By Bankole Orimisan
ASUS, the third largest PC manufacturer in the world has announced its partnership with Mitsumi, one of Africa’s largest IT distributors to drive its penetration in the Nigerian market.
The company said the partnership with Mitsumi opens up the door for more possibilities and transformative products for Nigerian users.
Speaking at the official launch of the two new products in Lagos, ASUS Product Manager, Nigeria, Simplice Zaongo said, “we’re at the beginning of our second year in Nigeria and the partnership with Mitsumi, one of the largest IT distributors of the region is well-timed. We’re happy about that. In fact, the demand for ASUS products has significantly increased since last year. So partnering with a distributor of the caliber of Mitsumi will increase our reach-out in the channel and ultimately our capability to bring these incredible products of ASUS to more Nigerians.”
ASUS Country Manager for Nigeria, Mr. Serge P. Nabyoure, explained that the newly introduced products, Asus Fonepad 7 and Asus Transformer Book T100 tables are powered by Intel Atom processors Z2560 and Bay Trail-T Z3740 quad core processor respectively.
According to him, Asus brand was a known brand in the Kenya and venturing into Nigeria was to extend the footprint on the continent.
Nabyoure said that the company taking into cognisance the electricity issues in Nigeria informed the choice of Intel processor, which gives more battery life for both devices.
Meanwhike, Intel Country Manager for West Africa, Mr. Bunmi Ekundare commended the partnership between Intel and AsusTek at the launch, expressing excitement over the price of these products, which was announced as N35, 000 for the Fonepad 7 and N75, 000 for the Transformer Book T100.
Country Manager, Mitsumi Nigeria, Rohit Banerjee said that the firm as an authorised distributor of global IT hardware and software brands, had been introducing appropriate technologies and solutions to Africa for decades now.
He said that Mitsumi’s partnership with ASUS signalled the company’s effort to increase its footprint on the Nigerian market.
Thursday, 23 January 2014
Core Group Africa announces official availability of iPad Air in Nigeria
By Bankole Orimisan
CORE Group Africa has announced the official launch of the iPad Air in Nigeria. Featuring a stunning 9.7-inch Retina display in a new thinner and lighter design, the iPad Air is precision-engineered to weigh just less than 500 grams, which makes it 20 per cent thinner and 28 per cent lighter than the fourth generation iPad. iPad Air will be available from 13 December from all Apple Authorised Resellers for the starting price of 99 000 Naira.
“We are delighted to announce the official availability of iPad Air in Nigeria. iPad Air is unbelievably thin and light and we encourage customers to visit their nearest Apple Authorised Reseller to purchase or experience this life-changing product,” says Rutger-Jan van Spaandonk, Core Group Africa’s Director.
According to the firm, It has appointed Apple Authorised Resellers to sell iPad Air to ensure the product is available through official channel partners. This means that customers will have peace of mind that if repair issues arise during the warranty term, their product will be repaired or replaced by an Apple Authorised Repair Centre and that they will have access to the required level of support that is mandatory for Apple Authorised Resellers. A full list of Apple Authorised Resellers selling iPad Air is available from www.isocietynigeria.com.
Customers are reminded that when they purchase iPad Air, they qualify for free productivity and creativity apps. Apple have made iWork (Keynote, Pages and Numbers) and iLife (Garageband, iPhoto and iMove) free with the purchase of any new iPad. This means that customers will be able to do amazing things with presentations, documents, spreadsheets, photos, videos and music-all for free.
Furthermore, iPad Air owners will have access to the world’s number 1 app and music store through iTunes. The iTunes Store gives customers access to over 475 000 iPad apps, millions of songs and thousands of movies to personalise their iPad according to their lifestyle.
“We are thrilled to make this unbelievable product available and ensure that Nigerians can purchase with the confidence that they purchased through official distribution channels. We want customers to have the best iPad experience possible and be able to take advantage of the benefits of purchasing from an Apple Authorised Reseller,” concluded Van Spaandonk.
CORE Group Africa has announced the official launch of the iPad Air in Nigeria. Featuring a stunning 9.7-inch Retina display in a new thinner and lighter design, the iPad Air is precision-engineered to weigh just less than 500 grams, which makes it 20 per cent thinner and 28 per cent lighter than the fourth generation iPad. iPad Air will be available from 13 December from all Apple Authorised Resellers for the starting price of 99 000 Naira.
“We are delighted to announce the official availability of iPad Air in Nigeria. iPad Air is unbelievably thin and light and we encourage customers to visit their nearest Apple Authorised Reseller to purchase or experience this life-changing product,” says Rutger-Jan van Spaandonk, Core Group Africa’s Director.
According to the firm, It has appointed Apple Authorised Resellers to sell iPad Air to ensure the product is available through official channel partners. This means that customers will have peace of mind that if repair issues arise during the warranty term, their product will be repaired or replaced by an Apple Authorised Repair Centre and that they will have access to the required level of support that is mandatory for Apple Authorised Resellers. A full list of Apple Authorised Resellers selling iPad Air is available from www.isocietynigeria.com.
Customers are reminded that when they purchase iPad Air, they qualify for free productivity and creativity apps. Apple have made iWork (Keynote, Pages and Numbers) and iLife (Garageband, iPhoto and iMove) free with the purchase of any new iPad. This means that customers will be able to do amazing things with presentations, documents, spreadsheets, photos, videos and music-all for free.
Furthermore, iPad Air owners will have access to the world’s number 1 app and music store through iTunes. The iTunes Store gives customers access to over 475 000 iPad apps, millions of songs and thousands of movies to personalise their iPad according to their lifestyle.
“We are thrilled to make this unbelievable product available and ensure that Nigerians can purchase with the confidence that they purchased through official distribution channels. We want customers to have the best iPad experience possible and be able to take advantage of the benefits of purchasing from an Apple Authorised Reseller,” concluded Van Spaandonk.
LTE connections expected to hit 2b in 2018
By Bankole Orimisan
Global 4G LTE connections will grow from 238 million in 2013 to two billion in 2018 according to a new forecast from Strategy Analytics. The report predicts that LTE networks will account for almost half of mobile service revenue globally by 2018, up from under 10 per cent in 2013.
The US, Japan and South Korea are finally starting to see their grip on the global LTE market weaken in the second half of 2013. Their share of global connections will fall from 90 percent at the start of 2013 to 76 per cent by year-end, with Western Europe in particular generating more meaningful 4G volume as LTE increasingly penetrates operators’ smartphone portfolios.
“Even in 2014, the US, Japan and South Korea will remain the dominant LTE markets, but all eyes will be on China,” comments Phil Kendall, Director of Strategy Analytics’ Wireless Operator Strategies service and author of the report. “With TD-LTE licenses now awarded and China Mobile particularly keen to expand and launch its already large pre-commercial network, China should be the catalyst driving lower-cost 4G devices into the global market over the next two years.”
Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, Director, Wireless Operators and Networks, added, “Mobile operators are increasingly looking to LTE for value creation in the market, with the technology currently generating average revenue per user (ARPU) almost four times the global average. That premium is more a result of the regional mix of LTE connections at present and we forecast just 1.5 per cent yearly growth in wireless service revenue over the next five years. In this scenario, LTE is more about securing higher-value customers than accelerating market growth.
Global 4G LTE connections will grow from 238 million in 2013 to two billion in 2018 according to a new forecast from Strategy Analytics. The report predicts that LTE networks will account for almost half of mobile service revenue globally by 2018, up from under 10 per cent in 2013.
The US, Japan and South Korea are finally starting to see their grip on the global LTE market weaken in the second half of 2013. Their share of global connections will fall from 90 percent at the start of 2013 to 76 per cent by year-end, with Western Europe in particular generating more meaningful 4G volume as LTE increasingly penetrates operators’ smartphone portfolios.
“Even in 2014, the US, Japan and South Korea will remain the dominant LTE markets, but all eyes will be on China,” comments Phil Kendall, Director of Strategy Analytics’ Wireless Operator Strategies service and author of the report. “With TD-LTE licenses now awarded and China Mobile particularly keen to expand and launch its already large pre-commercial network, China should be the catalyst driving lower-cost 4G devices into the global market over the next two years.”
Susan Welsh de Grimaldo, Director, Wireless Operators and Networks, added, “Mobile operators are increasingly looking to LTE for value creation in the market, with the technology currently generating average revenue per user (ARPU) almost four times the global average. That premium is more a result of the regional mix of LTE connections at present and we forecast just 1.5 per cent yearly growth in wireless service revenue over the next five years. In this scenario, LTE is more about securing higher-value customers than accelerating market growth.
Adibba.com deepens online grocery service in Nigeria
By Bankole Orimisan
IN line with its decision to key into the cashless economy scheme being driven by the Central Bank of Nigeria, a leading online retail outlet in Nigeria, Adibba.com, has showcase its commitment to provide access to an unlimited variety of products and services that caters for the needs of its customers in Nigerian market.
According to the Chief Executive Officer, David Allison, Adibba.com is an online shopping platform that offered an ever-growing variety of product categories for sale to consumers at a very competitive price. Adibba.com exists to provide access to diversity, offer the grace of ease, and the power of selection. To help people discover and experience the power of true freedom in the country.
Allison said that the move was aimed at providing a more convenient and flexible alternative purchase channel option for its growing customers in line with the current electronic transaction revolution in the country.
He added: “Rather, the online purchase will further help their various customers to pick any products of their choose at much more affordable prices,” however, reiterated that Adibba.com would add value to its customers through delivering promptly and efficiently purchases to any part of the country with little or no additional cost.
