A Good Telecom Policy Analyst in Nigeria – The President of ATCON

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June 22, 2011

In a chat with newsmen in Lagos, the President of the Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Titi Omo-Ettu stated:

“We need to change that orientation [increasing number of subscribers] and move the emphasis from the number of mobile lines to the number of users. Telephone should be seen as empowerment and not as prestige,”

Tekedia is of the opinion that that is an important new insights on how to run a tech policy in any country. We need to measure the right things. And it is not just the Tech industry, international organizations like World Bank and IMF must do the same.

Think about it, Nigeria’s economy is growing, yet, there are more unemployed youth than ever. The country reserve is higher, yet, businessmen are closing shops. Why? Because the governments are measuring some things that have no influence in people’s direct lives.

MTN brings in $100m to build new infrastructure; that foreign direct investment is basically an expansion of GDP, but to someone in Opopo, it may not matter that much. That Nigeria has millions of mobile lines with some having four lines, it does not change the fact that there are many that cannot afford those minimum maintenance costs and have no phone.

So, our dear President is right – we need to move the emphasis from what they give us which is the number of lines to what we actually get, which is how many people have these lines. That MTN or Glo has say 100m lines does not mean that 100m Nigerians have mobile phones. That number shows a lot of progress but it hides the fact they some villages in Nigeria are yet to get covered very well with network.

Yet, ATCON has an opportunity to push that change and begin to get the telcos to speak in the real language that makes sense. And they seems to be doing that through the ever dynamic President.

About ATCON

The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) is a professional, non-profit umbrella organisation of all telecommunication companies in Nigeria.

Inaugurated on December 10, 1993 as a national trade organisation, ATCON has its membership drawn from Nigerian and multi-national companies which provide telecommunications and information technology products and services in Nigeria.

Maker Faire Africa 2011 Goes To Cairo – Oct 6/8

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Tekedia Editors

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June 22, 2011

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Maker Faire Africa is pleased to announce its 3rd event, ‘Maker Faire Africa 2011 : Cairo‘ which will take place in Egypt, October 6-8th, 2011.

Join us once again as we continue to cultivate new and existing maker communities across Africa. As was the case in Accra (‘09) and Nairobi (’10), MFA 2011 will present and spotlight the vibrant and endlessly creative individuals that have come to represent the spirit of ‘making’ throughout the continent. These innovators, artists and tinkerers will be exhibiting a fusion of the informal and formal; ideas, inventions, hacks and designs both low-tech & high-tech.

From cuisine to machines, come see their re-imagining of products, exploration of novel materials, and original solutions for some of the continent’s most important challenges and opportunities. Maker Faire Africa 2011 will be a celebratory showcase of unhindered experimentation and curiosity. We look forward to seeing you this October.

About MFA

The idea all began when Emeka Okafor mused aloud at ned.com, “While the ICT space has developed a head of steam in some parts of Africa… a ‘Maker Philosophy’ is yet to occur. I would be interested in getting a sense of everyone’s thoughts on a Maker type Faire within the continent… an event where Afrigadget type innovations, inventions and initiatives can be brought to life, supported, amplified, propagated etc.”

Following this, Maker Faire Africa took place in Accra, Ghana August 2009. Working with Afrigadget, the International Development Design Summit and Butterfly Works a nod from Maker Faire and the team named below we ran the Maker Faire Africa 2009 and were happy with the outcomes of the inaugural event.

We are now gearing up for the 2010 Maker Faire Africa to be held in Kenya on August the 27th and 28th. We are happy to hear from anyone wishing to contribute in kind or sponsorship, take part, visit, show their work, spread the word etc, let us know.

ACCELIZE Signs Solution Provider Agreement with Colfax

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Ejiofor Agada

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June 22, 2011

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Accelize, a leader in FPGA-based (Field-programmable Gate Array) platforms and systems for co-processing and high-performance computing applications today announced that it has entered an agreement with the Silicon Valley-based Colfax International. Under this agreement, Colfax International will provide the Accelize line of FPGA accelerator cards as a part of their leading HPC (High Performance Computing) solutions. The first Accelize product Colfax International plans to offer will be the Accelize XP4S530LP-20G FPGA accelerator card, targeted at increasing computing power in financial trading applications.

