Technology: September 2016

Friday, 30 September 2016

NCC sets up taskforce to enhance QoS offerings

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said it has set up a high level taskforce to identify all issues militating against quality of service in the networks.
Prof. Umar Danbatta, executive vice chairman of NCC who stated this at a press conference in Abuja to mark to mark his one year in office, said that the report of the committee is already being implemented for the resolution of some urgent issues militating against quality of service.
He said that the quality of service on the various networks, which includes infrastructure, service providers facilities had taken considerable attention of the commission.
“The commission has been able to identify and taken notice of the difference between the records of quality service as recorded in the switch of the service providers and from the practical experience of the consumers.
“We have therefore taken some measures to address the issue of quality of service.’’ Danbatta said that the commission was also promoting a Telecom Industry Working Group on Quality of Service that engages service providers to discuss germane matters leading to resolution of critical quality of service.

Alarmed by the threat posed by Silicon Valley firms developing autonomous driving systems, carmakers at this week’s Paris Motor Show showed signs they are ready to hit back by cooperating in areas where they might have been expected to compete.
“This is how the automotive industry may be able to fight off the threat that Apple and particularly Google represent to their brands as digital services become more and more important,” technology investment analyst Richard Windsor said.
BMW, Daimler and VW’s Audi announced this week they would launch new traffic monitoring services next year which give drivers a view of road conditions miles ahead. They are based on video data collected from sensors in other cars and fed to the three carmakers’ jointly-owned navigation mapping services firm HERE.
Separately HERE’s Dutch rival TomTom on Thursday announced traffic data deals with truckmaker Volvo and carmaker Skoda, a VW subsidiary.

Over four million businesses currently advertise on Facebook, with 70 per cent outside the United States of America.
According to the Facebook, which disclosed this on Wednesday, the fastest growing region is South East Asia with the following countries: Vietnam, Indonesia, Greece, Ukraine and Philippines.
Founded in 2004, Facebook, founded by Mark Zuckerberg, claimed that its mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.
The social media platform currently has 1.04 billion daily active users on average worldwide and

Google has unveiled Google Photos, a free photos management system that could be used to create the ultimate album and memorable wedding.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s Anglophone West Africa spokesman, said Google Photos also offered unlimited storage for high resolution images and videos.
“A wedding is that beautiful ceremony where two people are united in marriage and it is dependable on budget.
“Checklist done; the wedding venue, guest list, the cake, caterer, don’t forget the “aso ebi” frenzy and so on, but still, an essential item for any wedding ceremony is the photograph.
“Not capturing beautiful moments of weddings can be a disaster and so photos are essential even after the ceremony,’’ the Google spokesman said in a statement.
He said that smartphones had made it possible for almost everyone to be a photographer and Google was making it easier with Google Photos.
“Nowadays, wedding photos have moved from the usual hard copy printouts to having photo

Uber is preparing to introduce panic buttons in its cars in South Africa after a series of alleged attacks linked to the app.
The company said it was testing a number of ways to improve security over the coming month, including a pilot of dashboard-mounted cameras in Cape Town and the “SOS” button service in Johannesburg, which will link cars to the company’s central security system.
It comes in the wake of a high-profile incident in which a woman was allegedly picked up by an Uber driver, strangled, thrown in the boot of the car, robbed and sexually assaulted.
The woman was raped after the driver took her to an ATM and ordered her to withdraw 5,000 rand – around £280 – according to Ulrich Roux, the lawyer who is representing the victim and another passenger involved in a alleged similar assault.
“She is still traumatised from the incident,” Roux told the eNCA news agency. “However, she’s determined and has been working with police to make sure the perpetrators are prosecuted.”
After another incident last week involving an alleged attack on a female Uber passenger, the ANC

NDDC to create 6,300 jobs for youths in online marketing

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has earmarked 6,300 jobs for youths in the Niger Delta region.
Beneficiaries of the scheme that will include unemployed youths, university undergraduates as well as persons in employment who desire to earn more cash, will be trained by online marketing giant, KONGA. COM.
According to the NDDC acting managing director, Mrs Ibim Semenitari, the entrepreneurship training will create jobs and offer financial stability to families.
Semenitari stated that the partnership between NDDC and KONGA. COM is one of the numerous ways the commission under her, is reducing unemployment in the Niger Delta region and creating new entrepreneurs.

