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NCC @ NITEC2016, Shares View on Disruptive Technology
In communications where the traditional operators have enjoyed gilded opportunities, technological advancement in the sector has intruded in the esoteric state of being, according to the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC).
In a presentation at the just concluded Nigeria International Technology Exhibition & Conference (NITEC 2016), titled, “Role of Disruptive Technologies in Catapulting the African Continent’s GDP”, Prof. Umaru Danbatta, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), represented by Mr Tony Ojobo, the director, Public Affairs, affirmed that the word ‘Disruptive’ has been transformed into a beautiful bride whose qualities are being considered strong and positive enough to transform the GDP of the continent.
Agreeing that Africa needs to step up its technological development to catch up with the trends around the globe, Ojobo said that pre- year 2000, telephone, for instance, was not for the poor even as investment in the telecommunications sector was about $500m which really inserted the phone in the hands of the ‘haves’ in the society.
“Just over a decade and half, with better liberalization of the sector and a firm regulator that is in charge, the Nigerian Communications Commission, the investment profile is over $32bn, the phones out there are over 148m, and with most of them in the hands of ordinary folks who have moved beyond beholding the wonders of this technology to really begin to think of some other derivatives that can profit their lives,” he said, admitting that “Without doubt there is an amount of effusive energy which is at work here to the point of intrusion. This is the danger. And this is where Disruptive is coming from”.
A Disruptive Technology, according to computing fundamentals glossary, is one that displaces an established technology and shakes up the industry or a ground-breaking product that creates a completely new industry.
The expression, ‘Disruptive Technology’, was first used in 1995 by Prof Clayton Christensen, a Harvard Business lecturer in an article he co-wrote with his colleague, Joseph Bower for the Harvard Business Review.
Recognizing Christensen’s aphorism, Ojobo said that identifying Sustaining technology as relying on incremental improvements to an already established technology, Disruptive technology lacks such refinement, often has performance problems because it is new, appeals to a limited audience, and may not yet have a proven practical application.
But, “The other interesting aspect of his book is that while large corporations are designed to work with sustaining technologies, excel at knowing their market, staying close to their customers, and having a mechanism in place to develop existing technology; they often have trouble capitalizing on the potential efficiencies, cost-savings, or new marketing opportunities created by low-margin disruptive technologies.
“Using real-world examples to illustrate his point, Christensen demonstrates how it is not unusual for a big corporation to dismiss the value of a disruptive technology because it does not reinforce current company goals, only to be blindsided as the technology matures, gains a larger audience and market share and threatens the status quo.
Some Disruptive Technologies fall under the genre of Over-the-Top Services which are carried over the networks, delivering value to customers, but without any carrier service provider being involved in planning, selling, provisioning, or servicing them, thereby implying that traditional telcos cannot directly earn revenue from such services
These over-the-top services include services such as Internet Protocol (IP) Telephony, live streaming and other social media applications, the Director said, “Many traditional telecom service providers are of the opinion that traditional telephony and SMS revenues are under threat from newer IP based alternatives like WhatsApp, Twitter, Skype, Viber, Youtube, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat and others.
“Similarly, third party web content and social networking companies such as Google and Facebook are increasingly generating huge revenues and driving high levels of data which ride on the broadband networks of traditional telecom traditional network operators even if the latter still have to spend all the money to upgrade their networks to accommodate the OTT intruders.
“As they say in my village, one man’s meat is another man’s poison. The industry statistics don’t actually favour the disgruntlement of the traditional telcos operators. Globally there is a continuing surge in growth which means that the industry must be heading somewhere for a positive reason.
“The organisers of this conference seem to agree with the latter group that the industry is headed somewhere and there must be something attractive in the direction it is headed. I believe the optimism derives from some of these figures which bear testimony to the transformational strength of a well implemented ICT agenda which incubates new ideas. Total population of Africa by mid-2015 is 1, 158, 355, 663; Internet users by November 2015 were 330, 965, 359; 124, 568, 500 were on Facebook within the same period; There are over 722million mobile phones in Africa and over 127million are smart phones”.
