| |
Third
African VoIP Forum brings ITU, others to Lagos
The International
Telecommunications Union (ITU) would be attending the third African
VoIP Forum in Lagos holding from August 21 to 23. A statement issued in
London by the organisers of the VoIP Forum, AITEC of London, has
confirmed the attendance of Paolo Rosa, Head, Standards Co-operation
& Communications, ITU-T, Switzerland, leading the ITU
representation among other high level speakers expected from about four
continents. Nigeria’s chief Regulator Engineer Ernest Ndukwe would be
making a keynote address at the event which is expected to be graced by
the Honourable Minister of Communications Chief Cornelius Adebayo. Also
to keynote the high profile event is the President of the Association
of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem.
The VoIP Forum is being supported by the African ISP Association (www.afrispa.org), ISP
Association of Nigeria (www.ispan.org.ng),
the Nigeria Internet Group (www.nig.org.ng),
and the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) giving it an impressive stamp by
the industry.
The VoIP Forum, third in its series in Africa, is holding in Nigeria
for the first time. It is being organised jointly by AITEC of London
and IT Edge, Nigeria’s leading content-focused IT magazine. Host
country partner is the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) hailed
globally as a proactive regulatory authority that has steered the
country’s telecom sector to become one of the most successful stories
in recent times. The Forum is featuring leading VoIP experts in the
field. They include:
-
Tom Koster, GM,
Sky-Stream, United Arab Emirates;
-
Yossi Barkan, Executive
Director, Africa, PCCW Global, Hong Kong;
-
Sunday Folayan, MD,
Skannet Nigeria;
-
Mawuli Tse, Sales
Director, Africa, iBasis; and
-
Russell Southwood, CEO,
Balancing Act, UK.
Forum sessions will
consider issues that include ‘Assessing investment in new VoIP
opportunities,’ ‘VoIP pricing and service strategies in a competitive
market,’ ‘the business opportunities VoIP offer,’ and ‘Maximising
international connectivity via a virtual service provider, among others.
Leading the Nigerian speakers is the Director-General of the National
Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) Professor Robert Ajayi
Borroffice who heads Nigerian forage into space research under the
leadership of the Honourable Minister of Science and Technology
Professor Turner Isoun. The NARSDA would be launching Nigeria’s second
and premier communication satellite (NIGCOSAT-1) early next year to
redefine communication satellite service delivery on the continent. The
CEO of Junisat, Nigeria’s leading internet/VSAT service provider would
be making a presentation on VoIP status in Nigeria under the thematic
paper: “Is VoIP still viable for the Nigeria market?”
The Forum also is providing an exhibition window for IT solution
providers. Already signed up as exhibitors are NIGCOMSAT-1 Project,
Direct-on-PC which is providing on the spot café services for more than
300 delegates from several countries expected to attend the high
profile event; Junisat, which has increasingly created a niche in the
market for high quality Internet service delivery, Ibadan based Skannet
and the Teledom Group which has emerged as one of Nigeria’s leading
providers of multiplex IT solutions. They join the growing list of
foreign exhibitors led by Dalcom. The Nigerian Internet Group (NIG) is
hosting its members in its exhibition booth. “The responses have been
tremendous. We have received requests for participation more than we
had projected with exhibitors and delegates exceeding the projected
figures. All these underscore the great interest investors have in the
Nigerian market, the increasing confidence in the market as well as the
regulatory environment as one that encourages the take up and fast
deployment of innovative technologies,” said Sean
ATCON is the umbrella body for telecommunications operators in Nigeria,
the NIG is the country's leading interest group for the promotion of
Internet diffusion and the NCS is regarded as Africa's biggest body for
computer (ICT) professionals. "This is very exciting. The industry is a
dynamic one and certainly VoIP would not cease to be a major issue for
a long time," said ATCON president Dr Emmanuel Ekuwem. The African VoIP
Forum ushers in opportunities for exhibitors and delegates to explore
diverse opportunities offered organisations and individuals by IP
technologies.”
Announcing AfrISPA’s and ISPAN’s support for the event, ISPAN president
Engr Sam Adeleke expressed the hope that the Forum would play a
benchmark role in encouraging progressive and effective regulation of
VoIP throughout the continent. “We encourage fellow ISPs, as well as
regulators, to attend from throughout Africa so that we can form a
continental body of knowledge on best practice in this crucial area for
the future of telecommunications development.”
Three workshops are being hosted alongside the main conference. They
are:
-
An interactive workshop for corporate users, will provide a
detailed Introduction to VoIP, and will provided by a leading local
expert, Sunday Folayan, MD of Skannet Nigeria
-
The second is aimed at ISPs & telecom operators and will
focus on international VoIP links, with training provided by Mawuli
Tse, Sales Director, Africa, iBasis, USA.
-
Survival strategies for Telcos, ISPs & Cyber Cafes, by
Russell Southwood, CEO of Balancing Act, UK
|
|
