Telecom
Atcon, NIG Support for e-Business Life Broadband Summit
The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (Atcon) and the Nigeria Internet Group have given their backings to the e-Business Life Broadband summit slated to hold in Lagos in February 2010.
Dr. Emmanuel Ekuwem, National President of Atcon, affirmed this in a letter to e-Business Life Communication Limited, organizers of the Summit. He stated that the association was delighted to endorse the summit as the topic is apt and will “give us an avenue to deliberate and prepare to systematically and gainfully channel and effectively utilize the expected broadband capacity by the middle of the year 2010 as well as Nigeria’s digital harvest in Year 2015.”
In the letter entitled “Endorsement of One-day Stakeholders’ Summit on Broadband Fibre Optics,” Ekuwem noted that the telecoms outlook for the Year 2010 clearly indicates the availability of capacity in large quantum during the second half of the year. “The question then is: what do we do with the expected bandwidth? How do we utilize these broadband to automate processes of national economic, social and political lives of our compatriot?”
According to him, Atcon’s National Executive Council has decided to collaborate with e-Business Life Communication Limited as the Summit will enable us answer some of these questions.
In a similar vein, the Nigeria Internet Group in its own letter signed by Mr. Lanre Ajayi, the National President, also noted that the future outlook of broadband infrastructure deployment in Nigeria looks good with the level of investment by operators, adding that “if the right environment is created the nation will benefit a great deal from these developments.”
“It is our opinion that the Stakeholders’ summit proposed by e-Business Life Magazine will help us collectively look at ways of tapping into the great opportunities that the expected massive rollout of broadband in 2010 will achieve and also look at ways to overcome possible challenges,” the letter added.
Speaking on the summit tagged “Broadband Revolution: Harnessing Broadband for National Development,” slated for Tuesday, February 09, 2010 in Lagos, Mrs. Ufuoma ‘Daro, Editor-in-Chief of e-Business Life Communications, noted that while it is no longer news that Nigerian telecommunications sector is adjudged to be the fastest growing in Africa; this is only in the area of voice as it is not yet Uhuru in the area of data.”
She recalled the report of AfricaNext Investment Research, which had earlier disclosed that Africa’s broadband market will grow more than fourfold in five years from 2.7 million in 2007 to 12.7 million.
This prediction, she noted is already been reflected in recent developments in Nigeria, which are expected to bring about a revolution in broadband during the course of the year 2010. Some of these developments according to her, includes the advent of Glo 1, which is expected to cater for long term bandwidth requirements for voice and data transmission in the West Africa sub region; Main One Cable, which is expected to berth in June 2010. Others are the State Accelerated Broadband Initiative (SABI) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Wire Nigeria Project (WIN) as well as the already existing though not stable SAT-3, which is expected to become more efficient and effective once it gets a better manager. It is expected that these developments will boost the Nigerian broadband space remarkably in the year 2010.
According to her, the availability of broadband will boost capacity and cut down tariffs, thereby unlocking high speed Internet potential and creating growth opportunities for operators and equipment firms.
“e-Business Life Communication Limited strongly believes that for the industry to benefit from this expected revolution and to continuously maintain its position of relevance in the global telecoms space, concerted efforts must be made to gainfully direct and fully utilize the broadband revolution to develop all aspects of the Nigerian economy,” she added.
Consequently, the Summit is expected to address issues of the last mile, content, Cybersecurity and e-Commence among others.
Nigeria’s telecom operators recorded 155, 397 fibre-cut incidents between April and May 2026, and these they blame on why internet or calls suddenly stop working.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed fibre-cut incidents increased from 74 276 in April to a record 79 121 in May, bringing the two-month total to the highest level recorded by the industry.
This represents a 2 428% increase from the 5 934 incidents reported during the first quarter of 2026.
Vandalism remained the leading cause of fibre cuts, accounting for more than 54 000 incidents despite telecom infrastructure being designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure, a classification intended to strengthen protection of key digital assets.
