I received a request from an iPhone owner who wants to be able to use his PC internet subscription on his phone. In this article, I present a tutorial on how to setup a wireless hotspot on your notebook and browse with your Wi-fi enabled phone through that wireless connection.

The idea is that you can bypass your GPRS/EDGE/3G/HSPDA network and save some cash (please be sure to send a donation!).

On to the business at hand…

Stage One: Setup your WLAN Network

1. On your notebook, go to Control panel
2. Click to open “Network Connections”
3. Right click on “Wireless Connection” and click on “Properties”
4. Click on the “Wireless Networks” tab and select the check-box tagged “Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings”
5. Under “Prefered networks” click “Add”
6. In the text box labelled “Network name”, type in a name for your network
7. Under “Network Authentication”, select “Open” or “Shared” (shared is more secure)
8. Under Data encryption select “WEP” and type in your password in “Network Key” field. Use a 5-character password. Click “OK”
9. In the list of preferred networks, you should now see your new wireless network.
10. Select/highlight your network, then click on the “Advanced” button. Select “Computer-to-computer (ad hoc) networks only” and hit the “Close” button.
11. Click “OK” to close the box

Stage Two: Share Your Internet Subscription Through the New Network

In all probability, you have a subscription from Starcomms, DirectOnPC or iWireless, or some other ISP

1. In Control Panel, click to open “Network Connections”
2. Look for your ISP connection, right click it and select “Properties”
3. Go to the “Advanced” tab and under “Internet Connection Sharing” check the box which says “Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s internet connection”
4. Right below it is a selection box. Choose “Wireless Network Connection”
5. Click “OK”. That’s it. Your very own WLAn hotspot is ready!

The Rest…

Enable WLAN on your notebook (hardware button or desktop icon). Then set your phone (in this case my Nokia E90) to search for available WLAN networks. Your new network should be discovered and displayed. Works a treat here, and I’m browsing on my commie at breakneck speeds (I have a HSDPA link on my notebook).

When asked for your WEP key, enter your 5-character password, and depending on the device complete the process and start browsing!

Feel free to ask your questions using the comment box below. Just be sure to give as much details as possible.

According to Wikipedia, Mobile Number Portability (MNP) enables users to retain their mobile numbers when they wish to change from one mobile network to another. For instance, I can retain my Glo number when switching to the Etisalat network – this means I will make calls and send messages at Etisalat’s tariffs. When I call friends and family, my Glo number is displayed.

There are 2 ways in which MNP can be implemented – the more popular method is for the customer to contact the new operator (Recipient) who then makes the arrangements on behalf of the subscriber with the old operator (Donor). The other, only practised in the UK for now, only allows the subscriber to contact his old network (the Donor) to obtain a code which he then gives to the Recipient.There are several technical issues involved in MNP but the most significant is the routing of calls and messages to the mobile number once it has been ported. The widely accepted means is through the use of a Central Database (CDB) of ported numbers. Worldwide, porting times have varied from as fast as 3 minutes in Australia to 2 hours in the US and currently 2 working days in the UK. The service has been mostly free in most countries but has also attracted a minimal charge in some. MNP costs about 30 Euros in Germany.

The idea of MNP was first mooted in Nigeria by the NCC in 2007 but since then little has been heard of it. Some of the reasons given for its proposed introduction back then were to break operators’ monopoly of numbers, help reduce complaints of poor quality of service/improve quality of service and reduction of tariffs. As at 2007, Engr Ndukwe was credited with saying that it would only require a dial to migrate from one mobile network to another. Other technical officials were quoted to have said that the service might attract a “little” cost to subscribers.

Recently, in a March 31, 2009 article on NEXT, Engr Ndukwe has set May 2009 as the date for the announcement of a timetable for MNP takeoff. On the mode of implementation, he said that the NCC will be working with an independent company which would be responsible for subscribers wishing to retain their mobile numbers while switching networks. He also revealed that the operators were on board and ready.

However, no mention has been made of the cost implications to the subscriber (if any). Aside this, how long will it take to carry out the change-over process (porting time)? Also, to prevent abuse of the system how often can one change operators over what time period? Is MNP going to be limited to GSM or are the CDMA networks involved too?

The benefits of MNP are immense for any telecoms market. It will truly create an atmosphere for competition. Operators can be free to roll out better packages for subscribers without restrictions (within limits, that is). New entrants are also better positioned to compete favourably as they can be judged by the quality of their service and products. In the long run, the customer, as king, benefits the most – increased choices, ability to retain your mobile number, improved service, lower tariffs. On the other hand, the system could be abused by subscribers who flit from operator to operator at the slightest whim. Also, there could be underhand practices from operators who want to hold on to their customers at all costs. This calls for proper regulation by NCC and the establishment of proper and adequate protocols for the process and regular reviews to ensure compliance.

All in all, I am eagerly awaiting the advent of MNP here in Nigeria. Maybe, just maybe, it will be the harbinger of better things in the telecoms industry.

From: “Yomi Adegboye”
To: care@etisalat.com.ng
Subject: Bridging The Digital Divide
Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2009 12:25:30 +0100

Dear Sirs,

This mail is to bring to your attention the tremendous opportunity available to Etisalat Nigeria in the area of mobile internet services in the country.

At the moment, there is a gaping vacuum in the mobile internet terrain in the country, especially with the older network operators providing less than satisfactory data services.

We are of the informed opinion that this is an opportunity for Etisalat to step up to the plate with bundle internet packages similar to those being offered currently by MTN, Zain and Glomobile.

If well packaged, even if at slightly higher tariffs, bundle data plans from Etisalat will instantly offer an alternative and succour to millions of subscribers stranded on the often less than satisfactory data services on ground at the moment.

