folarin okunola

<h1>The Nigerian Communication Commission on Monday September 18 indicated that internet users in Nigeria stll  stand at 91million as of July, 2017.</h1>

<h1>Also, MTN and Airtel welcomed more internet subscribers compared to Glo and 9mobile who lost a sizeable number of their internet users in July 2017.</h1>

A report by the News Agency of Nigeria said the telecommunications industry regulator made this known in its monthly internet subscribers' data published on its website.

The decline recorded by the commission for monthly Internet Subscribers' Data went from 91, 629, 066 to 91, 450, 252 in July 2017, a decrease of 178,814.

The figures represent internet users on both Global System Mobile (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access networks (CDMA), with the GSM subscriber number leading.

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MTN Nigeria which as at June had an internet subscriber base of 31, 691, 070 recorded an increase in subscriber number by 172,303,

Globacom recorded a decrease by 271,941 from 271,184,002 in June,

The third largest telecom operator, Airtel, recorded an increase by 414,179 to its 20, 174,089 June subscribers.

9Mobile (formerly Etisalat) inJuly  lost its subscriber base by 493, 355 from its number of 12,549,596 in June.

91 million plus Nigerians still use the Internet as of July 2017, a number that decreased only slightly compared to June 2017.

MTN, Airtel gain more internet subscribers in July 2017

The Google-owned company has been testing the feature since 2016 and rolled it out to users in Canada as a kind of “soft launch”. The global rollout of the feature is already underway so if you don’t have it yet, fret not.

The current version of the chat feature with YouTube is rolling out is the result of extensive tests. Those tests have led the company to change the way the user interface appears to users, and it also made the video being shared stick to the top of the chat when you scroll down.

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You will also be able to reply and chat while you’re watching a video, to give the feature more of a real-time feel. However, YouTube has not gone to the extent of integrating things emoji responses and co-viewing.

The idea behind the feature is to keep some of the social activity that happens around videos — sharing of links and chats about the videos themselves — within the YouTube app instead of other messaging apps people usually use.

In addition to being able to share videos and chatting, you will also be able to reply to videos your receive with other videos and you will also be able to share with a group of up to 30 people.

The feature will be available on Android and iOS worldwide. If you haven’t gotten this feature on your YouTube app, be patient. It will get to you eventually.

Johanna Wright, (VP, Product Management, YouTube) announcing YouTube Go at the Google For Nigeria event in Lagos.

In addition to being able to share videos and chatting, you will also be able to reply to videos you receive with other videos.

Video service now allows you chat and share videos with your friends

How will it work?

You will tell LinkedIn what kind of advice you are looking for and the kind of mentor your would prefer (someone who is in your part of the world for example). The network will then recommend other members of the service who have the interest and experience to help you. If you and your potential mentor see a great fit (and think its a match), you will be able to chat.

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Is it available in Nigeria yet?

Unfortunatley, not yet. LinkedIn says the service is still in testing and it is only available in Australia and San Francisco but the company hopes to conclude testing and roll it out to members of its network “in the coming months.”

Still, if you are a Nigerian entrepreneur, you should keep your eyes peeled for when it will be available in Nigeria so you can take advantage and get some much-needed guidance for your business.

“This is a lightweight way to identify and connect with other members and it works well with the informal, casual nature of today’s changing workforce where you often need advice for certain situations such as job searching, salary negotiation or on the job questions,” LinkedIn says, according to a PCMag report.

Yes, it will be. The company says the service will be free for both mentors and mentees, so don’t think you will get paid if you’re the one giving out advice.

Microsoft to buy LinkedIn for $26.2 bln in its largest deal

If you are a Nigerian entrepreneur, you should keep your eyes peeled for when it will be available in Nigeria so you can take advantage.

Business network has launched a Tinder-like matching service to connect entrepreneurs with mentors

<h1>Nigerian universities across the country will be getting free internet via</h1>

According to a Punch Online report, the initiatives chief marketing officer Olusola Bankole, said the company would make free Wi-Fi available in all university campuses across the country.

“The University of Abuja will be the first beneficiary, with the service scheduled for launch on the institution’s campus this week Wednesday,” Bankole said, according to the Punch Online report.

Bankole says while it is unveiling the service first at the University of Abuja and other institutions, the company is still building and adding more features to the internet infrastructure.