The firm’s Brand Manager, Samuel Udejdi, said that customer could log on to the Internet, brose the various products on display and make purchase with your preferred payment option and the products will be delivered to you,” he said.
However, Adibba is a Nigerian owned company lunched on September 2013. The platform was borne out of the desire to satisfy ever-growing needs of shoppers. Our Product Categories vary from Power Solutions to Fashion, Phones, Computer & Electronics, Food and Drinks, Games, Toys & Kids
The Head of Customer Service of the company, Miss Lynda Okachie, in the occasion noted that Adibba website was developed to international standards and it was very user friendly to avoid the stress of being tech savvy to navigate it. The website has maximum security to ensure protection of data and any payment option you may choose, she said.
Our excellent customer service team would be there to guide you from the moment your order is placed until the order is delivered. We also offer after sales support services where necessary to guarantee maximum satisfaction, she said.
Products purchased from Adibba are authentic, because we are in partnership with top manufacturers of different products. All our products come with OEM guarantee. With Adibba, you are protected and all products are delivered within 72 hours.
IN line with its decision to key into the cashless economy scheme being driven by the Central Bank of Nigeria, a leading online retail outlet in Nigeria, Adibba.com, has showcase its commitment to provide access to an unlimited variety of products and services that caters for the needs of its customers in Nigerian market.
According to the Chief Executive Officer, David Allison, Adibba.com is an online shopping platform that offered an ever-growing variety of product categories for sale to consumers at a very competitive price. Adibba.com exists to provide access to diversity, offer the grace of ease, and the power of selection. To help people discover and experience the power of true freedom in the country.
Allison said that the move was aimed at providing a more convenient and flexible alternative purchase channel option for its growing customers in line with the current electronic transaction revolution in the country.
He added: “Rather, the online purchase will further help their various customers to pick any products of their choose at much more affordable prices,” however, reiterated that Adibba.com would add value to its customers through delivering promptly and efficiently purchases to any part of the country with little or no additional cost.
The firm’s Brand Manager, Samuel Udejdi, said that customer could log on to the Internet, brose the various products on display and make purchase with your preferred payment option and the products will be delivered to you,” he said.
However, Adibba is a Nigerian owned company lunched on September 2013. The platform was borne out of the desire to satisfy ever-growing needs of shoppers. Our Product Categories vary from Power Solutions to Fashion, Phones, Computer & Electronics, Food and Drinks, Games, Toys & Kids
The Head of Customer Service of the company, Miss Lynda Okachie, in the occasion noted that Adibba website was developed to international standards and it was very user friendly to avoid the stress of being tech savvy to navigate it. The website has maximum security to ensure protection of data and any payment option you may choose, she said.
Our excellent customer service team would be there to guide you from the moment your order is placed until the order is delivered. We also offer after sales support services where necessary to guarantee maximum satisfaction, she said.
Products purchased from Adibba are authentic, because we are in partnership with top manufacturers of different products. All our products come with OEM guarantee. With Adibba, you are protected and all products are delivered within 72 hours.
‘Cost of broadband still exorbitant in Nigeria’
By Bankole Orimisan
For those living on less than $2/day, entry-level broadband costs an average of 40 per cent of monthly income, and in many countries this figure exceeds 80 per cent or 100 per cent. As a result, billions cannot afford to get online, entrenching the digital divide and constraining economic and social progress.
This is the key finding of the Alliance for Affordable Internet’s (A4AI – a4ai.org) first Affordability Report – a major study into the drivers of Internet affordability in 46 developing and emerging countries. A4AI is a global coalition of more than 40 members, whose global sponsors are Google, Omidyar Network, and the UK Department for International Development and U.S. AID.
The report also includes an ‘Affordability Index’, which ranks nations across communications infrastructure and access and affordability indicators fundamental to achieving affordable Internet. Malaysia, Mauritius and Brazil top the Index, with Morocco ranked as the leading developing country. Zimbabwe, Malawi and Yemen prop up the foot of the table.
According to the report, the approximately two billion people living on less than $2/day in the 46 countries studied, the UN Broadband Commission target of entry-level broadband services priced at less than five per cent of average monthly income remains far from attainable. For this group, the cost of entry-level broadband exceeds on average 40 per cent of monthly income. In Zambia, for example, there are over 10 million people who live in extreme poverty, who would have to spend at least 35 per cent of their income to afford mobile broadband services or 135 per cent of their income to access fixed broadband.
However, broadband markets that price Internet access out of reach for the majority of people are neither socially nor economically efficient. Well-rounded policies that consider broadband access as a tool for socio-economic development and increase both supply of and demand for broadband must be put in place. Competition alone will not ensure affordable access to broadband services in emerging and developing countries.
Commenting on the report, Dr. Bitange Ndemo, honorary chairperson of A4AI and the immediate former Permanent Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Information and Communications, said: “The Affordability Report must serve as a spur to action for policymakers, businesses and civil society organisations around the globe. In just two years, the UN Broadband Commission target is for everyone, everywhere to be able to access broadband Internet at a cost of less than five per cent of their monthly income. Our data shows that there is a long way to go before this goal is reached, particularly for the world’s poorest people.”
Sonia Jorge, executive director of A4AI added: “Within our findings, there are beacons of hope. Countries such as Malaysia, Brazil or Morocco, which top our Affordability Index, show how rapid progress can be made when innovative technologies are twinned with an enabling, forward-looking policy and regulatory environment which stimulates supply as well as demand.
For those living on less than $2/day, entry-level broadband costs an average of 40 per cent of monthly income, and in many countries this figure exceeds 80 per cent or 100 per cent. As a result, billions cannot afford to get online, entrenching the digital divide and constraining economic and social progress.
This is the key finding of the Alliance for Affordable Internet’s (A4AI – a4ai.org) first Affordability Report – a major study into the drivers of Internet affordability in 46 developing and emerging countries. A4AI is a global coalition of more than 40 members, whose global sponsors are Google, Omidyar Network, and the UK Department for International Development and U.S. AID.
The report also includes an ‘Affordability Index’, which ranks nations across communications infrastructure and access and affordability indicators fundamental to achieving affordable Internet. Malaysia, Mauritius and Brazil top the Index, with Morocco ranked as the leading developing country. Zimbabwe, Malawi and Yemen prop up the foot of the table.
According to the report, the approximately two billion people living on less than $2/day in the 46 countries studied, the UN Broadband Commission target of entry-level broadband services priced at less than five per cent of average monthly income remains far from attainable. For this group, the cost of entry-level broadband exceeds on average 40 per cent of monthly income. In Zambia, for example, there are over 10 million people who live in extreme poverty, who would have to spend at least 35 per cent of their income to afford mobile broadband services or 135 per cent of their income to access fixed broadband.
However, broadband markets that price Internet access out of reach for the majority of people are neither socially nor economically efficient. Well-rounded policies that consider broadband access as a tool for socio-economic development and increase both supply of and demand for broadband must be put in place. Competition alone will not ensure affordable access to broadband services in emerging and developing countries.
Commenting on the report, Dr. Bitange Ndemo, honorary chairperson of A4AI and the immediate former Permanent Secretary of Kenya’s Ministry of Information and Communications, said: “The Affordability Report must serve as a spur to action for policymakers, businesses and civil society organisations around the globe. In just two years, the UN Broadband Commission target is for everyone, everywhere to be able to access broadband Internet at a cost of less than five per cent of their monthly income. Our data shows that there is a long way to go before this goal is reached, particularly for the world’s poorest people.”
Sonia Jorge, executive director of A4AI added: “Within our findings, there are beacons of hope. Countries such as Malaysia, Brazil or Morocco, which top our Affordability Index, show how rapid progress can be made when innovative technologies are twinned with an enabling, forward-looking policy and regulatory environment which stimulates supply as well as demand.
IT infrastructure maintenance to save cost by 30%
By Bankole Orimisan
IN an effort to reduce operating cost in the country, Venema Advies Nigeria Limited,has said a professionally maintained information technology (IT) infrastructure could save organisations operating costs (Opex) about 30 per cent.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Dick Venema, has said, that the practice where companies adopt what he described as ‘the break-fix model’, is costing firms huge sums of money, adding that lack of professional IT advice is responsible for this development.
Venema, who spoke over the weekend in Lagos, said: “This is not how it works; in most cases, equipment is not broken; it is just badly maintained. This is usually due to the absence technical knowledge of IT by consultants and bad advice from some of the IT companies. Very high IT cost results from this as companies just keep on spending. Companies can optimise IT just by maintaining it well. That will reduce the cost that companies have by buying new equipment every time that something goes wrong. I think for most companies, they can save about 30 per cent at least a year by just maintaining the environment right as in good service. This, however, should not be limited to equipment but everything must be kept running smoothly.
He noted that It all begins with the right advice and if the consultant who advises the company has no knowledge of what is happening in the IT world, he would not be able to advise the chief information officer (CIO) or CEO on the right solutions.”
He cited internet connections as where a lot of companies are still running on slow satellite connection while optic fibre cable (OFC) is available through the street.
He said though OFC connection might be expensive over satellite or aerial connection, it has the advantage of stability.
He said: “What we see in Nigeria is that most companies are spending a lot of money on IT and still it is not working. So what we would like to offer them is a free cloud assessment of the current environment and to see how we can upgrade to a private or public cloud without any or minimal capital cost. No public datacenter or rack space is needed. Your own private cloud in your company without high costs upfront. We deliver complete private clouds with subscription models for VMWare, Microsoft, Symantec, RES and Trend Micro.”
