The following was submitted by our regular, Harry Echemco:

I just got this text from Airtel:

Re-live exciting browsing moments with the NEW Airtel Surf Plan. Dial *141*712*12# to enjoy 500MB worth of data for N1300 only valid for 30 days!

Any other person in the house got the same message? I’ve not confirmed this from their website or elsewhere, if this is true, then this year is going to be wonderful in the mobile space, notwithstanding the fuel subsidy removal.

My present plan on Etisalat runs out on the 9th of next month, I will be able to tell then, but I hope this is not repeat of what they did last year. In any case, I’m going to confirm this before subscribing to the plan.

Personally, I haven’t received such a message on my Airtel line yet, but who wouldn’t hope that this is true? The ripple effects would be nice for consumers’ pockets.

Have you received a similar message from Airtel, or have access to any info to confirm the above?

The Nigerian Communications Commission has issued a statement to deny that there was any directive to GSM operators to shut down BlackBerry services in the country in the wake of public protests against the recent fuel subsidy removal.

The full statement:

THE NCC’S POSITION ON BLACKBERRY SERVICES
The attention of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has been drawn to an information making rounds that the NCC had at a meeting this morning agreed with CEOs of telecommunications networks to shutdown Blackberry Services in order to deny Nigerians the use of that very important social network.

The Management hereby states categorically that there was never such a meeting held, nor was there ever a resolution to shut down Blackberry services. The Public is please advised to disregard such information.

The Commission enjoins the network operators to continue to provide all telecommunication services, including Blackberry Services without fail.

Signed
Tony Ojobo
Director, Public Affairs

A leading source for breaking technology news, opinion and analysis, TechLoy has published a list of the most influential technology people of 2011.

On the list is founder and publisher of Mobility blog, Yomi Adegboye. Here is what TechLoy says about him:

Popularly known as ‘Mister Mobility’ by his fans, Yomi has been an authority in the mobile technology reviews space for some time now. In January 2011, he called out several mobile manufacturers such as RIM on their snobbish attitude towards Nigeria, especially with regards access to purchasing apps from their app stores. About 48 hours later, RIM opened up the Blackberry App World to Nigeria to purchase apps.

Other individuals in the mobile industry who made the list are: Emeka Okoye, Mayowa Owolabi, Emmanuel Oluwatosin and James Fowe. We are sure that you will want to read up about the other gentlemen and ladies on the prestigious list.

Read the complete TechLoy article: The Most Influential Technology People of 2011

It is my belief that life is what we make of it. I do not mean that there are things that are not outside of our control. I mean that we do have the ability to make the best of those things that are within our control.

Personally, 2011 was a rough year for me – so many things happened that were out of my control. But would you have been able to tell if I had not mentioned it, or if you are not privy to my personal affairs? I doubt. You see, in spite of the rough patch, I made the best of the year, and for that I have some landmarks and achievements to point to.

I am sure that some of you had rough patches through 2011 too. But you made it through; didn’t you?

Dear friends and mobile enthusiasts, you and I made 2011 an exciting year here on the Mobility blog. We built a blog that we all looked forward to visiting first thing in the morning, several times during the day, and sometimes the last thing at night.

We made 2011 rock.

Thank you!

Thank you for helping out with other people’s questions and issues. Thank you for your positive comments. Thank you for the criticisms – and sometimes the arguments. Thank you for reading (over 90% of our visitors never post a comment)! Thanks to those who sent in guest posts too.

You know that we put our money where our mouths are, so when we say “Thank you”, we usually also match it with something tangible. We have given out smartphones and a few other niceties here in the past. We intend to continue with that tradition this new year and beyond. So stick around. E fit be you o!

A big thanks to the businesses, ad and media agencies, and other advertisers who sent business our way in 2011. You know how we delight in helping you meet your goals! Let’s do more for you this year 2012.

To Your Success In 2012!

Now, how about your own personal goals and aspirations? Go for them!

I started this blog in 2008 and it didn’t look like much then. Over three years on, and the Mobility blog has become the most referenced and most respected blog on mobile technology in Nigeria, West Africa, and arguably in Africa. We also have a strong following from Asia, Europe, North America and South America.

Get on with those dreams. Life is too short, and I can’t shout. May your paths be prosperous, dear friends!

To your success in 2012!

Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB) are putting together the first Nigeria Tech Community Christmas Party this month. Yes; party. Not seminar, workshop, or hackathon. P-A-R-T-Y: loud music, dance, and drinks.

No speeches. No demonstrations or presentations. We are partying.

Date: Friday 16th December 2011
Time: 6pm – 11pm
Venue: 6th Floor, 294 Herbert Macaulay Way, Sabo, Yaba (Same building as Debonair Bookshop, Opposite Hoares Memorial Methodist Church)

If you are into technology as a profession or as an enthusiast, you are welcome. Guys and babes; come one, come all.

