Telecom
Tizeti Unveils NeXTGEN Connectivity Solutions to Empowers More Africans with Digital Offerings
Tizeti, West Africa’s pioneer solar-based internet and voice service provider, has launched NeXTGEN connectivity offerings that would enable more Africans to take advantage of digital offerings in a new world defined by the Covid-19 pandemic.
L-r: Akin Jones, co-founder/Chief Executive Officer, Aella App; Eniola Campbell, Country Managing Director, Nokia Nigeria; Olubunmi Ogun, Deputy General Manager, Nigeria Sales, MainOne and Kendall Ananyi, chief executive officer, Tizeti, at Tizeti NeXTGEN conference 2021
The new products encompass the company’s commitment to widening the broadband envelope in Nigeria with more robust internet plans, expanding coverage, especially in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, and a focus on accelerating internet availability across the continent with a new venture fund.
The products also reiterate the company’s focus on delivering a simpler and more convenient technology offering with a smart customer care operation and integrated Customer Relationship Management systems.
Speaking at the company’s annual conference, Kendall Ananyi, Chief Executive Officer of Tizeti, said the company reflected on digital interaction and transformation more seamless and intuitive for its stakeholders, especially during the wake of the disrupting global pandemic.
“The global pandemic expedited the need for technology to be more agile, faster, more intuitive, and easier to understand, irrespective of the peculiarities of its users.
“Many people were unable to quickly adapt to the new normal of working, connecting to family and colleagues remotely, and accessing various educational, occupational, entertainment, and other services virtually.
“Many firms took an unnecessarily long time to adjust to the constraints the pandemic brought, and this resulted in declined productivity, ineffective transformation, and lost revenue.
“Technology is only useful when it is creating solutions to problems and we believe that as a leader in the digital space in West Africa, we have a role to build the technology platforms that will allow our user base to be agile and relevant in the coming years.
“We saw the transition from physical everything to the work-from-home model overnight and knew that we had to help people and businesses change the way they work and play”.
Ananyi continued “This is why we have launched new voice and data service for residential, small, medium, and enterprise organizations within Nigeria.
“Our brand-new Turbo 100MBps Unlimited Internet Plans in Lagos will guarantee 100Mbps unlimited plans (which is 50 times faster than the existing plans in the market), with a free three months pilot to the first 100 signups in the Lekki area.”
Ananyi also talked up the company’s desire to empower more Nigerians, stimulate economic activities and provide unlimited access to affordable and reliable broadband services by widening the broadband envelope to 10 new cities in Nigeria.
“We are expanding our unlimited internet plans, currently available in cities in Lagos, Ogun, Rivers and Edo States, to Abuja, Ibadan, Kaduna, Kano, Warri/Asaba, Eket/Uyo, Onitsha, Aba, Enugu, and Calabar.
“We are building brand-new, solar-powered, 4G-capable towers in these cities and leveraging expansive fiber-networks built by some of our partners, to enable us to roll out our low-cost broadband service, and bring millions of people online, who can now take advantage of the life-changing socio-economic opportunities that access to the Internet provides.”
Earlier, the company announced its partnership with a $5m venture fund focused on startup ISPs that are expanding internet access across Africa.
According to the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Ifeanyi Okonkwo, the company will leverage its proprietary OS technology, global partnerships with equipment vendors, submarine cable companies, payment providers, and Venture firms to provide the resources for these startup ISPs to accelerate the availability of unlimited internet across the continent.
Kendall Ananyi, chief executive officer, Tizeti
Successful startups will participate in a 3-months programme with at Tizeti’s location in Nigeria or Ghana where they are expected to gain the knowledge and expertise to rapidly launch affordable internet services in their respective countries.
Tizeti has also simplified its customer experience with a Smart Interactive Voice Response Service that extends its existing Wi-Fi Voice APIs and authenticates callers into their call centers using their phone numbers.
This smart IVR reduces wait times and the need to talk to customer service agents by providing tailored information on account holders while on the phone call.
The company also extended this innovation to its Integration to major Customer Relationship Management systems such as Freshdesk, Zoho, and Bitrix 24.
This new feature allows businesses to make and receive calls directly from their CRM applications using Wificall.ng at local call rates.