He said the firm is partnering with Immarsat, a satellite firm, to bring capacities into the country at affordable prices to boost the economy, adding that connectivity is central to economic prosperity. He said: “The Global Express technology that Inmarsat presented at AfriCom in South Africa, promises to deliver a higher capacity for prices basically comparable to the fibre connections here in Nigeria. “For companies which don’t have access to fibre connection, they still can get this 50 megabytes (Mb) speed by satellite. There is a long way to go in Nigeria for national fibre coverage. A lot of companies are still on satellite. Attaining a 10-20Mb speed for a comparable price brings cloud computing closer for companies that do not have high capacity access now. Inmarsat has a strategic alliance with Cisco to develop a platform for more advanced applications such as TV-on- demand, tele-presence and collaborative working.”
He said the company is working towards delivering complete IT solutions together with its partners, adding that with services and products, it delivers turnkey projects related to connectivity, computing environments and communication.
“We can build cloud or traditional ICT environments, we can transfer them, and we can maintain at any environment that is needed by a company. Together with our international partners, we all create the best possible IT solutions,” he said, urging companies to take advantage of the free assessment it is offering firms in the country to save cost and increase productivity.
IN an effort to reduce operating cost in the country, Venema Advies Nigeria Limited,has said a professionally maintained information technology (IT) infrastructure could save organisations operating costs (Opex) about 30 per cent.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Dick Venema, has said, that the practice where companies adopt what he described as ‘the break-fix model’, is costing firms huge sums of money, adding that lack of professional IT advice is responsible for this development.
Venema, who spoke over the weekend in Lagos, said: “This is not how it works; in most cases, equipment is not broken; it is just badly maintained. This is usually due to the absence technical knowledge of IT by consultants and bad advice from some of the IT companies. Very high IT cost results from this as companies just keep on spending. Companies can optimise IT just by maintaining it well. That will reduce the cost that companies have by buying new equipment every time that something goes wrong. I think for most companies, they can save about 30 per cent at least a year by just maintaining the environment right as in good service. This, however, should not be limited to equipment but everything must be kept running smoothly.
He noted that It all begins with the right advice and if the consultant who advises the company has no knowledge of what is happening in the IT world, he would not be able to advise the chief information officer (CIO) or CEO on the right solutions.”
He cited internet connections as where a lot of companies are still running on slow satellite connection while optic fibre cable (OFC) is available through the street.
He said though OFC connection might be expensive over satellite or aerial connection, it has the advantage of stability.
He said: “What we see in Nigeria is that most companies are spending a lot of money on IT and still it is not working. So what we would like to offer them is a free cloud assessment of the current environment and to see how we can upgrade to a private or public cloud without any or minimal capital cost. No public datacenter or rack space is needed. Your own private cloud in your company without high costs upfront. We deliver complete private clouds with subscription models for VMWare, Microsoft, Symantec, RES and Trend Micro.”
He said the firm is partnering with Immarsat, a satellite firm, to bring capacities into the country at affordable prices to boost the economy, adding that connectivity is central to economic prosperity. He said: “The Global Express technology that Inmarsat presented at AfriCom in South Africa, promises to deliver a higher capacity for prices basically comparable to the fibre connections here in Nigeria. “For companies which don’t have access to fibre connection, they still can get this 50 megabytes (Mb) speed by satellite. There is a long way to go in Nigeria for national fibre coverage. A lot of companies are still on satellite. Attaining a 10-20Mb speed for a comparable price brings cloud computing closer for companies that do not have high capacity access now. Inmarsat has a strategic alliance with Cisco to develop a platform for more advanced applications such as TV-on- demand, tele-presence and collaborative working.”
He said the company is working towards delivering complete IT solutions together with its partners, adding that with services and products, it delivers turnkey projects related to connectivity, computing environments and communication.
“We can build cloud or traditional ICT environments, we can transfer them, and we can maintain at any environment that is needed by a company. Together with our international partners, we all create the best possible IT solutions,” he said, urging companies to take advantage of the free assessment it is offering firms in the country to save cost and increase productivity.
Global fake software losses hit billions of dollars yearly
By Bankole Orimisan
ONLINE piracy is usually associated with illegally downloading and copying movies, TV shows, music, games and books, but another industry is also greatly affected by this kind of theft: computer software.
Since most people defend their decision to illegally download or buy counterfeit software by saying that they do it in order to save money, the irony is that it could cost them dearly in the end.
A study which was conducted by market research company International Data Corporation (IDC) on behalf of Microsoft, revealed that software piracy is not only costing the software manufacturers, developers and resellers money, but that consumers and businesses are losing billions of dollars due to losses they suffer because they have used counterfeit software. In the end, it would have often cost less to just buy the real software.
The IDC study, called “The Dangerous World of Counterfeit and Pirated Software”, found that the chances of infection due to unexpected malware were one in three for consumers and three in ten for businesses, and that consumers would spend an estimated 1.5 billion hours and $22 billion identifying, repairing and recovering from the impact of the malware, while it would cause global businesses to shell out approximately $144 billion in 2013. IDC said that potential losses from data breaches could reach nearly $350 billion this year.
Pirated software refers to software that has been knowingly and illegally duplicated and distributed and is unlicensed. Counterfeit software is fake software presented as the genuine article, and it often contains a nasty surprise in the form of malware that has already been embedded into it, which is why it puts so many consumers’ and businesses’ machines and networks at risk.
Most of the victims are actually honest consumers who buy seemingly great computer deals from rogue sellers. In the beginning of this year, when many people were buying computers for their kids for university and school and for themselves to use at the office or at home, there was actually a police raid at two branches of a prominent computer dealer in Pretoria, who faced allegations of having sold counterfeit software and PCs loaded with illegal software to unsuspecting customers. When you fall victim in this way, you only realise that your software is invalid and your machine therefore basically unusable once you have to validate the software online by entering the license key.
This could become a major problem again soon, as we enter the holiday shopping season. Although the IDC survey didn’t include South Africa, Microsoft South Africa conducted an informal survey of their own and found that close to a third of respondents had unwittingly installed pirated software on their computers in the past two years, which means that they have had to spend time and money recovering from the project – time that could have been better spent on more productive pursuits, such as building their businesses.
Users should stick to buying software and computers from accredited dealers. If a deal is too good to be true, it usually is. And another way to ensure that you are buying genuine software is to make sure that a certificate of authenticity and the original media has been provided.
ONLINE piracy is usually associated with illegally downloading and copying movies, TV shows, music, games and books, but another industry is also greatly affected by this kind of theft: computer software.
Since most people defend their decision to illegally download or buy counterfeit software by saying that they do it in order to save money, the irony is that it could cost them dearly in the end.
A study which was conducted by market research company International Data Corporation (IDC) on behalf of Microsoft, revealed that software piracy is not only costing the software manufacturers, developers and resellers money, but that consumers and businesses are losing billions of dollars due to losses they suffer because they have used counterfeit software. In the end, it would have often cost less to just buy the real software.
The IDC study, called “The Dangerous World of Counterfeit and Pirated Software”, found that the chances of infection due to unexpected malware were one in three for consumers and three in ten for businesses, and that consumers would spend an estimated 1.5 billion hours and $22 billion identifying, repairing and recovering from the impact of the malware, while it would cause global businesses to shell out approximately $144 billion in 2013. IDC said that potential losses from data breaches could reach nearly $350 billion this year.
Pirated software refers to software that has been knowingly and illegally duplicated and distributed and is unlicensed. Counterfeit software is fake software presented as the genuine article, and it often contains a nasty surprise in the form of malware that has already been embedded into it, which is why it puts so many consumers’ and businesses’ machines and networks at risk.
Most of the victims are actually honest consumers who buy seemingly great computer deals from rogue sellers. In the beginning of this year, when many people were buying computers for their kids for university and school and for themselves to use at the office or at home, there was actually a police raid at two branches of a prominent computer dealer in Pretoria, who faced allegations of having sold counterfeit software and PCs loaded with illegal software to unsuspecting customers. When you fall victim in this way, you only realise that your software is invalid and your machine therefore basically unusable once you have to validate the software online by entering the license key.
This could become a major problem again soon, as we enter the holiday shopping season. Although the IDC survey didn’t include South Africa, Microsoft South Africa conducted an informal survey of their own and found that close to a third of respondents had unwittingly installed pirated software on their computers in the past two years, which means that they have had to spend time and money recovering from the project – time that could have been better spent on more productive pursuits, such as building their businesses.
Users should stick to buying software and computers from accredited dealers. If a deal is too good to be true, it usually is. And another way to ensure that you are buying genuine software is to make sure that a certificate of authenticity and the original media has been provided.
Survey sees rise in mobile phone peddling in Nigeria
By Bankole Orimisan
THE high volume of counterfeit and sub-standard mobile phones especially and some other products in the Nigerians market is threat to Nigeria’s economy, raising serious doubts on current efforts by the Federal Government to resuscitate the real sector to contribute meaningfully to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the country.
Recently in Nigeria, it is estimated that over 55 per cent of imported products are fake and substandard.
An estimated N15 billion is believed to be lost yearly to fake or counterfeit goods in terms of loss of tax revenue to the government, income to local manufacturers, and employment generation to Nigerians.
In fact, it is a tragedy to report that in Nigeria, for every fast selling genuine product circulating, counterfeiters would either pirate or produce something similar without regards for standards and specifications.
A ‘grey’ market is where a product is bought and sold outside of the manufacturer’s authorised trading channels, but the products are originally produced by the brand.
