Oluniyi D. Ajao » Personal Diary

Glo Mobile soft launches in Ghana

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:02:45 +0000

After several false starts, Glo Mobile Ghana appears to have taken its most remarkable step yet, towards a commercial launch. The cellular network obtained its operating licence since 2008 but had failed to launch its service to the public, citing logistical difficulties. Its last false start was 17th November 2011. A much-publicized commercial launch slated for that date was postponed at the last minute.

glo

Today 19th January 2012 was another publicized date but again, Glo Mobile did not fail to disappoint. Instead of launching its network and opening for business, Glo Mobile only opened-up its number reservation system to the public promising to launch “between 2 and 4 weeks“.

Mr George Andah, Chief Operation Officer of Glo Mobile Ghana told Ghana News Agency:

“Glo Ghana had deployed the state-of-the-art infrastructure to give premium service, including the latest broadband technology, Next Generation Networks, over 1,600 Base Transceiver Stations, four ultra modern switches with capacity for up to 10 million lines with congestions free service.

This, he said, would be complemented by Glo-1, the high capacity state-of-the-art submarine cable connecting West Africa to Europe and a dedicated extension to the United States.”

How to reserve your number on Glo Mobile

The network code for the new cellular network is 023. Glo Mobile is making about 1 million telephone numbers in the series 023-3xx-xxxx available for reservation at this time. Some 4,000 numbers in this series are excluded from the regular reservation. The 4,000 vanity numbers would be available at a premium price of 100 or 200 Ghana cedis.

To reserve your Glo Mobile number, simply text the number you want reserved to 023 001 0100. Example: if you want to reserve 023-333-9999, text 0233339999 to 0230010100 from your current phone. The reservation system would respond within minutes with the results. Where the reservation was successful, a reference code would be included in the confirmation text message. You would need this reference code to claim your Glo Mobile number when the network goes commercial. Each person is limited to a maximum of 5 reservations.

I was able to reserve a phone number by sending the text message from an MTN number. My attempt using Airtel failed as the SMS was not delivered.

In the meantime, enjoy this Glo Mobile video ad:

GOtv Africa. A new digital pay TV service.

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:56:14 +0000

I noticed multitudes of GOtv Africa banners and balloons in the ancient city of Ibadan Nigeria in the last quarter of 2011. The similarity with the name/logo of DStv was clear. Promotional drives were ongoing at different vantage points in Ibadan.

GOtv is a new digital terrestrial TV (DTT) service by Multichoice Africa, operators of DStv. Instead of broadcasting via satellite, GOtv broadcasts from TV masts, sending encrypted digital signals to proprietary GOtv decoders. The signal is then decoded and sent to the television set.

From their sales website:

GOtv, Nigeria’s newest pay TV service was launched in Ibadan on 15 October 2011. Using the latest DVB-T2 technology, this brand new digital service is dedicated to offering television lovers affordable family entertainment. Featuring 2 great bouquets, consisting of 29 and 25 channels respectively, GOtv is an exciting service delivering great television at a price everyone can afford.

GOtv Africa is promising to offer:

Excellent picture quality
Sharper sound
Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) that displays what’s on TV at the touch of a button

The above features are all started with DTT technology. The wide variety of channels offered are all extracted from their DStv service. None of the channels are exclusive to GOtv.

In Nigeria the monthly subscriptions for GOtv is 1,000 Naira and for GOtv Plus is 1,800 Naira. Launch price for GOtv (including decoder and 3 months GOtv subscription) is N9,000 and for GOtv Plus is N12,000.

A screenshot of GOtv Africa

Digitization of terrestrial television broadcasts is on-going in many countries globally at this time. Whilst DTT frees-up valuable frequencies for other uses like wireless broadband connectivity, it offers better picture and sound quality even with a minimal signal strength. The Nigerian broadcast industry regulator is the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). NBC’s website reveals that the government of Nigeria started the digitization process in December 2007 with a target date of 17th June 2012. Aside satellite and cable (MMDS), most TV broadcast in Nigeria today is still analogue. Before now, Startimes TV had been the only widely available DTT service.

The GOtv pay service is already available in 3 other African countries: Kenya, Uganda and Zambia.

Toshiba shines with world’s thinnest tablet at CES 2012

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 07:41:49 +0000

The 2012 edition of Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas USA did not disappoint. Being the biggest platform for tech companies to show-off their latest innovations, a lot of new tablets (mostly running the Android OS) were among the announced.

I have followed the news reports and one tablet that stood-out of the crowd was Toshiba’s Excite x10. It is exciting.

