Telecom
ICT Experts Harp On The Critical State Of Infrastructure Needs In Nigeria
Panelists at the just concluded NITRA ICT Growth Conference 2.0, have emphasized the need for an urgent review of Nigeria’s state of infrastructure so as to position the country to massively reap the benefits of a digital economy as obtained in some developed nations of the world.
Themed ‘Creating a Digital Ecosystem in Nigeria: The Hurdles, The Gains,’ the panelists drawn from both the public and private sector establishments, were of the consensus that infrastructure provisioning remained Nigeria’s surest pathway to building a robust digital economy.
At a second panel session during proceedings at the NITRA flagship technology conference held at the Oriental Hotel, Lekki Lagos, and moderated by Mr. Peter Oluka, Editor of TechEconomy.ng, the panelists agreed that efforts at building Nigeria’s digital economy cannot yield the much-desired fruit unless there is sustained commitment on the part of the government to prioritise the provision of infrastructure.
Seyi Olarenwaju, CFO of Medallion Data Centre said infrastructure is going to play a vital role in enhancing digital systems in Nigeria’s digital ecosystem, noting that “if there is no infrastructure in place, there is nothing.”
He stated that since governance has now been replaced by electioneering campaigns in preparation for the 2023 general election, the incoming administration should be focused, identify a particular infrastructure, and fix it, and expressed the hope that if in this regard, power is given priority attention, a lot of things will follow suit.
Kelechukwu Nsofor of Rack Centre, a carrier-neutral Tier III data centre who spoke from a data centre provider’s perspective, said power is the key infrastructure that drives a data centre business, describing it as basically the livewire of any data centre.
According to Nsofor, “The key infrastructure that we rely on is power. Power is basically the livewire of any data centre. Unfortunately, if you go back to 1999 since we started the current democratic dispensation in the country, what has been the installed capacity in terms of power? 20 years down the line, where are we today in terms of power?
“At a point, we were generating 1600MW, today, it’s still hovering around 3000MW. Where does that leave us as an economy of over 200 million people? So, if you look at the population growth rate and try to compare it with what we are growing in terms of power, you see that there’s a total disconnect.”
He said that Nigeria is blessed with a rich reservoir of policies and knowledge expertise but expressed worries that this has not been translated to results in the country’s power industry.
“Now, tying that to Rack Centre and indeed the data centre space, we have been generating our own power in the last nine years that we have been operating. And we’ve been fully in control of generating that power now. As we look to expand, we are also looking at ways where we can continue to generate power or do it more cost-effectively.
“We would like a situation where the government will actually stop the lip service that goes into infrastructure like power and actually start showing serious commitment by playing a major role in the provisioning of power infrastructure,” he said.
Noting that the digital economy is all about using the internet basically to push economic activities, Nsofor stated that what is critical even with the efforts at bringing in foreign direct investment, all the marine cables sitting on the coast of Lagos, is how to work with the private sector and knowledge experts basically on how to get things like multiple taxations and right of way out of the road.
“Operators can now push that capacity where it is actually needed. This will help us increase internet penetration, increase the digital economy growth, and push the economy forward,” he concluded.
In his contribution to the discourse, Babalola Olalekan of Phase 3 Telecoms admitted that the government was doing enough to provide infrastructure but stated that there was a need for stronger synergy between the government and service providers.
“There was a document released last year called Strategic Roadmap/Action Plan: A four-year plan 2021-2024. The key performance indices released in that document classified infrastructure in such categories as soft, service and hardware.
“When you look at the hardware infrastructure, we talk about how far we’ve gone in hardware infrastructure deployments like fibre cables. We talk of active devices and so on and so forth. But there’s something the government has put in place especially at the federal level by cutting down right-of-way charges all over the federation.
“Another area we have taken advantage of is the concession plan we call public-private partnership (PPP), where I expect the operators and players to key into and take advantage of our existing infrastructure, and opportunities.
“Another thing I will encourage we should be doing is a collaboration among players. All of us can only fight about a particular position or location. We can join hands on how to collaborate, leverage each other, and supply as a single network.
“So, I think the government is doing enough with policies. The onus is on us to tap into it, put more pressure on the government and be more up and doing in our collaborative efforts and take advantage of what is available to us through the government,” Olalekan said.
He said that going into the 2023 election, the most important thing to be focused on is security, stating that operators have many works to do out there in the field yet, they find it difficult to restore the network in the shortest possible time. “So, whatever government can do to make sure that our roads, our villages, our towns are secured, we will surely have a good general election.”
Chidi Okpala of Galaxy Backbone, in his intervention, acknowledged the fact that government understands the importance of infrastructure in growing the country’s digital economy, noting that one of the things the current administration holds dear to its heart, is infrastructure.
“Have they done all the things expected of them as government? Maybe not. But have they made some efforts in bridging the infrastructure gap? The answer is yes. But there is a whole lot of learning, a whole lot of training in trying to create that awareness, into fully understanding how this impacts the day-to-day living of everyone.
