Telecom
BlackBerry Eyes Nigerian Mobile Market Top Table, Unboxes Z3
BlackBerry Limited, a global leader in mobile communications, gladly announced that its trial moments are over, as it plans to again regain Nigerian mobile market leading position.
Speaking at the introduced of it new BlackBerry® Z3 smartphone in Nigeria, Mr. Charles Asinugo, country director, BlackBerry West Africa, said that the Company globally recognised as leading in enterprise (security) solutions remains committed to it mobile product customers in Africa.
He described BlackBerry Z3 as part of plans by BlackBerry to penetrate the market as the device is expected to retail through authorized partners at the recommended price of about N40,000.
According to him, “Consumers who purchase a BlackBerry Z3 smartphone in July can also benefit from an exclusive app offer.
“They simply have to login into the BlackBerry® World™ storefront from their BlackBerry Z3 smartphone and download a selection of paid apps – worth is N8,000 – for free.
“The BlackBerry Z3 extends the BlackBerry® 10 platform to a new generation of customers in Nigeria at an attractive price point and offers them more ways to securely communicate, collaborate and be productive with an experience built on reliable, secure communications”.
Asinugo said that the BlackBerry Z3 features a stylish design with a 5” touch display, an unrivalled messaging and typing experience, exceptional battery life, is equipped with BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2.1 and is Android app compatible.
He explained that the key features include; BlackBerry® Hub; “The ever present BlackBerry Hub lets you access all your work and personal email, BBM™, text messages, social media updates and notifications in one place, with the ability to “peek” into the BlackBerry Hub from anywhere, so you’re always only one swipe away from what matters to you.
“The Hub can be customized to identify priority messages and to filter the message list by various criteria that you can then activate with a simple pinch gesture”.
He said that the Company is making frantic efforts to redefine BBM usage.
He said, “BBM on the BlackBerry Z3 includes all the latest features of the popular mobile social network. You get BBM voice and video chatting with Screen Share and support for BlackBerry Natural Sound, letting you hear nuances and variations in tone in a BBM Voice chat, and making the conversation sound like you’re in the same room.
Also commenting on the key features, Ugonna Akhigbe, channel marketing manager, West Africa, said that BlackBerry Keyboard is a feature that learns what words customers use and how they are used, “then offers them up to you so you can type faster and more accurately. It gives you the best typing experience on a touchscreen, complete with multi-language support that lets you type in up to 3 different languages at the same time.
“How about the “Time Shift & Story Maker’? The BlackBerry Z3’s astonishing Time Shift camera feature lets you capture a group shot where everyone is smiling with their eyes wide open.
“You can also use Story Maker to bring a collection of photos and videos together, along with music and effects, to produce an HD movie that you can instantly share on YouTube.
“BlackBerry 10 Browser – The BlackBerry 10 browser sets the industry benchmark for HTML5 performance on smartphones, and is incredibly fast, with fluid and responsive scrolling and zooming.
“The browser includes many advanced features, supports multiple tabs, lets you browse sites privately, includes a reader mode, and integrates with the platform for easily sharing content. You can even save web pages for later viewing.
“Instant Previews & Reply Now – Be more timely and responsive with Instant Previews that bring BBM, SMS and email message to you no matter what you are doing on your BlackBerry Z3.
“You can even reply to your BBM or SMS messages in any app, or swipe to the BlackBerry Hub to respond. If you get a phone call that you can’t answer right way, you can instantly silence the call and send a Reply Now response through BBM, SMS or email to let the caller know you’re busy”.
The device also contains Fast, Easy Sharing.
By learning how you share and who you share with, helping you reduce the number of steps and amount of time it takes to get your files, photos, or documents to where they need to go.
“Touching “share” in any app provides suggestions on who and how to share your files based on who you’ve shared with in the past, and the feature only gets smarter the more you use it.
“FM Radio – The new BlackBerry Z3 includes a built-in FM radio. You can listen to local FM stations, which does not require any network connection.
“Apps – Through BlackBerry World™ customers can access applications that leverage the powerful features of the BlackBerry 10 operating system. The BlackBerry Z3 is also Android™ App Compatible*, which means that customers can enjoy some of their favourite Android apps on the BlackBerry Z3,” she explained.
