Telecom
Mobile Etiquette: Are You Phone Savvy or Bore?
Cell phones are now part of our culture, our lives, and our realities. We are now used to it!
While mobile communication provides many benefits, including convenience, flexibility and personal security, it can sometimes be intrusive to others.
But seem to think, they are the only one with a cell phone. They pull it out at will, talk loud, not because he can only hear out of one ear, but he wants people to notice.
Now students leave class in the middle of lectures, disrupt the class and they answer the phone while sitting with their friends, all to please whom ever it is calling, driving while talking is just as dangerous as drinking and driving.
Correct mobile phone etiquette – is important both in considering others and helping to keep you and those around you safe.
1. Pay attention to the road.
We have growing evidence that cell phones may distract drivers and cause risks for themselves and other drivers.
The cell savvy user never uses a mobile phone while driving unless it is "hands free." Not only are both hands free to shift and steer, there seems to be a very significant difference in the degree of attention deficit when using an ear phone. The ear phone makes it much easier to focus on driving.
The cell savvy user is also careful to limit conversations in cars to traffic areas and conditions requiring low amounts of decision-making. In high volume, tricky driving situations, the cell savvy user either turns the phone off or lets it ring.
The cell phone bore pays no attention to traffic conditions, drives with phone in hand and may put surrounding cars and drivers at risk. Too focussed on phoning, the cell phone bore often misses what is happening on the road nearby and makes driving moves and decisions at an impaired level. Busy chatting, the cell phone bore may run a stop sign and broadside a car.
2. Speak softly.
The cell savvy user is careful to speak in hushed tones, knowing that a mobile phone has a sensitive microphone capable of picking up a soft voice.
The cell savvy user also sets the ring tone at a low level with a tune that is soft, gentle and not annoying.
The more crowded the situation, the quieter and softer the volume of voice and ring.
The cell savvy user moves to vibrate in any situation like a church, a workshop or a meeting where a ringing sound would prove disturbing to other people.
The cell savvy user tries to gain as little phone attention as possible. The goal is to communicate effectively without anybody else noticing or caring.
The cell phone bore speaks loudly and employs loud, obnoxious ring tones at all the wrong times and in all the wrong places. The cell phone bore calls attention to herself or himself.
Some people seem incapable of speaking on their cell phone in a normal tone of voice. Perhaps they are subconsciously worried that the party on the other end cannot hear them very well, so they double and triple their volume. Sometimes it seems as if they are shouting.
Watch the reactions of people near the cell phone bore when the voice or the ringer are too loud. The cell phone bore is not a popular person. Back to Top
3. Keep your distance.
Each person is surrounded by a personal space. This space provides feelings of safety and calm, especially in crowded places.
When strangers come into our personal space, it can make us feel uncomfortable.
The smart cell phone user respects the personal space of other people and tries to speak in places 10-20 feet or more away from the closest person.
If there is no private, separate space available, the smart cell phone user waits to speak on the phone until a good space is available.
Sensitivity to other peoples’ needs and comforts is a sign of good character.
Crowded rooms, lines and tight hallways are not good places to carry on phone conversations.
Next time you find yourself in a crowded space, watch the reactions of non mobile phone users to those who speak loudly into their phones while standing next to them.
The cell phone bore ignores the private personal space of others and seems oblivious to the discomfort caused by such behavior. Unconscious, unconcerned and unaware, the cell phone bore acts as if no one else matters. Back to Top
4. Keep business private.
Many personal and business conversations contain information that should remain confidential or private. Before using a mobile phone in a public location to discuss private business or issues, the cell savvy user makes sure that there will be enough distance to keep the content private. Some stories, some issues and some conflicts should be saved for times and locations that will allow for confidentiality.
The cell phone bore does not think strategically about content and handles a full range of issues and topics in a wide variety of settings without paying much attention to the surrounding audience. This lack of discrimination can have dangerous consequences as business deals, relationships and future plans may all be endangered by leaks and loose tongues.
5. Keep a civil and pleasant tone.
The cell savvy user knows that others might overhear a conversation, so they are careful to maintain a public voice that will not disturb others. At the same time, the cell savvy user knows that certain types of conversations may require or inspire some tough talk or emotional tones. They reserve these conversations for more private settings. They do not fire employees, chastise employees, argue with a boss or fight with a spouse or teenager on their mobile phones in public settings.
