The spate of kidnapping in the country can be curtailed by embracing the use of telecommunications technology.

The acting vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) expressed this view yesterday, following the release of the four recently abducted journalists.

Bashir Gwandu, addressing chief executives of the GSM, CDMA, and other major network operating companies in Abuja, lamented that kidnapping has become a serious threat to lives and businesses in Nigeria over the last one year, especially in the South-East and South-South zones of the country.

Mr. Gwandu said that “with just about 1000 naira, a multitude of crimes can be committed by purchasing multiple sim cards and misused them to threaten others via voice or text messages, and also commit other phone-assisted crimes. This has to stop.”

Holding a person against his/her will is a criminal offence anywhere. Kidnapping is a despicable act. Having said that, let’s analyse Bashir Gwandu’s further statements.

He said the NCC has “plans to issue subsidy to telecommunications operators to install equipment on every mast and tower that could be used for triangulating between sites in order to identify real-geographical location of both GPS and None GPS-enabled mobile handsets.”

Google Maps for mobile can already generate estimated location coordinates of mobile phones that have it installed, without relying on special equipment.

Assuming NCC can really pull that off, what happens to the privacy of mobile phone users? Did they sign-up for their movements to be tactically monitored by telecom operators? Why does anything need to be installed anyway when existing cell masts can already be used to triangulate the estimated location of any mobile phone (GPS-capable or not)? Google Maps already uses cell mast triangulation for its Google Map for Mobile service. Is this “subsidy” another plot to squander tax payers’ money?

Mr. Gwandu stated that in addition to the triangulation project, all GPS-enabled handsets can also be tracked by low earth orbit satellites. He further stated that there are other equipment that could be deployed to tract and identify the locations of handsets being used to solicit for ransom.

This is ludicrous. Telecom operators are now law enforcement agencies. Even if the NCC was allowed to implement this absurdity, how would they access the GPS coordinates of a mobile phone since the GPS feature needs to be explicitly activated by the phone user before the phone can be tracked? Do they plan to hack phones and turn on GPS on the phones remotely? Or, are they counting on phone users to voluntarily leave their GPS feature on all the time? By the way, GPS drains phone batteries. Tracking keeps the phone’s microprocessor very busy and so consumes a lot of energy.

According to him, “once ownership of numbers can be identified, handsets can be tracked, and their geographical location becomes identifiable, then any call made to solicit for ransom will help to locate the kidnappers.”

I can’t help laughing. Hardened criminals like kidnappers would voluntarily register their SIM cards with their real personal details in other to make the job of law enforcement easy. Too bad, we live in a real world where that fantasy is hardly possible.

In addition to this, NCC has initiated a project that will block stolen handsets once they are reported as being stolen. The project will also be helpful in stopping criminals from using snatched handsets in perpetrating such act.

How many times are we going to read things like this? Haven’t we heard this before? How many times does the NCC want to attempt blocking stolen phones? Is it not the exact responsibility of the phone owner to promptly report a stolen phone to the service provider for the SIM to be promptly deactivated? A country that cannot generate adequate power supply, that cannot hold free & fair elections, that cannot properly conduct a population census now wants to track and block mobile phones. How noble!

It is very obvious that the acting boss of NCC is pulling this stunt, to create an impression on the Nigerian public that he is very competent and on top of his game. Whilst I would not question his competence, this particular act can only be counter-productive in any enlightened society since such information (useful or not) is best shared directly with the law enforcement agencies. The Nigeria Police, the State Security Service (SSS), the Directorate of Military Intelligence (DMI) etc, are the best to be tutored on technology meant for tracking criminals and NOT the head of telecom companies who already understand the technologies (else, why would they be in business?) nor the media.

Is the NCC on the right track or not? Share your thoughts in the comments area.

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The technology behind DStv Mobile is simple enough. The Mobile TV service is not streamed over the internet. Though one of the promises of 3G was Mobile TV, streaming live TV over the internet turned out to be impractical. Pushing a data-intensive service over a cellular network would simply result in a very congested network.  Broadcasting mobile TV over the airwaves is much more efficient and cost-effective. In comes DVB-H. I summarized the following DVB-H definition from Wikipedia:

DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting – Handheld) is one of three prevalent mobile TV formats. It is a technical specification for bringing broadcast services to mobile handsets. From March 2008, DVB-H is officially endorsed by the European Union as the “preferred technology for terrestrial mobile broadcasting”. DVB-H technology is a superset of the very successful DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial) system for digital terrestrial television, with additional features to meet the specific requirements of handheld, battery-powered receivers.

Getting on board

I obtained the Nokia 5330 Mobile TV Edition from MTN Ghana in Accra for 270 Ghana Cedis (about $193). The 5330 obtained directly from MTN comes with a complimentary DStv Mobile license valid 31st March 2011. Activating the service with MTN Ghana was a herculean task. At the time of buying the device, the DStv Mobile service was down and so the service could not be activated by MTN support staff. Subsequent calls to their customer service number yielded nothing as they insisted they could not give me the settings on phone. Incidentally, I arrived Lagos Nigeria a few days later. MTN Nigeria pushed their internet settings to the phone as soon as I inserted an MTN Nigeria SIM into the 5330. I accepted and activated the MTN NG internet settings. On my way out of the airport, I simply re-scanned the airwaves and was able to easily activate the DStv Mobile service on my own. NTA International was soon beamed to me from the tiny screens of the 5330.

