From centre, Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms Plc., Tushar Maheshwari displaying the Starcomms myPAD to journalist during a press conference at the company’s corporate office, Adetokunbo Ademola Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, yesterday. With him is Nkiru Onono, Marketing & Communications Manager, Starcomms Plc and Managing Director, TPT International, Limited, Charles Igbinidu.

STARCOMMS BLAZES TRAIL WITH FIRST OF ITS KIND myPAD

Driven by the passion to keep adding value to the lives of its customers, Starcomms Plc, Nigeria’s innovative and multiple award winning telecommunications company has introduced the first of its kind myPAD into the Nigerian mobile telephone market. It would be recalled that starcomms recently blazed the trail as the first CDMA company in the world to introduce international inter-standard roaming between CDMA and GSM operatorsInnovatively designed as a high-end tablet/data device, the stylish hi-tech device is technologically crafted to support multiple and up to date data functionalities that helps the user maintain his /her high social profile.Besides being powered by a 2.1 Android operating system that gives the best of processing speed, the Starcomms myPAD comes with an exquisite and attractive appearance that radiates the grandeur that the Starcomms brand is known for in the telecommunications industry in Nigeria.According to the Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Tushar Maheshwari, myPAD is only available in Nigeria on the Starcomms network saying that the introduction of the device is timely in this convergence era.He said that in line with Starcomms passion in ensuring that its customers have access to innovative products and the service that keeps them in tune with technological trends, myPAD has embedded functional applications that will excite the user saying that some of the applications include: Skype, Yahoo, YouTube, MSN, Yahoo messenger and FaceBook. He further said that there are entertainment applications for music and games with free downloadable games. MyPAD has a wider screen of 10.2 inches that offers the user excellent visibility while using the tablet.He explains that the device, which comes with an optional branded luxury leather case carrier, has a 10-giga byte memory that can be expanded to 64-giga byte, 2 USB and LAN port, an HDMI out and a 2.0 mega pixel webcam, a user friendly manual and a battery charger. MyPAD offers an exciting movie experience for movie lovers as it comes with an HDMI out for connecting and downloading video to TV.
With an introductory offer of N74, 999 the Starcomms myPAD comes with a bundled offer of free i-zap Internet Router that connects up to 5 Users and 3 months Internet. Without the router and Internet access myPAD sells at a price of N54, 999.While speaking on the value that the Starcomms myPAD will add to the life style of the user, Maheshwari said that the new mobile device, in addition having exciting features that makes its use pleasurable, it has been designed specifically to leverage on the desire of every upwardly mobile individual. Hence, he said that Starcomms has creatively kept to its tradition of innovativeness in the delivery of unmatched quality products and services while designing the myPAD noting that it conveniently suits the data communications needs of its customers and that it is a device everyone will find very useful.

L-R: Starcomms Chief Commercial Officer, Tushar Maheshwari presents the key of a Kia Rio to Titilola Tokun, an educationist and Smart Center operator who won the star prize of a car in the just concluded Bonuzee promo for payphone operators during the presentation at The Place in Ikeja GRA Lagos Tunde Odetunde, Starcomms Senior Manager, Dealer watches during the presentation at The Place in Ikeja GRA Lagos on Saturday 18 December 2010

STARCOMMS PRIZES EXCITE BONUZEE WINNERS

Starcomms Smart Centres operators, are now set for an exciting celebration in their homes during the yuletide as prizes, which they won in the third edition of the Starcomms Bonuzee Loyalty promotion has be redeemed at a ceremony full of funfair and jubilation.
Excited by the several prizes, which they won and the impact such prizes will have on their families, the elated winners did not hide their joy and appreciation for Starcomms Plc as they pour encomium on the award winning telecommunications company for bring the good things of life into their homes.
All Smart Centre operators who were present at the presentation prize ceremony went home with prizes ranging from cars, television sets, microwave ovens, DVD players as well as huge sums of money.
Titilayo Tokun, an educationist who combined the Smart Centre business with her career said that although the car was not her first, she is so excited that the news of the new car will add colour to the yuletide celebration in her family.
Tokun who operates her Smart Centre in Ibadan said that the news that she has won a new Kia Rio car initially did not jolt her into jubilation saying that the prevalence of fraudulent claims made her to doubt the news.
She however said that arriving the venue of the event and seeing the cars packed outside the premises of the event venue increased jolt her into excitement about the prize thanking Starcomms for putting smiles on her face and that of other Smart Centre operators who have been loyal to the Starcomms brand.
Describing Starcomms as a worthy partner to do business with, she called on all other Smart Centre operators in the country not to relent in their commitment to the Starcomms brand noting if they did not win today tomorrow they will win.
As for Sylvester Chukwuebuka Orji, the Onitsha based Smart Centre operator who brave all odds to confirmed the authenticity of the promised prize from Starcomms, the excitement of having a new car to drive his family around during the yuletide began when he was presented the keys to the brand new Kia Rio car.
According to him, it was a thoughtful thing for Starcomms to reward her loyal business partners during the yuletide saying that such gesture adds value to the Starcomms brand, which has brought joy into his family.
Also Idiong Justice who won the cash prize of N750, 000 describe the gift offer from Starcomms as an opportunity for a celebration galore for him and his other colleagues who won other cash prizes of N500, 000 and N50, 000.00 saying that “we are happy that Starcomms is giving us this gift at a thing like this in the year when families are looking for money to celebrate the Christmas and the New Year”.
Presenting the prizes to all the winners, Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Tushar Maheshwari said that the Starcomms Bonuzee Loyalty, which began in 2007 was designed to reward diligence and good business sense noting that it is the tradition in Starcomms to reward loyalty in business.
He said that as a Nigerian company, Starcomms is poised towards making every citizen it does business with to enjoy the fruit of their labour saying that a total of N25 million was won in cash and item prizes.

Ghana Telecomms Operators Oppose International Call Monitoring

The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications (GCT), comprising all telecom operators in the country, has endorsed a declaration by the West African Telecommunications Conference (WATC) which condemns international call monitoring in Ghana. The WATC issued a communiqué at its recent meeting in Dakar, Senegal on November 25, 2010, describing government's monitoring and imposition of levy and surcharges on incoming international call as a breach of International Telecom Laws, the ECOWAS Treaty and the West African Union Treaty. It condemned the practice and called on all telecom operators in countries where the practice is on-going like Ghana, Guinea and Congo, not to cooperate with any company employed by their respective governments to monitor calls and impose surcharges and levies. 'We recommend that operators in the sub-region should cease all commercial relationships with any firm implicated in the imposition of such a surcharge system,' it said. WATC said it will continue to fight against the imposition of such systems in the sub-region and support all telecom operators to do same. 'We reaffirm our determination to pursue actions against the development of this practice and support operators subjected to this surcharge across our entire economic area,' it said. The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications said they endorse the position of the WATC. In Ghana, the government has imposed a 19 cent per minute charge on all incoming internationals calls and employed Global Voices Group (GVG) to monitor those calls and ensure that government gets its revenue. The telecom operators have resisted the move from day one, but government has insisted that some operators under-declare international call revenue which affects revenue mobilization in the country. Government also insist that it has evidence that some telecom operators connive with fraudsters to use simboxes to do call by-pass, which enable them to re-route incoming international calls through local SIM cards to make those calls come in as though they were locally generated. Since Ghana government started monitoring and levying incoming international calls, it has generated not less than $15 million in taxes, and Minister of Communications, Haruna Iddrisu has stated emphatically that nothing will stop them from monitoring incoming international calls to check fraud and generate revenue for the state. But WATC, in a communiqué, dubbed 'Dakar Declaration – concerning government surcharges on incoming international traffic,' refuted allegations that operators make false declaration of traffic and are directly involved in the proliferation of simboxes. It said the practice runs counter to point seven of the communiqué issued by the ECOWAS ICT and Telecoms Ministers in Bamako on July 29, 2010, which enjoins member states to avoid levies and surcharges on incoming international calls. 'This tax also runs counter to the trend of lowering settlement fees per the recommendation of the International Telecoms Union (ITU)' of which Ghana's Minister of Communications, Haruna Iddrisu is Chair.' The communiqué said the taxes result in general increase in retail prices that affect both local consumers and those in the Diaspora, and thereby increase the digital divide. It said significant increase in settlement fee and monitoring of calls increases fraud and reduces incoming international calls and revenue and diminishes fiscal receipts. The WATC therefore called on all countries that have imposed or propose to impose such a system to re-consider their action in the interest of the citizens and the sub-region. Meanwhile, Senegal, Gabon, Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso have also agreed to suspend the system in their countries.

From left, Marketing Director, Starcomms Plc., Richard Gill presenting the Starcomms Overall Best Boxer prize to Mutiat Adebayo of TIT For TAT Boxing Club, Lagos at the 15th monthly boxing competition organized by the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame in conjunction with the Lagos State Amateur Boxing Association and sponsored by Starcomms Plc. With her is the Vice Chairman of the Lagos State Amateur Boxing Association, Monsuru Liasu. The event took place at the Mobolaji Johnson Sport Centre (Rowe Park), Yaba, Lagos.