Speaking to some dealers operating at the Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos, which is the biggest open market for computer and phones in Nigeria, it was gathered that some stores now mix original products with substandard ones, as well as grey products.
In an interview with our correspondent, the Chief Executive Officer, PTV Phones, Banji Adesanmi, said that the sales of substandard phones in the country had prevailed for a very long time and had generated a lot of complaints among consumers.
He pointed out that there were cases of ‘fake’ phones in the market, which are products of desperate dealers, who want to leverage on the names of popular brands.
According to him, some importers also bring in some unpopular brands into the country, which do not meet quality control tests, and have no warranty structure or after sales service.
He said, “The only warranty they have is when customers come and complain at their shops, they either replace the product or look for other things to do. The irony of this is that, such customer will to get another substandard phone for the one being replaced.”
Reacting on what is currently obtainable in most phone markets, Adesanmi said, “There are some people, for the sake of getting one or two dollars addition on a product, who can go as far as selling substandard phones. The sizes of some of these phone dealers do not matter. We know some of them that can fall for this.”
The PTV boss explained that some dealers mix ‘used’ phones with new phones, but only change the casing to deceive consumers.
“Now people sell two original phones with two ‘grey’ or ‘used’ phones. They just put the ‘used’ phones in new casing. Consumers should watch out for this. Before, we used to have people who do just ‘fake phones,’ but now, most of them mix their stock,” he added.
He said the influence of ‘grey’ market was a function of branding, adding that some brands have big cases of the menace, while for others, it has remained minimal.
To counter ‘grey’ marketing, the PTV boss said phone manufacturers should be smart with the pricing of their products as ‘grey’ products were patronised because of their cheap nature, though qualitative.
He said, “Producers should differentiate the product by codes like the IMEI numbers or stickers, and provide after sales service on genuine products.
“In Nigeria, some brands have advanced intelligence to detect large volumes of their product brought into the country via ‘grey’ channels.”
The Phones and Allied Products Dealers Association (Computer Village chapter) had, in September this year, said the Nigerian phone market had the potential to grow more if operators remained fair in their competition.
The association noted that every brand needed a level playing field to operate in the country.
The President of the association ,Godfrey Nwosu, said that the body remained committed to protecting the interest of all players in the market.
He said the Computer Village was the biggest Information and Communications Technology market in sub-Sahara Africa, but currently on a downward trend owing to some unwholesome market practices.
Nwosu said it was important that phone brands in the market adhered to the ideal rules of engagement, adding that air competition remained very critical to the continuous existence and progress of the Computer Village.
According to him, the market had over 4,000 traders, with an average trader employing about four persons.
The PAPDA president, therefore, called on the government to position the Computer Village for further growth of the economy, owing to its huge wealth-creation potential.
To this end, the Nigerian Communications Commission had, in the past, given an ultimatum to phone manufacturers and distributors selling unapproved phones at the Computer Village to get an approval for their phones at the regulatory body’s office or face serious sanctions.
This followed a massive clampdown by the enforcement unit of the NCC on manufacturers of phones not approved for the Nigerian market.
The NCC is required to approve mobile telephones and any other telecoms equipment before they can be sold and used in Nigeria.
The NCC said the action became necessary due to the fact that some of the mobile phones flooding the Nigerian market had yet to be approved by the commission.
The Head of Enforcement, NCC, Idehen Efosa, was quoted as saying that the commission would not relent in its efforts until every phone imported into the country had been approved.
He said, “We are not asking them to stop selling in the Nigerian market, what we want is for every manufacturer or distributor to submit their phones for approval, and if it passes the test, they can go ahead with business.
“Nigerians must learn to conform to laws guiding the state. Inasmuch as we want the Nigerian economy to grow, it must grow obeying the rules of the industry.”
THE high volume of counterfeit and sub-standard mobile phones especially and some other products in the Nigerians market is threat to Nigeria’s economy, raising serious doubts on current efforts by the Federal Government to resuscitate the real sector to contribute meaningfully to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In the country.
Recently in Nigeria, it is estimated that over 55 per cent of imported products are fake and substandard.
An estimated N15 billion is believed to be lost yearly to fake or counterfeit goods in terms of loss of tax revenue to the government, income to local manufacturers, and employment generation to Nigerians.
In fact, it is a tragedy to report that in Nigeria, for every fast selling genuine product circulating, counterfeiters would either pirate or produce something similar without regards for standards and specifications.
A ‘grey’ market is where a product is bought and sold outside of the manufacturer’s authorised trading channels, but the products are originally produced by the brand.
Speaking to some dealers operating at the Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos, which is the biggest open market for computer and phones in Nigeria, it was gathered that some stores now mix original products with substandard ones, as well as grey products.
In an interview with our correspondent, the Chief Executive Officer, PTV Phones, Banji Adesanmi, said that the sales of substandard phones in the country had prevailed for a very long time and had generated a lot of complaints among consumers.
He pointed out that there were cases of ‘fake’ phones in the market, which are products of desperate dealers, who want to leverage on the names of popular brands.
According to him, some importers also bring in some unpopular brands into the country, which do not meet quality control tests, and have no warranty structure or after sales service.
He said, “The only warranty they have is when customers come and complain at their shops, they either replace the product or look for other things to do. The irony of this is that, such customer will to get another substandard phone for the one being replaced.”
Reacting on what is currently obtainable in most phone markets, Adesanmi said, “There are some people, for the sake of getting one or two dollars addition on a product, who can go as far as selling substandard phones. The sizes of some of these phone dealers do not matter. We know some of them that can fall for this.”
The PTV boss explained that some dealers mix ‘used’ phones with new phones, but only change the casing to deceive consumers.
“Now people sell two original phones with two ‘grey’ or ‘used’ phones. They just put the ‘used’ phones in new casing. Consumers should watch out for this. Before, we used to have people who do just ‘fake phones,’ but now, most of them mix their stock,” he added.
He said the influence of ‘grey’ market was a function of branding, adding that some brands have big cases of the menace, while for others, it has remained minimal.
To counter ‘grey’ marketing, the PTV boss said phone manufacturers should be smart with the pricing of their products as ‘grey’ products were patronised because of their cheap nature, though qualitative.
He said, “Producers should differentiate the product by codes like the IMEI numbers or stickers, and provide after sales service on genuine products.
“In Nigeria, some brands have advanced intelligence to detect large volumes of their product brought into the country via ‘grey’ channels.”
The Phones and Allied Products Dealers Association (Computer Village chapter) had, in September this year, said the Nigerian phone market had the potential to grow more if operators remained fair in their competition.
The association noted that every brand needed a level playing field to operate in the country.
The President of the association ,Godfrey Nwosu, said that the body remained committed to protecting the interest of all players in the market.
He said the Computer Village was the biggest Information and Communications Technology market in sub-Sahara Africa, but currently on a downward trend owing to some unwholesome market practices.
Nwosu said it was important that phone brands in the market adhered to the ideal rules of engagement, adding that air competition remained very critical to the continuous existence and progress of the Computer Village.
According to him, the market had over 4,000 traders, with an average trader employing about four persons.
The PAPDA president, therefore, called on the government to position the Computer Village for further growth of the economy, owing to its huge wealth-creation potential.
To this end, the Nigerian Communications Commission had, in the past, given an ultimatum to phone manufacturers and distributors selling unapproved phones at the Computer Village to get an approval for their phones at the regulatory body’s office or face serious sanctions.
This followed a massive clampdown by the enforcement unit of the NCC on manufacturers of phones not approved for the Nigerian market.
The NCC is required to approve mobile telephones and any other telecoms equipment before they can be sold and used in Nigeria.
The NCC said the action became necessary due to the fact that some of the mobile phones flooding the Nigerian market had yet to be approved by the commission.
The Head of Enforcement, NCC, Idehen Efosa, was quoted as saying that the commission would not relent in its efforts until every phone imported into the country had been approved.
He said, “We are not asking them to stop selling in the Nigerian market, what we want is for every manufacturer or distributor to submit their phones for approval, and if it passes the test, they can go ahead with business.
“Nigerians must learn to conform to laws guiding the state. Inasmuch as we want the Nigerian economy to grow, it must grow obeying the rules of the industry.”
‘Nigeria needs to step up fight against influx of fake mobile phones'
By Bankole Orimisan
Banji Adesanmi is the Chief Executive Officer of Peace Tiding Ventures (PTV) Ltd. PTV recently unveiled a new corporate identity as a full-fledged ICT firm. In this interview with BANKOLE ORIMISAN, he spoke on the ICT Industry and its potential in Nigeria. Excerpt
How would you describe Nigeria’s ICT industry?
The level of sophistication in the industry has increased. Movement of data and communication is easier and faster. Ipad, Phones and Computers can now transfer data. In terms of ICT industry, it is growing and the quality of what is being offered is comparable with the world. The only area to improve on is in the quality of Internet as this will increase the depth of ICT in Nigeria. The transfer of data needs to be achieved more. The industry is exciting as you can check bank account online and a host of other things. Despite the noticeable improvements in the ICT industry, there is the huge need to accelerate further growth. The quality of Internet as I stated before needs to be considerably improved. This is very important to further sustain the growth in the industry.
You said the industry’s sophistication has increased. To what extent do you think government has helped in this regard?
The problem from the government’s side is a generic one for businesses. The problem of injustice has to be resolved. The courts should accelerate the process of justice. Businesses face a lot of encumbrances like power and it hampers our operations. We cannot even interlink our branches due to power failure.