DStv Mobile is currently available in selected cities in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Namibia and Ghana.

The mobile TV service

In Nigeria, the DStv Mobile service comes with 11 channels in the following order:

1. NTA International – a TV service from Nigeria’s state-owned TV broadcaster targetted at an international audience
2. SuperSport Blitz – a sports update channel for Africa offering content from live sport to result updates
3. SuperSport 9
4. CNN International – news & current affairs from a world-class broadcaster
5. Magic World Africa – African general entertainment
6. Africa Magic – mostly movies, series and general entertainment from Nigeria
7. Channel O – musical videos from Africa and across the world
8. Cartoon Network
9. Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) – broadcast Christian related programming
10. SuperSport 3N – Africa’s premier football channel, broadcasting national and international football events
11. SuperSport 4

The service currently covers 4 of the biggest cities in Nigeria: Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

Coverage in Lagos: the service is transmitted from 4 transmitters in the Lagos metropolis. I was able to enjoy it indoors and outdoors in Ikeja, Festac, and on the outskirts of Lagos as far as Redeemers’ Camp on Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.

Coverage in Accra: the service is transmitted from 3 transmitters, covering Kasoa, much of Accra and Tema as well as the neighbouring towns.

Since the phone earpiece doubles as the antenna for the 5330, the quality of TV reception depends on the position of the earpiece. In rooms, where the reception was patchy, re-positioning the earpiece helped.

Clearly, an attempt has been made to balance the variety of content offered. Replacing one of the 4 sport channels with one that offered western movies would have offered much more balance.

The service also comes with an Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) that offers information about the programme on air and scheduled programmes for 24 hours. Should you connect to the service using a Nokia phone, you may also download & install an app from Nokia’s Ovi Store known as DStv Mobile Guide. It offers a detailed EPG.

The Nokia 5330 Mobile TV Edition

Nokia.com describes the 5330 as follows:

TV goes mobile
Taking mobile entertainment to the next level, the stylish Nokia 5330 Mobile TV edition is a television, music player, and digital camera – all in one.

Aside the Mobile TV functionality, the 5330 is a basic 3G phone. It is cute and attractive whilst being small enough to fit into any standard-sized pocket. Sliding the screen upwards reveals an elegant numeric keypad that makes texting a pleasure due to its sturdiness.

An in-built FM stereo radio (comes with RDS) and an in-built media player make the 5330 an attractive entertainment device. 3 dedicated music keys make the media player & mobile TV application even more effective. Other keys are dedicated to increasing/decreasing audio volume with another for locking/unlocking the keys. Slot in a Micro SD card (maximum 16GB allowed) and you’re in for a musical bliss as the 16GB would easily accommodate thousands of audio clips from your music collection. Note however that the 5330 is bundled with only a 1GB Micro SD card.

The in-built camera is pretty basic. It comes with an automatic flash and can take photos with a maximum resolution of 3.2 megapixels. The video camera can record at a maximum resolution of 320×240. If you do not have high expectations, you should not be disappointed by the basic camera.

The 5330 comes with 4 games pre-installed: Block’d, Diamond Rush, Rally Stars and Real Football 2010.

Other DVB-H compatible phones

DStv Mobile is not an exclusive preserve of the 5330. A few other phones have in-built capability for receiving DStv Mobile signals. Leading the pack are the following N-series phones: Nokia N92, Nokia N77 and Nokia N96. Others are: ZTE F900, ZTE F912. From Samsung: SGH-P910, SGH-P920, SGH-P930, SGH-P940, SGH-P960, SGH-F510. From LG: U900, KB620, KU950, U960, KB770, HB620T.

With the aid of an external mobile tv receiver known as Nokia SU-33W, a few more Nokia phones can join the party via bluetooth. The compatible phones at the time of writing are: Nokia 5530 XpressMusic, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic, Nokia 6220 classic, Nokia E75, Nokia N73, Nokia N85, Nokia N86 8MP, Nokia N97, and Nokia N97 mini.

Note that you might have to seek the assistance of your service provider directly, if the devices do not receive the DStv Mobile service on their own.

Availability

DStv Mobile is currently available through MTN in South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana, through Safaricom in Kenya, and through MTC in Namibia.

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Glo Mobile to quit? Daily Graphic frontpage report

The front page of Ghana’s leading newspaper Daily Graphic, today offers a deep insight into the woes of Glo Mobile in Ghana:

Major telecommunications operator, Glo Mobile, intends to pull out of Ghana, an authoritative source close to the company has disclosed.