Marketing Director, Starcomms Plc., Richard Gill presenting a prize to Chioma Ekeledo, one of the lucky winners in the "50 Good Calls and 50 Good Causes", promo meant to celebrate Nigeria's 50th independence anniversary. With them is Retention Manager, Emeka Okenwa

Starcomms PlC offers US$81.4 million tower on lease

Starcomms Plc has successfully concluded a sale and leaseback agreement with Swap Technologies and Telecomms Plc (“Swap”) relating to 407 of its 557 Base Station Towers for a consideration of US$81.4 million in cash.
Under the terms of the transaction, Swap will take over the operation and maintenance of the passive aspects of the 407 towers. These towers comprise the physical structures as well as the power components, while the core network and radio components remain under Starcomms’ ownership and control. The lease agreement is for an initial duration of 15 years, and allows Starcomms full access to the towers to operate its network.
Starcomms’ CEO, Mr. Maher Qubain, said, "Sale and leaseback transactions such as this have become commonplace worldwide within the telecommunications sector. By leasing rather than owning these passive infrastructure network facilities, we can free up capital to fund additional growth, reduce debts and operational costs in the company, as well as allow management to focus on its core business."
“$67 million of the proceeds realized from the sale will be applied towards repayment of a sizable portion of the company’s bank debts, thereby significantly strengthening the balance sheet of the company, while also reducing interest charges,” said Qubain. “The balance of the US$14.4 million will be used to fund growth of the business”.
Starcomms , a Nigerian-owned full-service telecommunications operator with an active subscriber base of 2 million, is the first and only telecommunications company to have its shares publicly listed and traded on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Its network footprint covers 21 out of 36 states of the federation. It has consistently been rated as a leading telecoms operator, having recently been awarded the A.C. Nielsen’s 2010 / 2011 Super Brand Award for excellence.
Incorporated in 2003, Swap has operational bases in Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, providing integrated services to major operators in those countries.
"These are excellent towers and are concentrated in very strategic locations around the country. They will enable us provide a more extensive range of fully integrated service benefits as wireless communications continue to grow. We are proud to be associated with Starcomms, which is a recognized leader in the Nigerian telecommunications market," said Olatunde Titilayo, Swap’s CEO, in a statement.

Internet Promo: IZAP Users Get Extended Browsing Time for Xmas

Customers of Starcomms Plc, who subscribe to IZAP, the number one internet product in Nigeria are now being offered a 50% extra validity period on their internet subscriptions. In a promotion that started on Thursday 2 December and which will close on December 12 2010, all IZAP users except those on the 250 hours plan will get the bonus validity time. Customers on the 250 hours already have the stretch three months validity on their subscription.
This largesse of the season which is expected to help IZAP customers, who activate or renew their subscription during the promotion period, browse the internet way into the new year before another renewal, will be enjoyed by all IZAP users in the country. With this, the customers can send and receive data messages all through the holiday period without the hassles of renewal that comes with their normal validity period. The extension comes automatically with new activation or renewal if it is done within the stipulated period of the promotion.
The chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Tushar Maheshwari, while speaking about the promotion said that the company decided on it, knowing that the Christmas season is very crucial to internet users both for their businesses and for pleasure. The company therefore believes that it is the right period to add value to their lifestyles.
For instance customers on the hundred hours’ package will enjoy 45 five days of browsing time. This in effect signifies a roll-over of whatever number of hours is left on their package after the 30 days normal validity period of their subscription plan.
“We know that the flurry of activities that characterises this season, both in people’s private lives and their professional space will require uninterrupted communication channel for some customers. We also know that there are some people whose pleasurable activities will take them away from their IZAP cities to remote areas for some days during the season. This promotion therefore offers all our customers extra value on their IZAP subscription during the Christmas season through the first two weeks of the new year if they activate or renew their IZAP,” Maheshwari said as he enjoins internet users to take advantage of the promotion.
Starcomms IZAP, in the last four years, has ruled the world of internet products offered by telecommunication companies in the country for its speed, ease of use and value. Since 2007, the IZAP brand has been adjudged the Internet Product of the Year in the Nigeria Information Technology and Telecommunication Awards. This year the brand has won the same award at the African Telecom Hall of Fame.
IZAP is enjoyed by internet users on Starcomms’ network in major Nigerian cities of Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Benin, Calabar Warri, Abeokuta, Ilorin, Katsina and their surrounding towns and villages. The product has empowered Nigerians in these cities with the diverse opportunities that it presents for entrepreneurs, professionals, students, as well as the entire tertiary institution communities. The current promotion is designed to make Christmas more enjoyable for IZAP users in the cities.

From left: Louisa Ayuba, Coordinator, Chosen Child Orphanage, Lagos, Managing Director/Chief Executive, Starcomms Plc, Maher Qubain and Funke Macaulay, Admin Manager, Heart of Gold, Lagos during the presentation of cheques to beneficiaries of Starcomms 50 Good Causes to mark Nigeria Independence anniversary at the corporate office of Starcomms recently.

Boxer Hero Hails Starcomms Commitment to Boxing Development

Saheed Gbolagade, a young, skilful and very calculating boxer who at the weekend was adjudged the overall best boxer in the Lagos State Hall of Fame Boxing Competition for the month of October has commended Starcomms Plc for its unwavering commitment to the development of boxing in the country.
The competition, which is organised monthly by the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame in conjunction with the Lagos State Amateur Boxing Association, is sponsored by Starcomms Plc.
Gbolagade, who is from the M. Pioneer Boxing Club, was ecstatic when his name was mentioned as the latest boxer to join the list of boxers that have been honoured by Starcomms for the display of outstanding boxing talent at the monthly boxing competition.
Speaking shortly after receiving the Starcomms Overall Best Boxer prize at the colourful event, energetic Gbolagade said he was excited to be the October winner of the competition.
He further stated that Starcomms involvement in boxing sponsorship has helped to bring promising boxers like him to limelight, adding that, he is proud to be a winner that is associated with a winning brand.
Continuing, the obviously delighted and rapturous winner of the Starcomms prize said that he was happy that Starcomms has created an avenue where young boxing talents are being discovered, adding that the support of Starcomms for the boxing event should be commended and encouraged by government.
It would be recalled that in the month of August, Kate Peters, a female boxer emerged as the first female winner of the Starcomms overall best boxer prize. Starcomms has for some years sponsored the monthly Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame Competition, which holds at the Mobolaji Johnson Hall Sports Complex, Rowe Park,Lagos. The event holds on the last Saturday of every month.

STARCOMMS SUPPORTS CARE-GIVING INSTITUTIONS IN 50-GOOD-CAUSES

In fulfillment of its promise, Starcomms Plc, has disbursed funds to the less privileged on the platform of its 50-Good-Causes initiative. This gesture, which benefited orphanages and other care giving institutions in the country, witnessed a general display of appreciation by the beneficiaries who poured encomium on the award winning telecommunications company. The Starcomms 50 Good Causes is a corporate social responsibility programme meant to mark Nigeria at 50 anniversary celebration. In the programme, N50, 000.00 (Fifty Thousand Naira) each. Little Saints Orphanage, Precious Pearls Orphanage, Citadel of Grace Mission, Chosen Child Orphanage, Children Living with Cancer Foundation, Heart of Gold Orphanage, Heritage House Orphanage and Pacelli School for Blind were among the first batch who collected their cheques recently. Receiving the cheque on behalf of Little Saints Orphanage, Manager, Funds/Accounts, Bola Olarenwaju described the Starcomms gesture as timely saying, “we are so happy about this gift. It came at the right time when the year is getting to an end and we need money to do a lot of things for the children. We are excited that such gift is coming from a corporate organization.” She said that it is the expectation of the home that such gesture from Starcomms becomes a regular occurrence noting that the management of the home depends on such donations from starcomms to care for the needs of the children. Akinola Kola from Heritage Homes expressed joy that Starcomms responded to the needs of so many homes at the same time without due consideration to the present economic crisis affecting many donor agencies in the world, particularly corporate bodies. “You see, it is a very noble thing for a company to say that they want to give so many homes financial assistance at the same time. And they actually kept their word by gathering us together and then presenting the cheque to us. We are happy about this act of kindness from Starcomms.” The representative of Precious Pearls Orphanage, Happiness Amagwula while appreciating Starcomms said that the money is a timely gift saying that the money will go a long way in putting smiles on the face of the children as the world celebrates during the yuletide. While pleading for more of such assistance from Starcomms, she said that the news of such donations is a thing of joy not only to the management of the home but the children who are direct beneficiaries of such gesture. Also Isibor Titilade, who picked up the cheque of Citadel Grace Mission, said that the children would be very happy to hear the news of the Starcomms donation praying that God continues to prosper Starcomms. Marketing Director, Richard Gill told the beneficiaries that although the donation was meant to mark the 50th independence anniversary of Nigeria, Starcomms would continue to give support to deserving cause like orphanages across the country adding that more beneficiaries are to receive their cheques in the weeks to come. According him, the donation is a demonstration of Starcomms love and commitment to the needs of the less privilege in the society stressing that Starcomms, beyond always look for ways to add value to the lives of its customers is also concern about the needs of other members of the society.