As part of efforts targeted at making spectrum usage more efficient in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is encouraging the refarming of various frequencies.
The NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta, who disclosed this on Monday, in Abuja, said through this process, some service providers, who hitherto, providing services on the 1800 MHz spectrum band have been allowed to re-farm and deploy services on the 4G/Long Term Evolution Band.
Re-farming is reassigning government-regulated electromagnetic spectrum for services with higher value. The frequency bands are assigned to communications services that yield greater economic or social benefit.
Danbatta disclosed that through re-farming, the commission has been able to revive some of the companies whose services have been hampered by the characteristics of the frequencies.
Already at a forum in Lagos, the former EVC of the commission, Ernest Ndukwe, also made a case

A Symantec report has revealed that cybercriminal networks are taking advantage of security shortcomings in Internet of Things (IoT) devices to spread malware and create zombie networks, or botnets, without the knowledge of their device owners.
Symantec’s Security Response team discovered that cybercriminals are hijacking home networks and everyday consumer connected devices to help carry out Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on more profitable targets, usually large companies.
A DDoS attack is an attempt to make an online service unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources.
More than half of all IoT attacks originate from China and the US, based on the location of IP addresses to launch malware attacks.
High numbers of attacks are also emanating from Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine and Vietnam.

In a pair of related reports released by Strategic Analytics (SA), the reality of 5G evolution is analysed.
One report concluded significant work is needed to marry the appeal of a unified early 5G standard with the longer term need to support diverse market requirements. Leading operators such as NTT DoCoMo, SK Telecom, Verizon, AT&T and more cautious European operators are plotting very different 5G paths.
The other report predicts 5G commercial handset sales will begin in 2020 and exceed 300 million by 2025.
Senior Analyst at Strategy Analytics, Guang Yang, comments “5G network plans have developed

Global smartwatch shipment is expected to reach 20.1 million units at the end of 2016, a new forecast by the International Data Corporation (IDC) has revealed.
According to IDC worldwide quarterly wearable device tracker, smartwatch shipment in 2016 will see an increase of 3.9 per cent from the 19.4 million units shipped in 2015.

Samsung Electronics West Africa Limited has complied with the ultimatum given to it by the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), requiring it to give a status report on the global recall of Galaxy Note 7 in Nigeria, following reports of explosion of dozens of the device while charging.
It would be recalled that the council had given the company a seven-day ultimatum for it to provide information on the full status of its compliance with the global directive on the recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
A statement by the CPC on Tuesday morning said the company disclosed that the device was yet to be launched in Nigeria, and had announced its readiness to provide voluntary exchange to consumers, who may have purchased it elsewhere in the world and brought it into Nigeria.
CPC said the status report which it got said, “customers who already have Galaxy Note 7 devices, Samsung will voluntarily exchange their current device with a new one over the coming weeks,” adding that “customers who have this device should submit it to Samsung authorized Service

The Nigerian Senate is probing Africa’s biggest telecoms company MTN for alleged illegal transfer of $13.92 billion out of the country.
Senators Tuesday agreed to begin the investigation and then the members who resumed this week after a long holiday adjourned plenary till Thursday.
MTN declined to comment on the Senate decision.
With 62 million subscribers, Nigeria is MTN’s biggest market.
A motion
MTN shares were down by 4.20 per cent, at 2.46pm (13:46 GMT) on Tuesday.
The cash transfer allegation was made in a motion submitted to the Upper House by Senator Dino Melaye, which said $13.92 billion had been repatriated “illegally” out of Nigeria by MTN through its bankers between 2006 and 2016.