The Daily Graphic gathered over the weekend that the telecommunications giant had decided to divest its investment in the country and exit Ghana as it faced several challenges from some interests bent on sabotaging the company’s nation-wide take-off plan.

A source close to the company disclosed that some of the challenges the company had faced since it was awarded a GSM licence by the National Communications Authority (NCA) included an encroachment on the frequency allocated to it by the NCA, the repeated sabotage of its billboards and the delay in securing approval for the swift deployment of its infrastructure, such as base stations.

It said officials of the company were concerned that while the company had been working at a frenetic pace to formally roll out the network, some forces had been deliberately working around the clock to cripple its operation and prevent it from rolling out quickly, to the detriment of the Ghanaian society.

Another source close to the company said the operator’s management felt that its infrastructure in the country was not getting adequate protection from the law enforcement agencies.

Efforts to get the official reaction from the company to the development proved abortive, but it was gathered that the company would soon serve the government with its notice to quit.

The source, which was privy to the outcome of a recent meeting held by senior management staff of the company on the issues, said Glo was displeased with the various acts of vandalism and would be relieved if the law enforcement agencies apprehended the perpetrators and exposed them.

When contacted, a senior official of Glo Mobile Ghana, Mr Derek Obuobi, said he would not comment on the matter now.

Glo Mobile Ghana recently embarked on a massive deployment of outdoor advertising structures, comprising billboards, light boxes, lamp post signs and brand marks (branded lit globes), throughout Accra as part of the build-up towards the nation-wide launch of its operations in Ghana.

However, immediately after the deployment of the outdoor advertising materials, which generated a lot of positive remarks, a number of the structures were vandalised by unknown persons.

In February, about 15 light boxes mounted from the Airport Traffic Light median to the Opeibea House Traffic Light were destroyed with the flexi materials used on both sides of the units torn. One of the Glo brand marks mounted in Accra was also destroyed.

About two weeks ago, about 16 light boxes installed by Glo from the King Tackie Tawiah Overpass to Busy Internet were also vandalised.

“Every single unit, with materials made from top grade flexi was defaced with a sharp object, suspected to be a knife or a razor blade,” the source said.

“It was curious that light boxes belonging to another telecom operator deployed within the same stretch continuing from Busy Internet to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle were left unscathed,” it said.

In December last year, some people were apprehended and handed to the police while they were attempting to sabotage a Glo mast located at the Baatsona area of Accra.

“It is clear that these acts of lawlessness are being perpetrated to frustrate Glo’s roll-out plans,” the source said.

Another major area of concern for Glo is the ban on the erection of telecom masts by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The development is said to have affected Glo the most, it being the only network building a nationwide telecoms company from scratch.

“Glo is losing the opportunity to make revenue, for every day there is a delay in launching its network. I believe that is why it is worried,” the source said.

Since Glo was granted a licence to operate in Ghana, it has invested huge resources to deploy a nationwide state-of-the-art infrastructure. It has also devoted millions of dollars to the sponsorship of the Ghana Premier League., the national football teams, and the Ghana National Supporters Union.

An investment expert who preferred anonymity said it would be a major setback to the efforts of the government to attract foreign direct investment, generate employment and stimulate economic growth should Glo pull out of Ghana. He urged the government to intervene on the issue.

At the recent presentation of cheques by Glo to the Ghana Football Association (GFA) for the impressive performance of the Black Stars at the last edition of the African Cup of Nations, the Minister of Communications gave the assurance that the government would give Glo all the support it required to enable it to roll out its services.

Two leading telecom brands have launched in Ghana over the past two years: Vodafone and Zain. None of them experienced this amount of sabotage and were able to launch their brand/services within their scheduled time frame. I am compelled to wonder if this is xenophobic or if those who would be adversely affected (competitors) are behind these extensive sabotage. I am waiting to see what action the Government of Ghana would take to protect the heavy investment of Glo Mobile.

There couldn’t be a better way to address Globacom Ltd at this time than a comment left on this blog by Yeboah-Twum Kenneth:

i read in the Daily Graphic that Glo Ghana to quit. infact i was vexed cos i don’t understand why anyone will try to sabotage u. u better find a way to let the government apprehend them. please don’t leave Ghana. we love u for u effort. it is due to ur one start nationwide coverage that’s why people are trying to to bring you down but have a little faith as Kenny Rogers said. you will be the best telecommunication network in Ghana i promise you

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Eight years ago, my answer would have been “right now”. I would have been writing/reading this on a computer in a cyber cafe. Right now however, I am lying somewhere comfortable in my home, whilst punching the soft keys on my laptop. A few years ago in Accra, one could count more than ten internet cafes between Vodafone (then Ghana Telecom)’s Head Office around Kwame Nkrumah Circle and BusyInternet on Ring Road Central. There were: True Internet, WWWPlus Mega Cafe, Krofa Internet Cafe, Java Internet Cafe, and several others, whose names I do not remember at this time. Sadly, most of them have closed shop. Whilst several reasons could be offered for the failure of these enterprises, one cannot overlook the solid impact of mobile phones and mobile internet technologies.