Thanking you for your time, and looking forward to Etisalat stepping to the plate with bundle data plans.

Yours faithfully,

Yomi Adegboye
Chairman/CEO
Alireta Nigeria Limited
http://www.alireta.com
——————————–

The above was the mail I sent to the Etisalat Nigeria careline earlier today. The mail was returned undelivered for the following stated reason:

care@etisalat.com.ng
SMTP error from remote mail server after end of data:
host mail.etisalat.com.ng [80.248.2.141]: 550 5.7.1 Message rejected due to content restrictions

Rather odd. There was nothing else in the mail beside text I will re-send it later and hope that it goes through this time.

The truth, however, is that Etisalat is sitting on a goldmine, but seems not to be taking up the challenge. The voice market is largely, relatively saturated. But the mobile internet market? It is so under-tapped that this is the very area that Etisalat can take advantage of to spread its tentacles.

Related Reading:
1. Whither Mobile Internet, Etisalat?
2. Etisalat’s Uncompetitive Mobile Internet Tariff
3. EDGE on Etisalat: First Impressions

This is a rant, and it was triggered off by a comment posted at All About Symbian by someone who calls himself Natureboyzone. Here is what he posted:

Hi.i am new to the forum.i use N76 and my network is mtn nigeria.how do i activate it for free browsing.i also heard about the data call pls send me the settings or link me up with someone who can help.thanks

If you follow the AAS link I provided above, you would see that the topic under discussion has nothing to do with configuration settings, muchless free browsing. Note also that he is new to a community, and the first thing he does is this.

I see this embarassing, beggarly attitude on different forums, including foreign ones like Esato and My-Symbian (My-Symbian has a number of Nigerian IP addresses blocked already).

Here on the homefront, Nairaland is has the worst hit mobile community. Over 95% of the exchanges there are about free browsing on GSM networks. It is almost impossible to find an intelligent discussion to engage in the mobile forum there.

Here on MobilityNigeria, we keep stressing that we have no such information to give, but these desperate young men (and women) keep mailing in to request for free browsing tricks and information. As a responsible business and as responsible individuals, we cannot promote practices that undermine the business of others. But that is beyond the point of this article.

What I am bothered about is the nuisance that these free browsing beggars have become everywhere on the WWW, and the bad publicity that they generate for Nigeria. It is bad!

People are having an intelligent discussion, and then someone barges in, begging for free browsing tricks. Sigh. I can imagine that various well-known mobile figures around the world would have received private mails from Nigerian hounds looking for free (illegal) browsing hacks and tricks.

What is more shocking is the fact that the majority of those who jump on the free ride don’t put it to productive uses (See my article published in November 2008: The Free Browsing Tricks on Mobile Networks).

Get productive, guys. Put innovation to work. Get off your butts and do something to better your lot and that of the country you live in. Stop begging and hitch-hiking. Okay, its fine to hitch-hike the first few legs of your journey if things are really bad for you. But build from there, and get off that road ASAP.

I remember using CSD (circuit switched data) years back when call and data both cost N50.00 per minute (anyone remember those days?) to manage my emails, customer orders and support in the early days of my webhosting business. Even at that exhorbitant cost, I put it to profitable use and built something out of it. Circuit Switched Data is the technical name for GSM dial-up.

Thereafter, GPRS (and later 3G) arrived and was much costlier than what we have on ground today. Yet; I still put it to productive use.

Today, we see an army of young people using cost as an excuse (excuse me?) to defend what is largely a product of irresponsibility. I am under no illusions that this article of mine will produce any change. I’ll bet my entire year’s income that this article will be read, noses raised at me, and the hunt further pursued.

But at least, I have had my say. And hopefully, maybe one – just one – of these free browsing hunters will be awakened through what I have written here, and choose to stand apart, get responsible, and do something really productive with his or her life.

Maybe.

PS: Zain has just concluded a month-long free internet promo, and I am sure we will be hard pressed to find a handful of young people who put the promo to real productive use – not just chatting up babes and posting unintelligent comments on discussion boards and weblogs. Not that Zain’s very epileptic internet access helped matters though, but that’s a subject for another article.

Mobile World Congress 2009 threw up a number of efforts by major manufacturers to explore the world of solar-powered mobile phones. Those manufacturers include Samsung, LG, and ZTE.

Samsung has a touchscreen device named Blue Earth. LG’s teaser is yet to be named, while ZTE has dubbed theirs Coral 200. Of the three, ZTE’s offering is targeted at the low-end market.

The concept of solar-powered mobile phones is a good one. If you live in Nigeria, like I do, where public power supply is embarassingly and frustratingly pathetic, I can imagine that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to look in that direction. Stop worrying about forgetting your charger at home too!

From left to right: Samsung Blue Earth, LG's yet-to-be-named device, and the ZTE Coral-200

At times, it is easy to forget the progress that has been made over a period of time. The mobile sector is particularly one in which innovations come by the day.

For me, it has been years of adventure in mobility, from my first phone, a very basic Motorola T2288 to my present, the Nokia E90 communicator. The T2288 had a WAP 1.1 browser, I used the browser only on a few occassions and that in the later part of its lifetime with me – and, was it limited or what?

And do you remember those horrible antennas that stick out at the top of most phones then?

In contrast, the E90 has a highly capable web browser (that matches Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7 in some ways and is better in others), office editing tools, a capable e-mail client, instant messaging apps, and much more. I used to have a desktop at home and a laptop. I no longer do. My E90 fulfills their roles so well that i only use a PC at the office now. The present crop of devices outgun and out-everything mobile that was available then. They also outgun the PCs of the late 90s and early 2000s.