From the break of today the first day of November 2011, the clock began to tick as the countdown begins to the 30 days ultimatum issued by NCC (Nigerian Communications Commission) to Globacom, MTN and Airtel.

The Nigerian Communications Commission has said that it would penalize the three major network operators to the tune of one million naira if they failed to improve service qualities at the end of this month.

The commission carried out independent monitoring exercises of the three networks across the country and found them lacking in performance.

According to a statement by Mr Reuben Muoka, Head, Media and public relations NCC, the commission will stop these operators from further sales of SIM cards by the end of November 2011 if they failed to meet the key performance indicators set by the commission.

These key performance indicators are:

- Call set up success rate

- Call completion rate

- Stand alone dedicated control channel

- Hand over success rate.

Editor’s note: One wonders why data services are never included in NCC’s performance metrics.

SMS from MTN:

Yello! For SUPER FAST browsing experience on your mobile phone, download the MTN branded Opera mini browser for free! Go to m.opera.com to download now.

I checked out MTN Nigeria’s website and saw nothing of such in the News Section. However, I found the information on MTN South Africa’s website.

Go to m.opera.com on your mobile to download.

I just got a tip-off from Shayman about new mobile internet bundles from MTN Nigeria. The new monthly plans are:

• 250MB @ N1,300, text 109 to 131
• 500MB @ N2,000, text 110 to 131
• 1GB @ N3,500, text 111 to 131

This information has not been verified by us, but I think I can stick my neck out considering the source.

I must admit, to my shame, that I am one of those Nigerians who think that the price we pay for internet access is exhorbitant. Of course, this kind of thinking is based absolutely on ignorance of what is happening in other parts of the world. Had we been properly informed and educated, we would know that we are in Heaven in Nigeria as far as internet access is concerned.

For example, when you recharge with N200 on Etisalat, you get 15MB of data free to use for the monthweek. We should simply ask ourselves, Does this happen on Etisalat in other parts of the world? While I haven’t done my research, my guess is that the answer to that question will most definitely surprise us.

I recently came to South Africa to live and work. Naturally, I would need to choose an internet plan to use so I can continue to represent Mobility and keep in touch with the world. I had been told that as far as tarrifs go, MTN is the network to look at. So I decided to continue the tradition of “Every Where You Go”.

You can imagine my surprise when I checked out their prices for the different range of internet bundles they offer, and compared it with what obtains on MTN in Nigeria. The difference was too clear. The tariffs for internet access on MTN South Africa are certainly higher than that of MTN Nigeria.

Here Is The Comparison
For starters, Pay-as-you-use internet on MTN SA cost R2.00 Per MB (N40.00).
On MTN Nigeria, it cost 155kobo per KB which translates to N50.00 per MB

1day plan with 150MB data cap on MTN SA cost R50.00 (N1,000.00).
The same plan on MTN Nigeria costs N500.00

1GB data plan on MTN SA cost R289.00 (N5,780.00)
The same plan on MTN Nigeria costs N5,000.00

2GB data plan MTN SA cost R389.00 (N7,780.00)
5GB data plan MTN Nigeria cost N8,000.

As we can see, the figures speak for themselves. In my uneducated opinion, I would expect that internet tarrif in SA would be cheaper as they don’t need to power their cell sites with generators, and they do not need to spend money on diesel to keep those generators running like their Nigerian counterparts do.

For all it is worth, MTN Nigeria and other networks are working miracles to bring us internet access at the price they do, given all they have to deal with in our environment.

In the first part of this Lagos-Zaria adventure series, I gave information about the mobile gadgets that I took along for the trip.

In this second part, I will give account of our experiences with the various mobile networks during our trip.

Networks
All along the route, MTN mobile internet was available for the most part, but apart from voice calls and SMS, it was a complete disappointment. We were unable to do anything that required internet access with it. It was Glo GPRS/EDGE that saved the day.

Courtesy of Glo, Dayo was able to moderate comments on Mobility blog all through our ten and half hour drive from Lagos to Abuja. Of course, after Ibadan, we had to make do with just GSM/EDGE all the way to Abuja.

We got 3.5G service on both Glo and MTN back on arrival in the Federal Capital Territory, but in Zaria, especially Ahmadu Bello University where we operated from, getting a stable signal on almost any GSM network was next to mission impossible. At Abuja, both networks delivered fast internet access at our University of Abuja, Gwagwalada location.