From PC World:

This 10.1-inch tablet distinguishes itself as the only model that can be called both the thinnest and lightest: It measures just 0.3-inches thick and weighs 1.18 pounds. It has a Texas Instruments 1.2-GHz OMAP 4430 multicore processor, 1GB of memory, and a 1280-by-800 resolution IPS display. The display looked good, with a minimal air-gap and a wide viewing angle; but text and graphics weren’t as sharp as on the higher-resolution displays. Toshiba hopes to be able to ship the tablet in the middle of the first quarter with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Toshiba says it will cost $530 for the 16GB model and $600 for the 32GB version.

Toshiba Excite™ X10 Tablet

Other features include:

0.3″ thin
1.2lbs
10.1” AutoBrite™ Multi-touch Display
Scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® Glass
Powered by Android™
Dual-core processor
Micro HDMI® port
Micro USB port
Micro SD Card Slot
Stereo Speakers
Two HD Cameras

Be aware that the device does not support 3G nor any cellular connectivity. Instead, connectivity is via wifi only.

Harnessing the full power of WordPress for multimedia publishing – WordCamp CT 2011

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 18:54:37 +0000

WordCamp Cape Town 2011 was informative and exciting. I had the opportunity to attend a blog camp that was focused exclusively on WordPress. WordPress is the software that powers this blog, as well as millions of other websites around the world.

Wordcamp Cape Town 2011

WordCamp Cape Town was split into two tracks: publisher and technical. I was privileged to speak at the publisher track though I spent most of the day at the developer track.
The galaxy of speakers were definitely experienced in their respective areas of specialization and so one was able to learn from other bloggers’ experiences. Never mind that it wasn’t as interactive as I expected a barcamp to be, but it was fulfilling all the same.

Find a video of my presentation titled “Harnessing the full power of WordPress for multimedia publishing”, below:

You may find other WordCamp CT 2011 videos here. WordCamp CT 2011 was organized by Ashley Shaw and his team at LightSpeed.

Have smartphones become indispensable business tools?

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 06:21:31 +0000

I have used smartphones (mostly Nokia) for a few years now but started using BlackBerry since July 2010 and have never been a day without a BlackBerry ever since – until now. The BlackBerry device became the central point of my daily communication routine. I could read, forward, reply personal and business emails quickly. I could follow the conversation streams on Facebook and Twitter apps when I was idle. I could take photos at events and post same to Twitpic without waiting till I got to my laptop. I could chat with friends far and near via BlackBerry Messenger or some of the other chat apps installed on the device. I used phone calls and SMS only where extremely necessary, thus saving costs. I could manage my blogs from the device: moderate comments, publish new blog posts, view traffic stats etc. I could grab trophies from FourSquare as I explore new places. I could find my way around using Google Maps. I even completed hotel bookings on the device, using BlackBerry Travel app. Granted, the BlackBerry smartphone could never replace the full experience of a laptop for me, but it made me much more efficient as I had a lesser workload to tackle when I sat behind my laptop.

A BlackBerry Curve 8900

You can thus understand how frustrating it has been in the past 10 days that I have been without the full benefits of my BlackBerry smartphone. Most personal emails remain unread, I’m struggling with a piling workload, over 150 comments are pending moderation on my personal blog alone, I’m out of touch with friends I normally chat with regularly. I’m unable to share the fun of: Cape Town, WordCamp, how I celebrated my birthday, and other escapades in South Africa. In a nutshell, life has not been so frustrating in recent days.

Yes. I have tried very hard to fix this problem. I’ve subscribed to BlackBerry Internet Service from two cellular operators: Vodacom SA and MTN SA. I’ve contacted MTN Nigeria where I last used the device successfully and they confirmed my device is not tied to their network, I’ve called MTN and Vodacom customer service over 16 times, I’ve visited MTN offices in Cape Town and Jo’burg 3 times, I’ve wiped the device and re-installed the operating system in case any of the installed apps is causing the problem. MTN is suggesting the device is the problem, I’ve entered the settings they gave me and diligently followed all their suggestions. All to no avail. Now I am in touch with RIM, manufacturers of BlackBerry smartphones.

This little experience I am still going through has emphasized how much many of us have come to rely on smartphones, for running our personal and business lives. It is quite normal fiddle with the smartphone before falling asleep and it is the first thing we grab before brushing our teeth in the morning or saying those morning prayers. Ah, I use the Bible app on my smartphone more than my bulky physical Bible.

Business life is much easier with a BlackBerry but when things go wrong, life can be hectic. Very hectic.

Have you been separated from the joy of using your smartphone for a long period? Share the experience in the comment area.

Help famine victims in East Africa

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:22:17 +0000

From Wikipedia:

The 2011 Horn of Africa famine is a famine occurring in several regions in the Horn of Africa as a result of a severe drought that is affecting the entire Eastern Africa region. The drought, said to be “the worst in 60 years”, has caused a severe food crisis across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya that threatens the livelihood of more than 10 million people. Other countries in and around the Horn of Africa, including Djibouti, Sudan, South Sudan and parts of Uganda, are also affected by a food crisis.

