The COVID-19 global pandemic continues to threaten human life, with the attendant lock down further threatening the economic livelihood of many in our society, particularly the less privileged.

As part of its contribution to the society, Swifts Networks Limited distributed Food items, Hand Sanitizers and Face Masks to members of the public within the environs of its Victoria Island and Ogba, Ikeja offices. Well over 10,000 persons benefited from this exercise which many saw as a welcome palliative.

Commenting on the gesture, Charles Anudu, Managing Director, Swift Networks Limited, stated that the company had to be its brother's keeper, particularly during difficult times like this. Considering that more than 80% of Nigerians struggle daily to be able to put food on the table, a lot of such were further challenged and severely constrained by the lock-down. As such, we felt it was also our responsibility to extend a helping hand to the most vulnerable in our society.

The distribution was supervised by personnel from relevant security and health agencies, with recipients also educated on the need to regularly observe safety measures like washing of hands, using hand sanitizers, use of face masks, personal hygiene, social distancing and hospital visit if they feel unwell.

To Migrate over 100,000 WiMAX customers to 4G LTE Free of Charge. As part of its strategic positioning of delivering unrivaled high-speed broadband and data services to its esteemed customers, SWIFT Networks Limited, Nigeria’s leading provider of high-speed broadband and data services to enterprise and consumer customers announced the following: (1) completion of the acquisition of the spectrum of Chromecom (subsidiary of Monarch Communications Limited)- another licensed operator, to boost the broadband speed for its existing customers and additional capacity for prospective customers; (2) planned deployment of more than additional 1,000 4th Generation Long Term Evolution (4G LTE) base stations in Lagos State alone to provide its customers with unmatched broadband experience; (3) expansion of its leading 4G LTE Broadband services to both Abuja and Port Harcourt in the same time frame; (4) Migration of over 100,000 WIMAX Network customers to the new 4G LTE network in the third quarter of 2015, free of charge for the modems. ‘’As a company, we believe in pursuing strategic initiatives that ensure that we continuously reinforce our brand essence and value proposition to our teeming customers. With the additional spectrum from the Chromecom acquisition, the refarming of our WIMAX spectrum for 4G LTE services and the additional base stations deployment, we will deliver an ultra-fast broadband experience comparable to the best anywhere in the world. "The refarming of our current WIMAX spectrum to the spectrally more efficient LTE technology is to ensure that our customers enjoy a future-proof experience, irrespective of the evolution of technology" enthused Mr. Charles Anudu, the Managing Director of Swift Networks. According to the Chief Operating Officer (COO,) SWIFT Networks Limited, Mr. Chuma Okoye,"Delaying our expansion to Abuja and Port Harcourt till now was deliberate to ensure that we would have first nailed down the Lagos market properly and then mustered the resources, human and otherwise, experience, systems and processes to ensure that our success is replicated in these new markets". In his own remark, the General Manager, Consumer Sales and Marketing, SWIFT Networks Limited, Mr. Philip Sonibare stated that ‘’we are pleased to inform our teeming customers of our decision to migrate all our existing WiMAX customers to our new and enhanced network based on the 4G LTE technology in the third quarter of this year. This will be done Free of Charge to them. The benefit to these customers will be a free upgrade to a much faster and more efficient network for better service experience. This will also enable us to improve the experience of our existing 4G LTE customers as we deploy more of our spectrum and base station resources to add more capacity to the network. Closer to the time the new upgrade will be ready, we will formally inform our customers as to how they can exchange their 4G WiMAX modem’’ he added."

SWIFT NETWORKS Limited, a leading provider of wireless and fibre-based broadband services to business and residential users, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of the 4G business of Direct On PC. With this transaction, SWIFT will acquire all the wireless/ 4G infrastructure and co-related customers of Direct On PC in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. The satellite and enterprise business of DOPC remain unaffected by this transaction. “This acquisition is a significant milestone in our journey to advance our competitive position in the high quality broadband segment and footprint in the Nigerian market. It will improve our customers’ broadband experience and overall operating results as the cost efficiencies arising from the economies of scale of the streamlined operation will accrue to our various stakeholders,” commented Charles Anudu, Managing Director of SWIFT Networks. “The ultimate beneficiaries will be our current, future and DOPC’s erstwhile customers who will now be served by a network with a larger coverage and exceptional focus on customer relationships. We will continue to invest in new technologies and processes that deliver values that make sense to them.”

“SWIFT and DOPC are a perfect fit as we share a common passion for innovation and customer satisfaction. I am happy that we found the SWIFT home for our 4G WiMAX customers as they will join an operator that has become the undisputed leader in both network quality and customer service in its category”, enthused Mahesh Sadhwani, the Vice Chairman of the Bhojraj Chanrai Group and Owner of Direct On PC. While the financing for this transaction was provided by Union Bank and FCMB, the financial terms were not disclosed. This transaction has received the full approval of Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC).

SWIFT Networks is also pleased to announce that it has contracted a consortium of equipment vendors and service providers led by Huawei, IHS, Helios, SWAP and Porta One to rollout a new superfast broadband network in the cities of Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, based on the new 4th Generation Long Term Evolution (4G LTE) technology. This will run alongside our current 4G WiMAX and fibre networks, using some of the assets from the DOPC acquisition. LTE is an initial for Long Term Evolution, marketed as 4G LTE, a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. It is designed to increase the capacity and speed using a different radio interface together with core network improvements. SWIFT’s LTE networks will go live from the third quarter of this year.