“As an organisation, what we are trying to do is to bridge that gap of understanding especially, people in leadership level in government; to let them understand this is what this infrastructure stands for, this is what it is all about. It is not just for sending emails but how it affects your life, your family, and the work that you do.
“We have done quite a lot together with some of the other organisations within the information technology space in the public sector. We are still doing a lot to raise that awareness of what this infrastructure means so that people can understand more and collaborate more.
“Collaboration is the key, talking about the benefits and not dwelling more on talking about the problems because sometimes when we do that, we cloud ourselves of the opportunities around us,” he said.
Okpala expressed the need for policymakers to be much more intentional about what the country is doing, how it the affects everyone, and how the efforts at building the country’s digital economy can be sustained.
The session, which was anchored by the Editor of TechEconomy, Mr. Peter Oluka, was unanimous with its position that infrastructure is the bedrock of ICT development and global competitiveness in Nigeria.
More than $2 trillion flowed through mobile money wallets globally in 2025, found the State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026, prepared by the GSMA Mobile Money programme.
This is an important threshold and exemplifies the exponential growth in transaction values the industry has experienced in recent years. It took 20 years to pass $1 trillion in annual transaction values, but just four years for this figure to double.
From its inception, only 25 years ago, mobile money has now become a mainstream financial service for underserved populations around the world, empowering those without access to traditional banking services and contributing to economic growth in countries where mobile money is present. The report also found that mobile money reached 2.3 billion registered accounts in 2025, growing by 268 million.
Vivek Badrinath, GSMA Director General, comments: “Mobile money has become one of the world’s most impactful financial services. What began as a simple way to move money has evolved into a global financial ecosystem, reshaping how hundreds of millions of people manage their financial lives. The market is reaching new heights and greater maturity. Adoption and regular use are surging, and value is scaling even faster than volume, with more than $2 trillion flowing through mobile money in 2025 – doubling from the first trillion in just four years.
“Looking ahead, the industry’s growing scale and sophistication will bring new opportunities, and new responsibilities. By prioritising interoperability and cross‑border harmonisation; engaging in digital public infrastructure; strengthening consumer protection and fraud controls; and accelerating women’s inclusion and financial health outcomes, we can ensure mobile money continues to provide safe, inclusive and sustainable digital financial services.”
Regular mobile money usage is growing, supporting financial health
Regular mobile money usage has increased worldwide over the past year, with active 30-day accounts rising by 15% to 593 million. Most new registered and active accounts came from Sub-Saharan Africa, although almost every region where mobile money is offered experienced a rise.
This has led to monthly usage of mobile money accounts growing by half a percentage point to 25.7%, the highest it has been since 2021. However, this still leaves almost 75% of accounts inactive monthly, with fraud remaining widespread and transaction taxes often encouraging users to revert to cash in the countries where they’re in effect, negatively impacting financial inclusion.
Through more frequent usage, mobile money users can improve their financial health – the capacity to manage day-to-day financial needs, withstand shocks and invest in the future – by benefiting from the increasing provision of adjacent services like credit, savings and insurance.
The report found that the number of mobile money providers offering insurance increased by one-third in 2025. Mobile-money enabled credit remains the most widely offered adjacent financial service, and this is nearly matched by those offering saving options.
Regulation is supporting mobile money in improving financial inclusion
Regulation is playing a key role in expanding the reach of mobile money, the GSMA reports. Over 60% of mobile money providers believe that interoperability, know-your-customer and consumer protection regulations have supported their operations.
Although more must be done to support the industry, significant regulatory issues remain – particularly cross-border data transfer regulations, which 24% of mobile money providers report have hindered their operations.
With a supportive regulatory environment, the mobile money industry will be able to continue growing and, in turn, advance financial inclusion, especially among groups that have traditionally lacked access to banking services.
This is vital as a wide gender gap persists in mobile money account ownership across seven out of 10 countries surveyed in the report. Aside from in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, women who own a mobile money account are still less likely than men to have used it within the past month.
Mobile money fosters innovation for good
In addition to accelerating financial inclusion and supporting improved financial health, mobile money usage is enabling wider social and humanitarian benefits by enabling rapid payouts during crises, particularly in remote regions. However, for these and other use cases to succeed, mobile money needs to be complemented by digital financial literacy initiatives to continue responsible growth across regions and demographics.
A Los Angeles jury has found Alphabet’s Google and Meta Platforms liable for $3 million in damages in a groundbreaking social media addiction lawsuit, a verdict expected to reverberate across thousands of similar cases against major tech firms and intensify scrutiny over addictive app designs targeting young users.
The case centres on a 20-year-old woman who alleged that Google’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram hooked her at a young age through deliberate attention-grabbing features, with the jury ruling that both companies were negligent in their platform designs and failed to warn about inherent risks.
Judge Carolyn Kuhl noted that punitive damages remain pending, with jurors set to weigh whether the apps caused physical harm or if the firms disregarded broader user health impacts.
