MTN attacked in Northern Nigeria

The Daily Trust reports that mobile phone masts belonging to MTN and Airtel in the Nigerian cities of Kano and Maiduguri have been attacked by gunmen.

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Mobile phone masts belonging to MTN and Airtel in the Nigerian cities of Kano and Maiduguri have reportedly been attacked by gunmen. (Image: File)

According to a report by the publication at least eight MTN masts were destroyed and its office burnt and damaged on this week.
There is speculation that the attacks are likely to be blamed on a specific group that is alleged to have issued threats against mobile telecom companies in February.
It has been reported that attackers damaged telecommunication masts belonging to MTN at Bolori, Ngaranam, Dala Alamdiri, Adam Kolo, Limanti, Gwange, Bayan Quarters and West End areas.
MTN Nigeria has confirmed that attacks have been made on some of its installations in Northern Nigeria by unknown persons.
The company’s Corporate Services Executive, Mr. Akinwale Goodluck, in a statement in Lagos, said the attacks by unknown persons had caused service challenges in parts of the North as sensitive hub sites had also been affected.
“We confirm that like all the other major telecommunication operators, some of MTN’s installations in Northern Nigeria have been damaged by unknown persons.  As far as we are aware, there were no fatalities as a result of these attacks and we are receiving full co operation from the relevant government security agencies” he said.
“The attacks are unfortunate as the facilities built by MTN Nigeria and indeed other telecommunication companies are key to the ICT revolution in Nigeria and the accelerated socio-economic development of our nation”
Goodluck said the company was already working to restore services as quickly as possible to minimize the impact to subscribers.
“We seek the kind understanding of our esteemed customers in the affected areas in Northern Nigeria, who may have experienced congestion or outright network failure. We are intensifying efforts to restore.”

Airtel Nigeria flexes fibre muscle

Nigerian mobile service provider Airtel Nigeria announced over the weekend that that are planning to add another 2 000km to their fibre optic cable system. Currently the cable system is over 4 000km long, and services around 20 million subscribers in the country.

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Rajan Swaroop (image: file)

Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Rajan Swaroop said that the addition of more fibre optic cables is only the first step in a long process. “In this first phase, we will be adding over 2,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable to our network. Our efforts are paying dividends. The Nigerian Communications Commission rated us the best in March and April of 2012 when they rated networks in Nigeria,” he said.
He also added that since Airtel has taken over the fibre optic cable system, they have doubled their network capacity, and will be adding more cables as they try to improve services and offerings in the country. Airtel was also rated the best network in Nigeria in the first quarter of 2012.
Swaroop said that since they have double their capacity to Nigeria, it will put them in a good position to eventually double their subscription base – with having to contend with the loss in quality of service, which has become a huge problem for African nations.

Nigeria leads in African Internet speeds

According to the latest State of the Internet report by Akamai Technologies Global Internet Platform, Nigeria has overtaken South Africa in terms of Internet speed – less than eleven years after reforming its communications networks and market.

According to a report, Nigeria has overtaken South Africa in terms of internet speed (image: stock.xchng)

In the report it is revealed that Nigeria has an average connection speed of 322kbps with a peak rate of 5674kbps. But while South Africa’s average speed is faster at 496kbps, the country’s peak speed is only half that of Nigeria, at 2172kbps.
“All mobile providers had average peak connection speeds above 2 mbps, though last place South African provider, ZA-1 was just above the threshold, losing over 13 per cent from the prior quarter, at 2.2 mbps,” the report stated.
According to Leadership, “in 2011 South Africa was one of only two countries listed in the report with an average peak connection speed below 2 mbps. South Africa had average 442kbps over Nigeria’s 286kbps, however, Nigeria outperformed with peak 4871kbps and average 462mbps per month over South Africa’s 1654kbps and 197mbps.”
The report also noted that speeds across the globe were improving, and that all 117 countries that qualified for inclusion measured an increase in average connection speeds. The gain in average speed however isn’t uniform, as Montenegro grew by 0.2 per cent to 2.8 mbps, while Libya measured a 75 per cent increase to 0.5 mbps.