Germany blocks WhatsApp data transfers to Facebook

German data protection authorities on Tuesday said they had blocked Facebook from collecting subscriber data from its subsidiary WhatsApp, citing privacy concerns.
Facebook and WhatsApp promised in the wake of the Silicon Valley giant’s 2014 acquisition of the messaging app that they would not share data, Hamburg’s Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information Johannes Caspar recalled in a statement.
He added that Facebook would be required to delete any data already received from WhatsApp in Germany.
“It has to be (the users’) decision whether they want to connect their account with Facebook,” Caspar said. “Facebook has to ask for their permission in advance.”
WhatsApp announced in August that it would begin sharing data with Facebook, in a bid to allow better targeted advertising and fight spam on the platform.
Currently, users of the instant messenger must opt out of sending information to Facebook through WhatsApp’s settings on their smartphone.

The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Umar Danbatta, says the Nigeria Broadband Penetration has reached 20.95 per cent.
Mr. Danbatta said this on Monday in Abuja while presenting the first progress report of the eight point agenda he unveiled to the media in 2015.
According to him, broadband is a flagship of the eight point agenda he unveiled in Kano and Lagos.
“The active mobile broadband penetration released by the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development shows that Nigeria has reached a penetration of 20.95 per cent.
“On the percentage of internet penetration, the country has reached a milestone of 47.44 per cent, second to South Africa in the continent,” he said.
Mr. Danbatta said the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development was set up by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UNESCO in 2010.
He said the provision of the National Broadband Plan that had a set target of 30 per cent penetration from 2013 to 2018, also accentuated emphasis on broadband penetration.

New Zealand researchers said Monday they have restored the first recording of computer-generated music, created in 1951 on a gigantic contraption built by British genius Alan Turing.
The aural artefact, which paved the way for everything from synthesizers to modern electronica, opens with a staunchly conservative tune — the British national anthem “God Save the King”.
Researchers at the University of Canterbury (UC) in Christchurch said it showed Turing — best known as the father of computing who broke the WWII Enigma code — was also a musical innovator.
“Alan Turing’s pioneering work in the late 1940s on transforming the computer into a musical instrument has been largely overlooked,” they said.
The recording was made 65 years ago by a BBC outside-broadcast unit at the Computing Machine Laboratory in Manchester, northern England.

Thailand is considering tougher tax rules for tech firms like Alphabet

Thailand is studying plans for tougher tax collection rules governing internet and technology firms, according to the head of the country’s Revenue Department.
The plans would also cover the mobile transfers and internet payment sector, Prasong

Tech giant Samsung Electronics said on Sunday it was delaying the start of new Galaxy Note 7 smartphone sales in South Korea by three days to Oct. 1, a move it says is needed for speedy completion of the ongoing recall in the country.
Samsung announced on Sept. 2 a recall of at least 2.5 million Galaxy Note7 smartphones in 10 markets, including South Korea, due to a faulty battery causing the phones to catch fire, offering refunds or replacement devices using safe batteries.
The firm hopes to complete the recall quickly and restart sales in the fourth quarter to salvage earnings, but the latest hitch in South Korea underscore continuing challenges in those efforts.
Though product exchanges in South Korea began on Monday, only about 200,000 affected customers have turned in their devices – which Samsung says represents half of affected customers and a recall pace that is much slower than other markets such as Singapore and the

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it received 6,163 complaints from telecommunications subscribers in the second quarter of 2016.
Mr Abdullahi Maikano, the Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau (CAB) of the commission made the disclosure to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos.
Maikano said that of the 6,163 complaints, 4,739 issues were resolved, giving a resolution of 76.9 per cent.
He also said that the commission received 23,694 complaints from telecommunications consumers in the first quarter.
NAN reports that the complaints received in the second quarter reduced by 17,531 or by 73.99 per cent compared with that of first quarter.
The director said that the reduction was as a result of the “2442 Do Not Disturb’’ directive of the regulatory body to the operators.

Trump opposes plan for US to cede control of ICANN to global community

U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump opposes a long-planned transition of oversight of the internet’s technical management from the U.S. government to a global community of stakeholders, his campaign said in a statement on Wednesday.
Congress should block the handover, scheduled to occur on Oct. 1, “or internet freedom will be lost for good, since there will be no way to make it great again once it is lost,” Stephen Miller, national policy director for the Trump campaign, said in a statement.
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, a former presidential primary foe of Trump’s who has refused to endorse the real estate developer, has led a movement in Congress to block the transition, arguing it could cede control of the internet itself to authoritarian regimes like Russia and China and threaten online freedom.

