Telecom
How to Protect Your Phone
Having your phone stolen is a hassle – it’s not just the handset, it’s the numbers, messages and photos you lose too. Knowing how to protect your mobile and keep it safe will save you a lot of inconveniences and stress.
With mobiles or cell phones becoming fancier, more popular, and more expensive, they are increasingly liable to theft.
Checks show that thousands of mobile phones are being stolen by robbers every month.
In Nigeria available statistic indicate that more than 750,000 mobile phones are reported lost or stolen in the country yearly. This translates to about 1,423 stolen handsets every week or eight, every hour.
Mobile phones are often stolen in cars when in traffic, social venues as restaurants, bars and clubs, victims’ homes during robberies or workplaces.
The effect of mobile theft may be devastating on the victims. They range from lost of information (contacts); the inconvenience of having to be without a phone to reach and be reached which often result in loss of business; the hassle of having to report the theft, cost of replacement the handset and sometimes personal assaults.
Even then, many thieves are more interested in accessing your wireless service and potentially, stealing your identity.
Unless you want to deal with all the hassles of getting a new phone (or paying for unauthorized charges on your bill) you’d do well to find out how to ensure that your phone finds its way back to you or at least, how you can make it difficult for thieves to get anything out of it.
Treat your phone like cash in the wallet; never let it out of your sight.
It sounds like a good solution but unfortunately it’s not always practical to carry your phone with you all the time, especially when you are on some event or conference.
Here are some tips
Carrying your Phone
If you’re not making a call, make sure that your phone is not conspicuous. Keep it in a front pocket or inside a bag. Don’t attach it to your belt or around your neck. Thieves are opportunists, so don’t make yourself an easy target.
Lots of people take their phones out of their pockets when they’re sitting down. If you’re out with your friends or at school, or at a function don’t leave your phone on a table, as anyone walking by can easily run off with it.
Securing your Handset
It’s always a good idea to write down the make, model and unique identification number (IMEI number) of your handset.
IMEI stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity and is the 15 digit number unique to your phone.
This can be found behind the battery, or by dialling ‘*#06#’ on your handset. Keep these details in a safe place and completely separate from your phone, as you’ll need to give them to your service provider if your phone is lost or stolen.
Whatever model of phone you have, your handset has in-built security features that you can use to protect it. If you don’t know how to use them, take a look at the instruction manual.
For example, you can set up a pin number that you have to key in before you make a call. This stops anyone else using your phone and protects any personal details your have in your phone book or your text message inbox
It would also be good if you write your alternate contact number or email id on your phone.
When you Loose Your Phone
Keep in mind the possibility that you simply have misplaced your handset and that the person who has it intends to return it to you. Be polite in all circumstances, even if you suspect theft.
And the Good News
The menace has caused the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) sleepless nights and the commission had since 2006 begun looking into the modalities that would make it possible to bar stolen handsets from the networks, thereby discouraging the criminals.
The Nigerian Communications Commission is therefore working with service providers to blacklist every reported and confirmed stolen mobile handset from being used.
The service, which will be implemented by the NCC, NetVisa GSM secured Nigeria Limited and network operators, is the first inter-carrier initiative in Africa.
The initiative will soon take off at no extra cost to telecoms subscribers.
However, the process of making the system effective and successful starts with the subscribers.
How it Will Work
This is how it will work: Record your phone IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) or ESN/RUIM number if using CDMA mobile handset and keep in a safe place. This number is unique to every GSM or UMTS mobile phone and is usually printed on the case under the battery, but in the event that it is nowhere to be found, just dial *#06# and the number will come up.
Register your phone online with NetVisa Mobile Device Security at: www.netvisa-mds.com at no cost, report stolen mobile phones to your network operators, the NCC or call NetVisa on 0700-638-8472, 0700-NETVISA who in turn would confirm your details from your mobile operator and gets it blocked within 24 to 48 hours.
Used Phone
Buyers of used phones in Nigeria can check if such had not been blacklisted by simply logging on to: http://www.netvisa-mds.com. or by using either the seller’s phone to send a text message: "check IMEI" and send to 0700. Immediately, a response will be sent to the phone where the text message originated, stating the status of the phone- blocked or not blocked, provided the about-to-be-bought handset was reported stolen.
