WAYBACK – HISTORY OF INTERNET IN NIGERIA

Obasanjo’s internet, as it is mostly called became a trend in Nigeria in 1996. But was not the beginning. Nigeria had its first ISP in 1990. An ISP (Internet Service Provider) is a company that provides internet services to individuals and organisations. The first ISP was founded in 1991, and it was the Nigerian Centre for Communication Technologies (NCCT). Subsequently, ISPs like NITEL, Interswitch and Vee Network surfaced to dispense their services to already burgeoning market.

The main boom of internet usage in Nigeria was in the 2000’s. This technology was not relatively new at this time. Although, before then, the Nigerian Post and Telegraph was in charge of handling all forms of communications under the just independent Nigerian government. This commission regulated calls made between Lagos and London. The country had 116,000 fixed telephone lines across.

The main effort of NITEL (Nigeria Telecommunication Limited) was to structure and improve the coordination of telecommunication processes within and outside the country. However, the role of NITEL was not an easy assignment, and as a result, became operationally inefficient. The core drawbacks that affected NITEL’s efficiency were lack of maintenance, and inability to support cable network infrastructure across the country. This resulted in phone lines being congested, billing system was inefficient, and call completion rate for long distance calls was less than 50%. At this stage, it was clearer that NITEL lacked the capacity to cater for the increasing demand for their services.

History of internet in Nigeria - Early mobile phones

INTRODUCTION OF MOBILE PHONES

According to some reports, ECONET Wireless made the first live call using GSM in the country on June 8, 2001. Immediately following it was MTN, which entered the market on May 16, 2001, but began operations in August of the same year. Initially, GSM services were available in Lagos, followed by Abuja and then Port Harcourt. In the year 1992, the first cellphone touched down in Nigeria, and this network was known as Mobile Telecommunication Service (MTS).  Since it was the first of its kind, it garnered extreme monopoly and popularity overtime. The earliest cellphone had limited features, and above all, had unexciting games. You can mostly make calls, send text messages, and listen to monodical ringtones on these devices.

Since 2000, there was an upward rise in the number of people using the internet and mobile phones in Nigeria. This is due to the increasing availability of affordable mobile phones and internet access. The government has also invested in infrastructure that has improved internet connectivity, making it easier for people to access the internet.

In conclusion, bills payment with ppp.vtpass.com is superfast, easy and very convenient. In addition, you get 24/7 access to our support team to help you through any glitch you might have. Why don’t you try us today?

Barka De Sallah to You!

Barka de sallah, people!

What?

Who says you can’t celebrate seasons like this with customers over a blog post? Certainly, not VTpass. We get in the mood when you are in the mood! Simple as that.

Talking about moods, even though rams, goats, and cow sellers recorded low sales this year as compared to other years’ seasons; Nigerians still have the merriment vibe in them to celebrate. It’s all for the best.

Moments like this are when we ought to forget certain difficulties of life and celebrate with friends and family. That’s where VTpass comes in.

With convenient payment solutions that we offer, catch the best TV entertainment when you can renew DStv, GOtv, or StarTimes subscription. Top-up airtime and data to communicate with those that matter. Pay electricity bills to keep the lights on.

Celebrations don’t get better than this!

Happy Eid-el Kabir from all of us at VTpass.

Barka de Sallah!

Meet the Housemates of BBNaija Season 5

The show we’ve all been waiting for is here! And with it, the men and women set to entertain us for the next 90 days. The new BBNaija season 5 housemates finally revealed!

