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N. I. G. E. R. I. A
N. E. T. W. O. R. K |
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Glo
marks 5 with 7 spectacular offers |
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Nigeria's
National Carrier and Africa's fastest growing telecommunication
network, Globacom, has reeled out seven spectacular offers
for Nigerians to reward them for their loyalty and tremendous
support in the last five years.
The telecom giant, which is celebrating its 5th year in business,
rolled out the package at the 5th Anniversary press conference
it held at the Sheraton hotel, Ikeja.
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Top of the pack for its pre-paid subscribers was the Double
Awuf Offer in which Glo will give its subscribers N4,000 worth
of airtime if they buy Nokia 1208 colour phone bundled with
a Glo SIM at N 3,999.
Globacom's Group Chief Operating Officer, Mohammed Jameel,
who addressed the press at the event, said any subscriber
who bought the package would be given free 70 Glo to Glo SMS
and N300 free airtime for 12 months if his usage in any month
within the network is at least N300.
While the Double Awuf offer is targeted mainly at new subscribers,
all pre-paid subscribers on the network, including new and
old, will enjoy 20% bonus on every N500 recharge card and
above for the next 10 days for Glo to Glo calls.
Globacom said its third spectacular offer is a special bonus
for loyal customers. In the package, 1,500 prepaid customers
who have been on the network for the past five years will
get free talk time worth N6.1 million.
In the breakdown, 500 customers who have been on the network
for 55 months will get N5,555 free airtime, 400 customers
who have been on the network for 44 months will get N4,444
free airtime, 300 customers who have been on the network for
33 months will get N3,333 free airtime, 200 customers who
have been on the network for 22 months will get N2,222 free
airtime while 100 customers who have been on the network for
11 months will get N1,111 airtime. The company said a raffle
will be drawn to choose the lucky customers.
The fourth package, the ProfitMax Special, is a special pack
for business center operators in Kano, Kaduna, Jos, Enugu,
Zaria and Onitsha. In the package, Glo is offering a daily
rental of N60 to the operators, on-net calling rate of 22k/sec
and off-net calling rate of 24k/sec, and all the rates are
regarded as the lowest in their category in the industry.
The telecom giant also announced the ProfitMax Extra for other
business center operators across Nigeria with the lowest daily
rental of N60 and lowest tariff of 26k/sec for local calls
to any network.
Living up to its billing as Nigeria's most innovative telecom
network, Globacom, the first network in Nigeria to commercially
launch its 3.5G network, also at the press conference, launched
the 3G Plus Hi-Speed Internet packs for its Post-paid subscribers.
The Internet packs which cater for different segments include
the 24x7 Pack, the Day Pack, the Night Pack and the Weekend
Pack. While the data card for the 24x7 pack is sold at N19,
500 with a monthly rental of N10, 000, the Day Pack (9 am
to 9pm) is sold at N15, 500 with N6, 000 monthly rental, the
Night Pack (9 p.m to 9 a.m) is sold at N14, 500 with monthly
rental of N10, 000 and the Weekend Pack (Friday 9 p.m to Monday
9 a.m) is sold at N13, 500 with monthly rental of N10, 000.
Additionally, Globacom said there is a Pay As You Use rate
of 5kobo/kb which applies after the time band of 3G for the
24X7 pack and 2G for the other packs.
Jameel said what makes the Glo 3G Plus Internet package most
exciting are the lowest entry price, the competitive rentals,
the zero rental on first month's usage and the very attractive
modem/data card prices.
He said the icing on the cake for the packages is the special
package for the aspiring business community of Nigeria. Under
this arrangement, Glo is offering a pack of 5 SIMs with mobile
numbers in serial order for small and medium size organizations.
To be eligible to enjoy this package, beneficiaries must show
proof of membership of a Small Medium Scale Enterprise or
registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
He listed other benefits to include an entry price of N5000,
on-net call rate of 20k/sec and off net call rate of 35k/sec.
He also said the monthly rental of N2000 will reduce subject
to the number of lines subscribed. There is also 10% discount
for users and 50% discount for close user groups.
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Visafone
Rewards Subscribers |
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Visafone
Communication Limited doled out gifts worth millions
of naira to 50 of its subscribers who struck it lucky
in the Summer Olympics SMS Promo which ran during the
just concluded summer sports fiesta.