It has been a hectic year. Let’s hang out and celebrate. You can be sure that I’ll be there in my dancing shoes! Yomi no dey carry last!

Should you need clarification or directions, please call CcHUB on +2347058446350 or +2348136241976.

This event is being sponsored by OperaAfrica.

I have been meaning to write this article for a long time now.

Looking at the mobile services market here in Nigeria, I am both amused and sad (though how that combination is possible is beyond me) at how everything seems to boil down to price.

The operators are in a nasty price war – and I daresay that we all are the worse for it. Here is what may have escaped us – every time a network operator has further crashed tariffs, quality of service (QoS) on that network has followed in tow.

Unfortunately, the consumers, who cry foul every time that happens, are as much to blame for the scenario.

But an industry that is price-driven alone is a dangerous thing. Note that I said “alone”.

I wish that one network operator would dare to stand out and offer significantly higher tariffs and superb, stellar services. For example, I’d like to see a network where I can upload 2GB of data without breaking a sweat in a matter of minutes. Every single time. I wouldn’t mind paying more for that service.

That would be serious differentiation based on value, not just price. People who need that kind of reliability are sure to be willing to pay for it.

Let’s take a look at the device market. Apple introduced a device that offered much less features than the competition, but that also cost significantly more. This was at a time that the global economy was going down the drain. Did Apple fail?

No; they didn’t. As a matter of fact, Apple has performed exceptionally well by refusing to compete on price. The iPhone range offers less features than others, but because it does well those things that it offers, it could be sold successfully at a premium price.

That’s market differentiation. Apple was not trying to produce another Symbian or BlackBerry copy back then. While they have since implemented some more features, they are still not producing just another smartphone.

I hope we get the picture. As consumers, we need to accept that all networks do not have to offer low tariffs – if they can offer superb value. We need options, and right now, those options do not exist.

Paying More for Less

While we now have much lower tariffs than we had many months and years ago, the fact that we have to maintain multiple lines and devices means that we may not necesarilly be spending less.

We are probably just going round in circles.

Options and Choices

I want to see the people’s network – one that offers the lowest tariffs. But then, I wouldn’t expect the most reliable services from such a network in comparison with a network offering premium services.

I also want to see the turbo (premium) network – one that offers the most rock solid connections for both voice and data, but perhaps at significantly higher tariffs.

There would also be room in the middle – for those who want a bit of this and a bit of that.

That way, consumers can make real choices. With a market as large as Nigeria, operators should have no fear of standing out from the crowd.

The Present is Mediocrity

Unfortunately, right now, there is no differentiation in the market. Absolutely none. There is no competition, for competition based on price alone is not healthy competition.

Dear network operators, where are your balls? You are all hiding in your comfort zones.

Right now, all you are offering are the same things at more or less the same prices. You are valueless brands. Waterless wells. Tasteless salt.

Your so-called brands only exist on TV and on the pages of newspapers. I know that your brand managers will blacklist me for saying this, but its been said. Go break a leg.

All you have here in the Nigerian market are business names, not brands. You are all the same.

And when someone dares to attempt to glorify this mediocrity with a statement like, “Only in Nigeria is this possible“, yes; I agree – only in Nigeria can anyone make millions daily from offering such poor, tasteless services like our networks operators offer.

In 2011, and in a country of over 150 million people, that’s shameful.

San Francisco, CA – Spinlet is a company dedicated to meeting the needs of music lovers and artists. The company will become the premier digital distribution service to enter the African market and is focused on promoting music as the catalyst for positive social engineering. San Francisco based Spinlet is committed to ensuring they have their finger on the pulse in the Nigerian and African entertainment industries and have recently set up a location in Lagos, Nigeria. The company has hired a local team to assist in the launch of the new Spinlet service set to release this November.

As Africa’s premier digital distribution service Spinlet will assist artists and musicians in capturing revenue streams often lost to the piracy markets. Spinlet began exploring African markets after noticing gaps in distribution of media content in Africa. Spinlet’s move to fill this void was made to revolutionize the distribution and purchasing behavior in the booming African markets.

Spinlet will work together with labels, artists and musicians to produce world-class music that can be marketed and sold throughout Africa and in international markets. The achievements already made within the African Entertainment Industry are monumental with first rate recording studios, international recognition on the rise and commercial opportunities becoming available to artists. “Through digital distribution and artist development we can help to generate economic growth, create jobs in the entertainment industries and help raise international awareness of African artists’ increasing live performance and publishing revenue” says Spinlet’s Mark Redgard.

In addition to the many benefits of working with Spinlet, the company will focus on helping artists connect with and grow their fan bases through film and tv soundtrack placement, multi-national endorsements and commercial opportunities. ”The domestic market is huge and can sustain artists singing in regional languages and experimenting with indigenous styles,” says Redgard, “we want to encourage the youth of Africa to continue to make and market their music and see that they are adequately compensated for it. They deserve commercial success just as anyone else would.”

