Telecom
9mobile Spotlights Fake News, New Media in its 6th Edition of Capacity Building Session for Journalists

9mobile, recently held another impactful virtual capacity-building session for journalists, aimed at strengthening and equipping them with relevant skills to improve their work process and make them more efficient in their assignments. In attendance were journalists from both print and online news platforms.
This sixth edition of the capacity building session focused on two distinctive themes: “Storytelling: Embracing features in new media facilitated by Digital Strategist and Founder, Hybrid Tech, Adeoye-Wilson Kupolati, and Fake News: Uncovering the truth” facilitated by News Editor/Political Analyst, Kayode Ladeinde and both imparted on the participants significantly.
Abdulrahman Ado, the Executive Director of Regulatory and Corporate Affairs at 9mobile, represented by PR lead, 9mobile, Chineze Amanfo, while highlighting the importance of the themes, said, “Fake news is something that has become rampant in these times, making it more crucial to ask the question, how do we uncover fake news and separate the truth from mistruths? We are pleased that the facilitators for this training have the pedigree and experience to point us towards the right answers.”
Amanfo noted that the knowledge imparted to the participants during the training would aid them to work smarter and even create room for collaboration with their colleagues seamlessly and professionally. She commended the journalists for their consistent participation in the training and said the session indeed lived up to the expectation.
Ladeinde, in his presentation, educated participants on identifying elements of fake news and its sources. He shed more light on the negative impact fake news has had on society, admonishing media practitioners to be guided by the principles of the profession.
He said, “Breaking news remains an essential ingredient in the journalism business; a misleading piece of news can cause a big damage and ultimately break the brand you may have worked hard to build.”
Some platforms to verify fake news include ‘About this Result’, ‘Fact Check Search item’, and ‘Google Reverse Image Search. The easiest way to identify fake news is to subject the news headline or its keywords to Google search verification, Ladeinde added.
On his part, Kupolati highlighted the opportunities available on new media platforms due to a concentration of both old and new generations of audiences, with the latter experiencing substantial proliferation.
He said, “There are new ways through which audiences consume news today, and it is important to think about how the audience is evolving with new media and technology. The vast population these days is the new generation who consume new media, and the features on these new platforms have become attractive to the new audience.”
The 9mobile capacity building session is a quarterly training session to engage and train media professionals to improve their work.
Telecom
PAT Taps Osi as CEO

Pan African Towers (PAT), a Nigerian infrastructure provider serving 9mobile and Spectranet, has appointed Echezona Osi as chief executive officer.

Echezona Osi
Adefolarin Ogunsanya, company’s, board chairman, explained in a statement that Osi would succeed Oladipo Badru, whose tenure lasted nine months in acting CEO position. Osi has more than 28 years of experience in the telecommunications sector across various regions of Africa.
Prior to his appointment as CEO, he had served as the head of network deployment at Airtel Nigeria, operations director and chief technical information officer at MIC Tanzania, chief technology officer roles at IPT PowerTech Nigeria, Rhino Niger Networks and Biswal Nigeria.
He obtained a degree in electrical/ electronic engineering from the University of Benin and a postgraduate diploma in data science and business analytics from the University of Texas.
Telecom
NCC Introduces N10m Licence Fee for Bulk SMS Service

Companies sending bulk international text messages, also known as Application-to-Person (A2P) messages, will now have apply for a licence that costs N10 million.
This is part of new rules introduced by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) aimed at cleaning up the system, fighting fraud, blocking spam messages and stopping money from leaving the country unchecked.
These A2P messages are the kind customers get from banks, online stores, hospitals and political campaigns, automated texts sent from apps to their phones.
According to the commission, the bulk international text message system has been poorly regulated, allowing misuse and invasion of privacy.
“The International SMS Service Ecosystem in Nigeria has not been fully brought under regulatory control. It has been observed that the excessive use of the Short Message Service has led to fraud, spam and illegal activities,” the NCC said.
The regulator warned that without action, the problem would worsen as more people use mobile phones and digital services.
To solve this, the NCC is creating a central platform, or gateway, through which all international bulk text messages must pass through.
The agency said this would help to monitor messages in real time, ensure proper fees are paid, and make sure the money stays in Nigeria where it can contribute to the economy.
As part of the incoming change, service providers must follow strict rules, including strong data protection, spam filters, and message encryption.
Also, they must also work with local mobile networks and make sure all messages come from a verified sender
The NCC warned that any message without a proper sender ID will be blocked and not delivered to users.
To protect users from unwanted texts, the new rules say companies must get clear permission before sending any promotional content.
The rule also says people must also be able to choose whether they want to receive such messages or not.
Companies are now required to keep records of all messages for at least six months and must clearly state all charges involved.
The NCC said fees for help requests, cancellations, or service info must be transparent and not include hidden charges.
The commission will issue licences to several providers to encourage healthy competition but may limit new licences if needed.
Only companies that show they can stop fraud and safely deliver messages will be allowed to operate. They must also regularly report their message traffic and finances to the NCC.
It warned that any company that breaks the rules risks getting fined, suspended, or having its licence revoked.
Offences like charging illegal tariffs, ignoring security rules, or avoiding taxes will be punished, the NCC said.
The commission added that the new rules follow the Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023 and support the federal government’s goal of strengthening cybersecurity and controlling Nigeria’s digital space.
The framework will also be reviewed from time to time to keep up with new technology and market trends.
Telecom
MTN Nigeria Targets $1Bn Cloud Market with Largest Modular Data Centre

MTN Nigeria has launched what it claims is the country’s largest prefabricated modular data centre, marking a bold push into the country’s fast-growing cloud market and taking aim at global giants such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.

Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria.
The shift comes as demand for cloud services in Nigeria soars — driven by the uptake of mobile apps, fintech tools and e-learning platforms — while foreign providers have become costlier in the wake of the naira’s sharp devaluation.
“This is one of the biggest data centres in West Africa and probably one of the biggest in Africa,” said Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria.
He described the new Tier III-certified facility, with locally hosted cloud services, as “transformative for the technology ecosystem in Nigeria and very supportive of the federal government’s agenda”.
MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecoms provider, has so far invested $120m in the first phase, delivering an IT load of 4.5MW. A second phase, set to double capacity to 9MW, is budgeted at $135m.
“We already have data centres that are running our existing capacities,” Toriola said.
“We will go to 9MW in short order, possibly 14MW, and we can expand even further.”
He said the facility would allow local hosting for tech developers, large enterprises including banks and oil companies, and government agencies — markets long dominated by foreign cloud providers.
“Multinational companies such as Netflix, Facebook and Instagram can also host a lot of their data here. That improves the quality of service and reduces the cost of storage,” he added.
- Broadcasting1 day ago
Nigeria Week Ahead: Inflation, Oil and Naira in focus
- News1 day ago
EFCC: Accusations Against Our Chairman Are Baseless and Misleading
- General News5 hours ago
Woodhall Capital and Partners Launch ₦1.5Bn Fund
- Broadcasting7 hours ago
A Billion-Dollar Obsession in 90-Second Bites
- News5 hours ago
FirstBank, NLNG, Shell back QEDNG Creative Powerhouse Summit
- General News5 hours ago
AM Best Reaffirms Stable Outlook for Cyber Insurance Market
- News5 hours ago
Experts Urge MSMEs to Build Strong Partnerships in Solving Problems,
- Telecom4 hours ago
MTN Nigeria Targets $1Bn Cloud Market with Largest Modular Data Centre