The United Nations declared a famine in parts of southern Somalia amid the worst drought in 60 years. Organizations are mobilizing and there are ways you can help.

Former Ghanaian president Jerry Rawlings is leading the African Union’s efforts to deal with the famine in Somalia. He spoke to British TV broadcaster Channel 4 on Thursday from Mogadishu in Somalia.

You too can help by donating directly to the World Food Programme.

BB OS 6 on your BlackBerry 9700 (follow-up)

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 15:43:23 +0000

Research in Motion (RIM), makers of BlackBerry smartphones, released the current version of their operating system (OS 6) along with the BlackBerry Torch smartphone. They later released official versions of OS 6 for some of their earlier smartphones: BlackBerry® Bold™ 9700, BlackBerry® Pearl™ 9105 and BlackBerry® Curve™ 9300.

I blogged about running OS6 on BlackBerry 9700 and promised a follow-up. I’ve been too busy to publish a detailed sequence. Since I have been overtaken by events, I would simply highlight some of the latest updates.

BlackBerry 9780

If you don’t have a BlackBerry and are considering buying BlackBerry 9700 with the mind of upgrading the OS to version 6, don’t. Launched in November 2010, BlackBerry 9780 is essentially an upgrade of 9700. It comes with double the memory capacity of 9700, a better camera and more importantly, it is preloaded with OS 6.

BlackBerry Bold 9900 and BlackBerry Bold 9780

BlackBerry 9900

Slated to be released before this year 2011 runs out, the BlackBerry 9900 is the latest smartphone in the BlackBerry Bold family. It would come with a fast processor, lots of memory, a bigger storage, better camera, a touchscreen, in a good-looking body. It would also be pre-installed with BlackBerry OS 7. The new OS 7 would not be compatible with existing BlackBerry smartphones.

OS6 on BlackBerry 9700

If for any reason you are stuck with a BB 9700, upgrading to OS 6 would improve your BlackBerry experience drastically.

The first step would be to check if your mobile network operator already offers OS 6 for 9700. If they do, you can upgrade over-the-air from the BlackBerry by going to the software update setting. Either way, it’s better/safer to upgrade using a PC.

Simply visit http://uk.blackberry.com to download OS 6 to your PC or Mac. Also, you need to download and install the latest version of BlackBerry Desktop Manager. Install the OS 6 on your computer and then connect your smartphone to the computer. Then, upgrade through the Desktop Manager. The detailed steps are listed here.

Be sure to back-up your BlackBerry smartphone completely using the Desktop Manager before upgrading!!! You can restore your apps, messages and settings after upgrading.

Esoko Ltd: Powering an agric revolution

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 07:00:32 +0000

This is the 2nd part in a series of posts focused on Esoko.

While many web/software development entities in Africa focus on fancy applications (apps) that have little meaningful impact on their society, a fast-growing software company headquartered in Accra is focused on improving some agricultural processes through creating software for collecting, analysing and sharing data related to agriculture. Esoko Ltd is championing an unusual mix in Africa: agriculture and sophisticated data processing.

The word “Esoko” is derived from the Swahili word “soko” which means “market”. In essence, Esoko is an Electronic Marketplace for exchanging data. Esoko serves as the name of the company as well as the name of the software platform they develop.

Esoko: The Company

Esoko grew from a simple SMS-based service and has evolved into a leading software company that is developing useful apps for clients across Africa with its employee-base of 60 people (as of June 2011).

Happy Esokoninis

Esoko was founded in 2005 as TradeNet by Mark Davies, who also founded BusyInternet years ago. TradeNet was rebranded as Esoko in April 2009 and its investors are: Jim Forster, the International Finance Corporation, and the Soros Economic Development Fund.

While Esoko is a privately-held limited liability company that hopes to start making profit in the near future, many of its partners are not-for-profit organisations. Others are agribusinesses, individuals and agric-related projects.

The potential impact of Esoko can be imagined when one considers that agriculture is Ghana’s most important economic sector, employing more than half the population on a formal and informal basis and accounting for almost half of GDP and export earnings. The same trends are found in most African countries, south of the Sahara.

According to Sarah Bartlett (Head of Communications & Research): though Esoko’s apps are generally focused on agriculture, they are applicable to other related uses and there has been an instance of Esoko’s platform being deployed for data distribution in a Ghanaian health project.

Currently, Esoko is active in 15 countries through different partnership agreements; both public sector agricultural projects and Esoko country franchises. The 15 African countries are: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Product Manager Osei-Poku explaining the Product Cycle

The recent 3rd Annual Partners’ Conference was well attended by Esoko’s Partners (clients) from various agricultural institutes in Africa. Esoko explained some of its software development processes to its partners, and received feedback from them that would hopefully go towards improving their platform.