In this year’s edition themed “Lockdown”, 20 contestants would be competing for a whooping N85 million. So sit back, relax, and meet the housemates of BBNaija season 5:

bbnaija season 5 housemates

Neo

Emuobonuvie Akpofure is a 26-year-old ride-hailing app driver from Delta state. He describes himself as smart and fun bringing a lot of good vibes, cruise, and entertainment to the house. He claims his biggest achievement is winning N500,000 at a talent competition.

bbnaija season 5 housemates

Brighto

Ezekiel Bright Osemudiame, 29-year-old, is a sailor from Edo state. He speaks Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, and Edo languages fluently. He’s a lover of swimming, traveling, and adventure. His biggest achievement was when he got a scholarship to study abroad plus his third engineering license.

bbnaija season 5 housemates

Lucy

30-year-old Lucy Essien says she lights up every room she enters. She is an entrepreneur who believes in fairytales, loves good food, and likes her space.

bbnaija season 5 housemates

Nengi

Rebecca Hampson is a formal model turned entrepreneur. At 22-year-old, she is a graduate of the University of Port Harcourt. Haven made it to top 5 in MBGN competition, she wants people to look past her beauty.

bbnaija season 5 housemates

Praise

Praise Nelson 28-year-old is a dance instructor and a male erotic dancer. He was a winner at the 2015 K Pop World Festival in South Korea. He is also a fitness trainer and certified Latin ballroom expert.

bbnaija season 5 housemates

Vee

Born and raised in London, Victoria Adeyele AKA Vee, is a 23-year old beauty who loves music. In an early discussion with a housemate, she revealed she decided not to study at a university because she wanted to focus on music.

bbnaija season 5 housemates

Eric

Eric Akhigbe, a final year student at the University of Lagos is a fitness instructor. He loves competitive sports and derives pleasure from completing tasks.

Laycon

Olamilekan Agbeleshe AKA Laycon is a graduate of Philosophy from the University of Lagos. The 26-year old is equally a rapper and singer currently signed to Fierce Nation record label. His greatest achievement is ‘Fierce’ that has been in MTV Base Top 10 charts for 10 months.

Ka3na

Kate Jones is a single mom of a beautiful daughter who claims her aim in the house is to promote her brand, not to look for love. She dreams to be famous and to own the biggest fashion brand in the world.

TrickyTee

Timmy Sinclair is a 35-year-old creative artist from Bayelsa state. He considers himself a storyteller who uses the medium of film and music to express himself. He claims he will be causing a lot of trouble with his outspokenness.

Dorothy

This one is hot! 24-year-old Dorathy Bachor started trending on Twitter the moment she graced the screen. She is an entrepreneur whose greatest achievement is SHOPFORME, a big procurement company in Nigeria.

Ozo

Ozoemena Chukwu is a 27-year-old entrepreneur from Imo state. The guy is handsome with his biceps, height, and light skin tone. His biggest achievement is working in UEFA Federation for Europe.

Tolanibaj

Tolani Shobajo AKA Tolanibaj is a media personality who is in the house for the money. A proud Marlian, the 27-year-old says she is the life of the party and she loves to cook.

Lilo

Boluwatife Aderogba is a goal-driven lady who likes to be in charge. At 23 years old, she is a Lagos-based dietitian. She doesn’t like people been all up in her business. Her biggest achievement is starting her brand.

Kiddwaya

This guy whose full name is Terseer Kiddwaya, hates spiders. He says his confidence is often mistaken for arrogance. Hailing from Benue state, he is self-employed and hopes to bring a lot of fun into the house.

Wathoni

Her full name is Florence Wathoni Anyansi and she is half Kenyan, half Nigerian. She speaks and writes in Swahili perfectly. The 29-year-old single mom is a fashion entrepreneur who owns a parenting blog. She loves music and is in the house to gain fans and to find love.

Kaisha

Aisha Umaru Kaisha is the only northerner in the house. She hails from Sokoto state and owns a skincare business. At 25 years old, she describes herself as a hardworking lady who gets along with people. She loves to sing and dance.

Tochi

Tochukwu Okechukwu is 28 rapper and a real estate agent from Imo state. He is a lover of entertainment and promises to bring a lot of fun and drama to the house. His biggest achievement is his independency.

Erica

A graduate of MET film school, London, Ngozi Nlewedim Erica is an actress and a commercial model. She also says she is bringing a lot of good vibes to the house. What more do we expect from the model who loves to dance in front of the mirror alone?