“We’re going to ramp up our access speed offering with this 4G LTE rollout to further improve the availability and penetration of high quality broadband services to more homes and businesses” according to Mr. Chukwuma Okoye, the Chief Operating Officer of SWIFT Networks. “With our 4G LTE services, more businesses and homes will become more productive and competitive as they are able to do more at real 4G speeds. Workers in the same office and members of the same family will also be able to share the same 4G connection, make and receive clear voice calls and stream high definition video and music content at affordable prices.”

SWIFT Networks will deliver its 4G LTE service under the brand of “SWIFT 4G LTE”, reflecting the fastest wireless broadband standard allowed by today’s technology. The services provided will cover a broad spectrum of user needs aimed at meeting any business or lifestyle requirement for very fast and consistently reliable broadband speed. Overall, SWIFT Networks will continue to back its services with superior and world class customer service.

About SWIFT NETWORKS

SWIFT Networks Limited is a leading provider of wireless and fibre based broadband services to enterprise and consumer customers. As of June 12, 2013, SWIFT’s 4G WIMAX and fibre broadband networks cover an area of Lagos where over 14 million people live and work. The company plans to continue to upgrade and expand its 4G LTE coverage in Lagos, the Federal Capital Territory and Rivers State where it already has spectra in the 3.5GHz and now 2.3GHz frequencies.

The acquisition of DOPC’s 4G wireless assets and SWIFT’s planned all-IP 4th Generation (4G) wireless broadband network architecture will make an unprecedented contribution to improving the quality of and penetration of high quality broadband services at a more affordable price for many Nigerian businesses and homes, in line with the recently launched National Broadband Plan of the Nigerian Federal Government.

The key investors in SWIFT include The Candel Company Limited, African Capital Alliance together with 24 others. Additional information on SWIFT Networks is available at http://www.Swiftng.com.

About Direct On PC
Direct On PC is a member of the legendary Bhojraj Chanrai Group and a leading provider of terrestrial and satellite based broadband internet and intranet services to and requirement of Internet / Intranet services to Corporate, SME, NGO, Government and Educational Institution customers in West Africa. The Bhojraj Chanrai group has worldwide interests in Financial Services, Security Solution Services and IT.

SWIFT Networks, Nigeria’s leading provider of high speed broadband internet and data services to enterprise and consumer customers has announced today that 500 volunteers will test-drive its brand new Long Term Evolution (LTE) network in preparation for its launch in Lagos, in the first instance. SWIFT has built the LTE network on the spectrum resources of the Direct On PC which it acquired recently, enabling it to overlay the ultra-fast LTE network over its current 4G WIMAX network to offer higher access speed to its current and future customers. Wireless spectrum is a finite resource and LTE uses it more efficiently than other technologies, creating more space to carry data traffic and services and to deliver a better network experience. It delivers at least 10 times faster download speed than 3G and 4 times that of WIMAX 4G networks.

“This will be Nigeria’s fastest and most reliable 4G LTE network; we will not rush this launch and will take every care to ensure that we get it right the first time. Getting the most aggressive users from our current customer base to test-drive it will enable us to debug and fine-tune it to meet the exerting demands of our target customer base”, according to Mr. Chukwuma Okoye, the Chief Operating Officer of SWIFT. “These volunteers who have been on our network for at least three years will give us feedback on the several performance metrics we are tracking including download and upload speeds, network latency and uptime. They will also ghost call the Call Centre as part of the predetermined performance indicators that are important to our market segment. These customers have been with us through our Pre-WiMAX and current 4G networks and bring along their treasured comparative memory of our services”, he said.

“We continue to see the demand for true broadband internet skyrocket in Nigeria and our 4G LTE network rollout starting from Lagos responds to what customers want from their broadband internet experience — faster and more reliable services backed by 24×7 customer care,” said Philip Sonibare, Assistant General Manager, Consumer Sales and Marketing at SWIFT Networks.

When activated, the new LTE network will bring the following key benefits to the market:{" "}

Faster speeds: LTE technology is capable of delivering internet speeds of up to 10 times faster than 3G. Customers can download, upload and stream audio and video content without buffering as well as make high definition phone calls. Gamers will also game faster than ever before.

Reliability: SWIFT has not only built the nation’s fastest 4G LTE network, but is now also reinforcing it to be the most reliable 4G LTE network.{" "}

Cool new modems: SWIFT will offer several new LTE modems, including WIFI capable indoor modems with telephone ports and mobile multi-user WIFI enabled versions for people on the go. All these will enable LTE internet and data speeds on PCs, Laptops, smart phones and tablets, either at home, office.{" "}

Faster response time: {" "} LTE technology offers lower latency, or the processing time it takes to move data through a network, such as how long it takes to start downloading a webpage or file once you’ve sent the request. Lower latency helps to improve services like, YouTube video streaming, gaming, two-way video calling over Skype or Google Hangout and other applications Nigerian users have abandoned due to lack of adequate network speed.