An official of the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame, Olufunke Sanni, presenting the Starcomms Overall Best Boxer prize to Saheed Gbolagade of M. Pioneer Boxing Club at the 14th monthly boxing competition organized by the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame in conjunction with the Lagos State Amateur Boxing Association and sponsored by Starcomms Plc. The event took place at the Mobolaji Johnson Sport Centre (Rowe Park), Yaba, Lagos.

Managing Director, Procter & Gamble West Africa, Manoj Kumar (L) in a tête-à-tête with Head External Relations, Patricia Obozuwa at a media interactive session on the company’s new investment plan in Nigeria

Starcomms Call-me-back to help Manage Airtime Budget

In its continuous quest to give customers value for their money, and offer them more opportunities to talk, even when they have exhausted their credits, Starcomms Plc has introduced a “call me back” service.
This service will enable Starcomms customers to send messages for a return call to their friends and loved ones in circumstances when they cannot call because of inadequate credit or when they call a number on any network and the person they want to reach is busy. Through other networks congestion To avail themselves this opportunity, Starcomms customers will need to send a “call me back” request to any phone number by dialing *393*phone number#. The receiver will get a message – “Hi, important please call me on 07028******” Back on the phone that initiated the message, an SMS will be received saying: “The operation was successful”
According to Richard Gill, Starcomms Marketing Director the “call me back” service is available to all prepaid customers of the company and it can be sent to phones on all networks to get the desired call-back result. He said the service is most useful when the company’s pre-paid subscribers have no or low credit balances to make a call and also in the cases when the number they are trying to reach is busy or on call waiting, thus saving them the hassle of trying to get through.
“Before we introduce any value-added service to our customers, we in Starcomms take into serious consideration the different scenarios that can occur in the process of telephone usage. We have envisaged a situation when people want to have a conversation but do not have available credit. So we introduced “call me back”. The service will be another salient feature in the already existing great value offers and customer friendly services we have for our customers. Offering them more value for their money, this service will help our budget-conscious subscribers to ask other mobile users to call them any time,” Gill said.
Meanwhile the company introduced the service with necessary control. Call-me-back is available to subscribers only 5 times a day both on-net and cross-net. Any subscriber who has used up their five opportunities in a day will get a message saying:”Sorry, the maximum using time is reached. You cannot use this function”
The service is available on all prepaid customers’ phones with no subscription required. All that is required to access the service is to dial from a Starcomms phone.

Social Responsibility is Procter & Gamble’s Business Goal – Kumar

The Managing Director of Procter & Gamble West Africa, Manoj Kumar has said that the multinational household products company has no other goal than improving lives wherever its products are being distributed. According to him, his company’s approach to corporate social responsibility is different from the way many other corporate organisations view it.
He said this while fielding questions from journalists at a media interactive session which held at Jade Gardens, last weekend, during which he unveiled the plan of the company to build a new manufacturing plant at Agbara to complement its factory in Ibadan.
According to him, in conceptualizing every product, P&G first of all determines the different ways in which the product can touch the lives of the target market population individually. It will then design a programme to ensure that lives and living are actually improved by the distribution of the product.
“What we believe is that our brands should have a purpose of improving lives. Take Pampers for instance. The brand purpose of Pampers is to improve the development of children. So we first define it like that. Then we begin to think of how we can improve the development of children through it. So we begin to talk to mothers, to nurses in the hospital and educate them on how the lives of the children can be improved. So our Pampers Baby Care Hospital Program and Mobile Clinics touch the lives of 1.5 million young Nigerian mothers and their babies annually.”
Kumar also said that the company partners with credible non-governmental organisations in the country to implement some of its CSR initiatives. According to him these NGOs use their own capacities to implement some of the programmes like “Building Futures”, which is an empowerment initiatives for orphanages in the country and the PUR School programme, an initiative that targets children with the provision of safe drinking water.
“In “Building Futures” we adopted orphanages in the country through which we reach about 2500 children. And we donate a year supply of our products and we also give them clothes. We improve their infrastructure by giving them computers and other resources that they need within the orphanages. We carry out this programme in partnership with another NGO – Sponsor-a-Child. We believe that orphanages are one area that has been neglected by the society. So we think we should do something from the corporate point of view. And again, all our brands come together to help and therefore we integrate all our corporate programmes for touching lives of all our consumers into brands programmes,” Kumar said.
Speaking about the proposed production lines at Agbara, Manoj Kumar said that the plant, which will employ over 600 people directly and over 1000 more indirectly at Agbara in Ogun State is part of the company’s resolve to invest 15 billion naira in Nigeria between now and 2015. According to him, the company will install state of the art machinery at Agbara
Mr. Kumar also revealed that P&G has provided jobs for about 1800 people in the country through its general office, factories, distribution channels, logistics and advertising. According to him 95% of all P&G's managers in Nigeria are highly talented Nigerian men and women.
“At P&G, we consider our people to be our biggest asset and in Nigeria we have grown to be leaders in technology transfer and capacity building. We are dedicated to local employee development with a budget of over $1million per year for local and international training and on-the-job coaching. We have created over 120 new successful entrepreneurs with sustained training and marketing support in rural and semi-urban areas over the past 5 years,” he said.

STARCOMMS CUSTOMERS TO ENJOY BETTER SIGNALS AS THE COMPANY EXPANDS NETWORK

In its continuous bid to give customers better and superior experience, Starcomms Plc has expanded its network by deploying more cell sites on air in diverse locations across the country. This new step will boost the quality of service that customers enjoy on the Starcomms network.
Cell sites are responsible for the transmission of radio waves, to which calls are converted, from one cell phone or data device to another phone or data device on the same network or on other networks. Where there are enough cell sites to cover a wide area, the range of each is set to ensure that there is enough overlap for "handover" to and from others.
The size of a site depends on the area of coverage that’s needed and the number of calls that are made in that area. Increasing the number of sites implies that Starcomms has the capacity to accept and transmit more number of calls as well as cover a wider geographical range, giving out clearer signals.
With the new network expansion drive, customers of Starcomms can now begin to enjoy the best Quality of Service in places like Lagos, Enugu, Jos, Bauchi, Umuahia and Onitsha where many of the new sites have become operational. This means that call interruptions or “dropped calls’, are now a thing of the past on Starcomms network.
The chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Tushar Maheshwari said: “Telecommunications customers that preferred Starcomms network are increasing in number by the hour. This has put us on our toes. More sites often imply not just better coverage but also a better quality of service.
For instance, for us to provide services that will delight customers in areas where mobile phones used on our network are numerous and where there is more demand on us to deliver fast data services we need more sites.
That is why in keeping with our commitment to our teeming customers, we began this network expansion project. Our intention is to raise technological bar at all times with the sole purpose of attaining maximum efficiency for our customers all over the country.”
Starcomms has in recent times been delighting its customers with various innovations and enhanced services. Recently, before the ongoing network expansion activities of the company, it launched the Internet Protocol Call Centre, a state-of-the art customer service tool for better interactions with its customers.
Starcomms’ IPCC comes with a multilingual Interactive Voice Record service (IVR), which offers customers services in five languages: English, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and pidgin. This allows Starcomms’ voice customers anywhere in the country to have the option of asking questions in any of the languages.
Such questions may include balance inquiries, tariff inquiry, tariff charge for roaming customers, dash me credit together with Caller Ring Back Tune (CRBT). The dedicated lines allow customers to directly enter into the self-care portal to get the help as they may require.
“We are aware of the need to be proactive in our line of business because we know that technological advancement is most pronounced in it. So as our customers increase, their needs are definitely increasing. So we meet them in their large numbers and at the very point of their needs,” said Meheshwari.

Starcomms celebrates Nigeria with “50 Good Calls, 50 Good Causes” Independence Promo

To commemorate Nigeria's 50th independence anniversary, the country’s leading and innovative telecommunications company, Starcomms Plc has launched a special ground breaking promo tagged "50 Good Calls and 50 good causes", The promo, which will last for up to fifty days began on October 1, 2010.
In the promo, every customer of Starcomms Plc that buys and recharges his phone with a minimum airtime voucher of N500 will get a 50 per cent bonus for all calls to all network or international calls. In addition customers buying N100 and N250 recharge will get a 50% on net bonus. The company is also supporting 50 good causes across the country as part of its corporate social responsibility effort in support of Nigeria’s 50th Independence anniversary
Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Mr. Tushar Maheshwari disclosed that Starcomms Plc as a truly Nigerian company which values its customers’ patronage is excited about the progress the country has made in all spheres of life in the last 50 years. Therefore, the company is celebrating the 50th independent anniversary with its customers by giving them the bonus recharge of 50 per cent and supporting 50 good causes.
Maheshwari however disclosed that the "50 Good Calls" is not applicable to tele-centre operators noting that Starcomms is giving out the bonus to enable its customers to send goodwill messages to their loved ones during the anniversary period celebration adding that as a company that associates with the joy of its customers, it is prepared to do all to bring smiles to their faces.
It has always been the tradition of Starcomms Plc to celebrate special occasions with its customers. Just recently, the company had the N4 Ramadan promo, which enabled Starcomms customers to enjoy generous tariff discount during the Ramadan period. The offer turned out to be a very exciting experience for Starcomms customers as they used the tariff-slash to share warm thoughts during the period.
Maheshwari also explained that as a responsive network, Starcomms understands that the sharing of feelings during a period of celebration is important stressing that it is a period when people think more warmly about each other.He expressed confidence that 50 Good Calls, 50 good causes promo will go a long way encouraging people on Starcomms network to bond more during the one month period of the promo. In his words, “this is just part of our numerous ways of making our people happier during the festive period, as a network that speaks their language”.