Interestingly, Android apps can be downloaded directly from the Internet through the BlackBerry Browser.
However, not all Android apps are supported and compatibility may vary by smartphone and/or source.
BlackBerry revolutionized the mobile industry when it was introduced in 1999.
Today, BlackBerry aims to inspire the success of our millions of customers around the world by continuously pushing the boundaries of mobile experiences.
Nigeria will criminalize the destruction of broadband fiber cables following repeated complaints by MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and other telecommunications companies that they are losing billions of naira, according to people familiar with the matter.
Federal ministry of works, which supervises federal road constructors, is finalizing the regulation that will be signed as an executive order by President Bola Tinubu, said the people, asking not to be identified as they weren’t authorized to comment.
While there are presently laws against vandalism, the authorities are aiming to regulate construction firms more closely.
The order will enforce stiff penalties on offenders, said the people, declining to provide more details or say when it will be signed.
“Telecom assets are critical backbone that supports the economy across sectors,” said Temitope Ajayi, a senior presidential aide, who noted that the Association of Telecommunications Companies (ATCON) has been demanding the classification for years.
New rules will provide “further assurance that the Nigerian government will protect their investments against vandals and criminal elements.”
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) estimates that the sector will make up more than a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product by the end of 2027, up from 13.5% in the third quarter of last year.
The move will help alleviate pressure on the telecoms sector, which is facing increased operating costs and sales pressures from a sharp depreciation in the currency and a threefold increase in energy prices.
Repairs and revenue losses from damaged cables is estimated to have cost the sector almost 27 billion naira ($23 million) last year alone, documents seen by Bloomberg show.
MTN Nigeria, the biggest wireless operator in Africa’s most-populous nation, and Airtel Africa Plc bore the brunt of the costs, the documents show.
MTN suffered more than 6,000 cuts on its fiber cable last year, the documents show. On Feb. 28, a cut on its network in three different locations by a road construction firm, an oil serving company and someone burning rubbish in a manhole meant customers faced more than five hours of data and voice outages.
The operator relocated 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) of vulnerable fiber cables between 2022 and 2023, at a cost of more than 11 billion naira – enough to build 870 kilometers of new fiber lines to areas without coverage.
A presidential order on the matter would be welcomed, said Tony Izuagbe Emoekpere, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria.
“When it comes to communication infrastructure, they are destroyed at will, so we are eagerly awaiting the president’s order,” he said. “It would be a great boost to the industry, and it will also encourage investment.”
Telegram, the messaging giant founded by Pavel Durov and headquartered in Dubai, anticipates hitting a remarkable milestone of one billion active monthly users within the next year.
Durov’s departure from Russia in 2014, prompted by governmental pressures to stifle opposition communities on his VK social media platform, underscores Telegram’s commitment to neutrality despite geopolitical challenges.
With 900 million active users currently, Telegram stands as a beacon of free speech in the digital realm, particularly influential in former Soviet Union republics and pivotal during conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine standoff.
Durov’s staunch advocacy for freedom of expression and opposition to censorship by tech giants like Apple and Google reinforces Telegram’s status as a neutral platform.
Opting for the UAE as its base, Durov cites its neutrality and openness as conducive to Telegram’s ethos, serving both opposition groups and governments alike while maintaining impartiality.
In Durov’s vision, the pursuit of freedom eclipses material gain, shaping Telegram’s trajectory as a bastion of digital liberation.
To further strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) have announced a collaboration on National Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to enhance and create synergy between digital identity, payment ecosystem, and secure & seemless data exchange capabilities for Nigeria.
During the meeting between the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, and Director General of NIMC, Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote, with some management staff of both organisations, they discussed various initiatives, which include building DPI stacks for a secured and seamless data exchange and forming partnerships to transform the national identity system.
This collaboration also aims to harness the potential of the innovative ecosystem and emphasise the use of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to drive digital transformation in Nigeria.
To ensure a smooth implementation, a 12-man committee was set up. This committee will play a crucial role in kickstarting and harmonising the initiatives. It is expected to deliver a comprehensive implementation report within the next 4 weeks
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