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NCC puts VAS Market Worth In Nigeria at N79Bn

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The Value Added Service (VAS) market is valued at N79billion ($220 million), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has disclosed.

Mr Efosa Idehen, the commission’s Director of Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement, made this known during the 2nd Value Added Service (VAS) Stakeholders Forum on Tuesday in Lagos.

Idehen said that VAS was an important component of the Nigerian telecommunications ecosystem necessary for optimising the benefits of telecommunication services to consumers.

He added that VAS was non-core service beyond standard voice calls, SMS and data products.

According to him, VAS enables mobile network operators to develop additional revenue streams and can be used in any service industry for services available at little or no cost to promote their primary business

“The Nigeria VAS market, which is presently valued at about N79 billion ($220 million) is estimated to grow to about $500 million in 2021.

“The recent reform the commission embarks on in the VAS segment of the market is a further recognition of significant role of VAS in the entire telecommunications ecosystem,” he said.

The director said that like every service, there were both positive and negative impact of VAS on consumers but the positives far outweighed the negatives.

He said that the commission therefore deemed it fit to find a balance between enabling the opportunities that the VAS providers offered to consumers while at the same time mitigating the challenges or inconvenience they could constitute to other consumers.

According to him, in finding a balance, service providers are licensed by the commission and are allowed to operate and provide value added services to consumers.

He added that “consumers are empowered through the Do Not Disturb (DND) facility to choose whether to allow or block access to these services on a full or partial basis.

”Consumers have been at the receiving end of unsolicited messages, fraudulent deduction of consumers’ credit for VAS not subscribed for, among others.

”And subscribers are asking if what the telecommunications companies and their third parties are adding is ‘value’ or ‘pain’ services,” he said.

Idehen said that with that in mind, NCC introduced the DND number 2442, which empowered consumers to block all unsolicited messages and VAS services.

He said that the commission issued a direction requesting that network providers should ensure that information on the DND service be disseminated after every revenue generating activity via the End of Call Notification (EOCN).

The director said that the EOCN would run for the period not less than 45 days and within the hours of 8am to 8pm daily from the receipt of the latest letter on the subject.

He said that the operators were also admonished to deploy this information through all their channels of communications.

The channels of communications include websites, social media platforms, bill boards, flash messages, text messages, Interactive Voice Response platform, radio jingles, newspapers advertisements and television commercials.


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SHELT Named in Prestigious 2025 MSSP 250 List for Cybersecurity Excellence

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SHELT, a leading cybersecurity-as-a-service provider, has earned inclusion in the 2025 MSSP 250, the annual ranking of the world’s top 250 Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) by MSSP Alert, a CyberRisk Alliance publication.

SHELT Named in Prestigious 2025 MSSP 250 List for Cybersecurity Excellence

SHELT

The list evaluates firms on business performance, service breadth, and industry impact, spotlighting those excelling in growth, operational excellence, and advanced managed security amid rising cyber threats. Selection criteria include annual recurring revenue, profitability, workforce expansion, business growth, and the depth of managed security offerings.

SHELT’s recognition underscores its investments in scalable security operations, threat intelligence, and tailored managed services across multiple regions, enabling clients to navigate complex risk landscapes effectively.

“Being recognised in the MSSP 250 is a meaningful milestone for our team,” stated Youssef Abillama, CEO of SHELT. “It validates our focus on building practical, resilient security services that help organisations manage risk and respond effectively to today’s evolving cyber threats.”

The company hailed the honour as testament to its teams’ dedication and expertise worldwide, reaffirming commitment to enhancing capabilities and delivering trusted cybersecurity solutions.


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Meta Names Ex-Trump Adviser Dina Powell McCormick as President

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Meta Platforms, owner of Facebook, has appointed Dina Powell McCormick, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, as its new president and vice chairman, bolstering its leadership amid aggressive AI and infrastructure expansion.

Meta names ex-Trump adviser Dina Powell McCormick as president

Dina Powell McCormick

The announcement, made on Monday, positions Powell McCormick – who recently stepped down from Meta’s board after eight months – to guide overall strategy, including multi-billion-dollar investments in data centres and global partnerships.

A Goldman Sachs veteran with 16 years in senior roles and prior stints as deputy national security adviser under Trump and in the Bush administration, she brings deep finance and international ties to the role.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg hailed her as “uniquely qualified” for the company’s next growth phase, while President Trump praised the move on Truth Social as a “fantastic choice”.

The hire signals Meta’s efforts to strengthen White House relations, following recent dinners with Trump and U.S. investment pledges worth hundreds of billions


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X Suspends Twitter Account for Rules Violation

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X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, has suspended the @Twitter account, replacing its profile with a standard notice citing violation of platform rules.

X Suspends Twitter Account for Rules Violation

Musk

The action, which occurred on Sunday, January 11, left users encountering the handle greeted by a bold “Account Suspended” message on a black screen, with no details provided on the specific rules broken or the duration of the suspension.

The development has sparked widespread confusion and nostalgia among users, given that Elon Musk rebranded Twitter to X in July 2023, approximately six months after acquiring the platform for $44 billion in late 2022.

The @Twitter handle had remained dormant since before Musk’s takeover, serving as a legacy remnant of the platform’s original branding, and its suspension appears to mark the final erasure of the Twitter name amid X’s ongoing efforts to combat spam, impersonation, and rule violations.

X’s official statement on the suspended page simply reads: “X suspends accounts that violate our rules,” without offering an appeal process or further explanation, unlike standard user suspensions.

Public reactions on social media ranged from humorous laments of “RIP Twitter” to speculation that the move resulted from automated moderation or a deliberate cleanup of legacy trademarks.

xAI’s Grok AI described it as a purposeful retirement of outdated elements rather than a genuine infraction, while neither Elon Musk nor X spokespeople issued any comment as of Monday morning.

This incident underscores the evolving identity of the platform under Musk’s ownership, which also saw a domain shift to x.com in 2024, further distancing it from its Twitter roots.

Industry observers note that while the suspension aligns with X’s stricter enforcement policies, the lack of transparency has fueled debates on consistency in applying rules to high-profile legacy accounts.


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