Mark Zuckerberg and his wife have pledged more than $3bn towards an ambitious plan to rid the world of disease.
The Facebook founder and his wife, paediatrician Priscilla Chan, said the goal was to “cure, prevent or manage all disease within our children’s lifetime”.
Investment will go towards research into cancer and infectious disease as well as heart and neurological disease, the couple said.
The plans were revealed during an event in San Francisco for their philanthropic group, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, on Wednesday.
Dr Chan said they launched the initiative following the birth of daughter Max last year, with the goal of dramatically improving the lives of all other children in her generation.
She recalled experiences of telling parents their child had an incurable disease or could not be

Apple has approached British Formula One team owner McLaren Technology Group for a strategic investment or a potential buyout, the Financial Times reported, citing sources.
The loss-making automotive group could be valued at between 1 billion pounds ($1.30 billion) and

US internet giant Google launched Wednesday a smart messaging app aimed at muscling into a busy market with popular rivals such as WhatsApp and Facebook’s messenger.
Allo’s “smart” capabilities aims to make it easier to respond to messages and over time adjusts to users’ own style, Google said in an official blog.
The app introduces Google Assistant where users just type @google to ask the US search engine questions and have it help you directly in chats, it said.
“You no longer need to leave a conversation with friends just to grab an address, share your favorite YouTube video, or pick a dinner spot,” it said.
The app works on phones using Google’s Android system and Apple’s iOS.

Samsung begins replacement programme for Galaxy Note 7

Samsung Electronics West Africa Limited (“SEWA’) has announced the postponement of the launch of Samsung Galaxy Note7 in Nigeria.
This is sequel to the postponement of sales of the device globally due to isolated battery cell problems.
On September 2, 2016, Samsung had announced an official Galaxy Note7 replacement programme

Eutelsat Communications and MultiChoice Africa, one of Africa’s most prominent video entertainment companies, have announced at IBC in Amsterdam, the signature of a nine-year contract for the expansion of the MultiChoice DStv platform at Eutelsat’s 36° East video neighbourhood.
The new contract for one transponder reinforces the longstanding relationship between MultiChoice Africa and Eutelsat and will further anchor 36° East as a premier location for digital video entertainment services in Africa.
MultiChoice Africa Chief Executive Officer, Tim Jacobs, said: “Thanks to the additional capacity

Google smartphone expected at Oct. 4 event

Google late Monday sent out invitations to an October 4 event, hinting that the Internet titan will show off a new smartphone powered by its Android mobile software.
Emailed invitations revealed only the time and place for the gathering in San Francisco, the message topped by blue, red, yellow, and green dots of color.
Google fired off a Twitter message with hashtag #madebygoogle and a video of what appeared to be a long rectangular search term box morphing into a silhouette of a smartphone.
Industry trackers have been expecting Google in October to show off its own smartphone, showcasing the prowess of its new Nougat version of Android software.
Google may stamp its latest smartphones with a “Pixel” brand instead of the “Nexus” name it has used in the past for Android smartphones it has made in collaborations with partners.
A Google smartphone would be fielded as a standard to which other’s making Android devices

Grab, the biggest rival to ride-sharing service Uber Technologies Inc in Southeast Asia, has raised $750 million in a funding round, turning up the heat on the U.S. firm now seeking to expand in the region after exiting China.
The successful cash-injection just a month after Indonesian peer Go-Jek raised $550 million highlights the intensifying competition in the region, as Uber shifts its focus following a deal to sell its China operations into Didi Chuxing.
Four-year-old Grab said it planned to expand its services in Southeast Asia through the funding round, which was led by Japan’s SoftBank Group with new and existing investors.
The region has become a key battleground for ride-hailing firms thanks to a burgeoning middle class as well as a youthful, internet-savvy demographic.