There are technologies in the U.S that you can give instructions during any season through the Internet. You cannot do all these where there is no infrastructure underneath. One of our staff engaged in fraud and it took us four and half years to prosecute the case amidst frustration. When there is justice and order, the Government can then provide infrastructure.
The provision of infrastructure to support business should be the major priority of government as this has hampered a lot of activities. Without solid infrastructural development, the ICT industry cannot achieve desired growth. This is one serious concern to the stakeholders in the ICT industry. When government provides the enabling environment, growth becomes a consistent phenomenon.
What informed the name PTV?
We have been in the market since inception. The Nigerian market is evolving and changing. We as a brand need to rebrand to provide service to every strata of the society. Now, we are transiting to full ICT company. Whatever segment you are in the Nigerian market, we will meet you. We also want to support the loyalty of our customers; they want us to provide other offerings and this informed our decision to expand the coast of our businesses. We want to amplify the customer experience and engage customers more. We are providing integrity alongside exceptional customer satisfaction.
It is also impertinent to state that PTV remains a credible brand name in the ICT Industry. We are leveraging a positive brand heritage to sustain a solid pedigree. PTV has the ambition to occupy the foremost position as Nigeria’s number one phone and electronic retail store. We have over 18 branches across key geographical locations in Nigeria and the strategy is to appeal to every strata of the society. PTV is not just a name but a brand that builds close affinity with customers. We have retooled our internal processes as part of our strategic goal to remain a pro-active and dynamic organisation.
As a player in the device market of Nigeria, how have you been coping with the influx of fake mobile phones?
The influx of fake and substandard phones is capable of crippling the phone market. It also impacts on the nation’s economy negatively. The truth is that the prevalence of fake handsets has denied the average consumers the opportunity of getting value for their hard earned money. The trickle down effects is that consumers begin to lose confidence in the ability of the market to deliver standard telephone handsets due to the prevalence of all these fake phones.
The issue is not new as it has been there from day one. There are also worst issues such as substandard phones without quality control and warranty service. The way PTV responded to this is that we do not engage in this act. We know ourselves in the industry but for us in PTV, we have focused on integrity. This has really worked for us and we stay away from such acts.
What of grey market activities?
The Grey market thrives as a function of the effectiveness of the brand to protect their brands in the warranted market. The advantage of Nigerian warranty is that customers go to their phone outlets directly when the brands came. To kill grey market, it has to be countered with prices. The products also need to be differentiated. Service should also be provided to back up the original brands. It is a function of each brand as it depends on their response to such issues. The phone brands also attempt to blacklist such from their loyalty scheme.
How would you assess future of Nigeria’s phone market?
When we started, what we recognized was the ability to carry huge boxes of phones but the market is changing, customers now want to come directly to stores to ask questions. In those days, we did not have time to respond to questions but now the future is that customers have to be attended to.
That is the future of the market. People want answers as customers should not just go home with devices only. Now, when people come in, we profile them before providing phones to them. We have discovered over time that customer relationship management is very important. This is the more reason we want to leverage on exemplary customer service. Customers want to be given utmost priority as they want to have touch points that give them satisfaction
Banji Adesanmi is the Chief Executive Officer of Peace Tiding Ventures (PTV) Ltd. PTV recently unveiled a new corporate identity as a full-fledged ICT firm. In this interview with BANKOLE ORIMISAN, he spoke on the ICT Industry and its potential in Nigeria. Excerpt
How would you describe Nigeria’s ICT industry?
The level of sophistication in the industry has increased. Movement of data and communication is easier and faster. Ipad, Phones and Computers can now transfer data. In terms of ICT industry, it is growing and the quality of what is being offered is comparable with the world. The only area to improve on is in the quality of Internet as this will increase the depth of ICT in Nigeria. The transfer of data needs to be achieved more. The industry is exciting as you can check bank account online and a host of other things. Despite the noticeable improvements in the ICT industry, there is the huge need to accelerate further growth. The quality of Internet as I stated before needs to be considerably improved. This is very important to further sustain the growth in the industry.
You said the industry’s sophistication has increased. To what extent do you think government has helped in this regard?
The problem from the government’s side is a generic one for businesses. The problem of injustice has to be resolved. The courts should accelerate the process of justice. Businesses face a lot of encumbrances like power and it hampers our operations. We cannot even interlink our branches due to power failure.
There are technologies in the U.S that you can give instructions during any season through the Internet. You cannot do all these where there is no infrastructure underneath. One of our staff engaged in fraud and it took us four and half years to prosecute the case amidst frustration. When there is justice and order, the Government can then provide infrastructure.
The provision of infrastructure to support business should be the major priority of government as this has hampered a lot of activities. Without solid infrastructural development, the ICT industry cannot achieve desired growth. This is one serious concern to the stakeholders in the ICT industry. When government provides the enabling environment, growth becomes a consistent phenomenon.
What informed the name PTV?
We have been in the market since inception. The Nigerian market is evolving and changing. We as a brand need to rebrand to provide service to every strata of the society. Now, we are transiting to full ICT company. Whatever segment you are in the Nigerian market, we will meet you. We also want to support the loyalty of our customers; they want us to provide other offerings and this informed our decision to expand the coast of our businesses. We want to amplify the customer experience and engage customers more. We are providing integrity alongside exceptional customer satisfaction.
It is also impertinent to state that PTV remains a credible brand name in the ICT Industry. We are leveraging a positive brand heritage to sustain a solid pedigree. PTV has the ambition to occupy the foremost position as Nigeria’s number one phone and electronic retail store. We have over 18 branches across key geographical locations in Nigeria and the strategy is to appeal to every strata of the society. PTV is not just a name but a brand that builds close affinity with customers. We have retooled our internal processes as part of our strategic goal to remain a pro-active and dynamic organisation.
As a player in the device market of Nigeria, how have you been coping with the influx of fake mobile phones?
The influx of fake and substandard phones is capable of crippling the phone market. It also impacts on the nation’s economy negatively. The truth is that the prevalence of fake handsets has denied the average consumers the opportunity of getting value for their hard earned money. The trickle down effects is that consumers begin to lose confidence in the ability of the market to deliver standard telephone handsets due to the prevalence of all these fake phones.
The issue is not new as it has been there from day one. There are also worst issues such as substandard phones without quality control and warranty service. The way PTV responded to this is that we do not engage in this act. We know ourselves in the industry but for us in PTV, we have focused on integrity. This has really worked for us and we stay away from such acts.
What of grey market activities?
The Grey market thrives as a function of the effectiveness of the brand to protect their brands in the warranted market. The advantage of Nigerian warranty is that customers go to their phone outlets directly when the brands came. To kill grey market, it has to be countered with prices. The products also need to be differentiated. Service should also be provided to back up the original brands. It is a function of each brand as it depends on their response to such issues. The phone brands also attempt to blacklist such from their loyalty scheme.
How would you assess future of Nigeria’s phone market?
When we started, what we recognized was the ability to carry huge boxes of phones but the market is changing, customers now want to come directly to stores to ask questions. In those days, we did not have time to respond to questions but now the future is that customers have to be attended to.
That is the future of the market. People want answers as customers should not just go home with devices only. Now, when people come in, we profile them before providing phones to them. We have discovered over time that customer relationship management is very important. This is the more reason we want to leverage on exemplary customer service. Customers want to be given utmost priority as they want to have touch points that give them satisfaction
TECNO empowers local software developers
By Bankole Orimisan
LEADING mobile phone maker TECNO mobile, has showed off its commitments in supporting and encouraging local software developers by rewarding winners of indigenous and local software developers.
The event, which was held in Lagos, saw the Platinum winner carting home the sum of N1million and a TECNO smartphone. Other winners in Gold and silver category took home the sum of N500, 000 and N250, 000 with smartphones respectively while smartphone prizes were also given to multiple entries winners.
The Deputy General Manager, TECNO Mobile, Chidi Oknkwo, said: “This is the first edition commenced in 1st June, 2013 with the invitation of software developers to participate in the App challenge with the aim of identifying and rewarding creativity and technological knowledge, in other words, ‘an application created by you for you.’”
According to him, apart from supporting local developers, the award ceremony was also part of the company’s corporate social responsibility. TECNO is not only in Africa to provide the best phone devices but also to serve the people and help in discovering talents in Nigeria in other to support local developers in improving their skills in mobile apps development.
Nigeria, he said would soon be rubbing shoulders with the rest of the world in software developing as a result of her various programmes in creating world class applications that would meet the real needs of phone users. He said, TECNO in partnership with co- creation Hub will continue to encourage and support indigenous local software developers.
In his word, TECNO’s goal is to join and collaborate with other ICT firms to discover more local talents in software developing. We want to help in transforming lives of millions of Nigerians especially the youths through this kind of initiative and we are also planning to have much wider software developing training support for talents in Nigeria.
He maintained that TECNO had committed to building appealing, easy- to- use mobile apps to help Nigeria phone users enjoy their TECNO devices better. Our core business is applications and technology development. We recognized the need for partnership and collaboration because fast growing portfolio of mobile applications would be fueled by efficient developer ecosystem, Chidi said,
TECNO mobile which recently launched Phantom AIII into Nigerian market has transform the software developer experience with Phantom A+, creating an open platform to enable developers especially the local ones to leverage their range of skills! While in the same time making provision for them with tools to simplify the development process.
LEADING mobile phone maker TECNO mobile, has showed off its commitments in supporting and encouraging local software developers by rewarding winners of indigenous and local software developers.
The event, which was held in Lagos, saw the Platinum winner carting home the sum of N1million and a TECNO smartphone. Other winners in Gold and silver category took home the sum of N500, 000 and N250, 000 with smartphones respectively while smartphone prizes were also given to multiple entries winners.