The wholly Nigerian-owned mobile phone company held
a raffle draw at its corporate headquarters in Victoria
Island mid-week to choose 50 winners from the over 100,000
subscribers who took part in the promo.
The promo featured 3 questions: Where is the 2008 summer
Olympics holding; Who is the coach of the Nigerian male
football team and which country won the gold medal at
the Atlanta 96 Olympics.
During the raffle draw, journalists drawn from selected
newspapers and magazines were called upon to choose
20 winners each from the first two categories and 10
from the third.
At the end of the draws, three star prize winners emerged
and will receive 32 inch LG LCD big screen TVs, Visafone
branded handsets, free RUIM and recharge cards as well
as sundry branded items from Visafone.
The star prize winners are Ojetunde Adeniyi with no
07025833640, Samuel Dowu with number 07025146015 and
Kehinde Banjo with number 07026140170.
The consolation prize winners will receive Visafone
branded handsets, free RUIMS and free airtime.
Speaking during the event, Clifford Onyeike, AGM Marketing
and Strategy said the promo was a way of saying “thank
you to our numerous subscribers who have helped us achieve
unprecedented milestones while identifying with the
spirit of the games.” He also added that there
would be regular promos to reward subscribers.
It will be recalled that Visafone commenced commercial
operations on February 22, 2008 and crossed the 1 million
subscriber mark in an unprecedented 6 months and 4 days.
The company was also voted Best Telecom Brand of the
Year 2008 in a Telecom News/Phillip Consulting survey.
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Zain
Nigeria Launches TRU Package |
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Zain
Nigeria has put smiles on the faces of young Nigerians with
the launch recently of a TRU-ly exciting and novel package
designed to suit the lifestyle, needs and aspirations of young
adults.
Tru Package, as the new product is called, allows pre-paid
customers to enjoy amazingly low tariff from Monday through
Friday and at weekends as well as make tariff free calls at
nights according to the company's Chief Executive Officer,
Bayo Ligali, during the launch in Lagos.
Zain's TRU Package comes in two special packages: Tru Talk
and Tru Txt and both come with the standard Short Message
(SMS) bonuses, Credit Me, Call me Back Service, and Wap/Internet
services as well as other unique offerings on the Zain pre-paid
package.
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Explaining the mechanics
of the product, Chief Marketing officer, Norman Moyo said with
the Tru Talk option, which is designed for those who desire
a low call cost, Zain customers will have the opportunity to
make calls to a maximum of 10 friends for as low as N0.25k (25
kobo) per seconds from Monday through Friday (between 8.00pm
to 5:59am) and for N0.21k (21 kobo) per |
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seconds
during weekends(between 4:30am through 12:29am).
In addition, customers on this tariff plan will enjoy free all-night
calls daily up to 10 registered numbers from 12:30am to 4:29am.The
Tru Txt Offer allows customers who love sending SMS enjoy a
special low rate of N4.50 for every SMS sent to all Zain numbers
on weekdays and N3 for every SMS sent during weekend. Customers
on this package will also have access to all-night calls every
day between 12:30am and 4:30am for up to 10 registered numbers.
Moyo explained that the launch of Tru Package will provide the
mobile company an opportunity to satisfy the yearnings of Nigerian
youths and the young-at-hearts, empowering them to fulfil their
dreams.
“Tru Package” is designed for customers
who desire more value for their voice calls and yearn for a
cost effective SMS service as a medium of self-expression. The
Package delivers greater benefits to customers than any other
package in the market apart from offering the lowest SMS tariff
in the Nigerian Mobile landscape” he added.
To enjoy the service, what phone users with Zain number need
to do is to migrate to the Tru plan using a short code, *141*708#,
to switch to the Tru Talk option and *141*709# to switch to
Tru Txt option.
Customers who want to enjoy the benefits of the package need
to recharge their phone with a minimum of N100 and N50 for Tru
Talk, and Tru Txt options respectively weekly.
To register the numbers of friends or family members for the
Tru Talk service, customers need to use the short-code for registration:
*141*2*Zain phone number#. The registration is free.
The package was unveiled to the predominantly youthful audience
by top officials of the company including Ligali, Lars Stork,
Chief Operating Officer, Tayo Bright, Chief Sales Officer, Moyo,
Ifeanyi Obiora-Okafo, Director, Customer Experience; Segun Agoye,
General Manager, Lagos Region; and Godfrey Efeurobo, Director,
Strategy & Program and Plato Syrimis, Head of Youth Segment.
