Telecom
Nnamani Hails $3.5Bn Acquisition of Teraco By Digital Realty
Accolades have been trailing the recent acquisition of Teraco Data Environments by Digital Realty an American real estate investment trust that invests in carrier-neutral data centers and provides colocation and peering services.
The latest accolade is coming from Engr. Ikechukwu Nnamani, Chief Executive Officer of Medallion Data Centre Limited, who expressed his excitement on the announcement that Digital Realty has acquired controlling stake in Africa’s largest datacenter operator, Teraco Data Environments of South Africa, in a transaction that valued Teraco’s datacenter assets at $3.5bn. This represents the biggest datacenter transaction in the continent.
Teraco is the largest and most densely interconnected data center platform in Africa, with seven state-of-the-art facilities strategically located in the key South African metros of Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
Teraco serves over 600 customers, including more than 275 connectivity providers, over 25 cloud and content platforms and approximately 300 enterprises.
Teraco facilitates approximately 22,000 interconnections between customers and its Isando campus in Johannesburg is one of the most densely interconnected sites in the world, with over 13,000 cross-connects. Teraco also hosts seven on-ramps to leading global cloud service providers in Johannesburg and Cape Town and currently provides direct access to seven subsea cables in Durban on the east coast and Cape Town on the southwest coast
It is worth noting that in October 2021 the Austin Texas, USA based Digital Realty also announced the acquisition of the datacenter assets of Medallion Communications Limited in Nigeria. That marked the first time a global pure real estate investment trust (REIT) will be entering the country and beats rivals including Equinix (NASDAQ: EQIX), CyrusOne (NYSE: CONE), and CoreSite Realty (NYSE: COR) on entrance into the market. With the additional acquisition of Teraco, Digital Realty now controls the two most important datacenter assets in the continent.
The Medallion Datacenter is the number 1 peering and connectivity datacenter in Nigeria and Teraco represents the same in South Africa, two of the largest economies in the continent.
The combination of Teraco’s leading position in South Africa with Digital Realty’s leading connectivity hubs in Nigeria on the west and Kenya on the east coast – along with Digital Realty’s strategic Mediterranean interconnection hubs in Marseille and Athens – is expected to significantly strengthen Digital Realty’s leading pan-African position, enhancing the ability to serve local as well as multinational enterprises and service providers.
When reached for comment on the development, Engr. Nnamani stated the investment into Teraco by Digital Realty is a further testament that Digital Realty is fully commitment to grow the digital economy in not only Nigeria and the West African sub-region but also the whole of Africa.
This he stated will lead to significant foreign direct investment into the economy, boosting the GDP of the African countries, creating employment, and improving the quality of the lives of the citizens in the areas of education, healthcare, e-commerce, entertainment, security, governance, and agriculture amongst others. With the digitization of the economy and implementation of Internet of Things services, datacenters are essential to support these emerging services.
Digital Realty is the largest global provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral data centers, colocation and interconnection solutions. Digital Realty supports the world’s leading enterprises and service providers by delivering the full spectrum of data centre, colocation and interconnection solutions.
PlatformDIGITAL, the company’s global data centre platform, provides customers a trusted foundation and proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx™) solution methodology for scaling digital business and efficiently managing data gravity challenges.
Digital Realty’s global data center footprint gives customers access to the connected communities that matter to them with more than 280 facilities in 48 metros across 24 countries on six continents.
Medallion’s Lagos data center is the leading connectivity hub in Western Africa with approximately 70 carriers and internet service providers, over 80 percent of the public peering traffic of the Nigerian Internet Exchange takes place at the carrier neutral datacenter.
Medallion offers access to all the exiting sub marine cables in Nigeria and additional subsea cables scheduled to be in operation in Lagos by 2023 are all expected to use Medallion as a peering point for content and bandwidth distribution.
MTN Nigeria, in collaboration with ONErpm and Ultima Studios, has announced Ayodeji Benson, popularly known as Ayo Benzi, as the winner of the maiden edition of the Next Afrobeats Star reality show.
L-R: Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria; Ayodeji Benson, Winner, Next Afrobeats Star Reality Show (Season 1) and Emamoke Ogoro, General Manager, Brand and Communication, MTN Nigeria, at the grand finale of the Next Afrobeats Star Reality Show (Season 1), held at the Ultima Studios, Lekki, Lagos on Saturday, December 13, 2025.
The grand finale, held on Sunday night at Ultima Studios in Lekki, Lagos, marked the climax of a nationwide talent search that began in September with over 15,000 aspiring musicians.
After weeks of auditions, mentorship, and rigorous training, five finalists – Ayo Benzi, Dave Cash, Kaeko, Somto O’Laker, and Lucky Yay – battled for the top prize in a high-energy showcase of performance and artistry.
