Electron Native

Award-winning technologist ,  Ade Abayomi Olufeko also known as Feks, continues to be invited  by policy makers and private institutions in the African diaspora around the world.  He recently received the 2018 NABF "Young entrepreneur achievement award" in Tampa Florida, United States. He addressed and audience of 200 strong entrepreneurs and professionals of different background on situational ethics and the need for more empathy through action in Nigeria. He also advocated for women entrepreneurship and the youth. His award was presented by the forum's CEO Kenneth Kunle Shobola, elder statesman and senior politician Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi, and Nigerian-British Business Forum head Afolabi Andu. He shared the podium with juggernauts in attendance such as; Mohammed Shaaba Lafiagi, Ben Murray-Bruce, president aspirant Fela Durotoye, Former governor Peter Obi, Media pioneer Biodun Shobanjo and other subject matter experts providing dynamic frameworks for cha...

Facebook plans to double its staff working on reviewing and deleting illegal material in an effort to further crack down on hate speech and terrorist propaganda, Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said in Brussels on Tuesday. During her first ever speech in the capital of the European Union, Sandberg aimed to demonstrate her company’s willingness to cooperate with the bloc, where the company has run into troubles due to the EU’s strict standards on data protection and illegal hate speech. “We have not done enough to stop the abuse of our technology.. “We have done a lot to maximize the benefits of our platforms, but we need to do more to minimize the negatives,” she said. Sandberg noted that Facebook was already employing 10,000 people working on safety and security issues and added that the company will double the number to 20,000 by the end of this year to better monitor and eliminate illegal material posted online. She said the issue was “complicated”...

About 23 million Germans fell victims to Cybercrimes in 2017, representing 38 per cent of adults, who were regularly online, the U.S. computer security company Norton by Symantec said on Tuesday. The company put the total damage caused at almost 2.2 billion Euros (2.7 billion dollars). Norton said identity theft, attacks with ransom software and credit card fraud were the main crimes. The company undertakes an annual study of cybercrime, taking in 20 countries in 2017. According to the company, 978 million users suffered criminal damage. The study found “astonishing parallels’’ in the victims, most of whom were average uses, who were relatively skilled, but showed “a certain carelessness’’ when online. “Many people behave with dangerous carelessness,’’ Norton manager Nick Shaw said. According to the study, seven per cent of German users were hit by ransomware, where their own data is blocked and a ransom is demanded for its release. According to Norton, around one in ...

The Society for the Promotion of People’s Rights, an NGO, has called on the Nigerian Federal Government to set up special recycling plants for electronic scrap materials as a means of  protecting the environment. The President of the organisation, Williams Osaze, made the call in Abuja on Monday. He said that electronic waste was dangerous and harmful to human beings and the environment. He said that the establishment the recycling plants would facilitate efforts to sort out electronic waste into usable and non-usable components. Osaze said that nearly 75 per cent of old electronic items in the country continued to be stored in households because of the dearth of recycling options. He noted that old electronic devices contained toxic substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium and chromium. He, therefore, underscored the need for proper processing and recycling of electronic waste so as to ensure that the toxic materials were not released into the environment. Osaze said...

Electron Native: Web designer urges business owners to create websi... : A web designer,  Abiodun Oluwatosin,   said on Friday that creating website address for a Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can serve as...

A web designer,  Abiodun Oluwatosin,   said on Friday that creating website address for a Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can serve as a bridge between them and their target audience.  Oluwatosin made this known in Abuja. He said to make their businesses more visible, SMEs should obtain website addresses that would bridge the gap between them and their target audience. “With the trend of things in the world now, every individual and small business has one thing or the other to do on the web and it makes it a good tool to reach reasonable number of people at very little cost. “It is necessary for start-ups to own their websites as it is far better and cheaper than the traditional means of reaching out to their clients. “SMEs can leverage on this for their clients to see them out there because it could be very expensive to do the traditional radio and television publication. “But with the website, it is a room for you to bridge the cyber optic level to attra...

Electron Native: Nokia signs its first official 5G equipment deal i... : Finland’s Nokia said on Friday it signed its first major deal to supply new 5G wireless radio base stations to Japanese telecom operator, ...

Huawei Technologies Co founder Ren Zhengfei and top executives will pay a self-imposed fine totalling 469,000 dollars for management oversight of some quality breaches at the firm, an internal company memo shows on Friday. According to a notice sent to Huawei member of staff, Ren said there had been cases of “quality breach and business falsification” at some business units in recent years. He said that the board had decided to hold key leaders responsible. Ren, who did not provide any details about the breach, was fined 1 million yuan. The Huawei’s three rotating CEOs Guo Ping, Eric Xu, Ken Hu and human resources president Jason Li were fined 500,000 yuan each, according to the memo. Founded in 1987 by Ren, an ex-People’s Liberation Army officer, Huawei is collectively owned by its employees and known for a culture of strong discipline including self-criticism. The Shenzhen-headquartered company has some 180,000 staff and has grown rapidly in recent years to become C...