“Tizeti was built to tackle poor internet connectivity not only in Nigeria but on the continent as a whole, by developing a cost-effective solution from inception to delivery, for reliable and uncapped internet access for potentially millions of Africans”, said Ananyi.
“Over the past years, we have been able to roll out our superfast broadband services in Lagos, Ogun, Rivers, and Edo state to address the huge demand for reliable unlimited internet service.
“This move to expand rapidly to 10 other states builds on the successes and allows us to expand quickly to Tier 2 and Tier 3 locations outside the unlimited broadband internet envelope.
“We also have our eyes on accelerating our expansion in other West African countries, over the next few years”, he said.
Other speakers at TizetiNeXTGEN include Yinka Adewale, co-founder/Chief Executive Officer, Kudi; Akin Jones, co-founder/Chief Executive Officer, Aella App; Dr. Femi Kuti, Chief Executive Officer, Reliance Health, Eniola Campbell, Country Managing Director, Nokia Nigeria, andOlubunmi Ogun, Deputy General Manager, Nigeria Sales, MainOne.
For many countries in Africa, there is still a huge digital divide. Tizeti is playing a significant role in addressing this digital infrastructure deficit in Africa with innovative technology and capabilities, to improve development outcomes for millions of people, with better outcomes for employment, education, family and social life, and access to information.
Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN) has asked the Court of Appeal to suspend the enforcement of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (FCCPC) Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025 (DEON Regulations).
WASPAN warned that the implementation before the determination of its appeal could expose telecom value-added service providers to sanctions and disrupt their operations.
Millions of subscribers across the country rely on borrowed airtime to communicate.
Seun Sofoluwe, an Abeokuta, Ogun State resident, said another interruption would have severe consequences for many Nigerians who depend on airtime and data lending services for their daily communication needs.
“A lot of people depend on the services, and it will be very bad for them, especially those who are so reliant on it that they do debt-to-debt servicing,” he said.
Debt-to-debt servicing refers to the practice of repaying an outstanding airtime loan immediately to qualify for another advance, underscoring the extent to which some subscribers depend on the facility to remain connected.
Sofoluwe’s concerns echo the experience of Lagos-based employee Farouk Rabiu, who recounted the hardship caused by the six-month suspension of airtime lending services before they were restored.
“I was devastated because, after exhausting my data, I was hoping to borrow credit to access my bank account. Instead, it was a major disappointment,” Rabiu had said after the services resumed.
Adding another dimension to the debate, Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said the earlier disruption showed that airtime credit had evolved far beyond a conventional telecommunications offering.
“What this episode demonstrated is that airtime credit is not a financial product in the way regulators initially characterised it. It is economic infrastructure that approximately 40 million people use regularly, with the vast majority of them at the base of the economy,” Adebayo said.
WASPAN, which represents licensed value-added service providers, has asked the Court of Appeal to restrain the FCCPC from enforcing the DEON Regulations pending the hearing of its appeal against the July 20 judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The association argued that immediate enforcement would expose operators to sanctions, create regulatory uncertainty and disrupt telecom-enabled services, including airtime credit and data advances, used daily by millions of Nigerians.
The FCCPC, however, has defended the resumption of enforcement, insisting the regulations are intended to sanitise the digital lending industry, curb predatory debt recovery practices, protect consumer data and eliminate illegal digital lenders.
The Court of Appeal is expected to determine whether enforcement of the regulations should remain suspended while it considers WASPAN’s appeal, a decision that could shape the future of telecom-based digital lending services and determine whether subscribers continue to enjoy uninterrupted access to airtime and data credit.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) have entered into a partnership to deploy renewable energy solutions for telecommunications infrastructure in rural and underserved communities, a move expected to reduce operators’ energy costs and improve network availability.
Abraham Oshadami, executive commissioner for Technical Services at the NCC, disclosed this during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Abuja.
According to Oshadami, the NCC-REA Stakeholder Forum and MoU signing ceremony will enable telecom base stations located near mini-grids to access cleaner and more affordable electricity, reducing their reliance on diesel-powered generators.
He said the agreement came at a time when telecom operators are facing rising operational costs due to increased spending on diesel to power network sites amid unreliable electricity supply from the national grid.
