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Milestone

ZOOMmobile Honoured With Double Awards

ZOOMmobile, one of Nigeria's foremost telecommunications solutions providers, has been named the CDMA Company of the Year, and the Most Improved Telecommunications Company of the Year 2008, by the Board of Trustees of the Nigerian Telecoms Awards.

The awards were jointly presented to the company by the former Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Allison Madueke (Rtd.) and former Communications Minister, Gen. Tanko Ayuba (Rtd.), at a ceremony held at the Expo Centre of the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, barely two weeks after the re-branding of the company from Reltelwireless to ZOOMmobile.

Organizers of the awards, praised ZOOMmobile for leading the CDMA sector of the telecommunications industry on such indices as subscriber base, coverage areas, affordability and product innovation.

Speaking after receiving the awards, the Executive Vice-Chairman of ZOOMmobile, Ken Aigbinode, dedicated the awards to the indomitable spirit of the management and staff of the company, and the Nigerian public, for their immense belief in, and support for, the company, over the ten years of its operations.

According to him, “we are extremely delighted, and at the

same time, humbled by these awards. They will serve as constant reminders to us of the bond we have with our numerous subscribers, to always keep ahead of competition by providing cutting-edge services and continue to pursue our mission of making telecommunications services available and affordable to every individual or group, irrespective of socio-economic status.

“The greatest reward for doing is the opportunity to do more. We thank Nigerians for the opportunity to serve.”

It would be recalled that ZOOMmobile which recently re-branded and introduced the 0707 numbering plan, has won almost all the significant industry awards in its category, including the “ICT Company of the Year 2008”, from ThisDay Newspaper, and the “CDMA Company of the Year 2007”, from the Nigerian Telecoms Awards, among others.

Netcom Is Best VSAT And Broadband Company

Netcom Africa has proudly announced yet another success within the Telecom industry. During the annual Nigerian Telecoms Award ceremony, held at the Expo Centre Pavillion of the Eko Hotel on 16th August 2008, Netcom Africa was recognized for its excellence as Best VSAT Company and Best Broadband Company for the year 2008.

Netcom Africa has continually distinguished itself by the quality of its products and services.

First launched in 2004, its VSAT and Broadband services have significantly contributed to improving the way the telecommunications sector conducts business by increasing the productivity of its clients thanks to quality and efficiency.

Sean Hsu, managing director of Netcom Africa in welcoming the honour said, “Netcom is proud to be recognized for providing quality services to its clients, and in appreciation for these recognitions we pledge to continually strive to ensure the best is what we continue to offer”
For Mary Ephraim, marketing and PR manager of Netcom Africa, “We are very pleased that our VSAT and Broadband services have been recognized as best of breed solutions in the telecommunications industry,” Netcom Africa capitalized on the wide recognition its product has garnered in the market by expanding its services into the African market with innovative products, providing services to Western, Central and Southern Africa.

Netcom VSAT and Broadband Services provide Internet and Managed Private Networking connectivity solutions for data and voice. It is suitable for corporations with high bandwidth needs and remote locations.

Netcom products cater to the various industry sectors - Corporate, Government, Enterprise and Individuals - with a product diversity ranging from: C - Band VSAT, Ku - Band VSAT, Virtual Network Operator Platform, Shared and Dedicated bandwidths including SCPC Airmax (tm) - Dedicated Internet Access (Turbo & Extreme) via SAT-3, Managed IP services/VPN
Netcom Africa is the first company to provide a viable Ku Band VSAT service in West Africa, providing carrier quality Broadband service.

It is also the first company in Nigeria to receive IPv6 allocation, making Nigeria the 100th country in the world to be on the IPv6 network.

Netcom's network is one of the most robust and sophisticated with redundant routers and facilities, not to mention multiple direct connections to global tier 1 network service providers.
Founded in 2004 to cater for Africa's emerging markets, Netcom Africa Limited is a leading communication infrastructure provider of satellite and wireless broadband solutions in West Africa.

Glo Sweeps Highest Telecoms Awards

Foremost telecoms operator, Globacom Limited has emerged the most highly rated in the industry scoring the highest points in the three topmost categories under analyses.

