prize. They are neither from MTN nor any of our staff members. They are from individuals who are intent on defrauding innocent people,” said Mr. Bola Akingbade, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN.

It would be recalled that some individuals have been sending out text messages to some MTN subscribers telling them they had won some prizes in the ongoing promo and requesting them to go online to fill in their personal and bank details, including ATM card numbers and PIN. For this purpose, the con-artists set up fraudulent websites, such as www.mtnwinning.com, which has since been shut down.

“When a subscriber wins a prize in any of our promos, we will call them and direct them to the MTN office where they can redeem their prize.

MTN staff will not, under any circumstances, request for credit or ask subscribers to fill in their bank details, ATM card number and PIN in order to claim a promo prize or winning,” said Mr. Akingbade.

He said the MTN's authentic website from where subscribers can obtain genuine information is www.mtnonline.com.
He also added that the latest development had been brought to the attention of security operatives who are currently investigating it.

Venue: Singapore

Date: January 12-15, 2009

Identify the challenges and opportunities for business transformation to help companies survive in an increasingly competitive market;

Hear visionary presentations and debates from and network with industry experts and practitioners both local and international perspectives;

Explore the most important trends - new markets and opportunities - in the evolving communications services arena in Asia.

Find out how others have successfully implemented a range of new services and leveraged technology across the globe.

Evaluate best approaches to the management of services to help solve your problems at the lowest cost and provide a better experience for your customers.

Discover how service providers are benefitting from TM Forum standards and initiatives
Meet with over 25 expert practitioners in one place to help answer all your questions.

Venue: Intercontinental Hotel, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Date: 27-28 January, 2009

The second annual IPTV World Forum Latin America finds local IPTV deployments moving forward rapidly, spurred on by continued strong growth in the number of broadband DSL subscribers in the region.

Brasil Telecom (BrT) announced early in 2007 that it definitely plans to rollout its IPTV service in the second half of 2007, and many more large local telcos are also readying to launch their own services.

Brazilian telco Telemar is currently in the testing phase for its own IPTV service, and Spanish telco Telefonica plans to rollout its Imagenio service across Latin America under the name Speedy TV, having already passed 300,000 IPTV subscribers in its native Spain.

Telmex, the incumbent Mexican telco, will launch its own IPTV service, called Prodigy Media, in Mexico during the middle of 2007, offering four channels and a film and video download service.
IPTV World Forum Latin America will look at the challenges and potential for IPTV services in Latin America, and introduce speakers who have successfully deployed services and who are playing a direct role in the local regulatory challenges.

The number of IPTV users grew 166% globally in 2006 to reach 7.2mn worldwide, according to research by Infonetics Research, with total revenue projected to double each year for the next four years. The event will examine what role Latin America will play in this growth, and offer the opportunity to hear speakers directly involved in local regulatory issues, along with major local telcos, ISPs, broadcasters and content players.