Nigeria’s telecom association fumes as mast is brought down:

 Nigeria’s Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has reacted with criticism after the Lagos State Government proceeded with the demolition of a telecoms mast that was still under construction in the Okota suburb of Lagos.
ALTON has reacted with criticism after the Lagos State Government proceeded with the demolition of a telecoms mast
According to This Day, “Lagos State Government, through the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development, pulled down the telecoms mast, believed to be weak in its construction, and without authorization from Urban Furniture Regulatory Unit (UFRU), a new agency established by the ministry to regulate the activities of telecoms operators and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the area of masts and towers installations.”
Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, said that there are plenty of other things that the Lagos government could do to improve safety, by starting with the demolition of abandoned and unused masts.I appreciate the fact that Lagos government is concerned about safety of people in the state, but it will be nice if the government concentrate on the demolition of abandoned and unused masts in the state that pose threat to lives and property, which do not belong to telecoms operators, rather than pulling down telecoms masts that are of good standing,”

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First Raspberry Pi computers to be delivered

The first batch of Raspberry Pi computers are being issued to users.

A group of schoolchildren in Leeds are the first to get their hands on production models of the bare-bones computer.

Costing only £16, the tiny computer has been designed to inspire anyone, especially children, to get started with computer programming.

Eager fans who were the first to order a machine should get their Raspberry Pi by 20 April.

Since the Raspberry Pi project began, the plan has garnered huge interest from developers, hobbyists and others keen to get their hands on a cheap, easy-to-use computer.

Delivery of the first batch of production machines has been delayed twice - once because the wrong component was soldered on to circuit boards and a second time thanks to confusion about electromagnetic testing.

Programming masterclass

With both these hurdles overcome, delivery of the first machines to roll off the production line is set to commence.

To mark the occasion, project co-ordinator Eben Upton is presenting a batch of the first Raspberry Pi computers to schoolchildren on Friday. The event is being held at the Leeds offices of Pi distributor Premier Farnell.

Dr Upton will also be holding a programming masterclass to help the children find out what they can do with the machine.

A spokesperson for Premier Farnell said it was due to get a large batch of machines delivered on 13 April and would be sending them out to customers on Friday.

Those who were the first to order a Pi should get their gadget within seven days of them being sent out, she said.

The Pi is built around the Arm chip that is used in the vast majority of mobile phones. It runs one version of the Linux operating system and uses SD cards as its storage medium.

The machine comes in two varieties - with and without a networking connector.

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Nigerian minister urges girls to consider ICT

Nigeria’s Minister of Communications Technology Omobola Johnson urged Nigerians yesterday to join a campaign calling on girls to join the ICT industry.Johnson made this statement in light of the upcoming “Girls In ICT Day” organised by eBusiness Life Limited where she is billed as the Special Guest of Honour.

Johnson believes girls in the ICT profession should be seen as something normal.

“’Girls in ICT Day’ should be marked until seeing girls in ICT is not a novelty or an anomaly,” Johnson said. This lends credence to the campaign theme “Why Leave ICT to boys, Girls can do ICT too”.

eBusiness Life Limited CEO Ufuoma Emuophedaro said the campaign was aimed at empowering girls to be more productive in the ICT.

The event features quizzes, essay competitions, roundtable discussions, interactive and motivational talks from renowned women ICT professionals, among others.

Nigerian internet beats New York’s

According to Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales, Nigeria’s internet speed is faster than New York’s.

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales. (image: blogspot.com)

Wales tweeted yesterday, “Broadband speed in Nigeria. Beats New York City”, with a link to the results of his speed test (see below).

Jimmy Wales

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@jimmy_wales

Broadband speed in Nigeria. Beats New York City. speedtest.net/result/1857643…

26 Mar 12

Wales arrived in Lagos yesterday and is set to address the Youth Marketer Convergence Conference (YMC 2.0) which runs from 27-28 March.

Wales later posted another tweet saying: “To clarify my earlier tweet – I know this speed is not representative of broadband across Nigeria! But it is real bandwidth and the future!” (see below).