STARCOMMS IPCC TO GENERATE MORE JOBS FOR NIGERIANS

Nigeria's innovative telecommunications company, Starcomms Plc has said that its recent investment in the introduction of Internet Protocol Contact Centre (IPCC) is part of the company’s strategy of tackling unemployment in the country, besides delivering the most effective customer care service.
The IPCC is a user friendly internet base customer care contact centre that has two dedicated self-care lines through which Starcomms customers access vital information, latest news about Starcomms products and services as well as lodge their complains. The Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Mr. Tushar Maheshwari said that the deployment of the IPCC is in a way part of Starcomms response to the growing number of customers and their changing needs, which will therefore require the engagement of more people to handle these challenges. He said that the process is a continuous exercise adding that since Starcomms will continue to improve on it, more jobs will therefore be created through it from time to time. Maheshwari also said that as a publicly quoted company, Starcomms commitment in the industry goes beyond ensuring that Starcomms customers continually get superior experience through the IPCC, stressing that it is also committed to the growth of the Nigerian economy, hence it is using the IPCC to create jobs.
He said that the IPCC, which has two dedicated Self-Care lines: *444 and 07028000444 comes with a multilingual Interactive Voice response service (IVR) which offers customers services in five languages: English, Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo and pidgin.
The newly unveiled IPCC, according to him, gives prepaid voice customers the option to make balance inquiry, tariff inquiry, tariff charge for roaming customers, dash me credit together with Caller Ring Back Tune (CRBT). The dedicated lines allow customers to directly enter into the self-care portal to get the help they require.
He further said that with the IPCC data customers on Starcomms broadband services are now able to carry out inquiries about the services they desire, check their balances and validity. And post paid, know their credit limits, billed amount, unutilized amount, due date, last payment details using the IVR of the IPCC.
Describing it as a crucial aspect of customer care in Starcomms, he said that the IPCC is an essential aspect of effective delivering of customer care service relying on cutting-edge technology to give Starcomms customers value for their money.

CUSTOMERS LAUD STARCOMMS OVER INTERNATIONAL ROAMING

Customers of Starcomms Plc., the only telecommunications company quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, who have taken advantage of the company's recently introduced inter-standard roaming service have praised it for its innovations and the superb quality service which allows them to travel around the world and still retain their numbers. While speaking on their experiences, they stated that the relatively affordable service has in a short period of time had positive impact on their businesses and lives. Chris Omosive, a chartered accountant and businessman residing in Lagos, while expressing satisfaction over the introduction of the international roaming service by Starcomms said that he is happy he was able to travel with his Starcomms phone and was in touch with his colleagues and family.
He particularly commended Starcomms for the pocket friendly tariff and the hassle free process of getting hooked to the international roaming service. He said that his experience shows that the introduction of the service is of great advantage to businessmen who want to stay in touch with their business associates using their known mobile phone numbers while out of the country, noting that Starcomms’ innovation in this regard has added value not only to their lifestyle but also to their ability to keep in touch with business associates and their families. Elated Omosive, said that he has always believed in the ability of Starcomms as a leader in the telecom industry stating that his continuous patronage of the award winning telecom company was a result of the value its innovations have been adding to his life. Another customer, Theophilus Osaruyi, a university lecturer, who just returned from a seminar in Europe described the innovation as highly beneficial and a boost to Starcomms customers stressing, that it is a worthy service that all customers of the leading telecommunications operator will cherish.
He said that customers of Starcomms who had before now had to worry about using or getting another phone to stay in contact with their friends and business partners while out of the country have every course to thank Starcomms for the innovation and especially for making roaming easily accessible to prepaid customers.
The introduction of the international roaming service by Starcomms was as a result of an agreement signed on March 23, 2010 with MACH, the leading provider of hub-based mobile applications exchange solutions and Accuris Network, the leading provider of Inter-standard and converged solutions.
The implication of the service is that over 3.2 million and those about to join now have the rare opportunity of seamless access to international mobile roaming on wireless technology networks.
And that is because the agreement allows Starcomms’ customers the global advantage of connecting to about 600 networks in over 100 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, America and the Middle East.
The ISR solutions from MACH and Accuris Networks is delivered through a proven services infrastructure and offers turnkey inter-operability between wireless technologies, including CDMA, 1xEVDO, GSM, GPRS/UMTS, WIFI, WiMax and soon, LTE. The solution, which can be implemented using existing connections, offers end-users all services that are available on their home network, even when they are traveling. With end-to-end one-number interoperability, operators can provide complete voice and messaging services easily.

P&G, SFH battle cholera in Nigeria with PUR water purifier

Safe Water for Nigerian Children, a collaborative project of leading consumer goods company, Procter & Gamble and renowned NGO, Society for Family Health (SFH) is donating 48,000 sachets of PUR, P&G’s not-for-profit purifier of water providing 480,000 litres of safe drinking water to the people of Borno, Gombe, Taraba, Yobe and Adamawa states in response to the cholera outbreak in these states.
According to the Minister of Health, Prof. Christian Onyebuchi Chukwu over 7,000 cases of cholera infection has been recorded in all the affected states since June when the alarm of the first outbreak was raised.
P&G and SFH made their donations of PUR purifier of water to the state Ministries of Health and plans to do the same in other states affected by the deadly epidemic.
Reacting to the donation, in Borno state, the Honorable Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Kazim Shettima said “cholera has become a recurring decimal in Borno state due to the lack of safe drinking water in some parts of the state. We are deeply grateful to Procter and Gamble for taking it upon themselves to make provisions for safe drinking water for the affected victims with this donation of PUR.”
Since January, 2008, the ‘Safe Water for Nigerian Children’ project has provided over 20 million litres of safe drinking water in semi-urban and rural communities in Nigeria through the use of P&G’s PUR Purifier of Water®. This project is a part of P&G Children’s' Safe Drinking Water (CSDW) program, the flagship of its corporate social responsibility platform, Live, Learn & Thrive that helps children in need around the world.
According to Manoj Kumar, the Managing Director, P&G West Africa, “We are pleased to partner with Society for Family Health to help improve people’s lives in communities affected by this health crisis - that’s our purpose as a company. While PUR is certainly not the only solution, it plays an important role in preventing the spread of the disease by providing safe drinking water to people in these communities.”
PUR, which was developed jointly by Procter & Gamble and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been shown to reduce diarrhea illness by an average 50 per cent in controlled health intervention studies.
PUR has been used to help respond to several emergency relief situations, including the Tsunami in Asia, hurricanes in the Caribbean, floods in the Philippines and Bangladesh, the Myanmar Cyclone disaster and recently the Haiti disaster
P&G’s corporate social responsibility platform: Live, Learn and Thrive (LLT). LLT focuses on the development of children between ages 0-13 by ensuring a healthy start for children (Live), providing access to places and tools to learn (Learn), and providing access to programs that build self-esteem, empowerment and interpersonal/social skills (Thrive).

STARCOMMS CUSTOMERS TO ENJOY BETTER SIGNALS AS THE COMPANY EXPANDS NETWORK

In its continuous bid to give customers better and superior experience, Starcomms Plc has expanded its network by deploying more cell sites on air in diverse locations across the country. This new step will boost the quality of service that customers enjoy on the Starcomms network.
Cell sites are responsible for the transmission of radio waves, to which calls are converted, from one cell phone or data device to another phone or data device on the same network or on other networks. Where there are enough cell sites to cover a wide area, the range of each is set to ensure that there is enough overlap for "handover" to and from others.
The size of a site depends on the area of coverage that’s needed and the number of calls that are made in that area. Increasing the number of sites implies that Starcomms has the capacity to accept and transmit more number of calls as well as cover a wider geographical range, giving out clearer signals.
With the new network expansion drive, customers of Starcomms can now begin to enjoy the best Quality of Service in places like Lagos, Enugu, Jos, Bauchi, Umuahia and Onitsha where many of the new sites have become operational. This means that call interruptions or “dropped calls’, are now a thing of the past on Starcomms network.
The chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Tushar Maheshwari said: “Telecommunications customers that preferred Starcomms network are increasing in number by the hour. This has put us on our toes. More sites often imply not just better coverage but also a better quality of service.
For instance, for us to provide services that will delight customers in areas where mobile phones used on our network are numerous and where there is more demand on us to deliver fast data services we need more sites.
That is why in keeping with our commitment to our teeming customers, we began this network expansion project. Our intention is to raise technological bar at all times with the sole purpose of attaining maximum efficiency for our customers all over the country.”
Starcomms has in recent times been delighting its customers with various innovations and enhanced services. Recently, before the ongoing network expansion activities of the company, it launched the Internet Protocol Call Centre, a state-of-the art customer service tool for better interactions with its customers.
Starcomms’ IPCC comes with a multilingual Interactive Voice Record service (IVR), which offers customers services in five languages: English, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo and pidgin. This allows Starcomms’ voice customers anywhere in the country to have the option of asking questions in any of the languages.
Such questions may include balance inquiries, tariff inquiry, tariff charge for roaming customers, dash me credit together with Caller Ring Back Tune (CRBT). The dedicated lines allow customers to directly enter into the self-care portal to get the help as they may require.
“We are aware of the need to be proactive in our line of business because we know that technological advancement is most pronounced in it. So as our customers increase, their needs are definitely increasing. So we meet them in their large numbers and at the very point of their needs,” said Meheshwari.