Whilst explaining a point during the Tech Showcase at the Conference, Mark Davies said: Esoko is “very different from where it started and will continue to change.” He added that “Esoko organizes the annual conferences to explain their schedule and process to partners and to get ideas and wish lists from them”.

To put Esoko’s future into perspective, I asked Mark Davies:

“Esoko has evolved from a basic SMS platform offering information to a multi-channel platform that gathers and shares data about agriculture in Africa via the web, mobile apps and SMS. Where do you see Esoko in 5 years’ time in terms of growth pattern and product offering?”

Mark Davies responded:

“I’d like to see Esoko as a ubiquitous enabler for commerce and trade throughout Africa, merging information with usable technology — with some fantastic case studies about how information can empower people in the rural/informal sector to make better choices and increase incomes…”

The rebirth of Ghana’s .gh domain name system

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 21:20:48 +0000

.gh is the country code Top-Level Domain name (cc-TLD) for the Republic of Ghana.

Introduced in 1995, it is currently managed by a private company in Accra Ghana. This company sponsored the .gh domain with ICANN (the international body for managing domains) and currently serves as the registry and registrar, simultaneously.

Although .gh is intended for use by entities in Ghana, it is poorly patronized due to poor awareness on the part of the populace, high pricing of domain registration and the avoidable bureaucracy on the part of the current registry.

A snapshot of .gh registry's website. It has not been updated for 5 years.

.gh has gone through years of difficulties and all domain management is currently done manually by the registry. It doesn’t help that a .com.gh goes for at least $42.66 from the .gh registry while one can register a .com for as low as $12.

To be fair, most other African domains have been in this poor state at various stages in the past but many have since reformed and are currently growing at blazing speed. These are a few examples of the African country domain systems that are currently world-class: .ke (Kenya), .tz (Tanzania), .cm (Cameroon), .ng (Nigeria), .mu (Mauritius), .na (Namibia), .za (South Africa), .so (Somalia) etc.

.za (South Africa) is peculiar because although it is semi-automated, it is currently the largest domain system in Africa by far, with well over 500,000 domains registered. No other African country domain comes close.

.so (Somalia) is even more peculiar because the country is essentially a failed state, yet it has a world-class domain registry – never mind that the .so registry managed by a private Japanese company on behalf of the government of Somalia. At least, the domain system is fully automated. I was able to register a .so domain for a client a few weeks ago with a few clicks of the mouse.

.GH Domain Reform

The good news is that the .gh domain system is currently under-going a reform. In August 2010, the Government of Ghana set-up an organization named National Information Technology Agency (NITA) whose mandate includes setting-up a new .gh domain name registry.

I was privileged to attend the 5th Annual African ccTLD Event in April 2011 here in Accra, where a NITA member shared the progress and time-line of the .gh domain reform. He concluded by hinting that the new .gh system would go live before the end of 2011.

It is safe to assume that the new .gh domain registry would be a world-class & fully automated registry that would accredit independent .gh domain registrars. With the right policies, .gh can still regain lost grounds in Ghana’s internet arena.

It is estimated that there are close to 3 million Internet users in Ghana. Ghana is home to the first Internet Service Provider in West Africa and has a population of over 24 million people.

Google Plus, a new social networking website

Oluniyi D. Ajao — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 06:09:01 +0000

Google Plus is Google’s latest and best attempt at a social networking website. It obviously draws a lot of lessons from Google’s previous attempts like Google Buzz, Google Wave, Orkut etc.

A screenshot of Google Plus

I got an invitation to join Google Plus from a good friend, and I am loving it so far. It comes with a lot of features that scream “Facebook-lookalike” while other features are new innovations from the search engine giant. I like the minimalist interface as well.

It segments the social networking into sensible groups like: Friends, Acquaintances, Family etc. One can rename the groups or create new ones. Thus, it is possible to share information with a specific group without sharing it with the entire internet. In a nutshell, it appears to offer better privacy controls.

Google Plus is accessible to the mobile devices on the following platforms via a web app: Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, Nokia/Symbian and Windows Mobile. Understandably, a native app is already available for Android 2.1 devices.

Since Google Plus is currently in Beta phase, joining the party is strictly by invitation. ~~If you want to try-out Google Plus, simply leave a comment in this blog post or email me. I will invite as many people as I can, to join the Google Plus party.~~

Update: Google has closed off invites after just a few hours. Demand was “insanely high,” according to Google SVP of Social Vic Gundotra. I suggest you visit http://plus.google.com and just sign-in with your Google Account.

If you are on Google Plus already, add me to your Circle of Friends or Acquittance, depending on who I am to you.