Prince

Nelson Enwerem by name, the 24-year-old Prince is a native of Abia state. He is into interior decoration, fashion designing, and modeling. He has promised to show us some dance moves at Friday night parties; we can’t wait to see that!

There you have it. Now you know all bbnaija season 5 housemates.

Subscribe your GOtv or DStv to watch these housemates flex their muscles. And nope, you can’t see the action in the dark! Pay electricity bills conveniently from your home! Keep your favorite housemate in the house by voting for them; top-up airtime now!

Visit our blog more often for entertaining content like this! Download the VTpass mobile app.

6 Ways to Save BIG on Your Mobile Data

You know that odd feeling you get when you’re two weeks into your one-month mobile data plan and your network provider sends you that heart-breaking message; “Dear Customer…”? Ahhh!

That thing dey pain eh! You start wondering how the data finished so fast, what you did with it and why it just can’t last for 30 days as provided by your network. I know how that feels, we’ve all been there.

In this age of increased internet activities, video streaming, social networking, pop-up ads, music streaming, and tons of data-hungry apps fighting for attention on our mobile phones, data has become a vital commodity and should be managed like scare goods. If not, you might find your data bills punching huge holes in your pocket every month.

So here are 6 overall ways you can save big on monthly mobile data. Be sure to see detailed data-saving settings on popular apps you should apply:

how to save mobile data

1. Delete Data-hungry Apps you don’t Need

When you go through some people’s phones, you would start wondering whether they are selling apps. Most apps update themselves or run in the background using data. Others are notification-enabled and would send you notifications every now and then. Learn to keep only apps that you NEED. If you don’t use an app for months, what is it doing on your phone?

2. Monitor your data usage

Most smartphones are contain data usage monitor and settings so that you can monitor and limit the amount of data you use over a period of time. Been aware of the activities or applications that drain your mobile data is the first step to learning how to save mobile data. Once you know your enemy apps, easily set up data limits and alerts to tell when you exceed data limits in Settings menu.

3. Restrict Apps from running in background

You see all those apps you use daily but consumes data even when you are not using them, their medicine is to simply disable them from running in the background through Settings. However, these background feature allows apps to update themselves and complete tasks even when you move to another app. So be sure to know if you need an app to run in the background before you disable this feature. Stopping apps from running in the background helps reduce data consumption and also preserves your device’s battery life.

how to save mobile data

4. Curtail online video streaming

Perhaps this one should have come first. We simply love those funny videos, highlights and other video content that consume most of your mobile data. Excessive streaming of videos, music, high quality images or GIF files, are data pits. You need to entertain yourself responsibly to save data. If you can’t avoid the entertainment your smartphone brings, you can set the image quality or resolutions at lower rates in your Settings menu.

5. Use Wi-Fi Only for Updates or Downloading Heavy Files

A big way to save mobile data is by setting your smartphone to auto-updates only when on Wi-Fi connection. We know we haven’t gotten to the stage of unlimited Wi-Fi connection in Nigeria yet, still there are certain locations you can count on for free Wi-Fi. This way, you get to save some significant volume of the data that goes into oblivion from auto-updates. Furthermore, you can set downloads of heavy contents such as videos, high-resolution images and music files on Wi-Fi Only too.

6. Caching and preload data

Caching enables you enjoy preloaded content at any time, without using further mobile data. A cache is a hardware or software component that stores data so future requests for that data can be served faster. The data stored in a cache might be the result of an earlier computation or the duplicate of data stored elsewhere. Certain apps allow you to store data temporarily so you can cache as much content as possible. You don’t need further data to access cached data while they are available.

Hopefully, this changes someone’s data story. You shouldn’t miss data-saving settings on popular apps you should apply now.

To buy data instantly from your mobile phone at no extra cost, simply visit ppp.vtpass.com, select your network provider, and buy data you. No matter your network provider: MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile or Smile data, VTpass got you covered.

