Nigerian Scientist Invents ‘Mobile Intercom’ Users May Say Bye To Recharge Cards

ANIGERIAN scientist, Engr. Michael Friday, has come up with an invention aimed at relieving subscribers of telecommunications services of the need to buy recharge cards.

Michael, who met the Director General, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Engr. Danazumi Ibrahim, in Abuja, expressed readiness to patent his invention tagged, ‘Mobile Intercom.’ He explained that the quest to free the country from overdependence on expensive imported telecom services informed the idea.

He said: “The source of Internet we depend on is in foreign hands. Even our telecommunications companies depend on them. If you want to manufacture a mobile phone, until you buy the operating system chips and insert it on your system, it can never access any of these technologies. WIFI and Bluetooth are minute ICS embedded in the PCV that makes them work.

“Why don’t we have such a thing here? It is because there is no backing. Late last year, I came up with an application. I was at a function and the moment a bigwig came in, all mobile phones stopped working. And I said to myself, ‘If there is any security issue here, now, everybody is doomed.’

He added: “So, I coded an application that I can use to make calls, send SMS, do video calls and all of that without mobile spectrum, without Internet or network. We have completed it and it is working. Our chip sets can transmit up to 5000 metres, that is about 5 kilometres.”

Friday is a global award winner for developing the smallest storage micro chips in 2009, at a science competition in China. He emerged the overall best scientist in 2009. He is also a two-time award winner of the most outstanding youth in Nigeria in 2009 and 2011.