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ATCON Set to Publish 100 Leading Personalities in Nigerian Telecom/ICT Sector

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By peter oluka

The strategic idea to publish 100 highly respectable personalities in the telecom and ICT sector in Nigeria was solely conceived to celebrate individuals and corporate organizations that have contributed and still leading innovation and creativity in the industry through their personal and corporate efforts, says the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON).

Speaking during a press conference on Monday to announce the planned publication, Mr. Olusola Teniola said, it is believed that the publication of this book would further encourage and inspire ATCON as an institution to continue to intensify her advocacy drive in the Nigerian telecom.

According to him, the publication is necessarily for the ICT ecosystem, especially for the continuous protection of the existing investment with the sole aim of attracting further investment into the sector as the proposed book is expect to chronicle all that these individuals and corporate organizations have done to grow the industry to where it is today and what they still plan to do in order to speed up the needed future development.

“The Association has taken cognizance of some of the players in the industry that have led innovation and creativity in the sector and their respective creativities have continued to attract both local and international attention in terms of investible funds”, he said.

Giving details on the proposed book, he said it is expected to have the following structure:

The curriculum vitae (in an easy format) of the personalities

A brief historical background of how the company has led creativity in terms of the company’s services and products

The future plans of the company with respect to innovation and creativity

The list of corporate social responsibility that the company has done in the past

The brief corporate profile and advert of the company and passport photograph of the personality in that organization

Discuss briefly barriers that has constituted threats to creativity and innovation in the Nigeria telecom and ICT industry and proffer way forward

“The following rationales have been developed to buttress our strategic goals for this industry book:

“To put on record those who have contributed to the development of telecom and ICT in Nigeria

“To chronicle the development that has taken place since the liberalization of the sector

“To give the incoming generation the opportunity to learn from the veterans in the telecom industry as well as to determine the future of ICT in Nigeria as barriers to creativities and innovation in Nigeria would exhaustively discussed in the book,” the ATCON President explained.

The book is expected to be distributed through the following outlets: Embassies; Universities; Federal and State Government Agencies; Public and private libraries; Telecom and ICT International Events and Media houses.

“We hope this project would attract huge participation because there is no better way to celebrate than to put in a book format what they have done to grow the entire telecom and ICT ecosystem. We have noted that those who fought for the pre liberalization of this sector no book was written in their honour and in order not to make the same mistake, ATCON has taken it upon itself to catalogue those who are leading innovation in the industry”, he added.


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Telecom

FG Plans EO to Criminalise Fiber Cable Damage Costing Telcos Billions

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Nigeria will criminalize the destruction of broadband fiber cables following repeated complaints by MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and other telecommunications companies that they are losing billions of naira, according to people familiar with the matter.

FG Plans EO to Criminalise Fiber Cable Damage Costing Telcos Billions

Federal ministry of works, which supervises federal road constructors, is finalizing the regulation that will be signed as an executive order by President Bola Tinubu, said the people, asking not to be identified as they weren’t authorized to comment.

While there are presently laws against vandalism, the authorities are aiming to regulate construction firms more closely.

The order will enforce stiff penalties on offenders, said the people, declining to provide more details or say when it will be signed.

“Telecom assets are critical backbone that supports the economy across sectors,” said Temitope Ajayi, a senior presidential aide, who noted that the Association of Telecommunications Companies (ATCON) has been demanding the classification for years.

New rules will provide “further assurance that the Nigerian government will protect their investments against vandals and criminal elements.”

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) estimates that the sector will make up more than a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product by the end of 2027, up from 13.5% in the third quarter of last year.

The move will help alleviate pressure on the telecoms sector, which is facing increased operating costs and sales pressures from a sharp depreciation in the currency and a threefold increase in energy prices.

Repairs and revenue losses from damaged cables is estimated to have cost the sector almost 27 billion naira ($23 million) last year alone, documents seen by Bloomberg show.

MTN Nigeria, the biggest wireless operator in Africa’s most-populous nation, and Airtel Africa Plc bore the brunt of the costs, the documents show.

MTN suffered more than 6,000 cuts on its fiber cable last year, the documents show. On Feb. 28, a cut on its network in three different locations by a road construction firm, an oil serving company and someone burning rubbish in a manhole meant customers faced more than five hours of data and voice outages.

The operator relocated 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) of vulnerable fiber cables between 2022 and 2023, at a cost of more than 11 billion naira – enough to build 870 kilometers of new fiber lines to areas without coverage.

A presidential order on the matter would be welcomed, said Tony Izuagbe Emoekpere, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria.

“When it comes to communication infrastructure, they are destroyed at will, so we are eagerly awaiting the president’s order,” he said. “It would be a great boost to the industry, and it will also encourage investment.”

 

 


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Telecom

Telegram Eyes 1Bn Users amidst Political Pressures

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Telegram, the messaging giant founded by Pavel Durov and headquartered in Dubai, anticipates hitting a remarkable milestone of one billion active monthly users within the next year.

Durov’s departure from Russia in 2014, prompted by governmental pressures to stifle opposition communities on his VK social media platform, underscores Telegram’s commitment to neutrality despite geopolitical challenges.

With 900 million active users currently, Telegram stands as a beacon of free speech in the digital realm, particularly influential in former Soviet Union republics and pivotal during conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine standoff.

Durov’s staunch advocacy for freedom of expression and opposition to censorship by tech giants like Apple and Google reinforces Telegram’s status as a neutral platform.

Opting for the UAE as its base, Durov cites its neutrality and openness as conducive to Telegram’s ethos, serving both opposition groups and governments alike while maintaining impartiality.

In Durov’s vision, the pursuit of freedom eclipses material gain, shaping Telegram’s trajectory as a bastion of digital liberation.

 

 


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Telecom

NITDA, NIMC Announce Collaboration To Strengthen Digital Economy

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To further strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) have announced a collaboration on National Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to enhance and create synergy between digital identity, payment ecosystem, and secure & seemless data exchange capabilities for Nigeria.

During the meeting between the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, and Director General of NIMC, Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote, with some management staff of both organisations, they discussed various initiatives, which include building DPI stacks for a secured and seamless data exchange and forming partnerships to transform the national identity system.

This collaboration also aims to harness the potential of the innovative ecosystem and emphasise the use of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to drive digital transformation in Nigeria.

To ensure a smooth implementation, a 12-man committee was set up. This committee will play a crucial role in kickstarting and harmonising the initiatives. It is expected to deliver a comprehensive implementation report within the next 4 weeks


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