Christmas has just gone and the New Year is around the corner. I can smell it in the air. A lot of activities are going on and one barely has time to say hello to another amidst tight schedules that are normally associated with the end of the year.

As you busy prepare for the traveling or holidays that characterised the end of the year, take a pause and give someone a phone call. Let them know that you love and care for them and that you remember them too. Take time to wish them a Happy New Year in advance.

It Is The Season of Giving
Christmas and New Year celebrations are always characterised with giving and receiving of gifts from friends, associates and relatives. Maybe you have given or received some. But in case you haven’t given out any gift this season, there is one you can give to your friends or family members at minimal cost to you. Take time to compose and send lovely text messages that tell them how much you love and value them, thanking them for their advice and support throughtout the year. You don’t need to be a genius or poet to do that; just express your love to them from the deepest of your heart.

It is the season of giving

Send a Card/Send a Text
I have noticed how text messages are seriously competing with traditional greetings cards nowadays, especially when distance is a barrier. So, be a little creative this season and tell someone how much he/she means to you.

The Best Gift of All
While talking about gifts, we must not forget the reason for the season. Christmas marks the celebration of a baby boy born 2000 years ago. This baby boy, Jesus Christ, was God’s gift to mankind. Jesus came to save us from our sins and reconciled us to God. Please include Jesus in your celebrations this season.

I have been imagining how the two giant networks, MTN and Globacom are going to handle their midnight free calls come midnight of December 31. Because most people are going to be awake at the time of the cross-over to the New Year, virtually everybody will want to take advantage of free calls to wish a friend or family member “Happy New Year”. I just hope that the networks will not disappoint when they are most needed.

Phonerism.com seizes this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas in arrears and a Happy and Prosperous New Year. May your dreams come true this new year 2007.

Give someone a call this season

If you ever had a cause to stay a few days in a rural area, then you will appreciate the ever-available GSM network signals enjoyed by urban dwellers. Network signals are almost always available in the cities and major towns that we always assume it will be like that in other places.

Last week I was in Ondo State of Nigeria for 5 days with some friends for an event. The event took place on 28th and 29th April, 2006 at Supare-Akoko, and it was the burial ceremony of my late father, Pa Gabriel Adebayo Owoeye. He was aged 127 years. We left Lagos 2 days before the event because of preparation. Supare-Akoko was a distance of about 350km from Lagos and its neighbours are Akungba-Akoko, Iwaro-Oka, Oka-Akoko and Ikare-Akoko. The distance between these communities range between 3km to 10km.

The major problem we faced while running around before and during the ceremony was that of GSM network signals coverage. As we are all scattered between these communities, trying to organise one thing or the other, we found that communication became a major problem. We found it difficult communicating with each other via cell phones because the network signals are not always available.

This is how the network signals are scattered among these communities: At Supare-Akoko, where the events took place, MTN network is available but not at all places. At Akungba-Akoko - where we have Adekunle Ajasin University (former Ondo State University) - which is also a nodal town to all these communities, only Globacom network was available, but again not at all places. At Iwaro-Oka, where we lodged in hotel, only MTN network was available, but not at all places. At Ikare-Akoko, that ancient town, which is the commercial hub of all the communities in Akoko area of Ondo State, only Vmobile and Globacom networks are available, but again not at all places.

The funny thing is 2 or 3 minutes after making a call, the network signal may no longer be available while still standing at the same spot. If you move some few steps away from where you previously had a network signal, you will discover that you have lost the signal. People calling from cities like Lagos find it difficult to reach their friends and families because of network problems. But people in these areas can call people in other locations by simply moving to areas that have network signal, and make their calls.

Too Many Handsets
Since I needed to communicate a lot for the purpose of co-ordination, I carried 3 handsets with different SIM cards with me. This means that I have the three major networks of MTN, Globacom and Vmobile always with me. With this, I was able to manage the situation. Though a rather expensive and cumbersome solution to the network problems, it was not a total solution as there were areas I could not receive any signal from the 3 GSM networks.

Interim Measures
For the time being, GSM users in these areas do this to make their calls:

-They move to areas where there are network signals and make their calls
-Some Call Centers hang the hands free of their phones to a long pole after attaching the handsfree to their phones. This is to give better reception. Callers make and receive their calls via the handsfree.

Ultimate Solution
The GSM market is fast expanding in the rural areas. Therefore let the all the GSM operators: MTN, Globacom, Vmobile and MTel erect more masts in the Akoko area of Ondo State enhance better signal coverage. The presence of Adekunle Ajasin University at Akungba should be enough incentives for the GSM operators to strengthen their networks in these areas. As it is now, people living in cities like Lagos are finding it difficult to reach their friends and families in these areas because network signals are not everywhere.

How many handsets do you carry at a time?

Technorati Profile

I’ve been desiring to get a website for a long time. This is mainly to enable me to write on various issues that concerns phones, PDAs, mobile and wireless technologies and telecommunication in general. This I’ve already started doing with my blog on diakim2.blogspot.com. But with this site, I can have a website, an easier to remember name for my publications.

Making the switch might be a little bit difficult, especially when my readers are already used to my Blogger post, but I believe with everybody’s support, it is going to work well.

Welcome to my site www.phonerism.com.