Globally, Facebook has over 1.5bn users monthly with about 798million accessing the site on their mobile phones; WhatsApp has over 700million users who are sending over 30bn messages every day; Twitter has over 302 million monthly users; Instagram has over 300million active users per month; LinkedIn over 332million registered members; Pinterest has about 70 million of which 56 per cent are females.
“Why would Microsoft want to put in a mind-blowing sum $26.2bn in LinkedIn except there is something they have seen in an organization that may not have as much physical facilities to warrant that amount.
“But that is the point of vexation by the traditional operators who feel that organizations without tangible investments are creating the new big boys while the old fellas are struggling to balance their books.
To this end, he said, that the operators don’t want go into extinction, but the challenge is that they must listen to the new drumbeat. .
“The story of growth spreads across the continent, from east to west and north to south, including central. There is no doubt that a liberalized telecommunications sector will help African youth to take charge of their future. Facilitate Broadband Penetration; Improve Quality of Service; Optimize Usage and Benefits of Spectrum; Promote ICT Innovation and Investment Opportunities; Facilitate Strategic Collaboration and Partnership; Protect and Empower Consumers; Promote Fair Competition and Inclusive growth; Ensure Regulatory Excellence and Operational Efficiency”.
He added that every point in the Commission’s present Agenda has been carefully thought out and followed with vision and strategy to help push the industry to new heights in an era of very fair, firm, and forthright regulations.
“The current Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC is very excited by the opportunity given to drive the growth of Broadband in Nigeria and has already thrown his hat in the ring in full readiness for action.
The Commission is embarking on activities to aggressively drive the deployment of Broadband which it describes as the real game changer.
“It is our pledge therefore, that the Commission will always act responsibly, impartially, transparently and independently in the discharge of its statutory functions in order to validate these expectations for the common good of all Nigerians”, the director said.
Management of Nigeria CommunicationsWeek Media has withdrawn its publication titled “Adefolarin Ogunsanya and the Allegations of Shareholder Interference and Self-Dealing at Pan African Towers,” which was published on its platform.
The decision to retract the story follows an editorial review to ensure that the platform maintains the highest standards of accuracy, fairness and responsible journalism in reporting matters that are the subject of ongoing judicial proceedings.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek acknowledges that the issues raised in the publication remain before the courts and have not been finally determined.
Accordingly, the organisation has decided to remove the article from its platforms pending the conclusion of the legal processes or the availability of additional verified information.
The publication regrets any inconvenience or misunderstanding the report may have caused to readers or any individuals or organisations mentioned in the story.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek remains committed to the principles of balanced, factual and ethical journalism and will continue to uphold professional standards in its coverage of judicial and corporate governance matters.
INTERPOL’s African Cyberthreat Assessment Report 2026 revealed that Artificial intelligence accounts for 55 per cent of reported cybercrimes across Africa and making attacks faster, more sophisticated and increasingly difficult to detect.
The report warns that the continent’s rapid digital transformation, marked by more than 1.1 billion mobile subscribers in 2025, is being matched by an equally rapid evolution in cybercrime, while fragmented legislation and limited AI readiness among law enforcement agencies continue to weaken responses.
The 40-page assessment, based on survey data from 36 African member countries, said cybercrime has shifted from isolated criminal activity to an industrialised, borderless ecosystem powered by AI.
According to the report, East Africa has become a hotspot for mobile money fraud and ransomware attacks targeting critical infrastructure, while business email compromise (BEC) and romance scams are widespread across Central and West Africa.
Southern Africa, it noted, has become an attractive target for international cybercriminals due to its high level of internet connectivity.
The report also highlighted the growing financial impact of cybercrime across the continent, revealing that losses have more than doubled since 2024, rising from 192 million dollars to 484 million dollars.
It attributed the increase largely to AI-enabled scams, credential harvesting and automated social engineering attacks.
INTERPOL said online scams remained the most commonly reported form of cybercrime in 2025, with criminals exploiting mobile money platforms, social media and AI-generated content to deceive victims.
It added that 72 per cent of surveyed countries reported the existence of scam centres, with the highest concentration recorded in Southern and West Africa.