The cell phone bore will sometimes air dirty laundry in public and share emotionally intense conversations with nearby strangers. The cell phone bore will speak in loud and angry tones that often cause other people to move away if they can. Back to Top
6.. No cell phone before it’s time.
The cell savvy user thinks about when to turn the phone on or off. There are many situations where it would be rude if a phone rang, interrupting the transaction at hand.
Stepping up to a service counter, entering a restaurant or joining a meeting, the cell savvy user turn off the phone and relies upon voice mail to take incoming calls.
There may be sometimes when a particular incoming call or message requires an exception, but the vast majority of callers do not require immediate access.
The cell phone bore leaves the phone on all the time in all places regardless of the situation. The cell phone bore answers the phone no matter what else is happening and expects others to sit and wait while they chat with the caller. Back to Top
7. One thing at a time.
The busy person multi-tasking at a desk can be a wonderful model of efficiency, handling, phone, keyboard, coffee cup and remote control all at the same time, but at other times, multi-tasking can be hazardous, rude and inefficient.
The cell savvy user reserves multi-tasking for situations and times when it is safe, convenient and appropriate. Approaching a counter to work through a problem with an airline ticket, the cell savvy user turns off the phone or its ringer to protect the coming transaction from interruption. One thing at a time. Focus. Efficiency. Manners.
The cell savvy user often stops other activities such as typing when a call comes through in order to give the caller, full attention. Free of distraction, the cell savvy user makes the most of the call.
The cell phone bore often juggles multiple tasks at the wrong times in the wrong places and often drops a ball or makes someone else angry.
Stepping to the counter to work out a problem with a ticket, the cell phone bore takes an incoming call right in the middle of the transaction and holds up the employee as well as all the other customers lined up waiting for service. Oblivious to the inconvenience and inefficiency caused, the cell phone bore allows a mobile phone to interfere with the performance of the employee and the needs of the other customers. The cell phone bore puts personal wishes ahead of civility.
Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) has named the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) among the top three Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government with the Best Ranking in Website Performance for 2025.
L-R: Head Special Projects, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Salamatu Andu; Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), Engr. Abaraham Oshadame; Director General Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR), Head Customer Support Service, Galaxy Backbone, Rosemary Ehize; Secretary to the ES. Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Tahir Aminu at the BPSR award ceremony for top four MDAs in BPSR Website Performance and Ranking 2025 at the BPSR office on Tuesday, 23rd December, 2025.
This is coming barely three weeks after the telecom regulator was recognized as one of the top five best-performing Federal Government agencies for 2025 by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) – a testament to the Commission’s consistency in investment in technology for ensuring efficient service delivery.
In the BPSR 2024/2025 scorecard ranking of agencies’ websites, the NCC came second in the ranking, trailing behind Galaxy Backbone Limited, which came first while the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC) clinched the third position, from a pool of 235 MDAs, whose website were evaluated.
BPSR deployed 14 evaluation criteria in include MDA’s website compliance with .gov.ng domain name, appearance and aesthetics (look and feel) of the website, content, relevance to MDAs mandate/government policy and the website’ structure.
Others include website’s responsiveness (device compatibility), security, load time, usability/ease of navigation, availability/uptime, functionality, interactivity, accessibility and capacity building.
The recognition was announced at the official release of Federal Government 2024/2025 Scorecard Ranking for MDAs’ Website held at the Federal Ministry of Finance Auditorium in Abuja on Monday (December 22, 2025) while the award presentation took place at BPSR’s Office on Tuesday (December 23, 2025).
The award, which is an important index metric of the National e-Government Masterplan for determining the Nigeria e-Government Status, was received by the Commission in recognition of its commitment to maintaining a world-class website that enhances service delivery to the citizens.
Receiving the award on behalf of the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, the NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Technical Services, Abraham Oshadami, appreciated the BPSR for the recognition, describing the award as “another encouragement for the Commission to be a better public service institution leveraging digital platforms such as our web presence to enhance public service delivery to our various stakeholders, thereby implementing the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business policy direction.”
While presenting the award to the NCC, alongside other two agencies, BPSR’s Director-General, Mr. Dasuki Arabi, commended the top three for their proactive decisions in maintaining world-class websites, which are compliant with the Federal Government’s policy direction in effective and efficient service delivery to the citizens.