With its dual 10G Ethernet links and under 150ns latency integrated TOE, the Accelize XP4S530LP-20G is specifically designed for financial trading applications looking for ultra-low latency, FPGA-based hardware platforms. Accelize FPGA accelerators are delivered with a comprehensive software environment that enables non-FPGA-designers to take full advantage of the FPGA hardware.

CEO of Accelize, Arnaud Schleich stated “we were impressed with the knowledge Colfax International brings to building and delivering state-of-the-art HPC solutions. This is key to enabling FPGA adoption by the IT industry and their expertise offers a significant benefit to companies looking for leading HPC solutions”

Gautam Shah, CEO of Colfax International stated “The innovative Accelize line of FPGA-based coprocessors is a great addition to our HPC product offering. Adding Accelize products to our portfolio allows us to broaden our solutions in the HPC space to more directly target high speed financial trading applications.”

The Accelize FPGA-based XP4530LP-20G is the first low-profile FPGA computing platform featuring dual-10G Ethernet and PCI Express Gen2. It includes a combination of hardware, firmware and software, each provided with different options to fit specific acceleration requirements. Engineered to accelerate financial trading applications, the XP4S530LP-20G features the performance and ultra-low latency necessary for high-frequency trading, smart feed handling, and real-time algorithmic trading.

About Accelize

Accelize, a PLDA GROUP company, is a global provider of FPGA based plateforms and systems for co- processing and high-performance computing applications. Accelize FPGA solutions are especially aimed at accelerating financial trading platforms. PLDA GROUP products and services are used by over 2,000 companies.

Business Is Tough In Nigeria – 65 Telecom Firms Collapsed In Few Years

By

Tekedia Editors

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June 22, 2011

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Vanguard reports that 65 companies telecoms companies have collapsed in Nigeria in the last few years. This was according to the President of the Association of Telecom Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Titi Omo-Ettu. The President noted the very difficult business environment in the nation which affects productivity and profitability.

He also condemned the manner at which Nigerian government and some international bodies use the increasing subscribers’ base in the country, currently in excess of 90 million mobile subscribers as a measure to judge the growth of the sector.

The ATCON president then called for serious concerted efforts between government and players in the industry that will help in mitigating possible future challenges, stressing that if this is not done, it may hinder further possible investments to the sector.

We commend Titi for speaking out. He has been a vanguard to the industry in all the statements that were credited to the organization. Business is tough in the nation and with generator, there is no way to become profitable when competition is everywhere.

Government must have a stakeholders meeting for the industry and evaluate all the possible roadmaps to help the nation and SMEs flourish in this young ICT industry. The local players are not competing well not because of talents and skills, but lack of support from the nation.

Tevci DroidPad Site Revamped – Any Other Nigerian Tab Joining Ovim Plus?

By

Tekedia Editors

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June 22, 2011

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Tevci is releasing a new tablet into Nigeria; presently on pre-order. It is called DroidPad. We just noticed that their website has got an extreme makeover. Does it mean that the DroidPad is joing Ovim Plus which just hit stores? Are the local players coming up big to bang?

With DroidPad, Nigeria now has 3 indigenous tablets – Ovim, Inye and DroidPad. Ovim is a product of Fasmicro (our parent company) and Microscale Embedded while Inye is owned by Encipher. Recently these companies are coming with their new versions with Ovim Plus, Ovim MiE and Inye 2.

Yet, Tevci, do you mean this?

The Most POWERFUL android tablect pc ever seen in Nigeria. You can’t compare this Android Tablet with any others Tablet PC in Nigeria. Tevci DroidPad is simply the Best

We think Ovim Plus is the Nigeria’s tablet. Ok, we will see. Get it out and let the jury decide which is better. Good luck on your business and nice site also.

So far, we are yet to know when Inye2 will hit stores. DroidPad is on pre-order. Guys, get the action bubbling and let us give these foreign players a small challenge.

You can read more about Ovim and Inye here.

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