Telecom
AfRALO, NCC, Medallion collaborate DigitalSENSE Africa 2019 Forum on Internet Governance, IPv6 Roundtable
The African Regional At-Large Organisations (AfRALO) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), is collaborating with DigitalSENSE Africa Media for the 2019 Nigeria DigitalSENSE Africa Forum (NDSF) on Internet Governance for Development (IG4D) and Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable, scheduled for Thursday, June 20, at the Welcome Centre Hotels, Murtala Mohammed International Airport Road, Lagos.
This development is coming alongside the collaboration for NDSF 2019 by the apex telecommunications regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Medallion Communications, the secured interconnect switching center.
According to the organisers led by the Executive Director, DigitalSENSE Africa Media, Mrs Nkem Nweke, the collaboration with AfRALO, NCC and Medallion for this year’s forum with theme: ‘Connecting Nigerians for Enhanced Internet Governance’ will make NDSF series more exciting especially for participants and urged all to ensure they register and participate.
She noted that the forum which would now holds on June 20 at the Welcome Centre Hotels, MM International Airport Road, Lagos, was earlier scheduled for June 6, but has to be shifted due to public holidays in Nigeria.
Experts from AfRALO, she said, like NCC and Medallion have been lined up to lead discussions at the 10th Nigeria DigitalSENSE Africa forum series on IG4D and Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable.
She noted that AFRALO is the home of the individual Internet user community for the African region, providing news, key resources and interactive information sharing tools for individuals and end-user groups in the African region who are interested in ICANN and in shaping the future of the Internet.
DigitalSENSE Africa, she pointed out, as ICANN At-Large Structure (ALS) is a member of AFRALO, which aims to strengthen users’ participation in ICANN decision-making structures, to ensure that members actively encourage more direct participation by end users, build Internet policy making capacity in the region, reach out to Internet users on the issues in the scope of ICANN, as well as represent users’ interests and defining public interest aspects of Internet governance with specific focus on the areas of privacy, transparency, and accountability.
“Thereby strengthen consumer protection in ICANN policies and identify social impacts of technical infrastructure design like the uptake of IPv6 or otherwise,” she declared.
NCC, she also said is the apex telecommunications regulator in Nigeria and has been the champion of Internet Governance role player in the public sector and licenses internet service providers and telecommunication service providers among other players in the information and communication technology sector.
Further, NCC mandate of 2003 Nigerian Communications Act, she said avails the Commission to properly carry out its regulatory functions and activities including licensing and approving guidelines for keeping of accounts and cost allocation formula of licensees.
NCC, she disclosed, would be sending a high-powered delegation to the 2019 Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum series on Internet Governance for Development and Nigeria IPv6 Roundtable.
On the other hand, Mrs. Nweke said that Medallion Communications has proved itself as a leader in infrastructure provisioning through its interconnection and data centre facilitation in the industry, with the vision of bridging the digital divide between the developing and the developed economies of the world.
Medallion has operational base in North America and across several African countries, offering Interconnect Houses where operators leverage interconnect with multiple operators in one location, but equally share the available telecom infrastructure thereby reducing overhead.
Medallion’s infrastructure, she said, has been designed to be robust and protocol independent to enable all classes of operators to interface seamlessly, for both Time-division multiplexing (TDM)and Internet Protocol (IP)-based telecom operators with any internet exchange points to ensure that local content providers are adequately catered for.
She recalled that DigitalSENSE Africa (DSA) Media, is a certified At-Large Structure (ALS) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and internationally reputed as award-winning Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry analysts and perception managers; professionally affiliated to African Regional At-Large Organisation (AFRALO) for shaping the future of the Internet, African Civil Society for the Information Society (ACSIS).
MTN Nigeria is accelerating investments in network expansion and modernization to address rising demand for mobile and data services across the country.
The operator is deploying additional base stations, upgrading existing infrastructure, and expanding fiber connectivity to improve network capacity, coverage, and service quality.
The investments are designed to support increasing smartphone adoption, higher data consumption, and the growing use of digital services by consumers and businesses.
MTN said the expansion aligns with its long-term strategy to enhance customer experience while strengthening Nigeria’s digital infrastructure.
The company expects the ongoing upgrades to improve connectivity, support economic growth, and enable broader access to reliable telecommunications services as demand for high-speed broadband continues to increase.