By the way, we decided that there was a need to polish up the name from Gwagwalada to “Gwags” or “G-lada”. “Gwagwalada” was just too much of a mouthful for our refined lips. Which is your preference?

Along Kaduna-Zaria Road

We did not get a 3G signal on any network during our stay at ABU Zaria. Etisalat was the most stable for mobile internet, and I had to replace my MTN SIM with one from that network.

Dayo, who took along only a phone with his MTN SIM could access the internet only while we were at Abuja. Before and after that, he was one frustrated mobile traveler for the most part.

Of course, we were able to make and receive calls all through the trip as long as there was a signal. However, again, the ABU Zaria area was just terrible, as we experienced dropped calls again and again.

Our return trip was a straight drive from Zaria through Jebba to Lagos. Glo GPRS/EDGE served us well, though there wasn’t always a signal. There were times we lost the Glo signal but MTN was live and well.

Of course, our trip was not a scientific experiment, so we must have missed out a number of things. We were not looking at the devices for a signal every single moment. I am just sharing in general our observations.

Camels shared the road with us in Niger state, Northern Nigeria!

Because our return journey was a stretch and on an older road, we did less observing, and did more of avoiding craters, potholes and articulated vehicles almost all the way from Zaria to Lagos.

Up Next
How did we find our way through the 800 kilometres to the north and back? Enter: Ovi Maps – plus some streak of wild adventurism!

I got this sms a couple of minutes ago on my MTN sim:100 MTN-2-MTN SMS for only N50. Simply text SMS to 321 to buy. Start texting! SMS Offer valid till 18 Sept. So, that’s it from MTN. There seems to be a strong competition among Nigeria’s Network Providers. That’s one of the advantages of having many players in a sector. It forces out what’s really obtainable in such sector. So, start texting!

MTN is challenging the developer community from around the world to create innovative apps inspired by Africa and the Middle-East.

Developers’ creations can deal with any facet of life in Africa and the Middle-East – from solving some of the regions’ most pressing challenges, to lifestyle and entertainment, or even social networking.

However, all apps must be built for the Android operating system, and be in English. The competition runs for six months – from July to December 2011 – and will have six monthly winners and an overall winner.

The first prize for monthly winners is a Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the second prize a Samsung Galaxy S2. The prize for the overall winner is a trip to the Mobile World Congress 2012!

Visit the MTN App Development Competition website

In celebration of 10 years of operations in the Nigerian market, MTN Nigeria has crashed call rates to as low as 17k/sec.

The new rates are not applicable to all calls but to special niches on MTN’s different plans.

MTN SuperSaver
Applicable to On-net calls only, but from the 5th minute. Rates start from 58k/sec for the first minute, and 20k/sec for the second minute.

To migrate, text 408 to 131 or dial *408#.

MTN Family & Friends Xpanded
Calls to 8 MTN numbers on this plan are available at 17k/sec. One Off-net and one international call are at 20k/sec. All other local calls are at 50k/sec.

To migrate, text 407 to 131 or dial *407#.

MTN Funlink Reloaded
For a daily access charge of N25, subscribers to this plan get daytime call rates “as low as 17k/sec” (I’m not sure exactly what that implies).

To migrate, text 406 to 131 or dial *406#.

Commentary

Even with this new introduction, MTN still have the highest call tariffs in the industry. I do not think that there is anything compelling in the new features to make non-MTN users to crossover.

This seems to be nmothing more than a token placation to subscribers on the MTN network.

Leading telecommunications service provider, MTN has introduced even more affordable Blackberry service offerings that address a wide range of consumer usage segments in the Nigerian market. These new offerings provide more service options and even more affordable pricing starting from as low as N450 per week.

The newly introduced Blackberry service offerings include the Blackberry Social Bundle, Blackberry Messaging bundle and the Blackberry Quarterly Plan.

The new Blackberry Social bundle is for students and the young-at-heart who always want to stay close to friends on a pocket-friendly budget. This bundle provides access to instant messaging and social networking applications such as Blackberry messenger, Yahoo messenger, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace as well as other social networking applications for as low as N450 a week or N1500 a month!

The new Blackberry Messaging bundle provides a pocket-friendly avenue for young professionals and students to their business network via access to push email access for up to 10 email accounts and instant messaging applications such as Blackberry messenger, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk and other popular ones. MTN has introduced this bundle at a friendly price of N1500 monthly or N450 weekly.