DISTANT RELATIONSHIP: HOW TO KEEP IT GOING

Even more than any other month, February always seems to emit an aura of love and affection. So, it is not unlikely to hear more about relationships this month than in any other month. But while it can be quite a norm to address normal relationships within normal ranges. Other relationship types that might not fall within the “normal” are worth recognising too. In this sense, long distance relationships should be on note. The popular belief basically is that relationships across long distances have a very slim chance of working out well. And yes, this can be very true. However, long-distance relationships also have prospects for longevity when the partners in question adhere to certain conditions.

So, in this turn, here are tips on how to keep a long distance relationship going.

Talk

Take it or leave it, the most important tip in keeping a distant relationship is talking. This is the only weaponry faraway lovers have in bonding. Usually, there is a lot to talk about, it only takes the patient ones to find the right conversations and delve deep. You can talk about your goals, the ground rules you need to observe, serious things, playful things. You can also make reference to your adventures, your emotions, your expectations…

Really, going on to talk about anything and everything; to greet each other good morning and good night will definitely avoid any sort of miscommunication. And it will give room to more closeness.

VTpass, an online payment platform, provides just the right atmosphere for your conversations to lengthen and grow. Through VTpass, you can easily buy your airtime and data for your voice calls, video calls and social media chats. By logging on to ppp.vtpass.com or downloading the VTpass mobile app on Google Play Store, you can conveniently buy yourself a time with your distant lover in just three easy steps.

Log On

Select

Pay

Trust

Also, the vital key to a long distance relationship is trust. Partners in two exclusive places must be able to trust each other to remain faithful. Jealousy, strife, insecurities, these are the fastest way to quell a relationship. So they are best avoided.

Treats

Who says faraway couples can’t give themselves beautiful treats? So, your partner lives far away alright? But there really ain’t a place we can’t get to in this world. SO, why not take the time once in a while to visit each other. And then make the best of the time doing what you both enjoy. Also, you can stay afar off and still have fun. Delivery, online shopping, digital gifts, all these can spice your relationship

Truth

So yes, everyone thinks it’s good to be open in a relationship, right? Well, in a long distance relationship, the level of openness has to double. Because you are afar off, every shred of information must pass round between the two couples all the time.

Tricks

It is not really a great idea to be playing games in a long distance relationship. But it is not equally a bad idea if you spring up surprises on each other, play pranks and make things fun. Online games

The Train

Honestly, long distance ain’t really the ideal thing. So, as soon as it can be over with, then you should get it over with. So, two couples in love should as much as possible keep looking at the train and be eager to go home.

In more ways than one, VTpass makes any relationship, especially the long-distance relationships very tolerable. Through the convenience offered in paying bills and making everyday services accessible to everyone. By logging on to ppp.vtpass.com or downloading the VTpass mobile app for Android, you can make payment for your data and airtime in the easiest way possible. Why not come aboard today to keep your relationship alive.

CHELSEA AND BARCELONA FACEOFF

Now and always, the UEFA League brings together clubs from various parts of the world in drilling matches. And this year’s matches have been no exception. As for more reasons than one, the matches have they been quite spectacular. Also, having several clubs from several other leagues play on the same field is nothing short of thrilling. But there is really nothing like having an English club play against a Spanish club. Well, this is what is about to go down today in today’s match. But the teams playing are no mere English or Spanish clubs. They are top contenders in their various leagues. In no plain words, we are talking about the Chelsea-Barcelona face-off that is happening live today. Just by paying attention to the build-up before the match, it is easy to tell just how spectacular it would be.

Now, you wouldn’t want to miss this match for any reason in the world. But then, things happen. You go to work and come home to find that your TV subscription has not been renewed. Or maybe you are caught in traffic. And you somehow tried to renew your data subscription just to stream the match, but the network is killing. Worse still, you are already in the middle of the match, and your data or TV subscription expires. Now, this can be some sore eyes situation.

Well, you do not have to worry about this anymore. With VTpass, you can successfully watch the Chelsea vs. Barcelona match without any hiccups. This is because VTpass makes it so very convenient to renew your TV subscription, electricity bills, airtime and data. In three easy, quick steps, you can get to make the match really accessible to you. All you need do is log on, select and pay.