The Chinese manufacturer of batteries used in Samsung’s recalled Galaxy Note 7 smartphones says its battery is not the cause of the phone’s explosive tendency.
“Test results show that the fire is not directly connected to the battery produced by our company,” parts manufacturer, Amperex Technology Limited, said.
Meanwhile, Samsung had previously said initial investigations showed faulty batteries as the cause of the fire hazard.

The Obama administration said Monday it was considering seeking the power to review and approve technology for self-driving cars before they hit the road and said U.S. states should not set separate rules.
The U.S. Transportation Department, in its most comprehensive statement yet on autonomous vehicles, also issued voluntary guidelines and urged automakers to certify that their highly automated vehicles were ready for public roads.
“If a self-driving car isn’t safe, we have the authority to pull it off the road. We won’t hesitate to protect the American public’s safety,” President Barack Obama wrote in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette op-ed published Monday. “We have to get it right.”
Automakers and technology companies are racing to develop vehicles that can drive themselves at least part of the time. They have complained that state and federal safety rules impede the process.

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), has called on tertiary institutions and research institutes to always use internet facilities to upload research works for global view.
This is contained in a statement issued by Mrs Hadiza Umar, the Head, Corporate Affairs of NITDA in Abuja on Monday.
The statement said Dr Vincent Olatunji, the Acting Director-General of NITDA made the call while unveiling the virtual e-library infrastructure donated by the agency to Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti on Friday.
Olatunji said that the facility would enable the university improve on its teaching and research on Nigeria’s development.
“One of the ways to contribute to the economy is by using Information Communication and Technology (ICT) to upload research works so that others can have access to them and read, not

Telcos seek removal of row barriers for telecom growth

Nigerian telecommunications operators have called for the removal of all bottlenecks in the way of securing right of way (RoW) and permits among others in order to provide better access, achieve the desired national broadband objectives of 30 per cent penetration by 2018 and provide affordable services across the country.
The operators who spoke at the quarterly seminar organised by the Nigerian Information and Communications Technology Reporters Association (NITRA) at the weekend in Lagos said although the NCC is the statutory authority charged with the regulation of telecoms services in Nigeria, today, the telecoms sector has witnessed incursions into the regulatory space by other agencies including state and local governments.
They said these agencies impose levies and fees on service providers for location towers, right of way, and make other laws that govern infrastructure in their domains. The acts of these agencies have sometimes led to indiscriminate shut down of base stations and operator sites, leading to disruption of services.

Samsung Electronics said Sunday it had sold shares it held in four technology companies including US chipmaker Rambus and Japan’s Sharp to free up money and focus on its main business.
The South Korean tech giant also sold shares in Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASLM and US hard drive maker Seagate, it said in a statement.
Samsung — the world’s top smartphone maker which also manufactures memory chips, TVs and home appliances — has for years bought shares in other tech firms in semi-conductor or display panel industries.
“It was aimed at focusing on our core business by efficiently managing the investments made in the past in line with changes in business environments,” Samsung said.

Following reports of explosion of dozens of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 while charging, the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has issued a seven-day ultimatum to Samsung Electronics West Africa Limited to provide information on the full status of its compliance with the global directive of Samsung on the recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
The CPC’s ultimatum, which came on the heels of recent global recall of the product following its defective battery, also demanded Samsung Electronics West Africa Limited to furnish it with other measures the company may have taken to safeguard the safety and interest of Nigerian consumers.
The Council, in a letter to the company dated September 14, 2016, signed by its Director General, Dupe Atoki, said “the attention of the Council has been drawn to media reports indicating that the lithium-ion batteries for Samsung Galaxy Note 7 are prone to catching fire.”
The agency’s letter stated further that “the said faulty batteries have reportedly caused the phone to explode in 35 separate incidents, sometimes bursting into flames, damaging property and

American movie star Leonardo DiCaprio unveiled Thursday a free technology that allows users to spy on global fishing practices, in a bid to curb illegal activity in the oceans and rebuild imperiled fish stocks.
The technology, known as Global Fishing Watch, was officially released to the public during the Our Oceans Conference hosted by US Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington on Thursday and Friday.
“Today, this unprecedented technology is available to everyone in the world. I encourage everyone to go check it out,” DiCaprio told the conference.
“This platform will empower citizens across the globe to become powerful advocates for our oceans.”
Available at GlobaFishingWatch.org, the technology aims to offer a crowd sourced solution to the