Nigeria’s telecom operators recorded 155, 397 fibre-cut incidents between April and May 2026, and these they blame on why internet or calls suddenly stop working.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed fibre-cut incidents increased from 74 276 in April to a record 79 121 in May, bringing the two-month total to the highest level recorded by the industry.
This represents a 2 428% increase from the 5 934 incidents reported during the first quarter of 2026.
Vandalism remained the leading cause of fibre cuts, accounting for more than 54 000 incidents despite telecom infrastructure being designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure, a classification intended to strengthen protection of key digital assets.
Also road construction constantly damages fiber where iggers and machines tear up buried cables during road repairs or construction.
Even with all these, some state governments make it hard for companies to fix cables quickly across different areas with all manners of fees and levies.
The NCC designation provides for penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment for offenders, but operators continue to face widespread infrastructure damage.
Proposed solutions, including Nigeria’s Dig-Once policy and AI-powered fibre sensing technologies, have yet to achieve widespread adoption.
The NCC is developing a cost-based framework for shared underground duct infrastructure, while operators are exploring AI-powered fibre sensing technologies that can detect cable damage in real time and improve network resilience.
Nigeria is pursuing ambitious broadband targets under its National Broadband Plan and has expanded fibre deployment to about 35 000 kilometres.
However, infrastructure protection has not kept pace with network expansion, leaving subscribers vulnerable to unreliable connectivity despite continued operator investment.
Standard Bank has partnered with Helios Towers to provide a $29 million Social Documentary Credit Facility. According to the financial services company, this transaction marks Standard Bank’s first Documentary Credit Facility structured in a Sustainable Finance format.
It notes that the facility will support the procurement and importation of telecommunications infrastructure and related services across Africa.
It will also provide payment certainty to suppliers, while supporting Helios Towers’ working capital requirements and infrastructure expansion programme, the bank adds.
Structured in accordance with the Loan Market Association’s Social Loan Principles, the financing is designed to promote digital connectivity and telecommunications infrastructure development in underserved markets.
This will help Helios Towers further expand its footprint and enhance mobile network coverage and connectivity across the continent.
Helios Towers operates one of Africa’s independent telecommunications tower platforms, enabling mobile network operators to extend coverage across multiple markets.
Standard Bank notes that the facility supports the expansion of tower infrastructure and services, increased network densification and improved connectivity in underserved markets and remote regions across the African continent.
It will also drive digital inclusion and tackle the digital divide while supporting economic growth and socio-economic development.
“This transaction demonstrates the power of innovation in trade finance. By combining a first-to-market Social Documentary Credit Facility with a cross-border funding solution, Standard Bank has supported Helios Towers’ growth ambitions while helping extend digital connectivity to underserved communities across Africa,” says Benoit Samouilhan, global transaction banker at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking.
According to the bank, this facility enables positive social impact by increasing and improving network coverage and connectivity in some of the world’s most remote regions.
“Reliable digital infrastructure is fundamental to Africa’s future growth and development,” says Alex Carter, group finance director at Helios Towers.
“This facility provides us with the flexibility and certainty needed to support our ongoing infrastructure investments while advancing our mission of expanding connectivity across the continent. We value our longstanding relationship with Standard Bank and look forward to building on this partnership.”
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will on Thursday convene a stakeholders’ consultative forum to review the draft business rules for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) in Nigeria.
NCC
The forum, scheduled to hold at 10 a.m. at the NCC Annex Office, Mbora, Abuja, is expected to bring together telecommunications operators, industry associations and other stakeholders to provide input on the proposed regulatory framework before its finalisation.
The commission announced the event on its official social media platforms, inviting interested stakeholders to participate in the consultation process.
The engagement is part of the NCC’s efforts to strengthen the regulatory framework for MVNO operations and promote greater competition, innovation and consumer choice in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.
Mobile Virtual Network Operators are telecommunications service providers that offer mobile services by leasing network capacity from licensed Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), rather than owning spectrum licences or telecommunications infrastructure.
The NCC has identified the MVNO licensing framework as one of its initiatives aimed at deepening competition, expanding access to telecommunications services and driving digital inclusion across the country.
The consultative forum is expected to provide stakeholders with the opportunity to review the draft business rules, make recommendations and contribute to the development of a robust operational framework for the emerging MVNO segment.
The commission is expected to issue further details on the outcome of the consultation after the meeting.
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