The event featured music performance, a dance assembly, an electrifying
Disc Jockey Battle session anchored by respected DJs: Bola Freshwaves
and Ibrahim, sports competition and migration of customers to
TRU package using Hypa Tags. |
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ZOOMmobile
Goes Live In Kano |
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ZOOMmobile,
one of Nigeria's foremost telecommunications solutions providers,
has rolled out its national voice, data and other value-added
services in the North-Eastern Nigerian city of Kano.
The Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness Alhaji Ado Bayero, while
receiving the management team of ZOOMmobile to his palace,
as part of activities marking the launch, lauded the company
for pioneering price reduction in the industry, and continuously
striving to make telecommunications services affordable to
all, irrespective of social or economic class.
Alhaji Ado Bayero further urged the company to ensure that
residents of Kano enjoy world class services on its network,
and pledged his continued support and encouragement to the
company. |
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Earlier in his speech,
the Group Managing Director of ZOOMmobile, Tony Okonkwo, said
that his team was in the palace to pay homage to the monarch
and seek his royal blessing for a mutually beneficial business
relationship with the good people of Kano.
Okonkwo stated that ZOOMmobile was in Kano to alter the telecommunications
landscape for good, by providing a robust, fast, stable, effective
and affordable network that empowers people to excel in all
of their noble aspirations and endeavors. |
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In keeping with
its Corporate Social Investment strategy of empowering enterprising
Nigerians to own their own businesses, the company donated 50 telephone
handsets and recharge cards to the Emir, for distribution to some
of his subjects, as a way of helping in the fight to alleviate poverty
in the country.
It will be recalled that ZOOMmobile re-branded recently, dropping
its former name (Reltelwireless), and launching the unique 0707 range
of numbers, making it the first CDMA operator to acquire a four-digit
number prefix.
The company has also maintained leadership of the CDMA segment of
the market by having the widest coverage and subscriber base. ZOOMmobile
currently covers 20 states in Nigeria, including the Federal Capital
Territory, and has a subscriber base of more than 1.5million.
ZOOMmobile was recently voted the “CDMA Company of the Year
2008” and the “Most Improved Telephone Company of the
Year 2008 at the Nigeria Telecoms Award. The company had also clinched
the “ICT Company of the Year 2008” at the ThisDay Newspaper
Awards. |
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| Etisalat
Nigeria Enters With 0809Uchoose |
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Etisalat Nigeria,
the latest entrant into Nigeria's vibrant mobile phone market,
has formally announced the launch of its operations in Nigeria
with a dynamic 3-in-1 package which is an ultimate welcome
offer for subscribers to its network.
Tagged 0809uchoose, the offer empowers Nigerians with the
choice to secure free personalized numbers for the non gold
range of numbers on the Etisalat network, free SIM cards and
free monthly airtime for life. In addition, subscribers join
a 64 million strong Etisalat subscriber base across the Middle
East, Africa and Asia.
Speaking at a media event to mark the flag-off of 0809uchoose,
Etisalat Nigeria's vice president, marketing, Wael Ammar,
said that 0809uchoose will offer at least 1million Nigerians
a chance to customize their phone numbers to reflect their
lifestyles with numbers special to them.
“Etisalat is offering every Nigerian an opportunity
to be special, stand out and to have their phone number mean
more to them than just a random set of numbers. There are
only 1million numbers available in the released range between
0809 8 000 000 and 0809 8 999 999 for this initial promotion
that will attract free airtime every month for life. So we
urge Nigerians to go out and get those special unique numbers
while they are still available”.
Wael Ammar stated further that Etisalat customers in Nigeria
can expect the best in world class service in the tradition
of Etisalat group which serves 64million subscribers in 16
countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Lucas Dada, Director of products and services for Etisalat
Nigeria speaking of the 0809uchoose campaign said that Etisalat
is set to raise the bar of top notch service a little higher
in Nigeria.
“Consider that we are offering personalized lines to
Nigerians to reserve for free. These are numbers that are
normally classed as premium numbers that have been known to
cast a lot of money. Not only do our customers get most of
the numbers for free, they also get the SIM card for free.
On top of that, customers who reserve numbers during this
promotion get guaranteed free airtime on a monthly basis for
life because we are set to change the face of Nigerian telecom
market.”