And yes, VTpass is less susceptible to the glitches of bad technological services. So, you can be sure that today’s battle between these two top contenders will be in the palm of your hands. So, go on and log on to ppp.vtpass.com or download the VTpass app on Google Play Store and renew your data or TV  subscription.

VTPASS WISHES YOU A HAPPY VALENTINE DAY

It’s time. The season we have all been waiting for. It is here. It’s finally February 14th, 2018. And you know what that means. It is Valentine’s day. So, at VTpass, we would like to know. How have you been spending your day? Are you going all out to have fun? Or are you locked somewhere, spending your day in the quietest way possible? We would really like to hear from you. You can reach us on any of our social media handles @vtpass. No doubt, the season is sure to become even more fun with the fabulous offers VTpass has in hand. Impress your loved ones this season by granting them a priceless gift.

With VTpass, you can pay the electricity bills, airtime, data, tv subscriptions and other expenses of your loved ones. Wouldn’t it be such a blessing to have someone settle the bills for a while? That’s a more-than-enough Valentine gift for someone. And what’s more, you can also send this present from anywhere you are. Say, you are at work and you need to surprise someone in another part of the country. With VTpass, you can easily go on to do this. All you need is the phone number of the person. And if you want to show love by paying up the electricity bills, then the meter number will do.

VTpass has proven, over time, to be yet one of the fastest, easiest and more convenient way to express emotions, say things the way they are and shoot your shot. So, what are you waiting for? Why not go on to start sending the VTpass Val gifts.

But even more, this Valentine, you can be one of the lucky ones to win a 10% discount voucher on all the services you buy from us. So, if you need to buy airtime worth #1000, you get it for #900. And winning is very simple. All you have to do is,

  1. List five services VTpass offers on your page and mention @vtpass.
  2. Also, use the hashtag #VTpassVal2018.
  3. Once we receive this, you will be credited with a 10% discount voucher.

Again, you can tell your lover or bae you love him/her without using the word ‘love’. Once you mention@vtpass or use the hashtag #VTpassVal2018, you will be given a 10% discount voucher. With VTpass, everyone is a winner this Valentine. Because regardless of who we are or where we are, we all deserve love; we all deserve a life of convenience. And you can get convenience at its best while making your everyday bills. All you need to do is log on to ppp.vtpass.com or download the VTpass mobile app for Android. From VTpass, we wish everyone a Happy Valentine.

HAVING A DIGITAL VALENTINE WITH VTPASS

The Valentine season is well on the way. In fact, it is right around the corner. So, many are already thinking about how to spend the season well enough. And then, a few others are thinking of whom to spend the season with. Since Valentine is a once in a year thingy, it is good enough to spend hours thinking about how to make the moment memorable for your loved ones. We at VTpass cherish everything about love so that this season has come to be so special for us. Just as it is for you. So, you want to tell us how you are going to spend the Valentine season? Then, feel free to reach us on any of our social media handles. Follow us on Twitter @vtpass or on Instagram @vtpass. You can also like the VTpass page on Facebook. Indeed, we would like to hear from you.

Now, many things can spoil a Val occasion. Imagine, being very distant from the person you are meant to spend the day with. Or you suddenly have an urgent business to attend that day. And so, you can’t simply have yourself standing in front of your Val’s door, grinning widely, holding flowers. And then, there is the fact that you and your Val are not in good terms. Ok, we’ve got to admit. Some people don’t even have a To-be-Val.

Well, they don’t call us VTpass for just anything. VTpass are passionate about relationships and for this Valentine, we are very much bent on making everyone have a great time. So, you think your Valentine might not turn out well because of distance or any such reason? Why not switch over to a digital Valentine?

What’s a Digital Valentine?

With a digital Valentine, you do not need to meet your partner physically before showing your love or giving out a Valentine present. You can send a wonderful Valentine’s gift with VTpass. VTpass, an online payment platform that helps to make payments for everyday bills an ease, is going to make Valentine just as easy. When you log on to ppp.vtpass.com or download the VTpass app on Google Play Store, you get a chance to celebrate Valentine digitally.