The partnership reflects the growing relationship between the power and telecommunications sectors, as both rely on each other to deliver essential services.
Oshadami explained that while telecom infrastructure requires a steady power supply to remain operational, digital connectivity also supports electricity services such as smart metering, electronic payments and remote customer management.
According to him, the collaboration is aimed at improving access to reliable electricity and telecommunications services, particularly in remote communities where inadequate power supply has slowed digital inclusion.
He said both agencies had identified telecom base stations located within one to two kilometres of existing mini-grids, allowing the implementation of the initiative to begin immediately.
“Where mini-grids exist, we are able to identify nearby base stations and connect them to those power sources,” Oshadami said.
He added that future mini-grid projects would be planned with telecommunications infrastructure in mind, ensuring that electricity investments also support the expansion of digital services.
Airtel Nigeria has secured a fresh 10-year renewal of its spectrum licence from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), reinforcing the telecom operator’s long-term commitment to expanding broadband connectivity and improving digital access across the country.
The renewed licence covers Airtel’s spectrum holdings, which are critical to the delivery of voice and high-speed data services, providing regulatory certainty for continued investments in network expansion, capacity upgrades and improved customer experience.
According to the company, the renewal underscores confidence in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector and will support its ongoing efforts to bridge the country’s digital divide by extending quality connectivity to more underserved communities.
Sunil Taldar, chief executive officer, Airtel Africa, said the renewal provides the company with the confidence to continue investing in Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.
He said, “The spectrum renewal reaffirms our long-term commitment to Nigeria, our largest market. It gives us the certainty required to continue investing in network expansion, improve service quality and accelerate digital inclusion for millions of Nigerians.”
Taldar added that Airtel remains focused on expanding broadband access and supporting Nigeria’s digital economy agenda through sustained investments in telecommunications infrastructure.
He further said, “We appreciate the Nigerian Communications Commission and the Federal Government for their continued support in creating an enabling environment for investment. We remain committed to delivering reliable and affordable connectivity while contributing to Nigeria’s socio-economic development.”
Meanwhile, Industry observers said the licence renewal removes regulatory uncertainty and allows Airtel to pursue long-term capital investments, including the expansion of 4G and 5G networks, as demand for mobile data and digital services continues to grow across Nigeria.
The renewal comes as telecom operators continue to invest heavily in broadband infrastructure to meet rising data consumption and support government efforts to achieve Universal digital access.
Furthermore, It also aligns with the NCC’s objective of ensuring efficient spectrum management while encouraging sustained private sector investment in the country’s telecommunications industry.
See Verified 20 Countries Nigerian Passport Holders Can Travel Visa-Free
NPC Opens 131 Births, Deaths Registration Centres in Anambra
Lagos Chamber Opposes 21 Percent Pension Contribution, Warns of Job Losses
Subscribers, Telcos Warn FCCPC over Airtime Lending Enforcement
NCC, REA Partner to Cut Telecom Costs with Renewable Energy
NRC, Ponzi Scheme Collapses Resulting Loss of Billions of Naira
EFCC Busts NIS Visa Overstay Racket, Uncovers N700m in an Account
Tokenization, Blockchain Technology will Transform Financial Institutions – IMF
From Scarcity to Scale: What Africa Can Learn from India’s Agricultural Transformation
Spotify partners Afro Nation Portugal to expand African music experience
Telecom2 days agoGSMA Supports Abuja Declaration on Meaningful Connectivity for Africa, Joins Partners to Launch ATLAS Umoja
Telecom2 days agoAirtel Secures Another 10-year Spectrum Renewal in Nigeria
Telecom2 days agoMTN Nigeria Warns Customers Against Fake ‘One Month Free Data’ Promotion
News2 days agoNigeria, Israel Strengthen Research, Technology Collaboration
Broadcasting2 days agoGlo Sponsored African Voices to Feature Netflix’s “The Polygamist” Stars
E-Business2 days agoHURIWA, CLO Protests Bill Asking Social Media Firms’ to Open Shops Nigeria
E-Financial2 days agoMoniepoint as a Key Driver in Expanding Financial Access for Businesses in Nigeria
General News2 days agoAnambra Govt Bans Graduation Ceremonies in Anambra Schools