The Deputy General Manager, TECNO Mobile, Chidi Oknkwo, said: “This is the first edition commenced in 1st June, 2013 with the invitation of software developers to participate in the App challenge with the aim of identifying and rewarding creativity and technological knowledge, in other words, ‘an application created by you for you.’”
According to him, apart from supporting local developers, the award ceremony was also part of the company’s corporate social responsibility. TECNO is not only in Africa to provide the best phone devices but also to serve the people and help in discovering talents in Nigeria in other to support local developers in improving their skills in mobile apps development.
Nigeria, he said would soon be rubbing shoulders with the rest of the world in software developing as a result of her various programmes in creating world class applications that would meet the real needs of phone users. He said, TECNO in partnership with co- creation Hub will continue to encourage and support indigenous local software developers.
In his word, TECNO’s goal is to join and collaborate with other ICT firms to discover more local talents in software developing. We want to help in transforming lives of millions of Nigerians especially the youths through this kind of initiative and we are also planning to have much wider software developing training support for talents in Nigeria.
He maintained that TECNO had committed to building appealing, easy- to- use mobile apps to help Nigeria phone users enjoy their TECNO devices better. Our core business is applications and technology development. We recognized the need for partnership and collaboration because fast growing portfolio of mobile applications would be fueled by efficient developer ecosystem, Chidi said,
TECNO mobile which recently launched Phantom AIII into Nigerian market has transform the software developer experience with Phantom A+, creating an open platform to enable developers especially the local ones to leverage their range of skills! While in the same time making provision for them with tools to simplify the development process.
‘Why solar-powered BTS is unpopular in Nigeria’
By Bankole Orimisan
THE cost of acquiring land, solar panels and vandalism are some of the reasons why telecom operators are not embracing renewable energy as alternative energy source to fossil fuels, which is costlier and less environment-friendly.
Chief Executive Officer, Prostar Global Energy Limited, Hyacint Udemba, said that subscribers should not expect any further reduction in end user tariffs because the federal government failed to provide the requisite infrastructure and security to the operators.
According to him, the threat of vandalism is one major factor operators cannot embrace the use of renewable energy even in the face of rising cost of petroleum products.
“The challenges associated with providing renewable energy to the BTS are many. Number one is the capacity of the BTS. The amount of solar panels required will occupy a large surface area and there are problems getting land. They have to pay heavily to all manners of persons and groups. To get a piece of land to install solar panel which will be able to serve about 12,000 watts of power required by each BTS, you require a solar panel of not less than 10,000 watts and that will occupy a surface area of between 50-60 square meters. This is not easy,” he explained.
Udemba, who spoke at the over the weekend in Lagos, also decried the level of insecurity in the country.
“You have to provide security to the solar panels because they will be stolen. If people steal bridge rails, iron pipes used to protect people from running into the Atlantic Ocean, if they steal streetlights, they certainly will steal solar panels. So another factor is the security implication,” he said.
He recalled that the late General Sani Abacha attempted to use solar to power the communication system of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) but was frustrated as the panels were sabotaged by unscrupulous elements.
“When the late General Abacha was around, he commissioned the use of solar cells to power the railway communication gadgets but within six months of installation, they were all vandalised.
“Abacha was resuscitating rail transportation then and you cannot use the rail without having communication links as they move from one station to the other. Now to make sure that communication is enhanced, solar was used,” he said, lamenting that vandals ensured that it never saw the light of day,” he said.
However, “With the right infrastructure configuration at the cell site, a mobile operator can achieve both capital and operational cost savings, including a reduction in the cost per Watt of power to run each base station, whether from erratic grid supplies or when using diesel and alternative power sources,” says Peter Jackson, director for Communication Components, at Africa Com in Cape Town.
Jackson says: “Our message to operators everywhere is Optimise! Optimise! Optimise! Optimise the air interface, the RF plan, the network design, but don’t forget to optimise the cell site – how it’s equipped, configured and managed.”
Jackson said that while operators in countries such as South Africa and Nigeria were forging ahead with latest technology deployments and progress, many in the rest of Africa, whilst aspiring to latest technology roll-outs, were still relying, for the most part, on their existing 2G assets to deliver core services and revenues.
“Although we see many big operator groups in Africa, they don’t tend to dictate across the board that their regional companies adopt and use technology in a similar way because such an approach just won’t work; every country has its own unique challenges and effectiveness comes down to local decisions. Operating companies have their own legacies and no one size fits all. That’s why bespoke solutions and configurations of equipment at the cell site are so relevant.”
But Jackson has a key message to stress: “Bespoke is often a word which conjures up the image of being more expensive than an off-the-shelf solution. In the case of cell-site enhancement and optimisation solutions, however, bespoke does not need to be expensive and the dramatic improvement in network service capacity and quality such an approach will deliver, together with capex and opex savings, makes it an essential ‘no-brainer’ for operators.”
From using state-of-the-art Bi-Sector Array™ antennas and the latest power converter technology, together with effective engineering O&M regimes, including the latest in PIM (Passive Intermodulation) detection and rectification tools and procedures, cell site enhancement and optimization should be addressed as a matter of urgency for all operators.
Jackson concludes: “If you consider that Nigeria alone has some 20,000 base stations in operation and analysts project the country needs 70,000 to achieve optimum coverage for its rural and urban populations, for just a fraction of those to be underperforming without an effective cell site enhancement and optimization strategy, means operators are potentially throwing away major revenues and are unlikely to be delivering the quality of service they could.”
THE cost of acquiring land, solar panels and vandalism are some of the reasons why telecom operators are not embracing renewable energy as alternative energy source to fossil fuels, which is costlier and less environment-friendly.
Chief Executive Officer, Prostar Global Energy Limited, Hyacint Udemba, said that subscribers should not expect any further reduction in end user tariffs because the federal government failed to provide the requisite infrastructure and security to the operators.
According to him, the threat of vandalism is one major factor operators cannot embrace the use of renewable energy even in the face of rising cost of petroleum products.
“The challenges associated with providing renewable energy to the BTS are many. Number one is the capacity of the BTS. The amount of solar panels required will occupy a large surface area and there are problems getting land. They have to pay heavily to all manners of persons and groups. To get a piece of land to install solar panel which will be able to serve about 12,000 watts of power required by each BTS, you require a solar panel of not less than 10,000 watts and that will occupy a surface area of between 50-60 square meters. This is not easy,” he explained.
Udemba, who spoke at the over the weekend in Lagos, also decried the level of insecurity in the country.
“You have to provide security to the solar panels because they will be stolen. If people steal bridge rails, iron pipes used to protect people from running into the Atlantic Ocean, if they steal streetlights, they certainly will steal solar panels. So another factor is the security implication,” he said.
He recalled that the late General Sani Abacha attempted to use solar to power the communication system of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) but was frustrated as the panels were sabotaged by unscrupulous elements.
“When the late General Abacha was around, he commissioned the use of solar cells to power the railway communication gadgets but within six months of installation, they were all vandalised.
“Abacha was resuscitating rail transportation then and you cannot use the rail without having communication links as they move from one station to the other. Now to make sure that communication is enhanced, solar was used,” he said, lamenting that vandals ensured that it never saw the light of day,” he said.
However, “With the right infrastructure configuration at the cell site, a mobile operator can achieve both capital and operational cost savings, including a reduction in the cost per Watt of power to run each base station, whether from erratic grid supplies or when using diesel and alternative power sources,” says Peter Jackson, director for Communication Components, at Africa Com in Cape Town.
Jackson says: “Our message to operators everywhere is Optimise! Optimise! Optimise! Optimise the air interface, the RF plan, the network design, but don’t forget to optimise the cell site – how it’s equipped, configured and managed.”
Jackson said that while operators in countries such as South Africa and Nigeria were forging ahead with latest technology deployments and progress, many in the rest of Africa, whilst aspiring to latest technology roll-outs, were still relying, for the most part, on their existing 2G assets to deliver core services and revenues.
“Although we see many big operator groups in Africa, they don’t tend to dictate across the board that their regional companies adopt and use technology in a similar way because such an approach just won’t work; every country has its own unique challenges and effectiveness comes down to local decisions. Operating companies have their own legacies and no one size fits all. That’s why bespoke solutions and configurations of equipment at the cell site are so relevant.”
But Jackson has a key message to stress: “Bespoke is often a word which conjures up the image of being more expensive than an off-the-shelf solution. In the case of cell-site enhancement and optimisation solutions, however, bespoke does not need to be expensive and the dramatic improvement in network service capacity and quality such an approach will deliver, together with capex and opex savings, makes it an essential ‘no-brainer’ for operators.”
From using state-of-the-art Bi-Sector Array™ antennas and the latest power converter technology, together with effective engineering O&M regimes, including the latest in PIM (Passive Intermodulation) detection and rectification tools and procedures, cell site enhancement and optimization should be addressed as a matter of urgency for all operators.
Jackson concludes: “If you consider that Nigeria alone has some 20,000 base stations in operation and analysts project the country needs 70,000 to achieve optimum coverage for its rural and urban populations, for just a fraction of those to be underperforming without an effective cell site enhancement and optimization strategy, means operators are potentially throwing away major revenues and are unlikely to be delivering the quality of service they could.”
2.3GHz auction: Giving broadband penetration a new drive
By Bankole Orimisan
THE ongoing plans by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to auction fresh spectrum in the 2.3GHz frequency band is set to lead to broadband explosion that would make high-speed Internet services more accessible to Nigerians businesses, government and individual telecoms consumers.