The Federal Government has been urged to accord priority attention to the development of science and technology to lead its economic diversification drive in the bid to revamp the economy.
Chief Damian Inyamah, the immediate past President, Igbo Delegates Assembly, for the 19 Northern States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) gave the advice on Friday in Lokoja.
Inyamah, who spoke on the state of the economy in an interview with newsmen, said science and technology were not given the deserved attention by successive governments in the past.
The elder statesman said that the country had ample opportunities to diversify the economy through science and technology but had neglected the call and was now paying for it.
He attributed the present economic quagmire to mismanagement, bad leadership and corruption and commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his stance on corruption.
He advised that in adding to agriculture being widely speculated as the way out of the present economic recession, the Federal Government should think seriously of developing the science and technology sector.
The former Igbo Delegate Assembly president said that with adequate focus and attention on

Software firm dangles ‘winning recipe’ to techpreneurs

While every entrepreneur, especially in the technology space, is unique and each story is different, there is a common factor that unites them – they take risks, follow their dreams and pursue their passions.
Steven Cohen, head of Sage One International for Africa, Australia, Middle East and Asia, said that “taking action” is one of the critical steps to stand out as a small business owner, even in harsh economic climate.
Cohen said, “There’s a reason the term ‘wantrepreneur’ has come to describe so many people – action and execution are much harder than talk. Success is the result of your actions. It’s not always laziness that impedes action, sometimes over-thinking things, doubting yourself, or striving for ‘perfect’ can prevent us from getting on with things. It’s key to find a balance between

An Apple Inc iTunes unit in Japan was ordered to pay some 12 billion yen ($118 million) in tax by local authorities after underreporting income, media reported Friday.
The unit has since paid the amount, the reports said.
The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau determined that the unit, which sends part of its profits earned from fees paid by Japan subscribers to another Apple unit in Ireland to pay for software

Russia on Thursday stood firm after slapping a ban on two major porn websites — rebuffing a tongue-in-cheek proposal to change its mind in exchange for premium access.
On Tuesday, Russia’s communications watchdog blocked widely-watched sites Pornhub and YouPorn after courts in the far eastern city of Vladivostok and the southern Voronezh region ruled they distribute pornography.
Pornhub, which says it is the world’s number one free pornography site, responded with a cheeky tweet to the Roskomnadzor watchdog, offering it premium subscription in return for lifting the ban.
“If we give you guys a Pornhub Premium account, will you un ban Pornhub in Russia?” the site wrote.
“Sorry, we are not in the market, and the demography is not a commodity,” the agency snapped back in English on its official Twitter, suggesting pornography is preventing the population from

Inactive phone numbers in Nigeria increase to 76 million – NCC

Inactive telephone numbers in the country increased from 67,331,498 in June to 76,164,149 in July, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) revealed, Thursday.
In its “Monthly Subscriber Data’’ report released in Lagos, the commission said there were 8,832,651 unused numbers during the period, making up the total inactive lines.
It showed that of the 226,426,215 connected lines, only 150,262,066 numbers were active.
The report stated that of the 76,164,149 inactive numbers, the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks had a share of 72,732,130.
The Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA mobile) operators had a share of 3,240,313 while the Fixed Wired/Wireless networks had a total of 184,819 unused lines.
Similarly, of the 150,262,066 active lines, the GSM networks had 149,708,077 numbers, adding a

With new iPhones hitting the markets Friday, Apple is seeking to regain momentum and set new trends for the smartphone industry and tech sector.
The newest versions of the California-based technology giant’s lifestyle-changing iPhone aim to win over users with sophisticated camera technology, water resistance, more power and other improvements.
But Apple has raised eyebrows by eliminating headphone jacks in what executives heralded as an embrace of a wireless future for its new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.
The devices with boosted memory capacity will be sold at roughly the same price as the models they replace, starting at $649 for the iPhone 7 for US customers, with deliveries in some 25 countries launching Friday.
What remains unclear for Apple is whether it can generate the same kind of excitement that surrounded previous versions of the iPhone, amid stiff competition from Samsung and other

