Telecom
Future Of Mobile Innovation In Sub-Saharan Africa Hinges On Consistent Privacy Regulation
By John Giusti (GSMA
Mobile is critical for creating a truly “Digital Africa”, a connected region where digital technologies are delivering positive impacts to societies and economies. Sub-Saharan Africa is the fastest growing mobile market in the world.
Fuelled by growing access to mobile data services, the mobile ecosystem is flourishing, providing a platform for innovation that is generating employment opportunities and spurring the creation of new services.
This wave of growth is underpinned by increased availability of mobile data.
By 2020, sixty per cent of mobile connections are forecast to run over mobile broadband networks, almost double the number from 2016. In the same period, mobile data traffic is expected to grow by sixty-six per cent.
Global data flows are also creating new degrees of connectedness among economies, and digitalisation can positively impact GDP, and this surge in data is critical to economic opportunity in Sub-Saharan Africa.
In this new data driven world, the mobile industry is focused on building the trust and confidence of users and, in so doing, enable data innovation that benefits citizens.
This will hinge on the implementation of certain and consistent rules for data privacy that apply to all service providers.
Today, there are significant discrepancies within the region regarding principles incorporated into data privacy laws and how they are implemented nationally. In some countries, mobile licence conditions stipulate that certain user information or accounting information may not be transferred outside the country.
In those same countries, other service providers are not subject to the same restrictions. If mobile operators are prevented from transferring data outside the country, it will inhibit their ability to bring the benefits of centralised cloud systems to the region.
This will make operating within the global economy more difficult, and will deny consumers the innovative services and other benefits that come from fair competition and economies of scale.
In respect to data usage, mobile operators are also often subject to privacy-related restrictions in their licences or national law regarding what they can and cannot do with user data. In some circumstances, this may be reasonable and proportionate, however, we would urge governments to limit such restrictions to only those that are strictly necessary and, in any case, apply equally to all providers of communications or equivalent services.
Whilst inconsistent application of rules will affect mobile operators’ ability to compete, critically it prevents consumers’ privacy expectations from being met in a consistent way. To maximise growth, consumers must have confidence that data is being protected.
However, as the lines blur between what type of service each service provider delivers, consumers are not always aware of the different privacy rules that apply or which provisions only impact one segment of the market.
This can lead to a degradation of trust, meaning consumers are less willing to share information, less confident that their data will be used in accordance with stated mobile privacy policies and ultimately less likely to use data-based services.
Creating a regulatory environment across Sub-Saharan Africa that not only protects the privacy of consumers through consistent application of privacy rules but encourages the mobile industry’s ability to deliver innovative services is vital to unlocking social and economic benefits across the region.
The mobile industry urges governments throughout Sub-Saharan Africa to avoid legislating for specific types of data and instead focus on individual privacy concerns – ensuring that obligations are not tied to the type of service provider.
This will guarantee that all providers of data services are subject to the same privacy regulations, creating an environment where consumers feel their data is safe and protected.
This will allow all service providers to compete in the provision of data-based services and contribute to the growth of the data economy throughout the region.
Only by creating a level-playing field in applicable regulation – regulation that not only protects consumers in a consistent way, but also promotes innovation – can digital technologies realise their full social and economic potential in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN) has dragged Tunji Bello, executive vice chairman, Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), before the Federal High Court in Lagos over alleged disobedience of a subsisting court order in a legal dispute involving telecom-based lending services.
Tunji Bello, EVC, FCCPC
Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria initiated this in Suit No: FHC/L/CS/760/2026 pending before the court.
According to court documents, Bello was issued a Form 49 Notice to Show Cause, directing him to appear before the court on 22 May 2026 to explain why an order of committal should not be made against him for allegedly failing to comply with interim orders issued by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa on 15 April 2026.
The court had earlier granted interim injunctions restraining the FCCPC, its officers, agents and privies from enforcing provisions of the Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations 2025 against members of WASPAN, pending the determination of the substantive suit.
The restraining orders specifically barred the commission from interfering with services rendered by WASPAN members, including airtime lending, data advances and other mobile value-added services.
The orders also restrained the FCCPC from imposing sanctions, penalties or directives connected to the disputed regulations.
In the Form 49 notice dated 18 May 2026, WASPAN alleged that despite being aware of the court orders and having been served with Form 48 — the statutory notice warning against disobedience of court orders — the FCCPC and its Executive Vice Chairman allegedly continued actions contrary to the directives of the court.