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“The usage is totally free. No payment, no subscription, no data purchase, and no need for modems. It is free Internet in the most useable form on the Wi-Fi,” says Bankole, according to Punch Online.

“The Lagos State University will be next, followed in quick succession by the College of Agric, Lafiaji, and the University of Lagos.”

Obviously, this sounds too good to be true as well as a daunting project to take on. But Bankole says not to worry — its the company’s way of giving back.

“It is our own form of Corporate Social Responsibility. It is all about empowering the students to be globally competitive, and access to free Internet is the best way to empower the budding oncoming Generation-Z,” he says.

It is unclear how Surfwella hopes to carry out such an extensive project or how it plans to sustain it but we will be watching.

Surfwella's plan to provide all universities in Nigeria with free Wi-Fi is an ambitious one.

Chief marketing officer of the initiative, Olusola Bankole, says the company is still building and adding more features to the internet infrastructure.

This initiative wants to bring free wifi to all Nigerian university campuses

There is probably no bigger pointer of what the Nigerian internet public is interested in at a particular time than trending Google searches. From the good people at Google, here are the topics Nigerians were most interested in over the previous week:

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Google CEO Sundar Pichai at the Google For Nigeria event in Lagos.

Fans searched Google using search terms ‘download medicine by wizkid’, ‘download medicine by wizkid mp3’, and ‘download wizkid medicine’.

Here’s what has been trending for the past week

<h1>With the increase of internet access and broadband adoption, developers and makers in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem have found it much easier to develop software solutions across various strata of Nigerian society.</h1>

For the hardware community, the story is not as rosy and that is what Hardware Lagos hopes to fix.

The quarterly event aims to bring entrepreneurs, students, makers and other stakeholders interested in the hardware space, together to discuss the opportunities and challenges associated with developing hardware solutions in Nigeria.

Over the past year (the first edition was in April 2016), the platform has grown a community which includes founders of Nigerian hardware companies, electronic component distributors and young graduates building different solutions.

Speaking to Pulse Tech on the motivations behind the platform, Chuma Asuzu, founder of Involute (a 3D printing service) and convener of the Hardware Lagos events says, “Hardware is hard, but developing hardware solutions in Nigeria are even harder due to the lack of infrastructure. I have experienced this first hand starting Involute as a 3D printing service and FlowByte as an ioT solution.”

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Asuzu also says Hardware Lagos, as the only hardware-focused meetup event in Nigeria, is constantly looking for ways it can build a community in Nigeria, particularly by reaching out to more hardware entrepreneurs working independently and facing similar concerns.

“Our meetups are centered around a certain topic each time, with three people speaking on topics they have experience in. We hope to be a constant source of knowledge in the space as well as build partnerships that reduce the challenges faced by hardware entrepreneurs,” he says.

And the platform is making good progress too. They already have co-working space Capital Square as sponsors (they hold the meetups at Capital Square’s space in Ikoyi, Lagos) and the next meetup (happening August 19, 2017) will feature a design challenge in partnership with VR building platform, Imisi3D.

While the rest of the Nigerian tech ecosystem is caught up in the software bubble, Hardware Lagos is attempting to build up the other side of the tech divide.

It’s hard not to get behind that.

Chuma Asuzu, organizer of the Hardware Lagos events.

Hardware Lagos, as the only hardware-focused meetup event in Nigeria, is constantly looking for ways it can build a community in Nigeria.

This platform wants to tackle issues Nigeria’s hardware makers are facing

President of the Association’s board, Sunday Folayan made the prediction in the latest edition of NiRA’s newsletter stating that the domain count for Nigeria’s top-level country domain has continued to grow, month-on-month.

“It is heart-warming that the number of domains in the registry continues to grow in excess of 2,000 domains monthly. This is due to the hard work of the Registrars and the Resellers, in making sure that .ng continues to be the domain of choice for all Nigerians. Thank you for your hard work in this regard,” Folayan said, according to a Nigeria CommunicationsWeek report.

“At the current rate, the number of active .ng domains will cross the 100,000 mark between October and November 2017. It is a milestone that we will celebrate, and is worthy of being celebrated.”

Apart from the increased online presence and visibility, this kind of milestone is also an economic win for Nigeria’s fledgling tech ecosystem, especially in these times of forex uncertainty.