Mobile Websites

My Facebook profile as seen from a Nokia smartphone.

A quick glance at the traffic metrics website Alexa.com reveals that the most visited websites in Ghana include: Facebook, Yahoo, Google, YouTube, Live.com, Wikipedia, MSN, GhanaWeb, BBC. Email used to be the most popular online activity in this part of the world but social networking websites seem to have taken the lead in recent times. News websites come third. Thus, the composition of the ten most popular websites is not much of a surprise. What is more interesting is that ALL the most popular websites have mobile versions of their services. Typing facebook.com into a mobile web browser for example, automatically redirects one to a mobile version of the popular social networking website. The mobile websites are stripped-down versions but offer a lot of functionality, in a layout small enough to fit into tiny mobile phone screens. It is thus now common place to find people get busy with chatting, twittering, reading the news & more, from  their mobile phones.

Smartphones
Smartphones are raising the stakes and pushing more possibilities into our hands, literally. They now have enough processing power to stream high-definition video and enough memory to download and store databases of music, photos and videos from the Internet. Some smartphones come with full QWERTY keyboards and thus making typing a pleasure. Emailing, blogging, chatting can now be done virtually anywhere.

Lower entry costs
Personal Computers are no longer the exclusive preserve of the rich and well-educated. 10 years ago, the pricing of an average laptop was about $2,000. Not any more. New, more powerful, full-featured laptops are available today for as low as $700. Their smaller cousins (netbooks) even come at lower prices; mwave.com currently prices an ASUS EPC900B-BLU01X Eee netbook PC at only $209.99

Used and probably refurbished PCs even drag the entry costs lower, for obvious reasons.

USB Modems
Those little devices have further democratised internet connectivity. Where mobile phones and smartphones are not enough, one could easily buy a USB Modem for as low as 60 Ghana Cedis (about $42) and connect it to a desktop, laptop or netbook for a full Internet experience. MTN Ghana is currently offering their USB modem at that price. Gone are the days when one needed to obtain a hard-to-comeby fixed phone line from the telecom monopoly or a fixed wireless antenna pointed at the Internet Service Provider’s radio mast, or a VSAT satellite dish + modem. None of these came cheap.

The more spectacular thing is that 3.5G USB modems offer real broadband speeds today.

Back to those cyber cafes. The rapid closure of cyber cafes is not limited to Ghana. 234Next.com, a leading Nigerian news source, today published a report titled: Cyber cafes are vanishing

“In those days, around 2000 and 2001, I used to go to cyber cafe, pay money to check my yahoo email. You know the feeling that time was powerful. I was the only one who could browse amongst my friends then. We will go to a cyber cafe and crowd around one system, five of us, and then the systems were always very slow, so if we hear that one cyber cafe somewhere was fast we will go there,” said Solomon Edema, a computer engineer. “Now, all of us browse with our phones. I also used my laptop. I have not gone to a cyber cafe for over a year now, Mr. Edema, adds.

Nowadays, the proliferation of computers and 3G mobile phones, including the famous China phones, has resulted in cheaper prices. As a result more people can afford internet-enabled phones. Similarly, the competition in the telecom industry has also led the telecom firms out-doing one another in offering cheap modems and internet access. Traders at Computer Village, Ikeja, now offer software that enable free internet access on laptops and mobile phones.

It is clear that mobile phones, are pushing cyber cafes out, the same way public phone booths and “communication centres” have become endangered species. What waits to be seen is how long the few cyber cafes that remain would last. Would they close shop or evolve their business model? Time would tell.

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I was perplexed at the title of the blog post. Could the author Wayan Vota simply be courting controversy as a means of drawing traffic to the blog? I would attempt to review the reasons listed in the blog post as to why the author is of the view that Kenya leads Nigeria in Internet Business opportunities.

1. Safaricom
Safaricom? When did Safaricom start offering Internet connectivity over a 3.5G network? Only recently. As at the last time I was in Kenya (February 2010), Safaricom was still offering a special promotion of unlimited Internet access for only 999 Kenyan shillings with each subscription lasting only a week. The promo was obviously a means of raising awareness on its new 3.5G network.

In contrast, MTN Nigeria has been offering super-fast Internet over 3.5G since the 2nd quarter of 2008. In addition, Zain and Glo Mobile both offer super-fast Internet using 3.5G technology covering all the top cities in Nigeria.

Nigeria may have more mobile phone players, and cheaper voice rates, but their 3G data services are no where near the quality and reach of Safaricom.

I used Safaricom’s mobile broadband service in Nairobi and Mombosa and frankly speaking, I have experienced faster Internet in Nigeria and Ghana. Safaricom’s service is no where near excellent. It disconnected intermittently and I had reconnect manually on several occasions. I have been too busy since I got back to publish a detailed review based on about 14 days of using Safaricom’s mobile broadband.

An AccessKenya Fibre ad on a road in Nairobi Kenya. AccessKenya is a leading ISP in Kenya. Photo by Oluniyi D. Ajao.

