Telecom
ALTON Challenges African Youths on Nation-Building
Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), has called on African youths, Nigeria inclusive, to rise up to the challenge of re-building African nations, saying the future of any economy lies in the hands of youths.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON, said instead of migrating to other continents of the world in search of greener pastures, adequate security and economic stability, African youths must look inwards and remain in Africa to develop the region.
Adebayo gave the advice at the weekend in Lagos, while receiving the Nelson Mandela African Patriot Award of Excellence, presented to him by the Trans-African Youth Initiative (TAYI). The body also recognised ALTON as Most Productive Telecoms Association in Africa.
According to Adebayo, “Africa is faced with many challenges such as insecurity and emigration of youths across the West African region. In Nigeria, the challenges of kidnapping and banditry are on the rise, and ALTON is vey concerned about these African challenges. Investment thrives where it is welcomed and if there is no stability in the African economies, investors will not come to invest. Today the African region is losing its population to other economies because the youths are migrating in search of better socio-economic guarantees. ALTON therefore challenge African youths to take responsibility now and in the future because the future is in the hands of the youths. African youths must remain in the African region to rebuild the economies of the region.”
He further said if all youths in the region decided to migrate to other regions, “who would then rebuild the Africa region.”
“African youths therefore have a duty to remain in the region through thick and thin to rebuild the region, he added, and advised the youth leaders of TAYI to encourage its members and other youths across Africa to remain in Africa to rebuild the African economy, which includes the Nigerian economy.
“There are influx of foreign goods into Africa and if African youths continue to migrate out of Africa, time will come when Africa can not produce local goods for African consumption, thereby leaving the African economy in the hands of foreigners,” Adebayo said.
He used the occasion of the awards to thank the Trans-African Youth Initiative for the recognition bestowed upon him as “African Patriotic Leader” as well as the recognition of ALTON as “Most Productive Telecoms Association in Africa.”
Mr. Damian Udeh, publicity secretary, ALTON, also thanked TAYI for the recognitions, and advised the youth leaders to always inculcate the right values among its members and the African youths.
Ambassador Bakare Luqman, country representative of TAYI, who led the delegation of TAYI to present the awards, said the decision to present the wards to Adebayo and ALTON, was taken at its national executive meeting held at the United Nations Youth Assembly, in New Portein, South Africa.
“Indeed, the recipients have won the hearts of African Youths by their conducts and credentials as distinguished leader and dogged administrator, and Adebayo has publicly showed that he is a bastion of hope and a statesman per excellence,” Luqman said.
Trans-African Youths Initiative is the voice of 1.2 billion young people of the Commonwealth. It is the largest youth-led organisation in Africa, which plays the integral role of advancing youth development agenda and co-ordination of activities and policies of the 54 Commonwealth nations in the field of youth.
Nigeria has exactly 156,662 active fixed wired internet subscriptions as of mid-2026.
This is a tiny fraction compared to mobile GSM networks, which dominate the market with over 154 million subscribers.
The fixed wired market primarily consists of homes and offices using direct physical cables like fiber optics.
Fixed wired services use physical cables, like glass fiber or copper wire, to bring internet directly into a building.
It is like a dedicated, private water pipe for your home. It provides very fast speeds, unlimited data, and is reliable.
In contrast, mobile GSM uses radio waves transmitted from tall towers to phones, acting more like a sprinkler that sprays a signal across an entire neighborhood.
Because laying physical cables across cities is expensive and hard to do, these subscriptions are very rare.
However, the market has seen recent growth, driven largely by Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) services.
The top players are: MTN FibreX with 110,564 subscribers, which is roughly 88.7 per cent of the entire market.
SWIFTNG accounts for about 13,945 connections.
The others are ipNX and 21st Century Technologies which make up the number.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it is intensifying efforts to implement Nigeria’s planned 112 national emergency number following its approval by the National Economic Council (NEC).