NiRA board member and host of Channels TV’s Tech Trend show, Chukwuemeka F. Agbata, in an email comment given to Pulse Tech puts its better: “In terms of saving our scarce foreign reserves, this is also good news. Assuming there was no option of .NG, it will simply mean 100,000 X $10 (average cost of .com) = $1,000,000 saved annually. This may appear insignificant now but it becomes scary as the numbers go higher.”

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There is also the thing about Nigeria’s online identity, which its domain name also plays a major role in fostering.

“It means that more and more Nigerians and even foreigners are learning more about the .NG brand and opting for it. Imagine, how much value 100,000 domain names brings to the Nation, the number of businesses and individuals owning ventures online and imagine the potential when we hit say, 1,000,000 domain names which I hope happens soon,” Agbata told Pulse Tech.

However, the work doesn’t stop there. According to NiRA president Folayan, more Nigerians need to be aware of the .ng brand.

“When you see such hybrid domain names like distro-ng.com or distronigeria.com, please drop them an email and ask them whether they have heard of .ng before? Let us now get the word out there. .ng is for us all, and Nigerians should not hesitate to claim their identity and use it. Let us step up the campaign,” the NiRA boss said.

Agbata also agrees, saying, “Every Nigerian should be proud of the .NG brand because it’s our identity on the Internet.”

Back in April 2017, NiRA <a href="http://www.pulse.ng/tech/africa-your-generic-domain-dame-is-here-id6366136.html" id="1a9fbdab-3a48-5f04-a74b-eb4d2d16067d">awarded</a>Pulse Nigeria “Best media online website” at the second edition of the NiRA Awards which took place at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos.

President of the Association’s board, Sunday Folayan made the prediction in the latest edition of NiRA’s newsletter.

There should be more than 100,000 .ng domains by the end of 2017

Held at the university’s Julius Berger Hall, the program, tagged “Consumer Conversations: Campus Voices,” is part of the NCC’s Year of the Telecom Consumer campaign but with a focus on the academic community.

Represented at the event by Kenneth Uzoekwe, Controller of the NCC’s Lagos Zonal Office, Umar Danbatta (Head of the NCC) restated the reason for the NCC’s Year of the Telecom Consumer campaign.

The NCC boss said the regulator is trying to amplify its regulatory duties with the aim of improving the telecom consumer’s experience.

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For his part, Uzoekwe, an engineer, talked to the students about Electromagnetic Fields (EMF), radiation emitted from Base Transceiver Stations (BTS), an issue which has attracted a lot of controversy and misinformation amongst the general public.

This event also served as the launch of the NCC’s Campus Voices aspect of its Consumer Conversations programme. The idea is to use the platform to push the NCC message in various campuses across the country — an initiative that should help the regulator ramp up its sensitization efforts.

By tapping into the university community, the NCC is taking an approach not often considered by other regulatory agencies and government institutions to spread its messages to a largely uninformed Nigerian populace.

What do you think of the NCC’s new direction? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta.

The idea is to use the platform to push the NCC message in various campuses across the country.

The NCC is taking its gospel to the campuses of Nigeria’s universities

<h1>Oftentimes, Africa does not feature in discussions around the global space race — for a number of reasons that go beyond just the economics of it. That doesn’t mean we are completely absent though, as the recent launch of Ghana’s first satellite shows.</h1>

Unlike other satellites launched by other African countries (read: Nigeria), this particular satellite is built by Ghanaians at the All Nations University, a private Ghanaian university. The institution is also the first ever in Africa to communicate with the International Space Station (ISS).

Like most African governments, the project did not receive official Ghanaian government support, although President Nana Akuffo-Addo congratulated and applauded the team directly on the historical feat.

Instead, the Japanese national space agency, JAXA, provided majority of the funding and training to develop the satellite.

The satellite is a cubesat, a miniature kind of satellite for space research, and it was delivered to the US space agency, NASA’s, international space station after being launched from the Kennedy Space Center via a SpaceX rocket.

According to a Techcrunch report, project manager Richard Damoah says the satellite has two missions: Detailed monitoring of Ghana’s coastlines and a platform with which the team intends to incorporate satellite technology into Ghana’s high school curriculum.

The GhanaSat-1 will also send signals to All Nations University’s Space Systems and Technology Laboratory — the same place where it was developed by a team of engineers which include Benjamin Bonsu, Ernest Teye Matey, and Joseph Quansah.