According to the DG, the 2024/2025 MDA’s websites’ ranking represents a collective effort of federal public institutions in Nigeria to be transparent, accountable and open in governance, as well as a confirmation to align with global best practices in service delivery to the citizens.
Developed about six years ago, Arabi said as a result of the annual ranking, more public institutions have indicated readiness to embrace reforms, and align with the policy direction of the current administration’s Renewed Hope agenda on improve governance for effective service delivery, as introduced by His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“The ideals of harnessing and deploying technological tools for service delivery has become imperative following the COVID pandemic, and distortions of socio-economic system of nations, culminating in the evolution of competitiveness, cost effectiveness, and agile governance.
“As engine room of governance, it behoves on us in the public service to perform our statutory duties and we must put in place technological innovations and standardized websites to operate services as well as deliver service needs to citizens,” he said.
The Scorecard exercise, he said, is part of the BPSR reform broader function of conducting research on reform implementation efforts and presenting ‘best practice’ models to the entire Public Service, and to among others, improve access to government information, facilitate seamless financial transaction, eliminate corruption and cyber theft, as well as facilitate access to government services.
Speaking on the rigorous nature of the exercise that produced the top three winners, the DG said “in the past few weeks members of the Scorecard Jury drawn from inter-Ministerial Agencies, had worked tirelessly to mill websites of selected MDAs through a rigorous process of enduring criteria for the ranking and the outcome had also passed through a quality assurance mechanism to validate the outcome.”
Taiwo Oyedele, Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, has dismissed reports that bank accounts not linked to a Tax Identification Number (TIN) will be frozen or automatically debited from January 1, 2026.
Taiwo Oyedele
Oyedele described the claims as false and misleading, warning Nigerians against panic over misinformation surrounding recent tax and financial reforms.
In a post on his X handle Tuesday morning, he wrote: “Don’t let anyone manipulate you. Your bank account is safe. Misinformation makes you panic and fear a reform that is designed to help you.
“When they tell you that your account will be frozen or automatically debited from January 2026, ask them for the evidence in the new law. Be wise.”
He stressed that no provision in the new tax laws authorises the freezing of bank accounts, adding that the rumours are part of widespread misrepresentation of the reforms.
The committee chairman reiterated that the reforms are intended to simplify Nigeria’s tax system and ease the burden on ordinary citizens, not to impose punitive measures on bank customers.
US tech giant, Amazon has disclosed that it blocked more than 1,800 North Koreans from applying for jobs, amid growing concerns that Pyongyang is deploying large numbers of IT workers overseas to earn and launder funds.
Amazon
In a LinkedIn post, Amazon’s Chief Security Officer, Stephen Schmidt, said North Korean nationals have been attempting to secure remote IT roles with companies around the world, particularly in the United States.
He noted that the company recorded nearly a one-third increase in such applications over the past year.
According to Schmidt, many of the applicants operate through so-called “laptop farms” — computers physically located in the US but remotely controlled from abroad.
He warned that the issue is not unique to Amazon and is likely occurring at scale across the tech industry.
He added that common red flags include incorrectly formatted phone numbers and questionable academic credentials.
The issue has previously drawn the attention of US authorities. In July, a woman in Arizona was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for running a laptop farm that helped North Korean IT workers obtain remote jobs at more than 300 US companies.
Officials said the scheme generated over $17 million in revenue for both the woman and North Korea.
Last year, South Korea’s intelligence agency also warned that North Korean operatives were using LinkedIn to pose as recruiters, approaching South Koreans working at defence companies in an attempt to steal sensitive technological information.
“North Korea is actively training cyber personnel and infiltrating key locations worldwide,” Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told AFP.
He added that, given Amazon’s business model, the motivation behind such operations is largely economic, with a high likelihood of attempts to steal financial assets.
North Korea’s cyber warfare programme dates back to at least the mid-1990s and has since expanded into a cyber unit of about 6,000 personnel known as Bureau 121, according to a 2020 US military report.
In November, Washington announced sanctions against eight individuals accused of being state-sponsored hackers, alleging their illicit activities were carried out to fund North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.
The US Treasury has also accused North Korea-linked cybercriminals of stealing more than $3 billion over the past three years, primarily through cryptocurrency-related crimes.
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