In this most recent independent appraisal of the performance of operators in the country, Globacom was adjudged the Best Telecoms Company of the Year, The Best Mobile Company of the Year and Best Telecoms Investor of the Year.

Philips Consulting conducted the rating as part of the annual Nigeria Telecoms Awards organized by Logica Communications, publishers of Telecom News, an industry review magazine.

With the three awards, Globacom, which operates in the fixed, mobile, broadband and International Gateway communications sub sectors, sits atop the industry in terms of overall performance.

According to the report, Globacom was named Telecoms Company of the Year because of its integrated operations, which have seen the company consolidating on its mobile and fixed services while laying optic fibre cables across the country to provide infrastructure for broadband data and voice communications.

The infrastructure is already carrying traffic for other operators and the corporate sector. The fixed line arm of Globacom has commenced the connection of customers in both Lagos and Abuja while the switches in various other cities across the country are being completed.

As Telecoms Investor of the Year, the company, according to the citation released to journalists, was rated high for its recent international rollout in Ghana and Benin republic. Its submarine cable project running from Lagos to the United Kingdom through the West African coast was also listed in the consideration.

As best Mobile Company, Globacom was noted for its value-added services, fast rollout and quality of service, which is attested to by industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Eminent Nigerians, including personalities from within and outside the industry, attended the awards night.

Visafone Hits 1 Million Subscribers In 6 Months

Visafone has hit the 1 million subscriber mark 6 months after it launched commercial operations on February 22, 2008.

The company, which was named Best Telecom Brand of the Year at the Nigeria Telecom wards, has in crossing the 1 million subscriber threshold notched up an unprecedented record in the annals of Nigeria's very vibrant and exciting telecoms industry.

The journey to this milestone achievement began on August 1, 2007 when the Nigerian Communications Commission issued Visafone its Unified Access License.

The company made history quick breaking industry records as the Nigerian telecom company with the fastest roll-out as it commenced operations in just 6 months after it received its Unified Access License from the (NCC).

Visafone would record another first when it launched commercial operations in 12 states and over 40 cities across the 6 geo-political zones from day one.

The coverage area has grown in the space of 6 months to 17 states, over 150 cities and 1 million subscribers underlining the company's aggressive and exponential growth.
The company in a statement signed by Toni Kan Onwordi, Head, Corporate Communications expressed appreciation to “the Nigerian public, members of the press, Visafone Strategic

Partners, our bankers and all other stakeholders who contributed in one way or the other to our successful launch and growth. We remain committed to spreading the joy of communication across the 36 states of Nigeria in the shortest possible time.”

It could be recalled that when Visafone launched commercial operations in February 2008, Ninan Thomas, the MD/CEO of Visafone had promised that his company would redefine the business of talk and communication. “We will offer the best in terms of Quality of Service: voice clarity, seamless connectivity, wide coverage, mobile, 3G high speed data (EVDO) and a host of fantastic value added services.”

Zain Nigeria Wins Global Award for RTP

		Zain Nigeria won a global award in London, the United Kingdom, for introducing a rural telephone micro franchise programme, aimed at empowering rural people to communicate and create wealth and employment. The company got the global recognition in the “Emerging Markets

Expansions Innovation award” category with its Rural Acquisition Initiative (RAI), beating competition from other big players in the international telecom industry.

The organizers of the Award noted that Zain's RAI which was first introduced on a pilot scale in the South East region of Nigeria in 2006 followed by a national rollout in 2008 is the first of such an approach to serve rural consumers in Africa.

Also, Zain Group, the leading telecommunications company in Africa and the Middle East, won the Global Telecoms Business Wireless network infrastructure innovation award for 'One Network', the world's first borderless or roaming free mobile telecoms network service.

The awards were presented in a glittering ceremony at the Sheraton Park Lane hotel in London, to the architects of the most innovative projects in the global telecom industry. The ceremony which was organized by Global Telecom Business attracted many high profile players in the industry.

Zain RAI which is targeted at low income consumers in most rural and poorest parts of Nigeria a massive but still under-tapped market- centres on an innovative micro-franchising plan for base stations management.

The telecom franchise programme or telecom entrepreneurship initiative is designed to involve rural residents in base station management and distribution programme, creating jobs, wealth, and improved products and services availability in the process.