Nigeria’s telecoms industry is on the verge of witnessing another revolution that will speed up broadband Internet penetration in the country, a development that will be made possible by the ongoing activities by the Nigerian Communications Commission to auction new spectrum that will be used to deliver high-speed Internet services to Nigerians.
12 years after liberalising telecommunications sector in Nigeria, the sector has grown in leaps and bounds, but only mobile segment is the most active and fastest and fastest growing segment of the Nigerian telecommunications industry with a subscriber base of 121.3 million and a penetration/teledensity of 86.62 per cent as at the end of the third quarter of 2013.
As at 2001, telecoms subscriptions in the country stood at around 400, 000 fixed lines while teledensity stood at 0.73 per cent.
On the other hand, data or Internet services are still relatively underdeveloped despite having grown significantly in the past years. As at 2004, Internet penetration, based on percentage of Internet users per population, was at only three per cent but as at the end of 2011, it was estimated to be about 28 per cent.
In 2012, percentage of Internet users moved to 32.9 per cent but industry experts said that that might have increased to more than 36 per cent at the end of December, last year, with more than 55 million people connected to the Internet compared to 121.3 million with active telephone subscriptions.
However, the Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, has declared that in spite of the steady growth in Internet, broadband penetration was still very low at six per cent.
This is in spite of the over 10 terabytes of bandwidth capacity available in the country, made possible by the landing of international submarine/ fibre optic cables such as Glo 1, Main One and the West Africa Cable System, but which are still heavily lying in the sea shores.
For instance, the Chief Executive Officer, Main One, Ms Funke Opeke, has disclosed that only about five per cent of the bandwidth capacity available on Main One undersea cable was used, leaving 95 per cent of the capacity redundant, though available for use.
Other cables are facing similar under-utilisation challenge as they are facing the problem of last-mile connectivity, especially without available spectrum to deploy the capacity to make broadband service variables and accessible to Nigerians.
It was this challenge of low broadband penetration that the NCC decided to address through its ongoing activities to license fresh spectrum that will be used in deploying broadband services, which will help businesses and individuals in the area of efficiency and productivity.
Throughout 2013, consultations on the best approach to license the remaining block of the 2.3 GHz spectrum in a way that would produce maximum economic value for government and the telecoms consumers, whose demand for broadband services had refuse to wane in recent years.
A spectrum auction is a process whereby a government uses an auction system to sell the rights (licences) to transmit signals over specific bands of the electromagnetic spectrum and to assign scarce spectrum resources.
Depending on the specific auction format used, a spectrum auction can last from a single day to several months from the opening bid to the final winning bid.
Though, some stakeholders have opposed NCC’s plan of auction to determine the licensee of the spectrum, the Commission has determined that an auction was a “fair, transparent and efficient process of assigning the spectrum.”
Licensing of the remaining 30MHz of the 2.3GHz spectrum, it was leant, was predicated on demands by operators for additional spectrum to enable the provision of wireless broadband services in line with international trends.
Though Internet users in Nigeria continue to grow, the Ministry of Communication Technology currently estimates the actual broadband Internet access penetration at about six per cent and for this to grow five-fold by 2017, licensing of the 2.3GHz spectrum has become imperative.
Already, the NCC had released the timetable on the auction process, which has begun in earnest, even as the licensee of spectrum is expected to merger by March 14, 2014.
In the meantime, the NCC had placed a minimum offer price of $23 million (about N3.6 billion) on the spectrum band to be auctioned to a sole provider of wholesale broadband services this year.
According to the NCC-released Information Memorandum, IM, which defines the process for licensing of unpaired spectrum in the 2.3 GHz band by the commission, the auction is in furtherance of the objectives of the federal government, as set out in the Nigerian National ICT Policy 2012 and the National Broadband Plan 2013, towards driving broadband penetration.
As a necessary prelude to the licensing process, the Commission had conducted series of stakeholder consultations to determine the demand level for spectrum, the approach to licensing and the potential interest of the consumers amongst other objectives.
As a result, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, said: “Based on the positive outcome of the consultations and the direction of the National Broadband Plan, the Commission has decided to undertake an auction to award a spectrum licence to build and operate networks in this spectrum band to provide Wholesale Wireless Access Services, WWASL in Nigeria.”
To qualify to bid in the auction process, the Commission said that applicants would not have to be licensed network operators in Nigeria. “However, the successful bidder will be granted a WWASL and specified fee to be paid before the licence will be issued. The tenure for the WWASL licence will be 10 years, subject to renewal.
It would be recalled that the formal licensing process started with the issuance of Public Notice No. 1/2013 on November 15, 2013 and continued with the release of the Information Memorandum, inviting parties to participate.
The release of the IM, NCC noted, would be followed by a period for the submission of questions to the Commission relating directly to the licensing process defined in the IM.
“All additional information including the answers to questions raised during the process will be made available through the Commission’s website and will form part of this IM. The identity of questioners will not be revealed,” NCC says in IM.
The spectrum is considered to be a valuable national resource for which commercials opportunities exist. The reserve price for a 10-year licence, which is set at $23 million, is the minimum commercial value of the licence.
According to the timetable of the auction process, the opening bid would be determined by the Commission as a reserve price plus the bid increments for the first round.
The opening bid shall be the minimum acceptable bid for the licence in the opening round of the auction.
On completion of the auction, the successful bidder will be deemed to have been awarded a provisional licence.
The successful bidder will, then, be required to pay the balance of the spectrum licence fee due to the Commission within 14 days from the date of the award of the provisional licence on March 14, 2014.
Since the deregulation of the telecoms sector, the NCC had chosen auction process as the transparent and fair way to allocate spectrum and not through arbitrary allocation to allocate spectrum to a particular region instead of another.
In 2001, the Commission licensed three digital mobile operators through an auction process that is widely adjudged to have been highly successful and transparent.
The licensing of a second national carrier and the fourth digital mobile operator in 2002 followed this.
The Nigerian Communications Act was signed into law in 2003 to strengthen the regulatory framework as well as to enhance the independence of the regulator.
By the end of 2004, there were two national carriers, four digital mobile operators and 24 fixed telephony providers of which six were Fixed Wireless Access operators.
In 2006, the NCC introduced the Unified Access Service Licensees, UASL, regime, to enable operators to take advantage of convergence in services and technology in order to offer better service.
In 2007, the Commission awarded a further UASL and spectrum licence to Etisalat, bringing the number of parties with national mobile licensees to five.
In addition, in 2007, the Commission award licences to Visafone in the 800MHz band, Alheri Engineering Company Limited in the 2100MHz, Celtel Nigeria Limited (now Airtel Nigeria) in the 2100MHz band, Globacom Limited in the 2100MHz band and MTN Nigeria Communications Limited in the 2100MHz band.
In 2008, the Commission issued International Submarine cable Infrastructure and Landing Stations Services licences to Main One Company Limited and subsequently to MTN in 2010.
In 2009, the Commission awarded the 2.3GHz spectrum to Spectranet Limited and Mobitel Nigeria Limited.
THE ongoing plans by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to auction fresh spectrum in the 2.3GHz frequency band is set to lead to broadband explosion that would make high-speed Internet services more accessible to Nigerians businesses, government and individual telecoms consumers.
Nigeria’s telecoms industry is on the verge of witnessing another revolution that will speed up broadband Internet penetration in the country, a development that will be made possible by the ongoing activities by the Nigerian Communications Commission to auction new spectrum that will be used to deliver high-speed Internet services to Nigerians.
12 years after liberalising telecommunications sector in Nigeria, the sector has grown in leaps and bounds, but only mobile segment is the most active and fastest and fastest growing segment of the Nigerian telecommunications industry with a subscriber base of 121.3 million and a penetration/teledensity of 86.62 per cent as at the end of the third quarter of 2013.
As at 2001, telecoms subscriptions in the country stood at around 400, 000 fixed lines while teledensity stood at 0.73 per cent.
On the other hand, data or Internet services are still relatively underdeveloped despite having grown significantly in the past years. As at 2004, Internet penetration, based on percentage of Internet users per population, was at only three per cent but as at the end of 2011, it was estimated to be about 28 per cent.
In 2012, percentage of Internet users moved to 32.9 per cent but industry experts said that that might have increased to more than 36 per cent at the end of December, last year, with more than 55 million people connected to the Internet compared to 121.3 million with active telephone subscriptions.
However, the Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, has declared that in spite of the steady growth in Internet, broadband penetration was still very low at six per cent.
This is in spite of the over 10 terabytes of bandwidth capacity available in the country, made possible by the landing of international submarine/ fibre optic cables such as Glo 1, Main One and the West Africa Cable System, but which are still heavily lying in the sea shores.
For instance, the Chief Executive Officer, Main One, Ms Funke Opeke, has disclosed that only about five per cent of the bandwidth capacity available on Main One undersea cable was used, leaving 95 per cent of the capacity redundant, though available for use.
Other cables are facing similar under-utilisation challenge as they are facing the problem of last-mile connectivity, especially without available spectrum to deploy the capacity to make broadband service variables and accessible to Nigerians.
It was this challenge of low broadband penetration that the NCC decided to address through its ongoing activities to license fresh spectrum that will be used in deploying broadband services, which will help businesses and individuals in the area of efficiency and productivity.
Throughout 2013, consultations on the best approach to license the remaining block of the 2.3 GHz spectrum in a way that would produce maximum economic value for government and the telecoms consumers, whose demand for broadband services had refuse to wane in recent years.