Business men and Professionals who require access to 24/7 internet access, push email, social networking and instant messaging on the Blackberry have not been left out. The Blackberry Internet Service fulfills this desire via the weekly, monthly and newly introduced Blackberry Quarterly plan from MTN.

The Blackberry Quarterly plan was introduced to reward MTN’s loyal Blackberry customers. On this plan, customers can enjoy full uninterrupted Blackberry services for up to three months at a 10% discount which comes to N8,000 instead of paying N9000 for the 3 months.

In addition to these special packages, MTN has also introduced a promotional offering which makes it possible to get a 1-month free BIS subscription with every Blackberry device purchased for as low as N36,000 at any of its Walk-in centres nationwide.

These new propositions are coming on the heels of similar giant strides taken by the operator in the past.

MTN in 2007 pioneered the introduction of the prepaid Blackberry service in the Nigerian market. As a way of rewarding its esteemed customers for their loyalty in the since it opened for operations in Nigeria in 2001, the company recently pioneered the reduction in prices of Blackberry services from N5000 to N3000 monthly.

MTN remains the operator with the widest data coverage in Nigeria. Hence, MTN Blackberry customers can be assured that its Blackberry devices will remain functional in most parts of the country, when compared to other operators.

MTN constantly demonstrates that it is still clearly in the business of enriching the lives by introducing and enhancing its products and services to achieve the best value for its customers.

To find out more about MTN’s Blackberry packages specially made for you, visit http://www.mtnonline.com/products-services/internet-services/blackberry

MTN Nigeria has launched Apple’s iPad on their network with an offer that gives a subscriber to the promo a Free Micro SIMs and 6GB data monthlybundled with a year’s validity.

The 16GB version of the iPad is available for N141,000. The 32GB version is available for N157,000

Regulars will remember that last year, Yomi was able to confirm with a senior manager at MTN that this deal to bring the iPad to the MTN network is not Nigeria-specific but was an official arrangement between Apple and MTN as a global operation. Till now, the Apple appstore is still closed to Nigeria in terms of access to make purchases, and this new development is no sure indicator that access will be granted soon.

Still, users of the iPad will be able to download from the available free apps in the store.

According to the MTN website, this iPad offer is open to existing and new MTN Prepaid customers only.

Dayo first set me on to this. He had gotten a Blackberry and ran an experiment subscribing to both BIS and an MTN bundle plan. The idea is that with the bundle plan, he could tether and browse on his laptop. We both knew that the networks didn’t allow subscribers to tether via BIS.

Initially, I thought he was crazy, but it made sense. Whether it made sense or not anyway, it worked. He has both BIS and a mobile internet bundle plan running on his line – the best of both worlds.

I currently have a N5,000 Always Min internet bundle active on my line, and I may be reviewing Blackberry OS version 6.0 and so will need a BIS subscription. Afraid that activating BIS would make me lose my precious N5,000 investment, I decided to ask.

Here is an excerpt from Glo’s response:

These services are actually different and will not affect each other in any way. You can as well activate the BIS on that same sim.

Well, that is comforting.

I did try it out later and it works just like Glo customer care said it should.

So, now you know (or you had known before now and I was the one living in ignorance and the joke is on me!), you can use your BB and still enjoy tethering at a modest cost by subscribing for a bundle plan. At least on MTN and Glo. Anyone have any info on Airtel and Etisalat? Of course, I am expecting that it will pretty much be the same on those operators as well, but you never can tell.

I was invited to attend MTN’s Life Enrichment Seminar with featuring David Plouffe – US President Obama’s campaign Manager. The seminar held at the New Expo Hall Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos yesterday evening. This article includes a few pictures (you can click through to the full sized images, but take note that file sizes are in the range of 1.5mb and above).

Mr. Plouffe spoke about how innovative use of internet and mobile technologies is becoming increasingly required for success in business, politics and other endeavours. He gave examples of how the Obama campaign organisation deployed these technologies to get to the man on the street during Obama’s election run.

It was a lovely event with absolutely beautiful music supplied by the Laz Ekwueme National Chorale, a highly respected African choral group. Ali Baba was there too and he kept us cracked up all the way.

I got busy too taking pictures, as well as recording video and audio clips of various parts of the event with my Nokia N8. Of course, I also met a couple of new contacts that just fit into our plans for Mobility Nigeria in 2011. Hint – expect roadshows taking us to several cities across the country to educate and inspire individuals and organisations to harness the power of mobile technology. A proper article on this is coming soon.