2. Seacom & Teams
Yeah. Seacom alone is a big deal. The hotel I lodged in Mombasa offers Internet connectivity using Swift Global. Swift Global is linked to Seacom. The speed was simply wickedly fast. Seacom was launched July 2009 and currently has an operational capacity of 100 Gbit/s. Considering Kenya (and the whole of East Africa) got their first taste of real Internet only recently, they still have some catching-up to do compared to their West African cousins.

Nigeria’s telecom sector is years behind. Yes, the Glo cable is coming, but with the current restrictive regulation, I bet it will still be cheaper for Nigerian companies to buy bandwidth microwaved over from Benin.

Really? The assertion by Wayan is highly inaccurate. Nigeria is presently the leading telecoms market in Africa with the most liberal telecom regime where several players are digging it in a highly competitive & dynamic market using various technologies. Nigeria is where GSM meets CDMA. Where 3.5G knocks head with EV-DO. Nigeria’s telecom not only offers a big basket of flexible options but is also the biggest in Africa.

Nigeria has been served by the SAT-3 cable (whether directly or via Benin Republic is inconsequential in this context) since 2002. SAT-3 has a capacity of 120 Gbit/s; however, plans are in place to nearly triple SAT-3′s capacity to 340 Gbit/s soon thanks to technological advancements allowing 2.5 Gbit/s wavelengths to be replaced with 10 Gbit/s wavelengths.

The author wrote about the Glo-1 cable with a heavy dose of pessimism. Glo-1 is powered by Globacom Limited, a privately-owned commercial entity. I wonder what “restrictive regulation” would stop Glo from pricing its broadband services competitively. Already, Glo Mobile recently announced new mobile broadband packages offering much more data for the same old price, leaving its competitors to play catch-up.

The author forgot to mention that MTN Nigeria (a private entity) recently won a bid for the rights to SAT-3 and by inference, the submarine cable would witness a much better management in Nigeria.

The author conveniently excluded Main One, another privately-owned submarine cable that is set to be launched soon with an initial capacity of 1.28 Tbits/s serving Nigeria and some other West African countries.

Yet another cable is ACE. ACE (Africa Coast to Europe) submarine communications cable  is a planned cable system along the west coast of Africa between France and South Africa. Etisalat Nigeria (a Nigerian telecom operator) is part of the ACE consortium. ACE would become operational in 2011 with a minimum capacity of 1.92 Tbit/s.

Some vital stats

• Nigeria: 11,000,000 Internet users as of Jun/09, 7.4% of the population, per ITU.
  Population: 154.7 million (UN estimate).
• Kenya: 3,359,600 Internet users as of Jun/09, 8.6% of the population, per ITU.
  Population: 39.8 million (UN estimate)

3. Kenya Power & Lighting
If there is any single factor that would be the albatross of e-commerce development in Nigeria, it would be the lack of power. However, I am forced to reflect in this direction: if Nigeria could achieve this much as epileptic as power supply is, what wouldn’t it achieve when there is adequate supply?

I am far from being complacent and desperately hate the poor power supply in Nigeria but the modest achievements in the present hostile business environment deserve some commendation.

While it is true that Kenya is the regional IT hub in East Africa, Nigeria is the IT hub of a much bigger regional block (West Africa). In summary, Kenya does not beat Nigeria in the Internet business arena. It is a good thing that Africa gets more Internet connectivity but if there is any country to pitch against Nigeria in Africa, it is certainly not Kenya.

You have an opinion on this matter? Join the debate! Leave your thoughts in the comments area.

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The entire kit cost N18,650:

• HSDPA USB stick: N8,500
• MTN SIM: N150
• Airtime: N10,000 (24/7 monthly plan)

The MTN agent asked for an ID and passport photo. As I had no prior knowledge they would demand this, I was only fortunate that I always carried a driving licence and spare passport photos in my wallet everywhere I go, for times like this. Be informed. Also, I was made to sign a fine print containing their terms of service.

The MTN F@stlink modem pack

The device
Branded as MTN F@stlink E156G, the USB stick is essentially a Huawei E156G with the following specifications:

• HSDPA/UMTS 2100MHz – it can connect to just about any 3.5G cellular network in the world if it were unlocked.
• EDGE/GPRS/GSM 1900/1800/900/850 MHz – it can connect to just about any GSM cellular network in the world if it were unlocked.
• HSDPA service data rate up to 3.6Mbps – real life speeds would vary
• SMS service – users can send and receive text messages when using the bundled software
• Micro SD card slot – it can take a Micro SD of up to 4GB capacity and thus double as a USB drive
• Plug and play – there is no need to install software from a CD. The software bundled on the device would have to be installed though, for PCs and Macs.

