Mobile service provider Etisalat announced that they have rolled out its 3.75G easyblaze broadband service to the city of Akure in Nigeria. The service will allow users to surf the web much faster than before, and will enable more businesses meet their communication needs.
“The launch of the 3.75G platform promises changes that will enhance multimedia functionality, high speed mobile broadband and internet access; allowing users to make video calls, watch live videos, send and receive emails and download music from their devices,” said Chief Commercial Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Wael Ammar.
With the launch of the service, user will now be able to buy data bundles on mobile phones, smartphones, MiFi and WiFi devices, as well as on USB modems.
The roll-out comes only days after Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) raised concern that the majority of Nigerians are not using the Internet for business purposes, as only 6.7-million citizens have ventured online to conduct business – that is just a fraction of the 160-million population.
According to figures from NITDA, only 45-million use the Internet at work, school or in their houses. “NITDA’s Director General, Professor Cleopas Angaye said the percentage of businesses that use computers was 39 per cent while that of businesses that use the Internet for customer service was just 15 per cent of the total number of 45 million Internet users in the country,” wrote Nigeria’s Daily Trust.
Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech editor
