WHY TELECOMS SECTOR ATTRACTS INVESTMENTS, BY NOKIA BOSS

FAIR regulation and increasing healthy competition among players in the Nigerian telecoms sector are some of the reasons the sector continues to attract investments, says James Rutherfoord, Nokia's General Manager, West Africa.

Rutherford made these comments in the course of a briefing with ICT journalists in Lagos last week, during which the company formally announced the presence of another Nokia product, the E7, in the Nigerian market. The E7 enters the market on the heels of the N8, which itself was preceded by the C3.

James Rutherfoord, GM West Africa, Nokia,Nokia E7
Rutherfoord added that as a result of the reliable devices continually introduced by operators, the Nigerian market will remain competitive and challenging.

He also indicated that his company is making efforts to combat the grey market in the country, noting that there is synergy between Nokia and appropriate government agencies to deal with counterfeit products.

On the Nokia and Microsoft partnership, Rutherfoord said, 'The relationship is still very young. Our devices will run on Microsoft software but that is in the future. In Nigeria, the share of smart phone is still small. However, our synergy which comes up next year, will ensure that we bridged that gap. It is a future thing.'

'The problem of counterfeit products is a big one in Nigeria', he stated.

On the E7, Rutherford stated that it is a smart phone 'that would remain consumers' first choice because of its special features, which include easy access to private and business email; ability to create, edit and share office documents and view PDF files with Adobe Reader; fast, secure intranet access with the built_in VPN (Virtual Private Network); high_resolution photos and high-definition video with the eight-megapixel camera and dual LED flash among others.

Also speaking at the occasion, Osagie Ogunbor, Nokia's Communications Manager said of the E7, which he called the 'All-in-One' smart phone:

'People are continuing to look for solutions that suit both their work and personal life. In business circles, this is known as the 'consumerisation' of IT. The Nokia E7 gives people the confidence to bring their own smart phones to the workplace to connect securely to corporate messaging servers, whether you are an artist, entrepreneur, university student or aspiring world traveler, the Nokia E7 is a smart phone you will need to get the world's best navigation and mapping application, thousands of apps, millions of music and a rich messaging experience.'

Ogunbor added that the E7 supports business applications from leading enterprise partners including Microsoft and IBM, and is the 'ultimate symbol of success that, would give technical support to business tycoons globally because of its simplicity.'