GNBO is Leaving! What Now?

Hello GNBO User

Happy New 2015!

We here at Upperlink would like to thank you so much for choosing us for providing your internet needs.

As we all know, the GNBO platform was scheduled for shutdown on the 31st of December 2014. You may have also received an email from Google stating that and also suggesting alternative means to continue enjoying the internet as a rich resource for your business.

First of all, we would like to clarify the meaning of three internet terms you may have heard from time to time and that may cause you a headache when you hear or see them. They are Domain, Hosting and EPP Code.

Domain:

This is your mark on the internet, your name, how people on the internet can refer to you or find you. They are usually a phrase ending with “dot com”, “dot com dot ng” like “bigsales.com” or “africanwears.com.ng”.

Think of it as a phone number. This phone number is stored in your SIM card and managed by the communications company. How do you get one? You have to first pick a service provider based on choices such as their track record, their network coverage, the bonuses they offer and their rates. You go to their store, you pay for a SIM card, you get it registered and activated and then you can make calls!

This number will always be yours and no one else has the same number. Now, if you don’t use it for a while, it will be deactivated and recycled and eventually resold to someone else.

Hosting:

This is where you store all your internet files; pictures, text, video, forms, emails… everything you want people to see on the internet. This also determines how much data you can send or receive each month, how much of all the data you would like to store and how many emails that you can create.

Think of it like a handset. You now have your SIM card and you need to make calls, store numbers, take photos, play games and other activities you do with a smart phone. So what kind of phone do you need? A simple basic phone? Touch screen with a music player? High Definition camera with a front-facing camera for professional pictures and video chat? Long battery life? All these will determine the kind of hosting (phone) you will need to tie your domain (SIM card) with.

EPP Code:

So, you bought a SIM card (domain) with ABC Telecoms and you are sick and tired of poor network, high costs and terrible customer service. Your neighbour uses XYZ Communications and he enjoys great discounts, can call from every point in town, and there is a service center really close to his house and his office.

He suggests you use them instead, but everyone has your number and you really don’t want to change it and tell everyone you have changed your number. Your number is also in several job applications you have submitted and you are anxiously waiting for responses from the organisations you applied to.

There is a way out! All you need to do is “port” your number from ABC to XYZ at a small cost and no one will even know you are no longer with ABC and are now with XYZ! So much simpler, faster and cheaper than buying a new SIM, registering it and telling everyone you have changed your number.

The EPP code is what is needed to carry out the “port” action from ABC to XYZ when dealing with domains.

So now, these terms should be clearer. So what’s going on with Google, GNBO, Upperlink, your domain, your hosting and my business’s site?

Using the Phone/SIM Analogy

Google came to Nigeria offering free handsets to Nigerians who ran businesses (Get Nigerian Businesses Online). But to use a phone, you needed to buy a SIM card. Upperlink provided these SIM cards (domains) to these businesses so they can get these free phones to use.

Recently, Google decided to collect all their phones back – Google actually had ownership of the phones although they Nigerian businesses you use them for free.

So here is the challenge. Everyone will soon be left with just their SIM cards in their hands with no phones to use them with. All their pictures, videos, contacts and all the stuff saved on their phones will be gone along with the phone!

Google understood that that could be a huge problem for Nigerian businesses and offered to help. Google suggested these businesses could buy new handsets from a well-known foreign telecom company but that would also mean they had to port their SIM cards to the company as well. Keeping your phone and SIM card under the same company made things much easier for both the telecom company and the businesses needing the services.

But here is the thing – instead porting to a new telecom company outside Nigeria and buying their phones, you could just buy a phone right here in Nigeria from the same company that sold your SIM and… and just put your old SIM card in! Plain, simple and easy!

Many clients have called us and asked for an EPP code. This is not necessary at all! All you need to do is contact us at Upperlink, tell us you would like to purchase a hosting plan (a phone). We will then insert your SIM card into your new phone (connect your old domain name to your new hosting plan) and that’s it!

Another thing is what happens to all the pictures and videos and all the other content in your old Google-owned phone? Well those will be lost no matter what happens.

Fortunately, there is a solution for this problem – Upperlink has a SiteBuilder that is very similar to the GNBO site creator! What you can do is “rip” – take a snapshot of your old phone (GNBO-based hosting) before Google takes them back. Once you take out your SIM card and insert it into your new phone (Upperlink-based hosting), you will be able to recreate your site with all the original content from the old site you ripped.

There is a what you can take a quick snapshot of your current GNBO site to save all your information. Unfortunately, this information cannot be directly used with your new phone because they aren’t the same model. So you can use the SiteBuilder to rebuild your phone content (your site) using the SiteBuilder provided by Upperlink.

Alternatively, you can have a professional website builder rebuild your site from scratch. This is a New Year! There are new website trends that make your site look better and have more visitors and expand your business!