Ahead of the revolution expected to happen when broadband services become more ubiquitous in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is to develop a new and proper pricing structure for high speed Internet services in Nigeria.     The move is in line with the Commission’s mandate of creating an enabling environment and promoting fair competition in the telecoms industry and in line with the strategic objectives of the National Broadband Plan.     The NCC said this will not only ensure the affordability and availability of Broadband but also ensure fair competition by checking price discrimination, excessive pricing, predatory pricing, margin squeeze and price fixing amongst other things. To bring this to pass, NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta, at a ‘Stakeholders Forum on the Cost Based Pricing for Retail Broadband and Data Services’ in Lagos, on Wednesday, disclosed that the commission has appointed Messrs’ KPMG to conduct a st...

Finland’s Nokia said on Friday it signed its first major deal to supply new 5G wireless radio base stations to Japanese telecom operator, NTT DoCoMo. The operator boasts nearly half of the country’s mobile subscribers. The contract marks Nokia’s first sizeable deal for its flagship mobile base station equipment based on official global New Radio (NR) standards for the fifth generation of wireless networks, which was finalised in December 2017. Financial terms were not disclosed. The deal contemplates DoCoMo starting commercial 5G network service by 2020, in time for the Tokyo Olympics, according to Nokia. Initial installations are expected in greater metropolitan Tokyo with a national roll-out to follow in subsequent years. Nokia, a major supplier to DoCoMo in both the 3G and 4G network eras, has been working with the Japanese operator since at least 2014 on trials of 5G equipment. The 5G equipment promises far faster data rates, greater capacity and quicker response ti...

In a recent development, Minister for Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, said the government was presently discussing with some countries towards having a constellation of satellites. “ This means that instead of one country having one satellite, many countries can have many satellites that can do so many things. “ “Then you pull the resources together and pull the data together from all participating countries. So in that way, you share cost and also share data and it is more cost effective. “ “We have very serious constraints in terms of funding but we are working on how we can have funding for research and innovation in the country from outside the budget, “” he said. He said the Federal Government was still working on the speeding limit system of a Nano satellite set up last year at National Space Research and Development Agency to bring the cost down. He said the government was also intensifying effort to ensure the Nano satellite was the best in the country ...

Apple Inc (AAPL.O) will open a new campus as part of a five-year, 30 billion dollars U.S. investment plan and will make about 38 billion dollars in one-time tax payments on its overseas cash. This is one of the largest corporate spending plans announced since the passage of a tax cut signed by U.S. President Donald Trump. The company has been under increasing pressure to make U.S. investments since the 2016 presidential campaign, when Trump targeted the iPhone maker for making products in Asian factories. While Apple has announced no plans to change that practice. Experts say it would be economically impractical to make iPhones in the United States, the company has begun to emphasize its U.S. economic impact, from developers who sell software on its App Store to the tens of billions of dollars per year it spends with U.S. suppliers. Between the spending plan, hiring 20,000 people, tax payments and business with U.S.-based suppliers, Apple on Wednesday estimated it would sp...

A former Corporate Engineering Manager, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Abdullah Bukar, has urged Nigerians to consume local technologies and innovations for rapid economic growth and industrialization. Bukar made the call at a book launch organised by the Ikeja Branch of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) on Wednesday in Lagos. The book, tilted, “Corrosion Monitoring and Control Engineering in Oil and Gas Production”, was written by Dr Lekan Olaosebikan, a lecturer and former staff of SPDC. Bukar, who was chairman of the occasion, stressed the need to protect pipelines from corrosion to avert pipeline leakages using local technology. He said that corrosion was like cancer which could gradually wreck major havoc on pipelines and other industrial facilities if not noticed and checked. “Corrosion deteriorates metals and plants and cause damage that can affect the business. “This book provides solution right from the time you design your project to the t...

First Bank of Nigeria Ltd., has upgraded its Internet banking solution, FirstOnline with improved features to promote and safeguard electronic banking experience of its customers. The bank in a statement made available in Lagos on Tuesday, said that the improved features would allow customers experience payment efficiency, versatility and productivity in their business transactions. The statement said that the user friendly and secure internet banking tool, which could be carried out on one’s computer or mobile devices was designed for both individual and corporate customers. It said that customers would experience with ease, cutting-edge banking services anywhere, at any time and place, with good internet connection. The statement said that some of the leading edge features on FirstOnline include; self-verification for intercepted transactions, statement download in different file formats, and multiple transactions with a single token entry, among others. The bank’s Group...