HOW?

What better gift to give those around you than settle their bills and have their expenses off their necks for a while? Well, VTpass can make this happen IN THREE EASY STEPS. All you need do is

Log on to ppp.vtpass.com

Select what you want to pay for and the details of who you want to pay to

Pay with your card or wallet.

It’s as easy as this. With VTpass, you can settle your partner’s electricity bills, airtime, data, cable TV subscriptions and so on. So, your partner is far away? Well, here is just how to surprise them. And then, you don’t have a Val? You can send out a sweet invitation to someone you love via VTpass. The digital Valentine is underway. Why don’t you get at it now by logging on to ppp.vtpass.com or downloading the VTpass app on Google Play Store? Remember, love is better expressed without words.

HOW TO RECHARGE YOUR AIRTEL NETWORK

 

Recharging your Airtel line should no longer be much of a problem for you with VTpass. On ppp.vtpass.com, you can very much have access and make payments for your Airtel recharge pins. The recharge pins on VTpass are long sequences of numerical numbers. These pins generated by the network company come quite in a large bulk on the VTpass network. So, you can afford to buy as many as you want. It is much like the one sold by network vendors.

But for the VTpass recharge pins, you can buy them from the comfort of your room and at any time too. It doesn’t matter if it is late at night or early in the morning, the VTpass recharge pins are always at your disposal.

To get your pin at your convenience, all you need to do is log on to ppp.vtpass.com and make payment for it. Better still, you can download the VTpass mobile app for Android on Google Play Store. This makes payment way easier for you. After getting the pin, you would want to recharge your phone already, right? Well, here is just how to recharge an Airtel airtime on your phone.

Dial *126*the airtel pin received from VTpass#

And there you have it, your phone will be duly credited.

So, you want an easier, more convenient way of recharging your Airtel airtime? Why not visit ppp.vtpass.com. With VTpass, you can make payment for your Airtel airtime and have it delivered to you in the nick of time. And you clearly wouldn’t need to manually recharge your phone. Not only that, through VTpass, you can make payment for your other everyday bills. So, you can pay your electricity bills, data subscriptions, TV subscriptions and so on. This is downright great, right?

So, go on and log on to ppp.vtpass.com, or download the VTpass mobile app on Google Play Store.

FUNDS TRANSFER NOW AVAILABLE ON VTPASS

Indeed, it is with the deepest of gratitude that we forward this correspondence to all the visitors, customers, online and offline partners of  VTpass. We are highly thrilled just knowing you have chosen to come along with us this far. It has been quite a privilege to have you aboard our ship. So, as you already know. Through VTpass, the payment of bills and services including funds transfers has, over the years, attained considerable convenience and speed through its easy, three-tiered payment method:

Log On

Select

Pay

And it is through these easy steps that thousands across the country have been able to successfully pay their electricity bills, cable tv subscriptions. Also, you can easily buy your airtime and data subscriptions on VTpass.

But it does not stop there. Now, with VTpass, you can now help customers to perform fund transfers. Talk of the amount, you can simply send it to whoever you want to send it to via ppp.vtpass.com or by downloading the VTpass mobile app for Android on Google Play Store.

So, rather than having customers go to the bank to transfer whatever amount they have in mind, they would instead have you perform their fund transfers through the VTpass website or app platforms.

Without a doubt, this fund transfer option promises to break through frontiers and grant you a really accessible means of transferring funds to loved ones, friends, families and for business purposes. There is a whole lot of advantages to utilising the funds’ transfer option on VTpass. Apart from the fact that it saves you a lot of stress. It also helps you save time as you no longer have to have to wait on long queues just so you can transfer money. And then, the convenience you get from transferring money from the comfort of your room is unbeatable.

At VTpass, we constantly seek to improve the quality of service as well as ensure a better customer experience just so we can make help you get more, live more and be more. And so, do expect more ground-breaking enterprises from our stable at the soonest.