Before you decide to buy, the device has the following system requirements:

• Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista. I am safely assuming it would work well on Windows 7. Also, I got it to work on Ubuntu 9.10
• Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5 with latest upgrades
• Hardware system should meet the recommended requirements for the installed OS version
• Display resolution: 800 x 600 and above
• Standard USB interface

MTN F@stlink software interface

The software
Branded MTN F@stlink, it offers 7 tabs, namely:

• Connection: this is where the user initiates a connection or disconnection to/from the MTN network
• Statistics: offers a detailed break-down of data usage and includes a graph
• Message: enables the user to send/receive text messages and manage existing messages
• Phonebook: an address book that saves contact details.. Record include Name, Mobile Number, Office Number, Home Number, Email address and Remarks.
• Airtime: enables the user to check and load airtime. It is divided into postpaid and prepaid, to cater for both market segments.
• Internet: a click on this loads the default web browser
• Bundle plan: enables the user to select which of the bundle plans to subscribe to, and check the status of an existing bundle. This service is for prepaid subscribers only. The confirmation is via a text message.

The bundles
MTN Nigeria offers 3 data bundles:

• 24/7 Monthly Plan: this is the ultimate plan from MTN and comes with a 3GB data cap but is available 24 hours every day within a 30 days period. It goes for N10,000 per month. This bundle is ideal for heavy users.
• Nite Plan: this is usable only from 10pm to 5am and also comes with a 3GB data limit but costs only N2,500 monthly. This bundle is ideal for surfers who have a day job and can afford to stay awake all night.
• 24 hours Daily: this is clearly targetted at the occasional web surfer and comes with a meagre 50MB data cap. It costs only N500.

The service
I subjected the mobile broadband service to a speed test at the time of writing using speedtest.net; the following screenshot shows the highest speed I got. Note that speedtest.com used Vodafone Ghana’s server for the test.

A screenshot of MTN Nigeria speed test as taken on 18th February 2010 using speedtest.net

The results shown in the screenshot above just about represent an average of the several tests I carried out. It shows that MTN Nigeria offers a download speed of about 0.43 Mb/s and a miserable upload speed of 0.06Mb/s as well as a high latency of 366ms.

This means, upload heavy data using the mobile broadband service would be a slow experience and making phone/video calls  via the Internet would be less than ideal due to the high latency as seen from the ping test.

The coverage
It is critical to confirm 3G coverage in your locality before opting for MTN’s mobile broadband service for therein lies the key to the advertised speeds. From the marketing flyer attached to the kit:

3G service is currently available in most part of Lagos, Abuja, Enugu, Port Harcourt, Kano, Benin, Ibadan, Kaduna, Onitsha, Aba, Asaba.

MTN also offers an extensive EDGE coverage that is even more nationwide. EDGE which offers a fairly fast connectivity is available where there is no 3G coverage.

The bad
The MTN mobile broadband service was not without hiccups, at the time of extensive use.

• Intermittent disconnections: The service simply went off occasionally and connection could be re-established by disconnecting and re-connecting from the network. At other times, the downtime lasted over an hour.
• SSL traffic: Occasionally, it was impossible to access secured websites. All access to URLs starting with https:// were in possible and thus secured chatting programs like Yahoo Messenger and Skype failed to connect too. This error typically occurred at mid-mornings.
• Not all websites were accessible: Even when the mobile broadband service was at its peak of performance, some websites were not accessible despite repeated attempts. The persistent error message was: “No suitable nodes are available to serve your request.” A work-around this was to use a proxy server.
• The offered data bundles are not very flexible as users’ choices are limited. Heavy users are forced to subscribed to the 24/7 monthly plan for N10,000 even if they would need less than 3GB monthly.
• It is difficult to know the status of usage after crossing the 1GB milestone. Checking your data usage via SMS thereafter does not offer an exact figure of used data but simply states that 2GB has been used. It is thus difficult for the user to know when usage is getting close to the 3GB limit.

The verdict
MTN Nigeria’s mobile broadband service offers high-speed internet connectivity much of the time and is worth buying where mobile connectivity is needed or fixed broadband options are not available provided the user can live with the few annoyances highlighted above.

Note: it is possible to enjoy the broadband service from MTN without buying their F@stlink modem. One could either browse on the (smart)phone itself or use it as a modem. When using the phone as a modem, the user would need the following:

• a 3.5G-capable mobile phone
• modem driver &  dialling software: these are typically provided on a CD bundled with the phone, by the phone manufacturer, or can be downloaded via the Internet
• a means of connectivity the phone to a computer: whilst bluetooth is usable, USB is ideal. Infrared is archaic.
• an MTN data bundle subscription

Backstory*:

• I have used the MTN Mobile Broadband service extensively before buying their F@stlink modem, using Nokia smartphones as modem and have experienced the high speed in Lagos, Ibadan and Kaduna. EDGE worked in Zaria.
• MTN branded complimentary gift items accompanied the broadband kit: a pen and a writing pad.
• I did not have enough time to read the terms before signing and so not sure about what it contains.

*The info in the “backstory” section, are what I considered too trivial to add into the main body of the review but useful enough to share with you.

Did you find this review useful, feel free to share this blog with others. Do you have an additions or questions about this review, add these using the comments area.