The report further identified digital sextortion and online harassment as persistent threats, driven increasingly by AI-generated deepfakes and synthetic media.
According to data from TrendAI, one of INTERPOL’s partners, about 600,000 sextortion incidents were detected during the reporting period.
Business email compromise schemes have also become more sophisticated, with AI being used to generate highly convincing email communications.
The report said Africa-based threat actors are increasingly targeting victims in Europe and North America using cyber infrastructure spread across multiple jurisdictions.
INTERPOL warned that the absence of real-time information sharing between banks, telecommunications companies and law enforcement agencies has created significant vulnerabilities in tackling financial cybercrime.
It said cybercriminals are no longer relying solely on stolen credentials but are now creating AI-generated synthetic identities by combining genuine personal information with fabricated details.
These synthetic identities, the report noted, have been used to bypass biometric verification systems, open bank accounts, obtain mobile loans and register SIM cards under false identities.
Neal Jetton, Director of INTERPOL’s Cybercrime Directorate, described cybercrime as one of the most significant criminal threats facing Africa.
“Cybercrime has emerged as one of the most significant criminal threats to the region. AI is automating every stage of a cyberattack from reconnaissance and phishing to extortion and evasion.
“However, we see that when countries work together, cybercriminal infrastructure can be identified, disrupted and dismantled,” he said.
Despite the growing threat, the report highlighted progress in strengthening cybersecurity across the continent.
It disclosed that 17 African countries enacted or amended cybercrime legislation in 2025, while Senegal launched an online reporting platform to improve responses to online offences affecting children.
The report also noted that regional capacity-building initiatives are helping to improve long-term cyber resilience.
INTERPOL said four major cybercrime operations conducted in 2025, Operation Serengeti 2.0, Operation Contender 3.0, Operation Sentinel and Operation Red Card 2.0, resulted in more than 1,500 arrests, the seizure of hundreds of electronic devices and the recovery of over 100 million dollars.
To address the growing threat, the report recommended the adoption of standardised digital forensic capabilities, stronger cross-border collaboration, greater investment in AI literacy for law enforcement personnel and formal public-private partnerships to improve cybercrime prevention, detection and response.
The African Cyberthreat Assessment 2026 forms part of INTERPOL’s African Joint Operation against Cybercrime initiative, funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with data contributions from Fortinet, Mastercard, the Shadowserver Foundation, S2W and TrendAI.
Nigerian students will soon design, assemble, test and fly drones as part of their university education, following a partnership between Miva Open University and Abuja-based defence technology company Terra Industries.
The collaboration comes as Nigeria intensifies efforts to develop indigenous capabilities in advanced manufacturing and defence technology, with both organisations seeking to strengthen Africa’s pipeline of deep-tech talent.
The partnership will see students gain hands-on experience in drone engineering and related technologies through dedicated labs and industry collaboration.
The partners will establish robotics, drone and virtual reality laboratories across Miva’s study centres, beginning with a pilot facility in Abuja.
Students will also gain access to industry-led workshops, research opportunities, internships and mentorship in artificial intelligence, robotics, cybersecurity and autonomous systems.
According to the partners, Terra’s engineering teams will work alongside Miva faculty to integrate hands-on hardware training into academic programmes, exposing students to real-world engineering challenges and building industry experience before graduation.
Nathan Nwachuku, co-founder and CEO of Terra Industries, said Africa’s technological future depends on developing engineers capable of building solutions for local challenges.
“The engineers who will build Africa’s future must learn by building. This partnership creates opportunities for students to work with the technologies shaping modern security, infrastructure and autonomous systems,” said Nwachuku.
Miva Open University said the initiative forms part of its commitment to experiential learning, adding that students will have the opportunity to “design, test and fly drones as part of their academic experience”.
The partnership builds on Terra’s expanding role in Nigeria’s defence technology sector. Earlier this year, the company signed a joint venture with the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria to localise the production of drones, robotics systems and cybersecurity infrastructure, supporting efforts to strengthen domestic manufacturing and reduce reliance on imports.
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