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This looks like more focused approach to entering the space race. In contrast, Nigeria has launched over five satellites (none of which have been built by Nigerians) into orbit with nothing to show for it.

In fact, a Nigerian satellite reportedly got “lost” in space back in 2008 and earlier this year, Prof. Seidu Mohammed, Director General of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), announced that the Nigerian government believes the country will need an “international space station” by 2030.

He also said this, while making that announcement in New York: “Those nanosatellites, each time they are within the Nigerian territory, would be singing National Anthem. So those who carry UHF radio would be able to receive it and all these are part of Nigeria’s efforts.”

How can a country that can’t even pass a budget on time hope to build a fully functional “international space station” in 13 years? We haven’t even built a nanosatellite yet. Mohammed also said the satellites will play the national anthem and provide UHF bandwidth. How does any of that make any sense?

It is this kind of unchecked inability to properly prioritize its needs that has led Nigeria to this point where it is taking a backseat on huge engineering accomplishments like the Ghanaian team has managed.

Despite the fact that Nigeria’s tech scene is more vibrant — two major global tech CEOs have visited in less than a year — than Ghana’s, the nearby country seems to be doing way better at focusing its efforts on the things that matter.

Things like working infrastructure, an enabling business environment, and a laser-focused strategy are some of the things that Nigeria needs to put in place if it wants to achieve laudable feats like the Ghanaians have.

When will we start taking these important lessons from our neighbours and implementing them for our benefit? When will Nigeria become truly worthy of the “Giant of Africa” tag?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

The Ghanaian engineers that built Ghana's first ever satellite.

Unlike other satellites launched by other African countries (read: Nigeria), this particular satellite is built by Ghanaians.

Ghana built and launched a satellite — Nigeria should pick lessons from it

The devices were launched at a house party-themed event in Lekki, Lagos on July 26, 2017 with themes centered around superior craftsmanship, distinctive design and powerful entertainment features with a pure Android experience.

“Phones have become an extension of ourselves and are integral to so many aspects of our lives,” said Joseph Umunakwe, General Manager, West, East and Central Africa, HMD Global. “From capturing memories and keeping us entertained, to keeping in touch and remembering important dates and anniversaries, our smartphones are often at the heart of everything we do.”

The Nokia 6, which leads the pack, is made from a single block of aluminum to forge a unibody design and it will come with a 5.5-inch full HD screen.

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Audio is taken care of by Dolby Atmos sound and the Nokia 6 is powered by the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 430 and the Qualcomm® Adreno™ 505 graphics processor. The Nokia 6 will be available in three colors: Matte Black,Silver and Tempered Blue. It will retail for N78,000.

The Nokia 5 is also made from a single block of aluminum and powered by the same Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 430 processor but it has a smaller 5.2-inch IPS HD display.

An 8MP primary camera and 84-degree wide-angle front-facing camera are amongst some additional features of the Nokia 5. It will come in Matte Black, Silver, Tempered Blue and Copper. It will retail for N65, 000.

The Nokia 3 will retail for N48, 000 and the good people at HMD Global have told Pulse Tech that we will be getting a Nokia 6 to review so watch out for that.

Before then what Nokia memories do you have? Will you get a Nokia phone if you could buy one? Let us know in the comments section below.

The Nokia 6, which leads the pack, is made from a single block of aluminum to forge a unibody design.

Nokia is officially back in Nigeria for the third time with new devices

The 26-year old found success in his entrepreneurial journey with Andela, the company that trains and connects African developers with global companies for work, which Aboyeji co-founded.

In 2016, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, through their Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative not-for-profit, led a $24 million funding round for Andela, the biggest raised by an any African startup at the time.

Shortly after, and rather surprisingly, Aboyeji left Andela to co-found another company — a payments API that makes it easier for banks and businesses to process payments across Africa.

That company, Flutterwave, just raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Greycroft Partners and Green Visor Capital. Other investors include Y Combinator, Social Capital and Omidyar Network, amongst others.

Aboyeji tells CNN Tech’s Sara Ashley O’Brien that he left Andela because he wanted to use technology to empower more people not for now, but for the effects that action would have in 30 years.

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But what is perhaps the most fascinating thing about the 26-year old serial entrepreneur is his ability to recognize opportunities that have the potential to scale massively.