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The innovative event already has a long roll-call of speakers and facilitators, and has special round-table sessions that would enable every delegate to participate in the discussions. The official website for Mobile Web East Africa is at www.mobileeastafrica.com

The current edition of MobileWorld magazine

The first 40 delegates would receive a free copy of the current edition of MobileWorld magazine, courtesy Mobile Africa.

Mobile World delivers cutting edge mobile communications news, information technology, reviews, essential tips, and information on existing and new equipments, gizmo’s, gadgets and provides a fresh perspective on current events as relevant within the global communications market.

The current edition includes:

• Nigeria hits 67 million subscribers …now Africa’s No. 1 telecoms market – ITU (cover story)
• Ndukwe is Nigeria’s Father of Telecom Revolution
• Midwifing a knowledge-driven economy, the MTN example
• Lagosians endorse Multi-Links Telkom’s Ev-Do Product & Services
• Safaricom launches Dynamic Discount tariff
• Zain, EMS and RIM introduce the Blackberry Solution in Ghana
• Vodafone, Zain, MTN, Tigo, Glo Mobile and their competition in Ghana by Oluniyi David Ajao
• and much more…

MobileWorld magazine is a publication of Instinct Media, a UK-based publisher.

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I recently picked up an MTN “Exclusive 3G Pack” for 100 Ghana Cedis (about $69) and have used it extensively for about 14 days mainly in Accra. The information below is based on some of my experience using the mobile broadband service.

The 3G pack contained:

• an MTN-branded Huawei E160E USB stick
• an MTN Internet SIM

The MTN F@stlink manual, the USB stick and USB cable. Photo by Oluniyi David Ajao.

Technical Specification

Find the technical specifications and some explanation of the USB device, below:

• Network: HSDPA/UMTS (850/1900/2100MHz) & GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900MHz). This means the device can work across most GSM networks, globally.


A packaged MTN Broadband USB stick

• Speed: It supports 3.6Mbps HSDPA services. Since MTN offers connectivity over a 3.5G network, users can experience theoretical speeds of up to 3.6Mbps which is very high by today’s best standards.
• Memory: Micro SD Card Slot. It supports up to 4GB storage when a MicroSD card is placed in the included slot and therefore the device can double as a USB storage device.
• Communication: SMS services – users can send and receive text messages through the software bundled with the device. Though the device can support PC voice, the function is not enabled by MTN.
• Support data statistics: The bundled software offers extensive graphical statistics.
• Plug & Play: it works almost as soon as it is connected to a PC or Mac. It requires no seperate CD installation software.
• Cross-platform: Support Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac Operating Systems. From my tests, I also got it to work on an Ubuntu desktop version operating system.

MTN F@stlink software

Installing the device was a fast and straight-forward process. The easy-to-use MTN F@stlink (the dialling software) was soon installed.

MTN F@stlink comes with the following features:

• Connection: allows users to connect and disconnect to the Internet


A screenshot of MTN F@stlink software.

• Statistics: displays real-time statistics whilst the user is connected to the Internet and also includes a daily, monthly and yearly data counter.
• Text: enables the user to send and receive text messages as well as manage existing text messages.
• Phonebook: a simple contact management system that includes the following fields – Name, Mobile Number, Office Number, Home Number, E-mail Address.
• Airtime: enables the user to check existing data balance and as well as load a regular MTN airtime voucher.

MTN Internet SIM

An MTN Internet SIM pack

The special SIM card bundled with the MTN “Exclusive 3G pack” had 2 Ghana Cedis airtime preloaded with amounted to 50MB data. Since this was a special SIM, the Internet tariff is lower, compared to the normal MTN SIMs. In order to compare the data tariff with that of Zain, I loaded 30 Ghana Cedis airtime and the total data derived amounted to 1.2GB. 400MB of data was credited each time I loaded a 10 Ghana Cedis airtime voucher. Note that “Zain Lite” Internet package offers only 1GB of data for 30 Ghana cedis.

The MTN Internet SIM is restricted from making or receiving calls by MTN even though it comes with a regular MTN mobile number. Calling the number, one hears the ringing buzz but there is no reaction on the PC nor any notice of a call. One hears an error message when a call attempt is made from the Internet SIM.

I tried the special SIM on a mobile phone and it worked normally with the exception of not taking nor making calls.

Usage

I tested the connectivity from McCarthy Hill area in Accra and experienced a signal strength that varied between 95 and 99%, with real download speeds reaching 1.8Mbps. MTN Ghana’s website www.mtn.com.gh loaded the fastest since they host their own website. Real speeds elsewhere might vary according to the time of day (peak or off-peak period), number of people connected to a particular base station, speed of travel (if the user is in motion), and signal strength.

Much of Accra is covered by MTN’s 3.5G network with EDGE filling the gap in patches without 3.5G. Using the service on the outskirts of Accra where only GPRS is available, speeds did not exceed a meagre 5kbps. This implies that MTN Broadband is best used where there is 3.5G network coverage.