The company also announced at the event that it would begin
to offer commercial services on its network in some cities
across Nigeria simultaneously and roll-out in other parts
of Nigeria will follow and remain ongoing. It noted that customers
who reserve special numbers in the 0809uchoose campaign will
be able to pick up their numbers from special redemption centers
which will be fully communicated.
To reserve a special 0809 number, subscribers have the option
of either calling 0809uchoose (08098246673) or make their
reservation through the Internet by logging on to www.etisalat.com.ng/uchoose
or visit any of the mobile Etisalat road show rigs nearest
to them during the ongoing road show. All reserved numbers
will be valid for activation at the end of the promo.
Etisalat, recently ranked as the fastest growing telecommunications
company in the world, is reputed for providing world class
telecommunications services to prospective customers in 15
other countries where it operates. As it gets set to launch
commercial services in Nigeria, it reiterates that customers
are at the heart of its business.
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Glo
Goes Rural In Benue, Rivers and Bayelsa States |
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Nigeria's
national telecommunications operator, Globacom, is collaborating
with the Benue, Rivers and Bayelsa State governments to provide
easy and cheap telephone services in rural areas across the three
states.
In Benue State, Globacom will provide telecommunications services
in four sites in the selected rural areas, install telephone facilities
and deploy requisite technical personnel for effective provision
of such telecommunications services. Globacom will also supply alternative
power for the sites towards ensuring uninterrupted telecommunications
signals and service quality in the identified areas.|
Globacom's Head of Public Sector, Tunde Amunikoro said Globacom
and the State government jointly chose the pilot sites for the project,
with a plan to replicate the process periodically until the whole
State is covered. The telecoms giant is optimistic that by the end
of the tenure of Governor Gabriel Suswan, there will be total Globacom
coverage in Benue State.
Benue State chose Globacom because of the company's extensive coverage
of the state, its superior 3G-Plus network and its genuine concern
for improving telecommunications for Nigerians. “The Benue
State government is convinced that Globacom is the network to partner
with”, an official of the State said.
Globacom had earlier gone into a similar partnership with the Rivers
and Bayelsa State governments. The River State project was part
of the State's sustainable development programme in association
with oil companies and multilateral agencies. The programme was
co-ordinated by the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency
(RSSDA) where base stations sites were jointly installed by Globacom
and the Rivers State government. The project had since been completed
and launched.
In Bayelsa, Glo and the government jointly provided 20 sites in
the rural and riverine areas.
Globacom is also in the process of sealing another partnership with
the Bauchi State government on coverage for the newly restructured
“world class Game Reserve” in Yankari. Discussion on
this has reached an advanced stage, Amunikoro said.
Globacom has been unrelenting in the expansion of its network to
all nooks and crannies of the country, thereby bridging the communication
gap between the various tiers of the society. This has also helped
to reduce rural-urban migration in the country.
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| Zain
Takes Fixed Phones To North Central Nigeria |
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Zain
Nigeria has launched its Fixed Phone or Unmanned Payphones
in the North Central Region in keeping with its commitment
to make telecommunication services available to more
Nigerians regardless of status, location, age and income
level.
Zain Fixed Phone is a special fixed wireless device
designed to serve people in rural areas, universities,
hospitals and other locations where access to telecom
service is constrained because of high cost of handset
or call tariff, or restriction in the use of mobile
phones.
Customers can make calls by inserting a special SIM
card into the device and dialling the numbers they want
to call. Users can also send and receive SMS, retrieve
voicemails, check credit balance, and send “credit
me” or “Call Me Back” (Value Added
Service or SMS service from Zain) using the terminal.
Speaking at an event to introduce the product to the
North Central Region in Abuja, the Chief Sales Officer,
Zain Nigeria, Tayo Bright, said the company introduced
Fixed phone to provide more Nigerians particularly youths,
rural residents and low income earners, make communication
affordable, and empower more people to do their business
and stay in touch with the friends and family members.
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Bright,
at the event, which held at the Abuja Capital International
College, Gwarinpa, the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja,
further explained that the Zain Fixed Phone will help
to eliminate entry barriers to communication resulting
from high cost of handsets, call and SMS tariff and other
hurdles.
In April 2008, Zain became the first Nigerian GSM network
to deploy Fixed Phones or Unmanned payphones with the
rollout and |
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commissioning
of the fixed wireless terminals in several locations such as
the Covenant University, Ota and Redeemer University, Mowe,
both in Ogun State, various villages including Awgu and Ogrute
in the South East Region, and Ikom in South South Region.