The National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS) has threatened to institute an action against the telecoms industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in court over the regulator’s failure to sanction telecoms operators and Value Added Service (VAS) providers who consistently send unsolicited text messages, otherwise known as Short Message Service (SMS) to subscribers.
The warning came on the heels of the recent statement credited to NCC that it would continue to protect telecoms subscribers from unsolicited SMS by operators.
NCC had last week, issued a strong warning to telecoms operators to respect the rights of consumers and put an end to unsolicited SMS, but the warning rather angered subscribers, who felt NCC no longer have the feelings of subscribers, hence it kept ‘barking without biting’ on the issue of unsolicited SMS, which they said, had lingered for too long, without any definite action

There’s a new kind of car on the streets of Pittsburgh. Uber has taken a huge step into the future, unveiling a small fleet of autonomous, self-driving vehicles for the exclusive use of its most loyal customers.
The company wants to put autonomous driving to the test in a city already known for its driving challenges.
“Pittsburgh is an old city, it has an organic road network, it has real traffic problems, it experiences extreme weather so we really feel that Pittsburgh is the double black diamond of driving,” Said Director of Uber’s Advanced Technologies Centre, Raffi Krikorian.
The challenges are many and various. Critics say self-driving cars are not safe enough yet….that

It’s been rumored for months that Apple was thinking about buying Tidal, the music streaming service started by Jay Z, but the iPhone maker now says a deal certainly isn’t on the cards.
Speaking to BuzzFeed News, Apple Music head Jimmy Iovine didn’t deny that the two companies had held discussions, but said that no acquisition was forthcoming. “We’re really running our own race,” Iovine told the publication. “We’re not looking to acquire any streaming services.”
The first rumor of a deal was reported by The Wall Street Journal in June, with Apple said to be particularly interested in Tidal’s close relationship with high-profile artists.
The streaming service has been home to exclusives from a number of musicians including

Global leader in network and endpoint security, Sophos, has revealed a new partner programme for resellers in the Middle East and Africa (MEA).
The firm said the new initiative will help channel partners achieve their growth objectives with competitive margins, dedicated marketing and sales support.
The core objective of the Sophos partner programme is to equip partners with resources and training that enable them to sell, market, distribute and implement the company’s award-winning cloud, network, server and end user protection solutions to organizations of all sizes.
The new Sophos partner programme provides access to the company’s comprehensive portfolio of market-leading endpoint and network security products, which have been engineered keeping its partners in mind. Partners are now able to manage all Sophos solutions for every customer through a centralized management platform, Sophos Central. Within Sophos Central is Sophos Central-Partner, a specialized dashboard that allows partners to distribute licenses, add new customers on demand, cross- and up sell services, drive recurring revenue and have a clear, real-time perspective on all customer activity. Partners can respond to security incidents faster

United States of America’s computer giant HP has struck a deal to take over Samsung’s $1 billion (£750 million) printer business.
HP said the acquisition would help it to “disrupt and reinvent” the $55 billion copier industry, a segment that “hasn’t innovated in decades”.
It is buying a big printing presence in Asia, as well as Samsung’s laser printing technology and patents.The deal comes days after HP’s sister company sold its software business to rising UK tech champion Micro Focus.
Hewlett-Packard split into two businesses last year: HP Inc, which focuses on printers and computers; and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, which sold its software business to focus on data storage.
“When we became a separate company just 10 months ago, it enabled us to become nimble and focus on accelerating growth and reinventing industries,” said Dion Weisler, chief executive of HP Inc.

Facebook and Twitter have joined a network of over 30 news and technology companies to tackle fake news and improve the quality of information on social media, the group said on Tuesday.
First Draft Coalition, formed in June 2015 with the backing of Alphabet Inc’s Google, said it would create a voluntary code of practice, promote news literacy among social media users, and launch a platform where members can verify questionable news stories.
The platform will be launched by the end of October, Jenni Sargent, managing director of the coalition, said in an email.