The Young Innovators of Nigeria, YIN, on Tuesday said efforts were on to launch a hardware laboratory in the Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory,FCT), to strengthen start-ups ecosystem.  The Chief Executive Officer of YIN, Andrew Abu, made the announcement in Abuja that the launch of the laboratory is part of the group’s project for the year.  According to Abu, the hardware laboratory will provide the platform for young innovators a place to test-run their products. “For us as a country to develop our start-ups ecosystem and  build entrepreneurship, we must put in place laboratories for innovators to verify their products. “This is why the Young Innovators of Nigeria are working to establish a hardware laboratory in the FCT by May. “Every effort is in place, we are waiting for our hardware equipment to arrive while we are also going to meet with our development partners to ensure their commitments,” Abu said. Abu said that the lack of mainten...

The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) says its members are likely to implement the 14 days grace for data roll-over planned by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The Chairman of ALTON, Gbenga Adebayo, disclosed this  in Lagos on Monday. NCC is working to issue a directive to telecommunications operators to give 14 days’ window to subscribers to enable them to roll over their unused data. Adebayo said that the period for data roll over was a commercial issue, which each telecommunications operator would determine how it suited its business plan. “The decision is left to the individual players. As an industry player; I think it is good for the subscribers. “If the data roll over grace makes the subscribers happy, I am certain that our members will align with the directive provided it does not impact on the existing cost,” he said. On its part, the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) has call...

 The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says the number of active mobile phone lines in the country has risen to 142 million as at November, 2017 from 140 million in October. The figure shows an increase of 1, 550.022 lines. NCC disclosed this in its monthly Subscriber Operator Date posted on its website. The commission said that the active lines moved to 141, 900.405 compared to 140,350.383 in October 2017. https://www.google.com.ng/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjmy4XWj8zYAhUIEewKHXVLBvUQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gizmotimes.com%2Fwhat-how%2Fdual-tri-and-quad-band-cell-phones%2F19220&psig=AOvVaw3l1O3RZrrfnSY8q1nShDN5&ust=1515629923547872 The Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) still had 217,566 users in November as recorded in October. The report said that the number of fixed wired/wireless in November was 137,190 against 137,216 in October, a decrease of 26 lines. According to ...

There are quite a number of startups in Nigeria who are constantly searching for the most effective, best and affordable ways to promote and advertise their businesses. Now with the internet, there are so many platforms you can advert on to reach millions. If you have been pondering on where to promote your business online, Jumia Travel, the leading online travel agency shares 6 best and most effective ways to do this.  Email newsletters  Your weekly or monthly newsletter can also serve as a way to promote your business. You can design a nice banner and attach it to every newsletter you send out. You can also encourage your employees to do the same. It does not have to be restricted to newsletters.  Facebook Ads  With Facebook ads, you have the opportunity to run target ads. The advantage here is that you will reach more people. In other words, if you promote your ads on Facebook, people that will not normally see it will.  Appvertising  Appvertis...

30 youths have been selected by the Abia State Govt to proceed to China for training on automated shoe making. This forms part of the Made-in-Abia campaign. These individuals comprising of 7 of them are ladies and 23 males are from Ebonyi, Imo & Anambra states. They will depart on Monday. Abia State Governor's Senior Special Assistant to the Abia State Governor on Public Communications, Sam Hart made this known via his twitter page. Hart further explain that down payment has been made for equipments which the trainees can use when they return to further ensure that what they will learn will be practically utilised.

The Nigerian Government says it is fully committed to revamping the nation’s economy from a resource-base to a science and technology- based economy by 2030. Minister of Science and Technology,  Ogbonnaya Onu, gave the assurance at the South-South Sensitisation to the National Science, Technology and Innovation Roadmap (NSTIR) 2030 on Friday in Port Harcourt. He said that NSTIR, when fully implemented, would enable Nigeria to become a major exporting nation rather than its dependence on importation of raw materials and finished products. According to him, the Buhari-led administration is fully focused to end the nation’s over reliance on crude oil and gas as its major exchange earner. “Recently, we got an information that, between 2010 and 2015, Nigeria imported raw materials and finished products worth over N43 trillion. “The statistics did not come from us (Ministry) but came from the National Bureau of Statistics and the Nigerian Custom Service, which is quit...

U.S. technology giant Apple has warned that all Mac and iOS devices have been affected by security vulnerabilities in it's Central Processing Units. In recent days, cybersecurity experts have released information about design flaws in microchips produced or designed by such companies as Intel, AMD and Arm Holdings, which control almost all the chip market. According to a statement by the company, the vulnerabilities dubbed Meltdown and Spectre could allow hackers to get access to sensitive information on the users’ computers and other devices. “Security researchers have recently uncovered security issues known by two names, Meltdown and Spectre. “These issues apply to all modern processors and affect nearly all computing devices and operating systems. “All Mac systems and iOS devices are affected, but there are no known exploits impacting customers at this time … Apple Watch is not affected by Meltdown,” the company said. The IT giant recommends all the users to d...