STARCOMMS INTRODUCES STARVALUE PHONE

Driven by the passion to keep adding value to the telephone life of its teeming customers, Starcomms Plc, Nigeria’s innovative and multiple award winning telecommunications company has introduced a new StarValue CDMA sleek phone into the market. The new handset from Huawei branded StarValue comes with a slim and stylish look and feel, featuring a user-friendly interface for everyday use. It combines style with high performance, supports multiple functionalities and allows for the storage of contacts and text messages on the User Identity Module (UIM) card or in the phone memory, at a very affordable price of N1,999. According to the Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Mr. Tushar Maheshwari, some exciting features of the phone that makes it worth having include the ability of its user to send and receive group SMS, preset SMS templates and store up to 1000 messages in the phone memory adding that the memory is shared by Inbox, Outbox, and Drafts. He further stated that the StarValue phone makes it easy for messages to be copied and exchanged between the phone memory and the User Identity Module (UIM) card. . The phone, which he said appeals to the taste of all mobile telephone services users has an audio recorder function which allows for playback, and deletion of audio clips, or setting an audio clip as the ring-tone adding that there are built-in 32-chord polyphonic ring-tones that enable users to enjoy wonderful music while using the handset The battery of the StarValue phone has a standby time of 200–250 hours power that comes with a five hours talk time and a light weight of 85 grams that makes it easy to carry as well as a good LCD display that gives clear image of characters. It will be recalled that Starcomms also recently introduced the Qiblah phone into the market, the phone which is targeted at the Muslim customers of Starcomms comes with an indicator setting that point to Mecca and comes complete with a compass and prayer time alarm functions.
The Qiblah indicator uses an inbuilt longitude and latitude orientation or city references that, when used in comparison to the magnetic north, indicates the direction of the Qiblah so that the Muslim can, from any place he is, know in what direction to face and pray.
A winner of several awards, including the prestigious Superbrand status, Starcomms is the first telecom company to introduce international roaming from CDMA to GSM phone.

STARCOMMS INTRODUCES STAR-ZONE FOR LOWER TARIFF IN SOME CITIES

Starcomms Plc, the only telecommunications firm listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, has in its quest to add value and also provide innovative and excellent service introduced a new package that will enable its customers in some cities make calls at reduced rates.
Known as the Star-Zone, the package offers Starcomms customers in Benin-City, Owerri, Uyo, Warri, Katsina, Enugu, Ogbomosho, Nnewi and Awka the opportunity to enjoy lower tariff.
Customers in these Star-Zone Cities stands the chance of enjoying on-net calls for N4 per minute during peak and off-peak period, for an initial period of Three months.
According to the Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Mr. Tushar Maheshwari, once a customer leaves the affected cities he/she will no longer enjoy the benefit of the Star-Zone plan.
He also said that the Star-zone rate will not be applicable to those on Telemax, VPN or post paid.
Describing the new package as another of Starcomms response towards adding value to the life of its customers, he said that Starcomms has a robust range of services geared towards giving its customers value and optimized talk time adding that as “a Nigerian company, Starcomms is determined to continue giving its customers innovative packages”.
Mr. Maheshwari further stated that Starcomms innovative packages always comes with unique features that easily distinguish it as the brand of choice saying that the launch of various Value added services such as Inspirational SMS, listen to the Koran and the bible etc service attest to Starcomms desire to continue to exceed the expectations of its customers.
The Inspirational SMS is an inspirational service that provides Starcomms customers with a motivational guide while also offering them the opportunity to win fabulous airtime vouchers. To enjoy this service, a customer is expected to text the word WIN to a short code 33234 and instantly he/she receives an SMS with a number and inspirational quote.
If the number has 9 in it, he/she stands the chance of winning an instant airtime. Already over 7000 winners have emerged, winning airtime worth N2500 while at the same time enjoying the services of the motivational guide. Speaking further on the services of Starcomms, he said, “Beyond making it easy for our customers to talk, Starcomms is committed to providing quality, cutting-edge and affordable telecommunications services. The services that we make available to our customers are generally tailored towards making their lives easier and better. It is a commitment that we hold very dear in our relationship with them.”

Caregivers, Community leaders Hail P&G for Building Futures

Caregivers and community leaders have been commending Procter & Gamble West Africa for the impact that its corporate social responsibility programme, Building Futures, is having on the children of the orphanages. The company, in partnership with Sponsor-a-child, a not-for-profit concern has commissioned two out of the five resource centres donated under the platform of Building Futures to orphanages around the country.
Caregivers praised P&G for the gesture of the company as the impact of the resource centres extend beyond the walls of the orphanages to children in their home communities that do not have regular access to similar facilities.
At the commissioning of the Learn and play centre, for the FOMWAN Orphanage set up by the Federation of Muslim Women’s Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN) community leaders commended the initiative which according to them went beyond just donating food and supplies to the children to keep their body alive but also help the children to grow and become anything they want to become in life.
The leader of the Oyo state chapter of FOMWAN Hajia Sururat Oyero, said that the benefits of the resource centre and the playground facilities are enormous and cannot be quantified. She said that the centre will stimulate the children to learning in early life as well as make them develop into Nigerians of great worth.
“He who gives knowledge has given it all; and for this we are very grateful to Procter and Gamble and Sponsor-a-Child for the wonderful impact they are having on the lives of Nigerians,” she said.
The Baale of Bodija community in Ibadan said that companies like P&G are more desirable in the community than some oil companies who will rather devastate the environment people live in than put anything back for the people in the community to benefit.
Before the Ibadan commissioning, the company had donated similar facilities to Citadel of Grace Mission orphanage In Igando Lagos State. The supervisor Citadel of Grace Orphanage, Christie Iyile, who was full of praise for the duo of P&G and Sponsor-a-child said that the children of the orphanage will for ever be grateful to the company.
Apart from the donations to orphanages, the company also sponsored the National Doctors Volunteer Programme of Sponsor-a-child in which a number of final year students of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos signed up to affect the lives of the underprivileged in any area of their posting during their house jobs or during their national youth service.
As volunteers in the programme, enrolled doctors are expected to participate actively in empowering care givers in orphanages through health educations; pro bono medical services for the underprivileged; and email based medical consultations. The next set of volunteers will focus on training care givers in various parts of the country with the Local Champion manuals prepared by Sponsor-A-Child.
Speaking at a programme presentation by Sponsor- a-Child, which was held at the old Great Hall of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba, Lagos, the dean of the College of Medicine, Professor Adefule Ositelu enjoined the students to give full support to the programmes of Sponsor-a-Child and their sponsors noting that a lot of money is being misdirected by the rich in the country today.
“Therefore if some people are spending their money for the cause of the less privileged, they should be supported,” she said.

Odigbo Community Rejoices as Guinness Commissions Water of Life Project

It was like a carnival when the Guinness Water of Life project was commissioned in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State on Wednesday, August 25, 2010. The commissioning ceremony was attended by a mammoth crowd from Odigbo community, neighbouring towns and villages as well as traditional rulers from these towns.
Also present at the commissioning were state government functionaries.
The people through their traditional ruler, Oba Daniel Akinloye expressed gratitude to Guinness Nigeria Plc for commissioning a mini waterworks to the community.
The Executive Governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, who was represented by the Commissioner for Adult Education and Vocational Studies, Mrs. Florence Kehinde Momoh, commended Guinness Nigeria for the gesture.
While calling on other corporate organizations to emulate Guinness Nigeria, the commissioner, who is also an Odigbo indigene, described the projects as a good example of public-private sector collaboration in the development of the rural communities of the state.
The Lisa of Odigbo, High Chief Godwin Akindileni: said “It is like magic. Guinness knew what was bothering us and responded to the needs of the people in this area. The Odigbo community is happy over this project. We hear banks declaring billions as profits all over the whole place without touching people’s lives in any way, Before now, you could not count up to ten boreholes in the town, there was serious stress for people whenever they seek to get potable water, but with this project, Guinness has done a great thing for this town and it is marvelous in our eyes. “
Unveiling the project, the representative of the Managing Director, Guinness Nigeria, Mr. Rory McMillan said “Providing potable water to communities in Nigeria is an integral part of our corporate citizenship agenda. This is because access to safe water has become a global concern with statistics of about 1 billion people globally living with no or poor access to potable water. Of this figure, 400 million live in Africa, Nigeria inclusive,”
He said the company had completed water projects in 11 other states in Nigeria. They include Anambra, Oyo, Ogun, Niger, Nassarawa, Abia, Rivers, Lagos, Edo, Benue and Imo states. All these efforts are a part of the demonstration of good corporate citizenship to which Diageo, the parent company of Guinness, is committed to through its Water of Life programme, which aims to provide water to one million Africans annually till 2015.
The Odigbo project is made up of boreholes, overhead storage tank, a water treatment machine, a distribution network and a standby power generating set.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Orunja of Odigbo kingdom, Oba Daniel Osebayo Adetula Akinloye commended the company and promised that the Kingdom will provide land for any development project that Guinness Nigeria Plc or any other corporate organisation will desire to embark upon in the town in the future.
“I express my heartfelt gratitude to Guinness Nigeria Plc and its efficient and very generous management.” he said
Furthermore, the Chairman of Odigbo Local Government Council, Dr. Moses Akinjiyan promised that the project will be well maintained and properly managed to make Guinness proud of Odigbo people. He also used the opportunity to reiterate to the people of the community, the need to own the project and use it properly so as to encourage increased involvement of private sector organizations in developing the communities.

