across the name SanDisk. The leading memory storage manufacturer has released yet another flash drive that comes with an additional micro-USB connector (apart from the regular USB 2.0 port), a tweak which allows the flash drive to be used by Android devices.

Vice President of SanDisks's product marketing said “The SanDisk Ultra Dual USB Drive provides a simple, convenient way to offload and backup files from smartphones and tablets – with the peace of mind that comes with the trusted SanDisk brand. This new drive integrates with SanDisk’s Memory Zone app to make freeing up space on mobile devices simpler than ever, improving the user experience.”

At first glance, this looks like a welcome idea, as it removes the stress of wireless transfer from PC to phone (which is notoriously slow) and also takes care of the problem of having your Android device 'engaged' when transferring files through the USB cord to snd from a PC.

SanDisk's Memory Zone app is available on Google's Play Store.