…As foreign investors shy away
Stories by Olabisi Olaleye
Stakeholders in the information and communication technology industry have always boasted of the achievements of the industry, especially as it was viewed globally as the fastest growing sector in the country. But that was before the President Muhammadu Buhari administration came to power, as recession and hike in customs duties, among other factors, have been stiffling the once boisterous industry.
For some observers, the ICT industry has not really thrived under this administration and they point to features that butress the position that the sector has been crawling at snail speed.
Recently, major ICT investments that ought to have been finalised with the Nigerian government were taken to South Africa. While some telecoms firms and service providers are looking out of the window for another country in order to re-jig their almost comatose businesses.
For instance, a while back, Microsoft took its data centres to Johannesburg and Cape Town, at the expense of Nigeria and other neighbouring countries. The two data centres were worth $30 billion and the multiplier effects would have been explosive if the money were invested in the Nigerian economy by now.
Similarly, last year, Samsung Electronics took its manufacturing plant to South Africa and Egypt, and gave a diplomatic answer to journalists, hinting that the Nigerian plant would be set up when the economic situation of the country improved.
Meanwhile, most of the multinational companies are sacking staff or covertly sending expatriates to either China or Korea. Even the telecommunications operators are not left out, they all have internal struggles that include huge debts that may affect their operational capacities owing to the biting recession that has obstructed their expansion vision.
During the appointment of the immediate past Minister of Communication Technology, Dr. (Mrs.) Omobola Johnson, the industry thrived and ICT hubs and parks were established. Even startups were assisted via seed funding from the government but all these have been virtually blown away because of paucity of funds.
For instance, the thriving IDEA Hub that was established by Johnson has been shut down because of funding gaps, policy inconsistency and lack of continuity. Several other issues similar to these are also affecting major IT agencies of government.
For instance, little or no laudable achievement of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has been recorded in the last one year.
Minister of Communications , Barr. Adebayo Shittu, and the Ministry of Communications are incapacitated by paucity of funds and political undertones.
Perhaps it was the reason the ICT blueprint that would have been beneficial not only to the ICT community but also the larger country in the form of accelerated gross domestic product (GDP) promised by the Minister over 18 months now is yet to materialise.
In he same vein, Internet subscription has continued to fluctuate and teledensity is nosediving by the day.
Telecoms: Stakeholders appeal to FG on huge duty charge
Telecommunications stakeholders in the country, under the umbrella of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) have appealed to the federal government to mediate and task the Nigeria Custom Service to reduce the exhorbitant charge on duty imposed on the mportation of telecoms equipment.
According to the association, the mediation would go a long way to ease business in Nigeria and reduce the strain on telecoms operators and service providers.
This appeal was made during the courtesy visof ATCON to the Director-General/CEO of NITDA, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, in Abuja yesterday.
“We want NITDA in collaboration with NCC to call for a stakeholders meeting, which would involve the Nigeria Custom Service to discuss charges being levied on telecoms equipment,” the group said.
ATCON president, Mr. Olusola Teniola, said the association was also delighted that NITDA, in collaboration with other agencies, are working towards making the Internet safer for Nigerians.
“We also want to commend NITDA, under Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami’s watch, on the information released by the agency in respect of a newly detected virus called (WannaCrypt) ransomware. We appreciate the way and manner that the agency contained it and we hope that NITDA would keep us posted on how to stay free from contacting these ongoing cyber-related threats” ATCON said.
Teniola disclosed that ATCON was planning to hold the Telecoms Executives and Regulator’s Forum 2017 and “would like to use the opportunity to seek for Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami’s attendance and NITDA’s institutional support while charting newer road map for the industry at the event.”
Pantami, represented by Dr. Suleiman Mohammed, head, budget development and monitoring, NITDA, said it was high time that the entire ICT ecosystem harmonised its goals to encourage cooperation and collaboration in the sector.
Six tips to reduce mobile data usage (1)
For many, the smartphone’s utility has assumed such remarkable proportions that it is now being relied on as a first-hand source of news, information, entertainment and a fitting tool for retaining a handle on our increasingly interconnected world.
Considering the multiple applications on which data is expended on a smartphone and with data connection rates still comparatively pricey in Nigeria; most smartphone owners are constantly in a perpetual fix on how to manage this most important resource in order to avoid missing out on the latest information.
In view of the foregoing, the research/development Unit of Yudala, a composite e-commerce outfit, shares simple tips on how to reduce device’s data consumption.
Use Wi-Fi when possible and for sharing large files
Your smartphone or other mobile device has Wi-Fi capability. You can use this reduce your data consumption in your home, office or other locations by connecting to available wireless network(s). You can also tweak your settings for automatic connection to a secure Wi-Fi network when you arrive at home or the office. Once connected, your phone’s cellular data can be turned off and conserved.
Wi-Fi also comes in handy when you are downloading or sharing large files. Heavy files can quickly be exhausted on smartphone’s data. Same applies to automatic application updates. To reduce data usage, these heavy consumptions should be done when connected to a secure Wi-Fi network.
Set up a data usage limit/alerts
Most Android smartphones come equipped with an in-built data monitor. This functionality, which can be accessed in your phone’s settings tab, can help you keep an eye on your data consumption. The beauty of this feature is that through it, you can see how much data is being consumed by each of the apps on your smartphone, thus identifying the ones you need to keep a strict eye on. For other devices such as Apple’s IOS, you may see how much data has been consumed in total but may need to install an app to ascertain data consumption per app.
With this information, you can set up data usage limits/alerts to manage your usage. Also, heavy data-consuming apps can have their data access curtailed or you can choose which ones to uninstall.