PICTURE CAPTION

LEFT-RIGHT:Mr. Rory Macmillan, Director of Sales, Guinness Nigeria Plc., Chief Godwin Akindileni, the Lisa of Odigbo, Oba Daniel Osebayo Akinloye, the Orunja of Odigbo and Mrs. Florence Kehinde Momoh, the Ondo State Commissioner for Adult Education and Vocational Studies at the handing over of the key to the mini waterworks donated by Guinness to the Odigbo community in Odigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State on Wednesday, August 25,2010.

HISENSE PROMO WINNERS PRAISE STARCOMMS FOR FAIRNESS

The first three winners of Hisense LCD television sets in the ongoing Starcomms Hisense C1110 Chatphone promotions have praised Starcomms Plc. for fairness and transparency in the draws that led to their victory in the exercise. Daramola Aruwaji, a contract staff at the Ojo campus of the Lagos State University, Michael Fidelis Anyanwu, a business man residing in Aba, Abia State and Fehintola Olulana, a tour operator in Lagos were at the headquarters of Starcomms Plc on Victoria Island to receive their prizes.
At the presentation of the prizes at the weekend, Daramola Aruwaji was elated to receive his 42 inches Hisense LCD television set from Mr. Tushar Maheshwari, the Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms.
“I believe I am a very lucky man. It was not the thought of winning that prompted me to buy the phone. The sales girls just brought the phones to the Staff Club at LASU where I was that day and it happened that I needed a sleek and attractive phone. So I bought one. Since then I have been browsing with it. I have been chatting with it and I have even checked out Post UME results for people through it. And now I have this giant TV to show for all this benefits. This is an incredible activity. Starcomms is telling the truth,” Aruwaji said.
For Anyanwu from Aba, who got a 32 inches TV set, the story was different. He said: “I am not new to Starcomms. I used all the ranges of Starcomms products for my calls and for my internet because of the reliable service that we get from them in Abia. I have always participated in all Starcomms promo religiously but I had never been lucky to win any prize. In fact I had gone to Starcomms office in Aba on one occasion to hala that I have always participated in promos but never won anything. So when I was called from Lagos last week that I won a TV set, I did not believe at first. But here I am. Starcomms is faithful to us customers. They are believable!”
Olulana, a tour operator in Lagos was presented with the third prize, a 26-inch LCD TV which she won in the draws. She said that when the call came to her that she won a television set it was with mixed feelings that she received it.
“I have been using Starcomms for five years. The Starcomms phone I was using got damaged and I wanted to change it for the same brand that I had used for many years. But fortunately the shop I went to was out of stock of that one so the sales people showed me this Hisense, which I liked. I was very skeptical when they said that I had won a TV set because I have heard of all kinds of scam that people fall prey to in Lagos, so I was defensive. Now on getting here I found that it is real. It is a wonderful promotion,” she said.
The promotion on the Starcomms Hisense C1110, called Chatphone, is still ongoing for all who buy it and activates their line. They have a chance to win LCD TV sets ranging in size from 26 inches to 42 inches. The phone comes with exciting features, especially internet connection that allows users to link up with their contacts on popular social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Hi5, Skype, Yahoo messenger and other internet services on the go and with ease.
Tushar Maheshwari, the Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms told the prize winners that Starcomms will always look for ways to add value to the lives of its customers.
“The Chatphone promotion is a way of allowing some of our customers to experience Hisense in many ways. It is our practice to always offer our customers top of the range products so that their experience with Starcomms will be world standard. We are happy that the winners of the Hisense TV sets appreciate it. As the promo continues, we will not relent in giving out the best of services to them,” Maheshwari said.

PICTURE CAPTION
LEFT-RIGHT: Mrs. Omolara Ojo, Starcomms’ human resources manager; Michael Fidelis Anyanwu , an Aba-based businessman and winner of 32 inches LCD TV set, Ms. Fehintola Olulana, a Lagos-based tour operator and winner of the 26 inches LCD TV set with Mr. Jaspreet Singh, Starcomms’ Deputy Director, Consumer Business unit at the presentation of Hisense LCD TV sets to winners of the Starcomms’ Hisense chat phone promotion at the company’s headquarters in Lagos on August 27, 2010.

LEFT-RIGHT: Tushar Maheshwari, Chief Commercial Officer Starcomms, presents a 42-inch LCD television set to Damilola Aruwaji, a staff of Lagos State University LASU, the winner of the star prize of the Starcomms’ Hisense chat phone promotion at the company’s headquarters in Lagos on August 27,2010.

Starcomms introduces Special Islamic Handset

In the spirit of celebrating the holy month of Ramadan, Nigeria’s leading telecommunications operator, Starcomms Plc is offering its Muslim customers the opportunity of purchasing and owning a unique handset, the Qiblah, exclusively equipped with integrated features that are tailor-made to meet the needs of fasting and praying Muslims. The introduction of the handset by Starcomms comes as little surprise, considering the company’s track-record of availing its customers with innovative products and services that always anticipate their needs and requirements.
The new phone has an indicator setting which points to Mecca and comes complete with a compass and prayer time alarm functions. The Qiblah indicator uses an inbuilt longitude and latitude orientation or city references that, when used in comparison to the magnetic north, indicates the direction of the Qiblah so that the Muslim can, from any place he is, know in what direction to face and pray. The Qiblah in Islam is the compass that shows the direction that Muslims face to pray wherever they are.
Also, Starcomms has introduced a promotional airtime package for the benefit of customers who purchase the handset. They are to enjoy discounted calls during off peak periods and low cost calls to Saudi Arabia during the Ramadan period. Other customers of Starcomms are also to enjoy discounted calls on off peak and low cost calls during the period.
Speaking on the functionality of the Qiblah phones, Mr. Tushar Maheshwari, Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms noted that very often it is difficult to determine the four cardinal points when one is constantly on the move.
Therefore, it may not be easy to determine the Qiblah when it is time to pray for a Muslim whose routine requires moving around. With the aid of the compass installed in the phone, a Muslim customer of Starcomms can easily know which direction to face at prayer time.
The Qiblah phones are designed with colourful Islamic visual features, such as lovely wall papers and screen savers as well as inspiring ring-tones. The phone is also a channel for the customer to enjoy the Listen-To-Quran service of Starcomms, which is the first of its kind in the country. The service is designed to update and increase the knowledge of Muslim customers on the tenets of Islam as well as allow them have access to the Holy book anytime anywhere on
their Starcomms phones.
Customers can access Listen-To-Quran by simply dialing *786 on their Starcomms phones to access the IVR mode to select any particular Surah of Holy Quran and continue listening at fixed cost of N25 per hour.
Maheshwari explained that Starcomms has often paid attention to the needs of particular sections of the society stating that during festive periods, it gave special packages to its customers.
Another innovation and first from Starcomms, which all including the Muslim faithful will enjoy while away from Nigeria during the Ramadan fast, is the international inter standard roaming from CDMA to GSM that the award winning telecommunications company just introduced.
It is the first time in the world that a CDMA telecommunication operator is providing its customers the opportunity to enjoy international roaming. The implication of this development is that Starcomms customers do not need to change their numbers whenever they travel out of Nigeria.
The roaming service is made possible through an agreement signed on March 23, 2010 by Starcomms with MACH, the leading provider of hub-based mobile applications exchange solutions and Accuris Network, the leading provider of Inter-standard and converged solutions.

STARCOMMS, QUBAIN SHINE AT TOP CELEBRITIES AWARDS

Starcomms Plc., Nigeria’s highly innovative telecommunications company reaffirmed its leadership in its area of operations at the weekend, having been voted by the Nigerian public as the CDMA company of the year in the well attended Top Celebrities Achievers Award.
At the award ceremony, which rallied who-is-who in the various sectors of the Nigerian economy, the chief executive officer of Starcomms, Maher Qubain was also named the Telecommunications Personality of the year.
According to the organizers of the event, Starcomms Plc has proved to the world that the best can come out of Nigeria. Starcomms, the first Nigerian telecommunication company to be quoted on the Nigerian stock exchange has been achieving many feats in the country and has been taking many bold steps as a CDMA company in recent times.
One major achievement of the company mentioned, is its recent offering of roaming services to its customers so that wherever they go in the world they can be reached on their Starcomms mobile phones. This service, which used to be offered all over the world only by GSM companies makes Starcomms the first CDMA company in the world to offer inter-standard roaming facility. The huge investments of Starcomms in the Internet Protocol Contact Centre, was also taken note of by the award organizers. The IPCC allows easy interactions between Starcomms and its customers in five languages and helps customers to pull through any challenge that they may have with their phones.
Starcomms was also praised for being the first CDMA company to latch on to Main One Cable, the new undersea optic fiber cable, linking Nigeria and the rest of West Africa to Europe. This will enable the company to maintain its leadership in the provision of internet access in the country.
The company’s managing director, Maher Qubain was lauded for his dexterity at striking a balance among the growth of the company, the interest of the shareholders and pleasing the customers.
“Qubain has sustained the business of Starcomms in situations where many CDMA companies were floundering. The company under Qubain continues to grow in subscriber base in the face of all business challenges,” noted the award organizers.
In a response to this recognition, the CEO of Starcomms, Maher Qubain expressed his appreciation to the organizers of the awards, noting that his achievements and those of Starcomms are not without the unwavering supports of the customers and staff of the company.
“We received the Top Celebrities Achievers Award with much appreciation and a high sense of responsibility. We consider it a nudge from the organizers for us to continue to work harder at remaining ahead in all our undertakings,” Qubain said.