According to MTN Ghana’s website:

MTN 3G service is available in Accra, Tema, Kumasi, Takoradi, Tarkwa, Bogoso, Ho, Koforidua, Cape Coast, Kasoa, Winneba, Tamale, Sunyani, Kenyasi, Techiman, Obuasi, Bolgatanga, Wa, Prestea, Damine, Ntoroso, Bibiani, Besomtwi, Bekwai, Aflao, Chirano and still counting.

In summary, MTN’s Mobile Broadband service is ideal is for home or small business users who have limited data usage but want to experience the high speed 3.5G technology offers. The entry fees are affordable as are the data tariffs. It is advisable to check if your area has 3.5G coverage before getting on board. You can do so by manually scanning the networks from a 3.5G phone.

MTN offers another device for connectivity, aside the USB stick:

3.5G F@stLink Router
MTN 3.5 G F@stlink router is a 3G cellular modem,which has an embedded wireless hotspot, with four Ethernet ports and a traditional phone jack. It is perfect for home or small offices and allows a user to sharea connection with multiple users. The router may also serve as a modem using the USB slot to provide a single connection to the user.

Did find this review useful or otherwise? Share your thoughts in the comments area.

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A screenshot of a Google Maps navigational map, showing Seattle in Washington USA

Meltwater Entrepreneural School of Technology (MEST) in East Legon (a suburb of Accra, Ghana) was the venue of the just-concluded BarCamp Ghana 2009. Aside having interacted with some of the entrepreneurs-in-training (as their students are called) in the past, I knew little about MEST and had no idea of its exact location within East Legon.

I happen to use the mid-range Nokia E75 smartphone and had installed two navigational software on it: Nokia Maps 3 and Google Maps 3.2. Though Nokia Maps is far more sophisticated than Google Maps, I had to rely on the latter since Nokia Maps did not offer a navigable map service for Ghana.

Nokia E75 comes with a Global Position Satellite (GPS) receiver.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a U.S. space-based global navigation satellite system. It provides reliable positioning, navigation, and timing services to worldwide users on a continuous basis in all weather, day and night, anywhere on or near the Earth.

Before setting-off, I retrieved the location of MEST from their contact page:

20 Aluguntuguntu St.
Ambassadorial Enclave
East Legon
Accra, Ghana

A Nokia E75 phone

We soon got to East Legon. Since Google Maps for Mobile did not offer street-level searching, I had to visually locate Aluguntuguntu Street on the map. Relative to our live location which is indicated on the map by a blinking blue dot, I was able to guide the driver through the turns to locate MEST. We soon drove into Aluguntuguntu Street. The street turn-out to be untarred and that made me wonder if we were driving on the right street. I proceeded, eager to see where the road ends and thus you would imagine my relief when I sighted the blue MEST building a few metres ahead.

Indeed, MEST is the first place I located successfully in Accra, by relying entirely on Google Maps for Mobile. Do you want Google Maps on your phone? Just type this URL into your phone’s browser: m.google.com/maps

Have you been using any mobile navigational application on your mobile? Share your experiences here and now, in the comments area.

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The venue for Mobile Web East Africa is the 5 star Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi which is situated just across from Uhuru Park.

Following the unrivalled success of Mobile Web Africa, which was a true “sell-out” conference held in South Africa in October, Mobile Web East Africa is the next in a series of progressive and innovative events to focus on one of the most important technological advances of the 21st century.

Again utilising the exceptionally interactive roundtable format, Mobile Web East Africa promises to be one of the leading events of 2010 in Africa.  It is through these roundtable interactions, panel discussions and presentations that the future development of the mobile internet, mobile applications and mobile ecosystem in the region will be discussed and mapped.

The only down side of the roundtable format is that it limits the number of attendees that can come – for Mobile Web East Africa the room is limited to just 120 people so to guarantee your place please register early!

THE KEY THEMES @ MOBILE WEB EAST AFRICA

Mobile Web East Africa will focus on a range of topics relating to the core areas in the development of the mobile ecosystem and how the potential of the mobile device can truly be realised.

These are probably easiest illustrated as a range of key questions as opposed to themes:

1. How will the industry evolve to a point where the vast majority of people have access to the mobile web and the content they want to view?
2. How will the industry fully exploit existing and future opportunities?
3. How can PC or mobile based developers and start-ups monetise their innovation and creativity to grow in to companies that will drive the expansion of the ecosystem?
4. How can Operators, Original Equipment Manufacturers, global associations and other mobile powerhouses assist their smaller partners?
5. How can societal and economic problems be tackled by the development of the capabilities of the mobile device?
6. What handsets, standards, networks and designs will allow consumers to successfully access the content and consume it?
7. How will the consumer be able to discover that content – through a Portal, Application, Browser, Search Engine, Advert, Social Network?

Through a series of presentations, extended panel discussions and networking opportunities these questions will be tackled.
You, alongside 120 of the individuals who are leading the development of the sector in East Africa, will make real progress towards discovering the answers.

Visit http://www.mobileeastafrica.com/ for more details.

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