The plaintiffs’ lead counsel hailed the decision as a “referendum from a jury to an entire industry” signalling that accountability has arrived for tech giants long criticised for prioritising engagement metrics over youth wellbeing.
While Meta shares rose 1 per cent and Alphabet’s climbed 0.2 per cent post-verdict, both companies pushed back—Meta calling the outcome disagreeable and evaluating appeals, while Google spokesperson José Castañeda confirmed plans to challenge the ruling.
Notably, the trial sidestepped content moderation disputes by zeroing in on platform mechanics, a strategy that complicated defences; co-defendants Snap and TikTok settled pre-trial on undisclosed terms.
The ruling amplifies a decade of escalating backlash against U.S. tech behemoths over child and teen safety, shifting the battleground to courts and statehouses after federal lawmakers stalled on comprehensive regulation.
At least 20 states passed child-focused social media laws last year, including cellphone bans in schools and mandatory age verification for accounts, measures now under legal fire from NetChoice—a tech-backed group including Meta and Google—challenging verification mandates as unconstitutional.
Looking ahead, a multi-state and school district addiction suit heads to federal trial in Oakland, California this summer, while another Los Angeles state case involving Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat kicks off in July, per plaintiffs’ attorney Matthew Bergman.
This verdict underscores mounting parental and regulatory alarm over algorithms that keep minors scrolling for hours, fueling mental health crises from anxiety to sleep disruption, even as platforms tout safety tools like parental controls and time limits.
For Nigeria and Africa—where youth form the bulk of 300 million-plus social media users—the outcome spotlights urgent needs for homegrown safeguards amid rising app penetration and similar addiction concerns in emerging markets.
Tech accountability campaigners see the case as a potential tipping point, pressuring firms to redesign feeds, enforce age gates, and fund independent research, lest a cascade of global litigation erodes their trillion-dollar valuations.
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), global professional services network, has reported that Nigerians lost about N12.5 billion from 2019 to 2023, through escalating digital fraud schemes.
AI-driven scams leverage artificial intelligence to create highly personalized and convincing fraudulent schemes, such as deepfake audio/video impersonations, automated phishing, and fake investment bots.
Globally, telecom fraud losses reached more than $38.95 billion during the same period, PwC said in its report titled “AI’s Dual Role in Telecom Fraud.”
The firm highlighted the dual nature of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the telecom sector, warning that the technology is changing how fraud operates.
“AI has tremendous potential to drive positive change across sectors, but it also enables fraudsters to create and disseminate scams quickly and at scale,” PwC said in the report.
The report shows that telecom operators are no longer just communication providers but also critical infrastructure supporting digital banking and payments.
This shift has increased exposure to fraud. PwC noted that in Nigeria, 59 percent of e-banking customers have experienced scams, suggesting that telecom networks, which support mobile banking alerts, authentication messages, and digital payment links, are becoming attractive targets for criminals.
As telecom networks connect more closely with banks and fintech companies, fraud incidents in one sector can quickly spread to another, leading to regulatory scrutiny and loss of customer trust.
This growing overlap is creating a new risk layer in Africa’s digital economy, where mobile devices are often the main gateway to financial services.
PwC identified several common telecom fraud methods affecting operators and users, including SIM box fraud, SMS phishing, SIM swap fraud, subscription fraud, scam calls, and international revenue share fraud.
The report noted that AI could make these attacks even more sophisticated.
Criminal groups can now use AI tools to automate scam campaigns, generate convincing messages, and even create deepfake voices or identity impersonations to trick victims.
The firm warned that these capabilities could allow fraud schemes to spread across networks quickly, increasing financial losses if telecom companies fail to strengthen defenses.
Globally, the telecom, media, and technology sector already experiences the highest level of fraud, according to PwC’s 2022 Global Crime Survey. N
early two-thirds of companies in the sector reported fraud incidents, with about half involving cybercrime.
Despite the risks, PwC said telecom operators have a strong advantage in combating fraud because of the large amount of network and customer data they control.
By using AI and machine learning tools, companies can analyse network behaviour in real time and detect suspicious patterns early.
AI systems, for example, can identify unusual call patterns, abnormal message traffic, or activities occurring at odd hours that may signal fraudulent activity.
Some telecom operators have already introduced AI-powered spam detection tools that analyse hundreds of behavioural indicators before determining whether a message or call is likely to be fraudulent. According to PwC, real-time analysis could allow telecom companies to block scams before they cause significant financial losses.
However, PwC stressed that technology alone is not enough to tackle the problem.
The firm called for stronger collaboration between telecom operators, banks, and regulators to address fraud risks across the digital ecosystem.
“AI has tremendous potential to drive positive change across sectors, but it also enables fraudsters to create and disseminate scams quickly and at scale,” the report reiterated.
With millions of Nigerians relying on mobile networks for banking, payments, and identity verification, telecom companies are becoming frontline defenders against digital fraud.
PwC said a deeper understanding of how technology is changing fraud risks will be crucial for telecom operators seeking to protect customers and maintain trust in the country’s digital infrastructure.
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