Artists and record labels can join the Spinlet service and begin selling their music immediately upon launch of the service by contacting a Spinlet representative or submitting their music through an online process. Spinlet does not discriminate on any artists and encourages all rights holders to submit their music or contact Spinlet as soon as possible to begin the process of joining the global Spinlet brand.

You can learn more about Spinlet at www.spinlet.com.

Johannesburg, November 3, 2011, Nigeria is the fifth-largest country in the world for Opera Mini browser usage and that is expected to increase even further with the recently-released co-branded MTN and Opera Mini offering. Nigeria is far ahead of major players like China, the United States and Brazil for the number of Opera Mini browser users.

In the past year, Nigeria experienced 634.3% growth in the number of Opera Mini users and 547.7% growth in the number of webpages viewed each month. Nigerian mobile web users are busy too, with the average user viewing 345 pages each month.

Around 90% of Nigerian mobile surfing is done using Opera Mini.

The top four sites for Nigerian mobile surfers are Facebook, Google, Yahoo! and the BBC. Opera Mini is the most popular mobile browser in Nigeria and the browser of choice for 73% of all mobile web users in Africa.

Not only does Opera Mini deliver a faster Web to almost any phone, it also cuts data costs by compressing webpage data before pages are delivered, while retaining all the functionality of a normal webpage. In a nutshell, this gives Nigerians the ability to view almost nine times as much content on their phones as with their existing browser – for the same price.

Opera Mini works on more than 3,000 different mobile-phone models, from basic feature phones to the latest smartphones.

Existing Opera Mini users on the MTN network in Nigeria will be automatically updated to the new version when they run Opera Mini. Users can also download Opera Mini directly to their phones at m.opera.com.

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.

I was a participant at MTN Nigeria’s Ideas Forum held at the Southern Sun, Ikoyi yesterday. It was a very engaging time during which we discussed mobile apps development in Nigeria and MTN’s proposed mobile app store, as well as ways that the ecosystem can be enhanced.

I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with a number of great guys from strategic companies, including Opera and Microsoft.

I have it on good authority from the Microsoft official that Windows Phone is coming to Nigeria officially – and soon. So many people have been asking me this question, so I guess your blood pressures can return to normal now – or go up even more from the anticipation.

Oh, and I was told that the Nigerian launch is not going to be soft, so expect a lot of push from Microsoft here.

Meanwhile, do not forget that my written review of Windows Phone 7.5 Mango is on the way.

Are you the mobile/internet enthusiast out there who believes/plays in the industry but doesn’t fully understand the language? Are you are a potential investor and you know there are prospects in this industry but you just dont understand most of the basics?

Are you a student who has many questions on how to become a mobile/internet enterprenuer? Or you are a professional who is looking at a career change or business in our industry but you have been finding it difficult to understand the basics on the internet and mobile business?

The knowledge required to get techie is not written in any training school syllabus nor most textbooks. It is more of a culture and language that have evolved over the years.

October MoMo meet-up is therefore setup to help you on this journey. It will be an interactive session where you can network, learn and ask questions about the mobile internet industry. Our panelists will try to answer as many questions as possible.

Topics to be covered will include:

– Cloud Computing
– Start a technology business
– relevance of mobile applications to my business
– How to recorgnize a good developer
– Plus the ones on your mind!

Panelists will be answering all of them in a very interactive and networking free settings.

Date: Oct 24, 2011
Time: 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM
Venue: Robert’s Cafe, 16B, Akin Olugbade Street, Victoria Island, Lagos

Come and get more Techie! Go register now to reserve a spot.

Mobile number portability (MNP) is a subject that Nigerians have been passionate about. Having been at the mercy of poor QoS (Quality of service) from operators, many have turned to demanding for MNP as a way out. With MNP, a subscriber can cross over to another network but retain his/her number.

The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has now taken concrete steps towards the proposed number portability by appointing a consortium of three companies to implement the proposed number portability services.

Below is an except of the news item from the NCC website:

Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, weekend, said it had appointed a consortium of three companies to implement the proposed number portability services which will allow Nigerian phone users move from one network to another without losing their numbers.

The consortium of Interconnect/Saab Grintek/Telecordia was announced by the commission as the preferred vendor for the service after the technical, financial and demo presentations by the bidding vendors.

Number portability will allow subscribers move to alternate networks when they are no longer enjoying the quality of services being obtained from their current operators or when they are no longer happy with the tariffs offered by their current subscribers. They will still retain their original numbers irrespective of the new network from which they may be obtaining their services.

Source

I am hoping that the implementation comes fast. With the different juicy offers from different networks, there is the pressure to switch. However, switching now would mean a change of my mobile number. With MNP in place, you wouldn’t have to worry about losing your number when you switch.

What do you think of this project? Will MNP solve our QoS problems? Which network will you be switching to and why? Let’s have your comments.