At the end of the electrifying contest, Ayo Benzi emerged victorious, securing a ₦150 million music deal. Dave Cash was named first runner-up with ₦100 million, while Kaeko, Somto O’Laker, and Lucky Yay received ₦75 million, ₦50 million, and ₦25 million respectively.
Throughout the season, contestants were mentored by leading Afrobeats producers Sarz, Puffy Tee, P Prime, and Andre Vibez. Benzi, who was part of Puffy Tee’s team, credited the mentorship programme for sharpening his craft and stage presence.
Speaking at the event, Onyinye Ikenna-Emeka, Chief Marketing Officer of MTN Nigeria, said the initiative reflects the company’s commitment to youth empowerment and cultural expression.
“The Next Afrobeats Star platform is about creating real opportunities for young Nigerians and giving their talent the structure, visibility, and support it deserves.
“Afrobeats continues to place Nigeria on the global cultural map, and MTN is proud to be enabling the next generation of artists who will take this sound even further,” she said.
She added that the finale was not just a competition but a celebration of growth and readiness for the global stage.
In his acceptance speech, Ayo Benzi described the victory as a defining moment in his career.
“A big thank you to MTN. From the audition days, the treatment MTN has given us has been amazing. God bless the brand,” he said.
The finale also featured guest performances by Afrobeats stars Iyanya and Bella Shmurda, adding glamour to the night and reinforcing the show’s connection to the wider music ecosystem.
With the successful conclusion of the season, MTN Nigeria and its partners reaffirmed their role in championing youth ambition, supporting creative industries, and shaping the future of Nigerian music through platforms that turn potential into opportunity.
T2, formerly known as 9mobile, is under investigation by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Benue State for an undisclosed incident disrupting USSD, SMS, voice, and data services across nine local government areas.
T2
The affected areas include Ado, Agatu, Gwer East, Gwer West, Konshisha, Obi, Ohimini, Okpokwu, and Otukpo, as detailed in an advisory on the NCC Major Outages Portal, which tracks significant disruptions reported by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
Neither T2 nor its public relations firm, Chain Reactions, has responded to inquiries on the outage’s cause or restoration efforts as of this report.
The NCC’s continued reference to the operator as 9mobile, months after its public rebranding to T2 in August 2025, has sparked questions about whether the name change was formally notified to the regulator.
This probe aligns with NCC mandates requiring operators to disclose major outages, their impacts, and timelines for fixes, with compensation obligatory for disruptions exceeding 24 hours under the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations.
Industry watchers note that such incidents, often linked to fibre cuts, power failures, or infrastructure faults, underscore ongoing challenges in Nigeria’s telecoms sector, particularly amid T2’s subscriber losses post-rebrand. NCC vows transparency via its portal to hold operators accountable and protect consumers.
Telecom
NCC Unveils Draft 5-Year Spectrum Roadmap, 60 GHz License-Exempt Guidelines to Boost Broadband, Innovation
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has unveiled two pivotal regulatory draft documents aimed at reshaping Nigeria’s communications sector over the next five years and fast-tracking deployment of ultra-high-speed wireless technologies.
NCC
In a public notice dated December 19, 2025, and issued pursuant to its mandate under the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, the Commission published the Draft 5-Year Spectrum Roadmap for the Communications Sector (2025–2030) and Draft Guidelines for the Use of the 60 GHz License-Exempt Band for Multi-Gigabit Wireless Systems.
Both documents are accessible on the NCC website for stakeholder review, with the roadmap outlining strategic spectrum planning, allocation, and management to optimise utilisation, support emerging technologies like 5G and IoT, expand broadband access, and align with global best practices.
The Spectrum Roadmap emphasises four core pillars: bridging the digital divide through low-band spectrum and satellite services, attracting investments via flexible licensing models, enhancing service quality with mid-band optimisation, and fostering innovation in areas such as direct-to-device connectivity and secondary spectrum trading.
It sets ambitious targets including universal 4G coverage nationwide, 50 per cent 5G penetration in state capitals, and average broadband speeds of 100 Mbps by 2030, while addressing rising data demand through band refarming and efficient management.
Complementing this, the 60 GHz Guidelines establish a license-exempt framework for the 57–66 GHz band, enabling multi-gigabit speeds up to 10 Gbps for short-range applications like WiGig, fixed wireless access, enterprise connectivity, urban broadband, and backhaul solutions.
The rules mandate NCC type approval for equipment, site registration for outdoor use, and interference mitigation measures, while prohibiting wide-area networks to safeguard primary users.
In line with Section 58 of the NCA 2003, NCC invites comments from industry operators, equipment manufacturers, consumer groups, and the public, with submissions due by Friday, January 16, 2025, via email to [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected].
The notice, signed by Mrs Nnenna Ukoha, Head of Public Affairs, stresses that stakeholder inputs will refine the frameworks to drive innovation, investment, competition, and sustainable growth in Nigeria’s telecoms ecosystem.
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