Also road construction constantly damages fiber where iggers and machines tear up buried cables during road repairs or construction.
Even with all these, some state governments make it hard for companies to fix cables quickly across different areas with all manners of fees and levies.
The NCC designation provides for penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment for offenders, but operators continue to face widespread infrastructure damage.
Proposed solutions, including Nigeria’s Dig-Once policy and AI-powered fibre sensing technologies, have yet to achieve widespread adoption.
The NCC is developing a cost-based framework for shared underground duct infrastructure, while operators are exploring AI-powered fibre sensing technologies that can detect cable damage in real time and improve network resilience.
Nigeria is pursuing ambitious broadband targets under its National Broadband Plan and has expanded fibre deployment to about 35 000 kilometres.
However, infrastructure protection has not kept pace with network expansion, leaving subscribers vulnerable to unreliable connectivity despite continued operator investment.
Standard Bank has partnered with Helios Towers to provide a $29 million Social Documentary Credit Facility. According to the financial services company, this transaction marks Standard Bank’s first Documentary Credit Facility structured in a Sustainable Finance format.
It notes that the facility will support the procurement and importation of telecommunications infrastructure and related services across Africa.
It will also provide payment certainty to suppliers, while supporting Helios Towers’ working capital requirements and infrastructure expansion programme, the bank adds.
Structured in accordance with the Loan Market Association’s Social Loan Principles, the financing is designed to promote digital connectivity and telecommunications infrastructure development in underserved markets.
This will help Helios Towers further expand its footprint and enhance mobile network coverage and connectivity across the continent.
Helios Towers operates one of Africa’s independent telecommunications tower platforms, enabling mobile network operators to extend coverage across multiple markets.
Standard Bank notes that the facility supports the expansion of tower infrastructure and services, increased network densification and improved connectivity in underserved markets and remote regions across the African continent.
It will also drive digital inclusion and tackle the digital divide while supporting economic growth and socio-economic development.
“This transaction demonstrates the power of innovation in trade finance. By combining a first-to-market Social Documentary Credit Facility with a cross-border funding solution, Standard Bank has supported Helios Towers’ growth ambitions while helping extend digital connectivity to underserved communities across Africa,” says Benoit Samouilhan, global transaction banker at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking.
According to the bank, this facility enables positive social impact by increasing and improving network coverage and connectivity in some of the world’s most remote regions.
“Reliable digital infrastructure is fundamental to Africa’s future growth and development,” says Alex Carter, group finance director at Helios Towers.
“This facility provides us with the flexibility and certainty needed to support our ongoing infrastructure investments while advancing our mission of expanding connectivity across the continent. We value our longstanding relationship with Standard Bank and look forward to building on this partnership.”
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will on Thursday convene a stakeholders’ consultative forum to review the draft business rules for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) in Nigeria.
NCC
The forum, scheduled to hold at 10 a.m. at the NCC Annex Office, Mbora, Abuja, is expected to bring together telecommunications operators, industry associations and other stakeholders to provide input on the proposed regulatory framework before its finalisation.
The commission announced the event on its official social media platforms, inviting interested stakeholders to participate in the consultation process.
The engagement is part of the NCC’s efforts to strengthen the regulatory framework for MVNO operations and promote greater competition, innovation and consumer choice in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.
Mobile Virtual Network Operators are telecommunications service providers that offer mobile services by leasing network capacity from licensed Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), rather than owning spectrum licences or telecommunications infrastructure.
The NCC has identified the MVNO licensing framework as one of its initiatives aimed at deepening competition, expanding access to telecommunications services and driving digital inclusion across the country.
The consultative forum is expected to provide stakeholders with the opportunity to review the draft business rules, make recommendations and contribute to the development of a robust operational framework for the emerging MVNO segment.
The commission is expected to issue further details on the outcome of the consultation after the meeting.
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