The notice stated that the alleged contemnor refused to comply with the orders and had continued to deliberately defy the orders of the court.
An affidavit of service filed before the court disclosed that Form 48 was served on Bello at the FCCPC headquarters located at 23 Jimmy Carter Street, Asokoro, Abuja, on 6 May 2026.
The latest development followed earlier proceedings in which Justice Lewis-Allagoa declined an application by the FCCPC seeking to vacate the interim injunction.
The court instead directed that the substantive suit and the commission’s preliminary objection be heard together.
WASPAN is challenging the FCCPC’s authority to regulate telecom-based lending services, arguing that certain provisions of the DEON Regulations encroach on the statutory powers of the Nigerian Communications Commission to regulate telecommunications services in the country.
Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria, is the primary self-regulatory body and trade association for licensed Value-Added Service (VAS) providers and aggregators in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector
Lagos State government has raised alarm over the growing misuse of its emergency hotlines, and warned that fake calls are delaying response times and putting lives at risk.
According to the state, fake emergency calls or prank calls, account for a massive majority of distress communications—nearly 70 per cent.
This severe misuse dangerously delays response times for real emergencies like fires, crimes, and medical crises, and wastes critical first-responder resources
Olugbenga Oyerinde, commissioner for Special Duties, called the numbers (nearly seven out of every 10 calls made to Lagos emergency hotlines) deeply troubling.
The scale of the disruption has significantly affected emergency response operations, with the government disclosing that 5.47 million incoming calls went unanswered during the period under review.
The abandoned call rate climbed sharply from 9.3 per cent in January 2025 to 37.6 per cent by April 2026, suggesting worsening pressure on operators handling emergency traffic.
Officials warned that if the current trend continues, more than 7.2 million calls could go unanswered before the end of 2026
The Lagos State Command and Control Centre serves as the central coordination hub for emergency response agencies across the state, including the fire service, ambulance services, traffic management authorities and neighbourhood safety operatives.
According to the report, the sheer volume of fake and misdirected calls has forced the system to devote significant operational resources to filtering non-emergency traffic before genuine distress cases can be handled.
To address the growing burden, the ministry said it plans to introduce artificial intelligence-driven call screening technology designed to detect and filter nuisance calls before they reach human operators.
The proposed system, expected to be introduced before the end of 2026, is projected to reduce operator handling time by 35 per cent.
Other reforms outlined in the ministry’s strategic response plan include expanding agent capacity by 40 per cent, deploying automated callback systems for abandoned calls and establishing a real-time analytics dashboard for emergency response monitoring.
Yet one of the most striking figures in the report was not the 16.39 million nuisance calls, but the fact that only 39 calls were officially categorised as hoax calls requiring legal follow-up during the same period.
Google and Blackstone (BX.N), said they will form an artificial intelligence cloud business venture aimed at capitalising on an insatiable demand for AI computing services.
Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, will invest an initial $5 billion in equity to help bring 500 megawatts of data centre capacity online in 2027, with further expansion planned over time.
The U.S.-based venture will provide data centre capacity along with Google’s custom AI chips, known as Tensor Processing Units, or TPUs, through a compute-as-a-service model.
The total investment value could reach $25 billion, including leverage, according to Bloomberg News.
Both companies did not immediately respond to a request for comments on the Bloomberg report. Blackstone has appointed Benjamin Sloss, a long-time Google executive, as CEO of the new venture.
Thomas Kurian, chief executive of Google Cloud, said the venture would help address growing demand for TPUs by offering organisations additional ways to access computing capacity.
Analysts and investors have said Google is taking a sizeable share of new AI-driven computing demand, supported by its business tools and custom chips that have attracted customers such as Anthropic.
“This isn’t the biggest headline number we’ve seen. But it’s a high-quality bet on sustainable growth in AI infrastructure,” said Brittain Ladd, AI and supply chain consultant at Florida-based Chang Robotics.
Blackstone has stepped up investments in AI-related infrastructure, including data centres, power generation and transmission assets.
Those investments are valuable as the AI boom pushes operators to secure long-term energy supply deals.
The new partnership reflects rising demand for AI infrastructure and the need for large-scale capital deployment, Blackstone President Jon Gray said.
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