As is evident with Andela, which he helped build to a $100 million market cap in two years, and Flutterwave, which has since processed more than $1.2 billion in payments across 10 million transactions.

Flutterwave also accepts 350 currencies across 30 African countries and makes its money by charging merchants a fee which it shares with the banks.

“We can’t wait to build the future of a united Africa with you all,” says Aboyeji.

Aboyeji has also made smart moves. With Andela he came back to Nigeria as the only African co-founder, holding the position of Director of Recruitment, to highlight a largely hands-on approach Aboyeji has taken with his businesses.

With Flutterwave, Aboyeji headquartered the company in San Francisco, USA (despite his knowledge of the Nigerian business terrain) a move that largely helped the company raise seed funding.

These and many more make Iyinoluwa Aboyeji one of the entrepreneurs to watch in this generation and who knows, he just might be the first dollar billionaire currently under 30.

Perhaps the most fascinating thing about the 26-year old serial entrepreneur is his ability to recognize opportunities that have the potential to scale massively.

The new-age entrepreneur using technology to change payments in Africa

There is so much to being an entrepreneur and if care is not taken, it can all swallow you whole. Working with tight deadlines and under pressure from clients makes you prone to avoidable mistakes if you are flying solo.

That’s why you shouldn’t even think twice about automating some parts of your business to leave room for you to “think” and strategize on ways to grow your business and become successful. There’s also the thing about productivity.

Here are 3 aspects of your business you can automate so you have the time and brain power to focus on other parts of your business:

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It is easy to get carried away with the entrepreneurial life and all that comes with it. But soon enough you will start to get overwhelmed if you don’t consider automating your business.

Do you know any other business automation tips that could be useful to other entrepreneurs? SHare them in the comments section below!

Technology has made it much easier to automate business processes.

You shouldn’t think twice about automating some parts of your business to leave room for you to “think” and strategize on ways to grow your business.

3 aspects of your business you should automate to improve productivity

<h1>So many entrepreneurs get frustrated because they don’t have the same kind of marketing budgets and wrongly assume that there are no other effective ways to promote their businesses without a fat bank account.</h1>

Even if your marketing budget is endless, you still need to be creative to get the best out of your campaign. Marketing is more about what message you’re trying to pass across than the amount of marketing Naira you have access to.

When you have a limited budget, creativity is your best friend. Here are three ways you can market your business, even without a budget:

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Obviously, having a sizeable marketing budget will probably get you to where you need to be quicker, but thats about it. Armed with your creativity, you can get there without a budget. It may be slower, but you’ll get there.

Do you know any other tips for entrepreneurs who don’t have huge marketing budgets? Share them in the comments section below!

Every business needs to have a marketing plan.

When you have a limited budget, creativity is your best friend. Here are three ways you can market your business.

3 ways to market your business for free (or almost free)

Public relations officer for the NCS, Joseph Attah, shared the information in a statement on Friday, July 28, 2017, in Abuja.

According to the statement, 6,560 people had access to the e-wallet feature through which they had to pay the N1000 administrative fee the NCS charges on the e-auction site.

This was made possible thanks to the NCS having 19 commercial banks support the e-auction platform.

“Four weeks after the official launch of the NCS e-auction platform, by the Comptroller-General of Customs, retired Col. Hameed Ali, a total number of 254 winners have emerged across the country with over N49 million already generated.

“NCS has already taken steps to deal with the challenges posed by fraudulent bidders who log in to frustrate other genuine bidders by placing bogus and unrealistic figures,” Attah said in the statement, according to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek.

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“In some cases, they send SMS to supposed winners congratulating them. Apart from de-activating the Tax Identification Numbers (TIN) of these elements, the option for second highest bidder to win when the highest winner fails to pay has been jettisoned.

“In such situation, the item reverts to the system for fresh bidding. Winners are informed only through e-mails from the system not by SMS.”

The NCS spokesperson said efforts were being made the Service to combat these criminal attempts to undermine the system.

The Custom Service’s e-auction website did not have such a good start to life as a government agency owned platform with a website failure on July 1, 2017 — the day it was supposed.

Despite that, the NCS still courted controversy by insisting that 49 people had somehow won bids even though the website was not working on the said day.