The Company executive said the special SIM cards that have been
introduced by Zain for use with the terminals will allow the
users perform similar tasks that users of mobile handsets can
perform, in addition to other benefits.
Also, users of Zain Fixed Phones can migrate to the mobile company's
offerings including its newly introduced Zain Tru Package, a
stylish product designed to suit the lifestyle and aspirations,
and meet the needs of youths and the young-at-heart.
Other benefits of Zain Fixed Phone include an opportunity to
own a line on which they can receive calls, receive credit or
airtime transferred to their SIM card by other Zain customers,
and a chance to covert the SIM card into a regular number which
they can use on their handset should they chose to own a mobile
handset.
The target market of the fixed payphone includes students, travellers,
low income earners, those who reside or work in locations where
access to phones are either limited or restricted, and also
to those who would like to take advantage of the unique benefits
of the service, said General Manager, North Central Region,
Zain, Dotun Babayemi.
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| Globacom
Unveils WGPT Campaign |
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Globacom
Limited has launched a new marketing communication campaign entitled
We Got People Talking (WGPT).
The new theme campaign was unveiled at a press conference attended
by a cross section of information and communications technology,
brands, marketing and entertainment correspondents.
WGPT, Globacom said, captures the company's positive impact on the
telecom industry and on the lives and businesses of Nigerians in
the last five years of its operation. Joachim Atunwa, Globacom's
Director of Advertising, stated that the theme “we got people
talking” was used as a soundtrack in Glo submarine cable television
commercial entitled “Glo goes Global”.
The commercial which went on air some months ago celebrates the
multimillion-dollar submarine cable being laid by Globacom from
Nigeria to Europe and U.S. The facility which will provide the much
required bandwidth for Africa is the first such project by any individual
company on the continent.
Atunwa recalled Globacom's initiatives in the industry which have
ensured that Nigerians are able to communicate seamlessly with one
another at very low costs. These, he said, included the introduction
of Per Second Billing (PSB), the crashing of SIM cost from around
N25,000 before Globacom launched services to as low as N200, the
lowering of call tariffs from N50 to as low as N10 per minute as
well as the introduction of several value added services.
“As a concept, WGPT was motivated by Globacom's founding philosophy
of empowering Nigerians of all walks of life and spheres to effectively
communicate with each other; to reach out to the world and be reached.
We began a demonstration of our empowerment philosophy with our
2.5G infrastructure and per second billing, all with a view to ensuring
that Nigerians enjoyed what their counterparts in the developed
parts of the world enjoyed at that time,” Atunwa stated.
“As the world recently ascended to 3G platform”, he
continued, “We became the first to give it to Nigerians, with
a plus Glo 3G Plus. When we hit the 20 million subscriber base recently,
which coincided with our 5th year Anniversary, we felt we had an
obligation to celebrate a dream realised the dream of empowering
Nigerians of all strata and across geography, to talk.
He added that the WGPT encapsulated Globacom's mission and vision
statements as well as its accomplishments and helps in reinforcing
the positioning of the Glo brand as world-class, daring and highly
innovative. This, he explained, was three-dimensional: functional,
emotional and socio/political.
For the functional element, Atunwa said Globacom's core business
is centred on “talking”. Elements on the emotional level
include Globacom's vision of “Building Africa's biggest and
best telecommunication network” which is so grand that people
are talking about it, Globacom's heavy investment in hardware infrastructure
which people are talking about, the brand's rapid expansion in West
Africa and spreading of affordable telecommunication services in
West Africa.
Others are the optic fibre and the submarine cables being laid in
Nigeria and across Africa to Europe and USA by Globacom, the fact
that Globacom launches its network in all the countries it goes
to with “per second billing, offers multiple value added services
to West Africans, is highly rated globally due to its rapid network
growth and expansion, the brand has won lots of awards locally and
internationally and people are talking, that Globacom has made it
easy and simple for people to talk in West Africa and that Globacom
is empowering a lot of people in the region.
On the socio/political element, Atunwa explained that Globacom is
an African brand with a global vision. “The feats achieved
by the brand have stirred comments from people all over the world.
Globacom's successes have returned a sense of pride to the African.
Africans also flaunt their home made telecom services at the world
arena,” he concluded.
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