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

Apple seeks fresh momentum with iPhone launch

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

Subscribers threaten to drag NCC to court over unsolicited SMS

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

Uber debuts self-driving cars

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

Apple says it’s not buying Tidal, but doesn’t deny talks

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

Sophos boosts partner programme for MEA with new resources

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

HP buys Samsung’s $1 billion printer business

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 join over 30 tech and media companies to tackle fake news

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.

Operators tap into $79b TV, video advertising market solution

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 for iOS now lets you use Siri to send messages and make calls

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 struggles with critical Note 7 recall

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.

Globacom will be sanctioned – NCC

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

Autopilot radar maker: Tesla was ‘pushing the envelope in terms of safety’

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