A spectrum auction is a process whereby a government uses an auction system to sell the rights (licences) to transmit signals over specific bands of the electromagnetic spectrum and to assign scarce spectrum resources.
Depending on the specific auction format used, a spectrum auction can last from a single day to several months from the opening bid to the final winning bid.
Though, some stakeholders have opposed NCC’s plan of auction to determine the licensee of the spectrum, the Commission has determined that an auction was a “fair, transparent and efficient process of assigning the spectrum.”
Licensing of the remaining 30MHz of the 2.3GHz spectrum, it was leant, was predicated on demands by operators for additional spectrum to enable the provision of wireless broadband services in line with international trends.
Though Internet users in Nigeria continue to grow, the Ministry of Communication Technology currently estimates the actual broadband Internet access penetration at about six per cent and for this to grow five-fold by 2017, licensing of the 2.3GHz spectrum has become imperative.
Already, the NCC had released the timetable on the auction process, which has begun in earnest, even as the licensee of spectrum is expected to merger by March 14, 2014.
In the meantime, the NCC had placed a minimum offer price of $23 million (about N3.6 billion) on the spectrum band to be auctioned to a sole provider of wholesale broadband services this year.
According to the NCC-released Information Memorandum, IM, which defines the process for licensing of unpaired spectrum in the 2.3 GHz band by the commission, the auction is in furtherance of the objectives of the federal government, as set out in the Nigerian National ICT Policy 2012 and the National Broadband Plan 2013, towards driving broadband penetration.
As a necessary prelude to the licensing process, the Commission had conducted series of stakeholder consultations to determine the demand level for spectrum, the approach to licensing and the potential interest of the consumers amongst other objectives.
As a result, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, said: “Based on the positive outcome of the consultations and the direction of the National Broadband Plan, the Commission has decided to undertake an auction to award a spectrum licence to build and operate networks in this spectrum band to provide Wholesale Wireless Access Services, WWASL in Nigeria.”
To qualify to bid in the auction process, the Commission said that applicants would not have to be licensed network operators in Nigeria. “However, the successful bidder will be granted a WWASL and specified fee to be paid before the licence will be issued. The tenure for the WWASL licence will be 10 years, subject to renewal.
It would be recalled that the formal licensing process started with the issuance of Public Notice No. 1/2013 on November 15, 2013 and continued with the release of the Information Memorandum, inviting parties to participate.
The release of the IM, NCC noted, would be followed by a period for the submission of questions to the Commission relating directly to the licensing process defined in the IM.
“All additional information including the answers to questions raised during the process will be made available through the Commission’s website and will form part of this IM. The identity of questioners will not be revealed,” NCC says in IM.
The spectrum is considered to be a valuable national resource for which commercials opportunities exist. The reserve price for a 10-year licence, which is set at $23 million, is the minimum commercial value of the licence.
According to the timetable of the auction process, the opening bid would be determined by the Commission as a reserve price plus the bid increments for the first round.
The opening bid shall be the minimum acceptable bid for the licence in the opening round of the auction.
On completion of the auction, the successful bidder will be deemed to have been awarded a provisional licence.
The successful bidder will, then, be required to pay the balance of the spectrum licence fee due to the Commission within 14 days from the date of the award of the provisional licence on March 14, 2014.
Since the deregulation of the telecoms sector, the NCC had chosen auction process as the transparent and fair way to allocate spectrum and not through arbitrary allocation to allocate spectrum to a particular region instead of another.
In 2001, the Commission licensed three digital mobile operators through an auction process that is widely adjudged to have been highly successful and transparent.
The licensing of a second national carrier and the fourth digital mobile operator in 2002 followed this.
The Nigerian Communications Act was signed into law in 2003 to strengthen the regulatory framework as well as to enhance the independence of the regulator.
By the end of 2004, there were two national carriers, four digital mobile operators and 24 fixed telephony providers of which six were Fixed Wireless Access operators.
In 2006, the NCC introduced the Unified Access Service Licensees, UASL, regime, to enable operators to take advantage of convergence in services and technology in order to offer better service.
In 2007, the Commission awarded a further UASL and spectrum licence to Etisalat, bringing the number of parties with national mobile licensees to five.
In addition, in 2007, the Commission award licences to Visafone in the 800MHz band, Alheri Engineering Company Limited in the 2100MHz, Celtel Nigeria Limited (now Airtel Nigeria) in the 2100MHz band, Globacom Limited in the 2100MHz band and MTN Nigeria Communications Limited in the 2100MHz band.
In 2008, the Commission issued International Submarine cable Infrastructure and Landing Stations Services licences to Main One Company Limited and subsequently to MTN in 2010.
In 2009, the Commission awarded the 2.3GHz spectrum to Spectranet Limited and Mobitel Nigeria Limited.
Cyberoam out with next-generation firewall appliances
By Bankole Orimisan
THE global provider of network security appliances, Cyberoam, has unveiled Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW) in its NG Series appliances. Cyberoam NGFW come with Layer 8 Identity-based technology for actionable intelligence and controls that offer complete security controls over L2-L8 for future-ready security in enterprises.
Cyberoam’s Next-Generation Firewall protection is EAL4+ certified and offers Layer 8 Identity-based security, application visibility and controls, Intrusion Prevention System, website filtering, HTTPS inspection, VPN (IPSec and SSL) and granular bandwidth controls.
Additional security features like Web Application Firewall, Gateway Anti-Virus, Gateway Anti-Spam, and more, are also available.
The mobilisation of workforce has led to demand for anytime-anywhere access to network resources. This, along with increasing number of users like customers and partners connecting to an enterprise network from outside is leading to de-perimeterisation of enterprise networks. Besides, trends like rise in number of network users and devices, application explosion, virtualization, and more are leading to loss of security controls for enterprises over their networks.
According to Abhilash Sonwane, SVP, Cyberoam, “ Cyberoam’s Human Layer 8 acts like a standard abstract layer that binds with real Layers 2-7, enabling enterprises to regain lost security controls. By binding user identity across Layers 2-7, enterprises can put security checks where they want to from L2-L8, along with complete visibility into user and network activities. Such actionable intelligence and security controls offer enterprises to strengthen their defenses, simplify security management, besides allowing them to scale effectively for their growing performance needs.”
He added: “Customers looking to buy Next Generation Firewalls are often constrain by the lack of performance values shared by vendors. To address this, Cyberoam has introduced a new Next Generation security subscription bundle and provides throughput values with the NGFW security features turned on.”
Today, enterprises seek solutions that ensure best of both the worlds - next-generation network security and faster network performance with flexible connectivity.
As they invest in capabilities such as NGFWs, they wish to harvest maximum business benefits and long-term relevance to their IT and network ecosystem.
Cyberoam NGFWs adequately address this need by providing high performance throughputs and flexible I/O slots allowing additional Copper/Fiber 1G/10G ports (XP) on its FleXi Port (XP) security appliances. Moreover, Cyberoam’s Extensible Security Architecture helps enterprises tackle unknown threats of the future by offering the agility to prolong the life and performance of its NGFW appliances to support newer enterprise security features and enhancements.
Besides the extensible security architecture that supports future security needs with the same appliance, enterprises can also add another appliance in cluster/HA to support more number of users in their networks.
THE global provider of network security appliances, Cyberoam, has unveiled Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW) in its NG Series appliances. Cyberoam NGFW come with Layer 8 Identity-based technology for actionable intelligence and controls that offer complete security controls over L2-L8 for future-ready security in enterprises.
Cyberoam’s Next-Generation Firewall protection is EAL4+ certified and offers Layer 8 Identity-based security, application visibility and controls, Intrusion Prevention System, website filtering, HTTPS inspection, VPN (IPSec and SSL) and granular bandwidth controls.
Additional security features like Web Application Firewall, Gateway Anti-Virus, Gateway Anti-Spam, and more, are also available.
The mobilisation of workforce has led to demand for anytime-anywhere access to network resources. This, along with increasing number of users like customers and partners connecting to an enterprise network from outside is leading to de-perimeterisation of enterprise networks. Besides, trends like rise in number of network users and devices, application explosion, virtualization, and more are leading to loss of security controls for enterprises over their networks.
According to Abhilash Sonwane, SVP, Cyberoam, “ Cyberoam’s Human Layer 8 acts like a standard abstract layer that binds with real Layers 2-7, enabling enterprises to regain lost security controls. By binding user identity across Layers 2-7, enterprises can put security checks where they want to from L2-L8, along with complete visibility into user and network activities. Such actionable intelligence and security controls offer enterprises to strengthen their defenses, simplify security management, besides allowing them to scale effectively for their growing performance needs.”
He added: “Customers looking to buy Next Generation Firewalls are often constrain by the lack of performance values shared by vendors. To address this, Cyberoam has introduced a new Next Generation security subscription bundle and provides throughput values with the NGFW security features turned on.”
Today, enterprises seek solutions that ensure best of both the worlds - next-generation network security and faster network performance with flexible connectivity.
As they invest in capabilities such as NGFWs, they wish to harvest maximum business benefits and long-term relevance to their IT and network ecosystem.
Cyberoam NGFWs adequately address this need by providing high performance throughputs and flexible I/O slots allowing additional Copper/Fiber 1G/10G ports (XP) on its FleXi Port (XP) security appliances. Moreover, Cyberoam’s Extensible Security Architecture helps enterprises tackle unknown threats of the future by offering the agility to prolong the life and performance of its NGFW appliances to support newer enterprise security features and enhancements.
Besides the extensible security architecture that supports future security needs with the same appliance, enterprises can also add another appliance in cluster/HA to support more number of users in their networks.
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