PICTURE CAPTION

LEFT-RIGH: Vipul Parmar, Manager-Customer Service, Starcomms Plc and Trino Guzman, Head - Engineering Department, holding the plaques of the Telecom personality of the Year, won by Starcomms MD Maher Qubain and CDMA company of the year won by Starcomms Plc at the Top Celebrity Achievers Awards held at 10-degrees Event Centre on Sunday, August 29,2010 with Alex Ikidi, Enterprise Business Executive of Starcomms

COMMUNITIES RECOUNT WATER OF LIFE IMPACT

Community leaders in Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States whose communities have benefited from the Guinness Water of Life project said they have begun to feel the ease of life that the projects have brought to the social and economic life of their people.The Obawole and Olowo communities in Iju area of the Ifako Ijaiye local government council of Lagos State, Owode Community in Ona-Ara local government area of Oyo State and Iperu Remo in Ikenne-Remo Local Government of Ogun State, recently joined the list of communities to be beneficiaries of the Water of Life, which was designed by the company to give access to safe drinking water to one million Nigerians by the year 2011.Describing it as a kind gesture that they will not forget in a hurry, the Baale of Ogbere Gangansi/Owode, in Ona Ara local government council of Oyo State, Chief Ewuola Olagunju said that the water project has helped to alleviate the sufferings of the people as it has provided access to potable clean and safe drinking water.He said that the community will for ever appreciates the social responsibility service of Guinness that has put an end to many years of water problem in his community noting that the water project has indeed alleviated the sufferings of the people.According to him, before Guinness provided the all-inclusive water scheme, which comprise boreholes, overhead storage tank, water treatment plant, a reticulation network of fetching points and a standby power generating set for their use, domestic and commercial life that required the use of water was greatly hampered. The Vice Chairman of Ikenne Local Government, Otunba Tiwalade Sobo while recounting the impact that the Guinness Water of Life has affected the people of Iperu-Remo explained that life has never been the same again for the people noting that access to clean and safe drinking water is now easy for the residents.He added that the joy of having such facility in the community and seeing it meeting their expectation has made the people to continue to show high level of commitment to the management of the water project adding that the community set up to manage the project, has been effective in its duty.And for the people of Obawole and Olowo communities in Iju area of the Ifako Ijaiye local government council of Lagos State, the excitement of having a steady supply of clean and safe water for their use has continued to gladden their hearts The chairman of the Ifako-Ijaiye Community Development Council (CDC), Alhaji Isiaka Obatolu said that the water project has turned out to be a landmark in the community stressing that that was why the community had been mindful of managing the facility with diligence.According to him, the project is a turning point in addressing the problem of potable water confronting the people of Obawole and Olowo communities, emphasizing that the commitment of Guinness in providing water for the community is in line with the state’s policy thrust on public and private sector partnership.

STARCOMMS SIGNS UP WITH MAIN ONE CABLE FOR BETTER INTERNET EXPERIENCE

As part of its efforts to further enhance internet service from IZAP and 1X, Starcomms Plc. has subscribed to a new undersea cable linking Nigeria and the whole of West Africa to Europe. The implication of the new development is that it will pave the way for additional transformation in Internet access and reliable voice service from the award winning telecoms company.
Starcomms subscription to the undersea cable built by Main One Cable Company in partnership with U.S. firm Tyco makes it the first CDMA operator to have access to the facility. According to the Chief Executive Officer of Starcomms, Mr. Maher Qubain, the subscription to Main One Cable will definitely be a boost to Starcomms’ current achievement in the area of fast, reliable and affordable internet services delivery as well as voice clarity across the country. In his words, “across Nigeria, we have received plaudits from our voice and data customers who have been enjoying our unrivalled services. As a company committed to delivering world-class services, we will continue to explore all available means to add value to their business and personal lives." Mr. Qubain further stated that considering the potential of the undersea cable, a new window of opportunity has been opened for Starcomms to introduce enhanced services that will not only increase speed but add value to the life of its customers saying that with Starcomms connection to the cable, its customers can also expect more speedy downloads and unmatched voice call capacity. The 7,000 km fibre optic cable, which runs from Portugal to Nigeria and Ghana, and also branches out to Morocco, the Canary Islands, Senegal and Ivory Coast, is also expected to be a boost to international calls on Starcomms network. This development, according to him will be a boost to some of the value added services, recently introduced by Starcomms to demonstrate its passion for innovative services and the enhancement of its role as a leading Nigerian telecom brand in the industry. One of such is the Afritalk voice services, a non-intrusive and enhanced voice-chat service through which Starcomms customers can chat and make lots of friends across Nigeria. The fact that the mobile number of the person chatting is not revealed to other chat members has endeared it to a lot of customers too. Specifically too, the connection of Starcomms network to Main One Undersea Fibre Optic cable will have a remarkable positive impart on the recent introduction of interstandard international roaming on CDMA to GSM by Starcomms. What this means is that customers of Starcomms will enjoy more efficient and quality voice and data services on their Starcomms phones. The Main One Cable hook up by Starcomms is also expected to benefit parts of the country that are soon to enjoy the Starcomms super-fast broadband internet services, Izap as well as its Ix data services that covers everywhere it has network coverage, which extends to 22 states, 28 cities and 100 towns. Another of Starcomms value added services that customers are expected to benefit from in the Main One Cable services is the StarTrack, a location based service designed to assist Starcomms customers to know the specific whereabouts of their loved ones as well as make it possible for friends and lovers to track each other. Exclusively a customer centric product and the first of its kind in the industry, this innovative service from Starcomms, allows Starcomms customers to register the number of another customer, whom he doesn’t want to lose track of with a text message. Starcomms will then notify the registered customer for his consent, after which his location can be disclosed to seeker.

STARCOMMS SLASHES OFF PEAK TARIFF

Nigeria’s leading telecommunications operator, Starcomms Plc is offering off-peak tariff slash for its customers. Customers are to enjoy N4 per second off peak tariff for on-net calls between the period of 10 pm and 7 am.
The offer is to enable Starcomms customers, particularly the Muslims to share warm thoughts during the Ramadan period, while also giving opportunity to non-Muslims to extend warm greetings to their Muslim friends.
Designed to add value to the social life of all customers of Nigeria’s only telecoms company quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, this unique offer is available to current and new customers in all cities where there is Starcomms coverage for a period of one month.
What it implies is that customers of the innovative CDMA Company will have to pay less to savour the excitement and communal activities that require people getting in touch during the Ramadan period while also enjoying other value added services on the Starcomms network. Moreover, the promo is a boom for those who are not involved in the Ramadan fast as they can have longer discussions on the Starcomms network during the off peak hours.
The Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, Mr. Tushar Maheshwari said that, “as a responsive network, we at Starcomms understand that Nigerians love to keep in touch with their loved ones, hence we are using this opportunity to enable not just the Muslims on our network, but the non-Muslims too, the privilege of doing that during the Ramadan period.”
According to him, this is just part of our numerous ways of making our people happier, as a network that speaks their language.” He said that as a customer focused company it is mindful of the needs of its customers and will often look for opportunities to make talking easy for them.
The current winner of the Superbrand award for 2009 and a two time telecom company of the year including the recent winner of the 2009 CDMA Company award given to it for its outstanding performance in the delivery of quality services and value added services, Starcomms has over the years demonstrated its leadership role in the industry both in value for money, innovation, customer care.

