Don Jazzy, Tsaboin gift Nigerians free data with Flobyt

MUSICIAN and record label owner, Don Jazzy and technology company, Tsaboin, have launched a free wifi service called Flobyt.

Operational only in Lagos at the moment  and in places including eateries, parks, taxis, buses, restaurants, and cafés, plans are afoot to extend to other states soonest.

Speaking at the launch held last Friday at Renaissance Hotel, Ikeja GRA, chief executive officer of Tsaboin, Dele Odufuye, bared all about Flobyt.

He disclosed that the service will replicate the home wifi experience when people are out and about, and that between 10 to 30 concurrent users can be connected at once.

On why the service is free, Odufuye said: “We are in the digital age; broadband technology is seen as a very key component of our lives not only from the individual perspective but also from an economic standpoint. Imagine the possibilities with free wifi in Nigeria, it will provide unrestricted access to E-commerce, E-learning, traffic updates, job search and others. Internet is power and we are bringing that power to the lives of Nigerians at no cost to them.”

Though Odufuye, who revealed others involved in the project to include Tayo Adedigba and Dele Adebisi, admitted that theirs won’t be the first free wifi in the country, he assured that it is set to go the distance. “We are using state-of-the-art Wifi technology equipment that balances speed, quality of service, security and data consumption. These equipment are light weight and easier to manage. These are the technological and business edges.”

Odufuye disclosed that outlet owners and the public are the beneficiaries of the easy to use service. “You simply walk into any of our partner outlets and patronise them. While you are at that, you can log into Flobyt’s free wifi service available. Join the “Flobyt FREE Wifi”. If your browser pops up for authentication, just visit www.mavinrecords.com or click on “Free Access” button shown to you.”

Speaking, Don Jazzy disclosed that they had been working on the project for a while. He said that he believes strongly it will succeed but that it’s only a tip of the iceberg.

“I believe so much in this. It is one of the few investments we are going to be sharing with you. It’s free and at no cost to the user. I have been on social media for a long time and know what it takes to maintain a presence. I know how expensive data is; it’s not everybody in Nigeria that can buy data. I give free airtime but I can’t give that all the time. Now it’s time to give free WiFi,” he said.

Ms Temitope Jemerigbe of DKK, who is also involved in the project, noted that the benefits of Flobyt transcended what Odufuye and Don Jazzy said. She mentioned the Corporate Social Responsibility angle, listing students as some of the beneficiaries. Jemerigbe added that advertising on Flobyt will be cost effective for advertisers.

Oyo State Commissioner for Culture, Toye Arulogun, commended the initiative and the partners for investing in the technology. “You are democratising technology for us; creating employment and driving traffic to all sorts of locations. After Lagos, come to Ibadan.”

The Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, who was represented by an official of the ministry, Dr. Chris Uwaje, also appreciated the initiative. “It is a very important project because we are now in the knowledge Olympiad. Wifi is the key to the future; the internet is the centre of gravity of tomorrow’s activities. Wifi can be an enabler for security and the economy. It’s a huge business which can also be used to promote education.”