NCC
The commission disclosed this during a meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and an NCC delegation led by the Chairman of its Governing Board, Chief Idris Ibikunle Olorunnimbe, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Briefing the Vice President, Olorunnimbe said the NCC had already established about 35 Emergency Communications Centres (ECCs) across the country to support a unified national emergency response system.
He said the next phase of implementation would focus on closer collaboration with state governments and emergency response agencies to ensure the effective rollout of the initiative.
The development follows the recent approval by the NEC, chaired by the Vice President, for the adoption of 112 as Nigeria’s single national emergency number across all tiers of government and emergency response agencies.
The council also approved the establishment of a multi-agency implementation committee to be jointly coordinated by the Office of the Vice President and the NCC.
Olorunnimbe stressed that the success of the initiative would depend on the commitment of state governments to support and maintain emergency communications infrastructure, as well as the readiness of response agencies to promptly attend to distress calls.
“We need commitment at every level of all response agencies—from top to bottom—including the Nigeria Police Force, ambulance services across the states and, at the national level, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA),” he said.
Responding, Shettima directed the NCC to develop a comprehensive roadmap for the nationwide implementation of the single emergency number in line with international best practices.
He also urged the commission to work closely with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), citing the agency’s experience in disaster management, relief and rehabilitation.
The Vice President assured the commission of the Federal Government’s commitment to sustaining the initiative, saying funding would be mobilised through the National Economic Council and partnerships with the private sector.
He also called for greater dedication from all emergency response agencies to ensure the success of the programme.
The adoption of 112 is expected to harmonise emergency communications across Nigeria by providing a single number through which citizens can quickly access police, fire, ambulance and other emergency services.
The initiative is also expected to replace multiple emergency contact numbers currently in use and improve coordination and response during emergencies.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that it was strengthening collaboration with state governments and industry players to develop a transparent, cost-based pricing framework for sharing telecom ducts as part of efforts to speed up broadband expansion across Nigeria.
Ayuba Shuaibu, director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, NCC, disclosed this at the Stakeholders’ Forum in Abuja.
Shuaibu said the initiative was designed to build consensus among all parties.
“The primary purpose of this forum is to ensure seamless synergy between the Commission and all stakeholders,” he said.
The director said the consultation was prompted by longstanding complaints over permits, levies and other charges imposed by different levels of government.
He said bringing together state commissioners, telecom operators, tower companies and representatives of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum had helped improve understanding of the issues.
“This engagement is a work in progress. We expect more input from stakeholders before presenting the outcome to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum,” he added.
Dr Helen Adeneye, commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Kogi State. welcomed the consultation, saying Nigeria needs a harmonised policy that clearly defines the responsibilities of both the federal and state governments.
“We need a harmonised policy that allows states to collaborate better with telecom operators and creates a more business-friendly environment,” she said.
Dr Adeneye added that adopting the Dig-Once policy would establish a uniform pricing system and help resolve disputes over charges for telecom infrastructure deployment.
Chidi Ajuzie, chief executive officer, WTES Projects Limited, whose firm is conducting the consultancy study, said the proposed framework would introduce a common cost structure for duct sharing to support broadband investment and economic growth.
“The study is designed to create a uniform pricing model that will drive broadband growth, economic development and wider adoption across the country,” he said.
Ajuzie explained that the consultants had developed preliminary floor and ceiling prices to guide operators while allowing flexibility within the approved range.
He added that the recommendations remain open to industry input before the NCC finalises the framework.
The Dig-Once Policy is designed to reduce the cost and disruption of deploying broadband infrastructure by requiring fibre ducts to be installed whenever roads are constructed or rehabilitated.
The NCC is developing a cost-based pricing framework for sharing these ducts to promote fair pricing, reduce duplication of infrastructure and encourage investment.
The proposed model is expected to support the Federal Government’s broadband expansion targets while improving collaboration between telecom operators and state governments.
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