STARCOMMS LEADS CDMA INNOVATION IN THE WORLD, LAUNCHES INTERNATIONAL ROAMING

Starcomms Plc has once again demonstrated its determination to render superior and world-class service to its teeming customers. For the first time in the world, a CDMA telecommunication operator is providing its customers the opportunity to enjoy international roaming. As a result of this development Starcomms customers do not need to change their numbers whenever they travel out of Nigeria.
This new development is sequel to an agreement signed on March 23, 2010 by Starcomms with MACH, the leading provider of hub-based mobile applications exchange solutions and Accuris Network, the leading provider of Inter-standard and converged solutions.
Consequently, the over 3.2 million and still growing customers of Starcomms now have the rare opportunity of seamless access to international mobile roaming on all wireless technology networks. This will greatly expand Starcomms network coverage outside Nigeria and simplify the roaming experience of the customer who may have cause to travel outside the country. Already Starcomms has coverage in 31 major Cities covering 175 towns in Nigeria.
With this development, Starcomms now gives its customers the global advantage as they are connected to about 600 networks in over 100 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, America and the Middle East.
Commenting on the new deal that will boost the Starcomms network, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Maher Qubain said “The commitment of Starcomms to providing innovative products and services that simplify lives and enhance living for our customers is a tradition we hold dear.
We know that many customers yearn for the high quality services of Starcomms everywhere they go. So, the pioneering step of adding inter-standard roaming capabilities to our portfolio as a CDMA network in this country is just more evidence of our practice of always being the first to give the customer the best.” The ISR solutions from MACH and Accuris Networks is delivered through a proven services infrastructure and offers turnkey inter-operability between wireless technologies, including CDMA, 1xEVDO, GSM, GPRS/UMTS, WIFI, WiMax and soon, LTE. The solution, which can be implemented using existing connections, offers end-users all of the services that are available on their home network, even when they are travelling. With end-to-end one-number interoperability, operators can provide complete voice and messaging services easily.
The seamless interoperability roaming access that MACH provides for over 600 networks all over the world is in line with the high quality services that Starcomms has been providing its customers in Nigeria. Tushar Maheshwari, the Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms, while speaking about the new possibilities said, “Starcomms will never trade high standard for any thing. Our focus in providing international roaming opportunities for our customers is not just about the service but about the quality of their experience while roaming with the Starcomms service.
“We have continued to make sure that our customers who have cause to travel outside Nigeria feel at home anywhere with all their contacts having access to them seamlessly.”

KATE PETERS WINS STARCOMMS OVERALL BOXER IN HALL OF FAME CONTEST -STARCOMMS REAFFIRMS COMMITMENT TO BOXING DEVELOPMENT

According to him, Starcomms is committed to the development of sports, particularly at the grass root level pledging that Starcomms will continue to give support to the event which has become relevant to the development of boxing in the state.He said that Starcomms sphere of influence in sports development in the country will continue increase saying just as the company is not relenting in its determination to give its customers unmatched quality of service, so also it will not relent in creating an atmosphere where the young people of the country can develop their talents.He said that sports remains a veritable means for young people to express themselves saying that since Starcomms began the sponsorship of the event a great number of young boxing talents like kate Peters have proved that they have the potentials to take Nigeria to the world in the game of boxing.While rating the performance of the boxers, Gill said that both the Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame Competition and the Lagos State Amateur Boxing Association displayed professionalism in the organization of the event noting that the spirit of sportsmanship put up by the boxers deserves commendation.Starcomms has for some years sponsored the monthly Lagos State Boxing Hall of Fame Competition, which holds at the Mobolaji Johnson Hall Sports Complex, Rowe Park, Lagos. The event holds on the last Saturday of every month.

PICS CAPTION

R-L, Richard Gill, Marketing Director, Starcomms Plc, presenting the overall best Amateur Boxing prize to kate Peters while Wale Edun, Chairman of the Lagos State Amateur Boxing Hall of Fame looks on.

STARCOMMS INTRODUCES SPECIAL ISLAMIC HANDSET

In the spirit of celebrating the holy month of Ramadan, Nigeria’s leading telecommunications operator, Starcomms Plc is offering its Muslim customers the opportunity of purchasing and owning a unique handset, Qiblah, exclusively equipped with integrated features that are tailor-made to meet the needs of fasting and praying Muslims.
The introduction of the handset by Starcomms comes as little surprise, considering the company’s track-record of availing its customers with innovative products and services that always anticipate their needs and requirements.The new phone has an indicator setting that point to Mecca and comes complete with a compass and prayer time alarm functions. The Qiblah indicator uses an inbuilt longitude and latitude orientation or city references that, when used in comparison to the magnetic north, indicates the direction of the Qiblah so that the Muslim can, from any place he is, know in what direction to face and pray. The Qiblah in Islam is the compass that shows the direction that Muslims face to pray wherever they are. Also, Starcomms has introduced a promotional airtime package for the benefit of customers who purchase the handset. They are to enjoy discounted calls during off peak periods and low cost calls to Saudi Arabia during the Ramadan period. Other customers of Starcomms are also to enjoy discounted calls on off peak and low cost calls during the period.Speaking on the functionality of the Qiblah phones, Mr. Tushar Maheshwari, Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms noted that very often it is difficult to determine the four cardinal points when one is constantly on the move. Therefore, it may not be easy to determine the Qiblah when it is time to pray for a Muslim whose routine requires moving around. With the aid of the compass installed in the phone, a Muslim customer of Starcomms can easily know which direction to face at prayer time.The Qiblah phones are designed with colourful Islamic visual features, such as lovely wall papers and screen savers as well as inspiring ring-tones. The phone is also a channel for the customer to enjoy the Listen-To-Quran service of Starcomms, which is the first of its kind in the country. The service is designed to update and increase the knowledge of Muslim customers on the tenets of Islam as well as allow them have access to the Holy book anytime anywhere on their Starcomms phones. Customers can access Listen-To-Quran by simply dialing *786 on their Starcomms phones to access the IVR mode to select any particular Surah of Holy Quran and continue listening at fixed cost of N25 per hour.Maheshwari explained that Starcomms has often paid attention to the needs of particular sections of the society stating that during festive periods, it gave special packages to its customers.

STARCOMMS LAUNCHES A NEW MULTILINGUAL IPCC AND SELF-CARE LINES

In line with its strategy of ensuring that customers continually get superior experience, Starcomms Plc, the only telecommunications firm quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange has made a multi million Naira investment in a new user friendly Internet Protocol Contact Centre (IPCC). Also, the company has launched two dedicated Self-Care lines: *444 and 07028000444. The newly unveiled IPCC comes with a multilingual Interactive Voice Record service (IVR) which offers customers services in five languages: English, Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo and pidgin.Consequently, prepaid voice customers now have the option of choosing from any of the languages that the IPCC offers to make balance inquiry, tariff inquiry, tariff charge for roaming customers, dash me credit together with Caller Ring Back Tune (CRBT). The dedicated lines allow customers to directly enter into the self care portal to get the help they require.In addition, data customers on Starcomms broadband services would be able to carry out inquiries about the services they desire, check their balances, know their credit limits, billed amount, unutilized amount, due date, last payment details using the IVR of the IPCC.While assuring that Starcomms will continue to make customers experiences very pleasurable, the Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms Plc, Mr. Tushar Maheshwari, said “ we have made it possible for our customers to send e-mails to Starcomms while also providing an auto-dialer through which we can inform them about new offerings and services in Starcomms using voice messaging.”Continuing he said, “We have started SMS notifications for complaints by our customers, such that whenever a customer registers a complaint at the call centre, he/she will get an SMS notifying him/her about registering the complaint and subsequently get a feedback through an SMS informing him/her that the complaint has been resolved”, he added. He also said that when a customer dials the Self-Care lines: *444 or 07028000444 a voice response will guide the customer on the task he/she wants to perform saying that “the voice will instruct you to press 1 on your mobile phone key pad for prepaid task, 2 for post-paid task,3 for data task, 4 for coverage area and # to listen to the selections again.”

PIX CAP: From L-R Richard Gill, marketing director, Starcomms Pl, Tushar Maheshwari,chief commercial officer, Starcomms Plc and Charles Igbinidu during the a press conference on the IPCC and International Roaming launch in Lagos,Nigeria.

STARCOMMS LAUNCHES A NEW MULTILINGUAL IPCC AND SELF-CARE LINES

In line with its strategy of ensuring that customers continually get superior experience, Starcomms Plc, the only telecommunications firm quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange has made a multi million Naira investment in a new user friendly Internet Protocol Contact Centre (IPCC). Also, the company has launched two dedicated Self-Care lines: *444 and 07028000444. The newly unveiled IPCC comes with a multilingual Interactive Voice Record service (IVR) which offers customers services in five languages: English, Hausa, Yoruba, Ibo and pidgin.Consequently, prepaid voice customers now have the option of choosing from any of the languages that the IPCC offers to make balance inquiry, tariff inquiry, tariff charge for roaming customers, dash me credit together with Caller Ring Back Tune (CRBT). The dedicated lines allow customers to directly enter into the self care portal to get the help they require.In addition, data customers on Starcomms broadband services would be able to carry out inquiries about the services they desire, check their balances, know their credit limits, billed amount, unutilized amount, due date, last payment details using the IVR of the IPCC.While assuring that Starcomms will continue to make customers experiences very pleasurable, the Chief Commercial Officer of Starcomms Plc, Mr. Tushar Maheshwari, said “ we have made it possible for our customers to send e-mails to Starcomms while also providing an auto-dialer through which we can inform them about new offerings and services in Starcomms using voice messaging.”Continuing he said, “We have started SMS notifications for complaints by our customers, such that whenever a customer registers a complaint at the call centre, he/she will get an SMS notifying him/her about registering the complaint and subsequently get a feedback through an SMS informing him/her that the complaint has been resolved”, he added. He also said that when a customer dials the Self-Care lines: *444 or 07028000444 a voice response will guide the customer on the task he/she wants to perform saying that “the voice will instruct you to press 1 on your mobile phone key pad for prepaid task, 2 for post-paid task,3 for data task, 4 for coverage area and # to listen to the selections again.”