Nigeria Customs Service, Comptroller General Hameed Ali

Public relations officer for the NCS, Joseph Attah, shared the information in a statement on Friday, July 28, 2017, in Abuja.

The Customs service made N49 million from its e-auction site

<h1>When China’s richest man comes to Africa and shares insights on his journey to becoming a billionaire and one of the richest people in the world, you have to pay attention.</h1>

Jack Ma is the 53-year old founder and chairman of the Alibaba Group, one of the biggest e-commerce platforms in the world. He is currently the richest person in Asia with an estimated net worth of $36.2 billion and is known to be one of the world’s most influential businessmen.

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He visited Africa for the first time earlier this month touching down in Nairobi, Kenya and Rwanda as part of a tour organised by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

While in Kenya, Ma gave a deeply insightful and eye opening lecture at the University of Nairobi and you should totally check it out above.

Share your learnings from the richest man in Asia with us in the comments section below!

Jack Ma, the founder and executive chairman of Alibaba, is worth $35.7 billion.

While in Kenya, Ma gave a deeply insightful and eye opening lecture at the University of Nairobi and you should totally check it.

This everything China’s richest man had to say on his first visit to Africa

<h1>The Nigerian Senate has criticized the</h1>

Back in September 2016, after controversial senator Dino Melaye<a href="http://www.pulse.ng/tech/mtn-nigeria-dino-melaye-accuses-telecom-company-of-illegally-transferring-12-billion-out-of-nigeria-id5540560.html" id="acf76d1d-9f2f-5296-9c06-43d0361503a3">made the allegations</a> on the floor of the Senate, an investigation was agreed by the Senate.

However, the committee set up by the upper house gave no recommendations for punitive measures against the South Africa-based telecom giant but instead berated the CBN over its failure to monitor fund transfers to and from Nigeria calling the apex banks’ oversight “inadequate.”

The committee has been investigating MTN Nigeria’s activities between 2006 and 2016 as well as some lenders including the CBN and Stanbic IBTC Bank.

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The committee’s report recommended that the Senate “condemn the CBN for failing in its duty” stating that the apex bank failed to properly monitor foreign exchange transfers from the like of MTN.

CBN had lent credence to the banks’ argument that they were not breaking any laws by transferring foreign currency by failing to apply sanctions to the activities of the banks, the committee recommended.

MTN Nigeria had been accused of tax evasion by Dino Melaye, in September 2016. The senator accused the company of moving a total of $12 billion out of the country between 2006 and 2016.

MTN Nigeria has continually denied any wrongdoing since the allegations were first made.

What do you think of this? Does the CBN deserve the criticism from the Senate? COuld MTN Nigeria be guilty of wrongdoing? Who is not doing their job? Let us know in the comments section below!

The committee has reportedly been investigating MTN Nigeria’s activities between 2006 and 2016

MTN walks as Senate berates CBN over $14 billion tax drama

<h1>At the huge Google For Nigeria event which held last week on July 27, 2017 at the Landmark Event Center, Lagos, Google announced a new YouTube app, which it is currently testing in the country, called YouTube Go.</h1>

Johanna Wright (VP, Product Management, YouTube) made the announcement on stage at the event. She said the development is based on the challenges that stop users from interacting as much as they would like with YouTube content.

Citing issues like the high cost of broadband internet, slow internet speeds and native storage, Wright said Google decided to build YouTube Go to give Nigerians a new way to experience YouTube without all the hassle.

Nigeria is the second country in the world which this product is being tested, after India. Google started testing the app in Nigeria in June.

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YouTube Go has a simple, easy-to-use user interface (UI) and offers a lightweight preview before you watch a video.

The app will also display info about the video you’re about to watch and all video on the app are compressed. You will be able to choose between basic quality (which is smaller in size) and standard quailty (which is larger in size compared to the basic quality version but not as large as normal YouTube videos).

Another interesting feature of YouTube Go is a social feature called “Send Nearby” that lets you wirelessly transfer encrypted video to a nearby user. At a Q&amp;A session with journalists, Wright said Google was still testing various wireless transfer protocols.

Google says YouTube Go will be available in Beta version sometime before the end of this year so watch this space for details on that when it becomes available.

Nigeria is the second country in the world which this product is being tested. YouTube Go has a simple, easy-to-use UI and offers a lightweight preview before you watch a video.