Airtel Africa’s CEO, Sunil Taldar, has announced the telco’s commitment to connecting 5,000 schools across its operating countries in Africa to the internet by 2027 through its philanthropic arm, Airtel Africa Foundation, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
So far, the $57m partnership, which was launched in 2021, has cumulatively connected 3,296 schools and provided access to over 2 million learners and about 40,000 teachers. 64 digital learning platforms have been zero-rated thereby enabling more than 11m users to access educational content at no cost.
Speaking during a visit to St. Monica’s Girls School in Lusaka, which is one of the 300 schools already connected to the internet in Zambia, the Airtel Africa CEO stated that the initiative is having a profound impact on the quality of education by expanding access to digital learning resources for African children, in collaboration with governments.
Mr Taldar added: “Students are accessing best-in-class education from the curriculum developed by UNICEF in partnership with various Ministries of Education and provided through Airtel’s connectivity.
“We are also training teachers, so that they deliver digital education effectively. We aim to continue deepening meaningful connectivity in schools by providing free internet access, zero‑rated platforms and training teachers across the continent”.
Expressing her appreciation, the Headmistress of St. Monica’s Girls’ School, Sr Matilda Soloko said: “Being among the first schools connected in the initial stage, our learners have been able to study using the learning portal and their studies have been intensified. We remain grateful to Airtel and UNICEF.”
UNICEF’s Country Representative for Zambia, Dr Saja Farooq Abdullah said: “What this partnership has brought is really bridging the equality gap and the digital divide. It is making sure that every child learns wherever they are. It was exciting and interesting to see and hear from the girls how they can learn at their own pace, how they can review the materials, and how they do their homework with comfort.
The Director of Secondary Education in Zambia’s Ministry of Education, Yvonne Mwemba Chuulu lauded UNICEF and Airtel for the partnership saying: “At the Ministry of Education, we cannot do it alone, and we are grateful for the partnership that we have today.
“Our children are able to learn in a blended fashion, where we have a teacher who is also employing digital devices. We have also heard from the learners that they are able to access the portal when they are at home, which is a good thing because our learners continue to learn in the comfort of their homes”.
The School Connection programme is expanding digital learning to learners in 13 countries: Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. By equipping these schools with internet connectivity and training teachers on using the digital tools, it is providing children, particularly in underserved and remote regions, with the digital tools and skills they need to thrive.
Airtel Africa Foundation is advancing inclusive development across four strategic pillars, Financial Inclusion, Education, Environmental Sustainability and Digital Inclusion.
MultiChoice has officially become a wholly owned subsidiary of French media company Canal+, marking the completion of one of the largest acquisitions in Africa’s media and entertainment industry.
The integration brings the South Africa-based pay television operator under the full ownership of Canal+, a global media group with operations in 70 countries.
Announcing the completion of the transaction on Thursday, Chief Executive Officer of Canal+ Africa and MultiChoice, David Mignot, described the development as the beginning of a new phase of growth for the broadcaster.
“MultiChoice is now a full subsidiary of a truly international media group operating in 70 countries.
“The group was founded in France, is listed in London and Johannesburg, and has a strong African presence with operations in more than 45 countries,” Mignot said.
The acquisition combines Canal+’s international operations with MultiChoice’s extensive footprint across sub-Saharan Africa, where it serves millions of households through its DStv and GOtv platforms, as well as the Showmax streaming service.
According to Canal+, the integration will strengthen MultiChoice’s competitive position by giving it access to broader financial resources, technology, content partnerships and operational expertise.
The company said the combined business would increase investment in local content production, sports broadcasting and streaming services as competition intensifies from global platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+.
The transaction is also expected to provide MultiChoice with greater access to international markets at a time when traditional pay television operators are adapting to changing consumer viewing habits and the rapid growth of digital streaming platforms.
Canal+ has expanded steadily across Africa over the past decade and now assumes full control of a business operating in more than 45 African countries, further strengthening its position in the continent’s media and entertainment sector.
The acquisition followed Canal+’s gradual increase in its shareholding in MultiChoice, which began in 2024.
After exceeding the regulatory threshold, the company launched a mandatory offer in April 2024 to acquire the remaining shares of the Johannesburg-listed broadcaster.
Following regulatory approvals and shareholder acceptance, Canal+ secured control of MultiChoice in 2025 before completing the process that has now made the company a wholly owned subsidiary.
Industry observers describe the acquisition as one of the most significant media transactions involving an African company, reflecting a broader trend of consolidation as global entertainment firms seek greater scale to compete in the streaming era.
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