A Multiscreen advertising solution to help operators tap TV and video service advertising revenues forecast to reach $79 billion in 2021, has debuted.
The solution, which is being championed by Nokia, supports targeted ad placements for linear TV, time-shifted TV and video on demand.
The Velocix Multiscreen Advertising Solution is a cloud-based, service-oriented architecture (SOA) that provides client-independent, network-based ad insertion and replacement. The solution scales by dynamically adding virtual machines and allowing the distribution of personalised advertising content at the edge of the network – both of which are critical to support popular live events. This flexibility also allows advertisers to greater capitalise on time-shifted and localised audiences.
Velocix Multiscreen Advertising builds on Nokia’s Velocix Personalization Platform, which collects individual viewing information and presents it to an ad decision server to improve the relevance of every ad. The advanced tracking captures every single viewing experience, determines whether an ad reaches its intended target viewer and delivers that data to operators to demonstrate value for ad buyers. `

WhatsApp has updated its iOS app on Tuesday to let users incorporate voice-activated controls into their usage. For those with iOS 10 installed, you’ll be able to use Siri to not only send messages, but also place WhatsApp calls. By doing so, it simplifies the communication process without you even needing to type a single letter.
iOS 10 began rolling out to users today complete with Siri support for third-party integrations and the Facebook-owned messaging service is taking advantage. When enabled, you simply summon Siri and tell it to call or message someone (e.g., “Hey Siri, text Jordan Novet on WhatsApp”). Make sure that you enable the controls within your phone’s settings — iOS will prompt you to grant it access.
Siri will guide you through the process step-by-step, what’s the message you want to send, who you want to connect with, and confirming everything at the end. In initial tests, Siri appeared to

Samsung said Wednesday it was doing its best to push through a challenging recall of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, as it offered a software fix to jolt users into returning defective devices.
The success of the recall is seen as crucial to Samsung retaining brand trust and loyalty and preventing customers defecting to arch-rival Apple’s new iPhone 7 or cheaper Chinese-made models.
The South Korean electronics giant moved quickly earlier this month to suspend sales of its latest large-screen smartphone and announced a recall of 2.5 million units already sold, after faulty batteries caused some handsets to explode during charging.
Samsung had advised consumers in 10 countries to trade their handsets for temporary replacement phones provided by the firm until it releases new Note 7s.
But many users have snubbed the offer, choosing to wait until the new phones were available, citing the inconvenience of switching devices for an interim period.

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has commenced enforcement action on Globacom for not adhering to the 10 per cent threshold for interconnect traffic by telecom companies.
This is contained in the organisation’s 2016 Q1 Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Report made available to the News Agency of Nigeria.
It said that the NCC monitored compliance of the telecommunication company with regards to the commission’s directive on routing of a minimum of 10 per cent of interconnect traffic through interconnect exchange licensees.
The report said that pursuant to Section 53 (1) of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, NCC issued a direction in April 2009.
According to the report, the directive mandated all operators to route a minimum of 10 per cent of their inter-operator traffic through licensed Interconnect Exchange Operators in locations where they have point of presence (POP) across the country.
“This direction is aimed at providing interconnection of traffic across the networks.
“It will encourage routing of traffic through interconnect exchange operators, which is necessary

Mobileye broke ties with Tesla Motors because the Silicon Valley firm was “pushing the envelope in terms of safety” with the design of its Autopilot driver-assistance system, Mobileye’s chairman said on Wednesday.
“It is not designed to cover all possible crash situations in a safe manner,” Amnon Shashua, who is also chief technology officer at the Israel-based maker of collision detection and driver assistance systems, told Reuters.
“No matter how you spin it, (Autopilot) is not designed for that. It is a driver assistance system and not a driverless system,” he said in an interview.
The safety of Autopilot, which helps drivers stay in lanes and steer on highways, was thrust into the public spotlight after a fatal crash involving a Tesla Model S driver using the new technology in May. Tesla said in a blogpost after the accident that “neither Autopilot nor the driver noticed the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky, so the brake was not applied.”
A Tesla spokeswoman said Wednesday the company had never described Autopilot as an autonomous technology or self-driving car.
“Since the release of Autopilot, we’ve continuously educated customers on the use of the

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