Telecom
ATCON Shows Concerns, Pushes for Secondary & Free Spectrum Market
The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has expressed deep concern about how the frequency spectrum is being managed in Nigeria.
In a speech presented during a visit to management of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Abuja on Thursday, Engineer Lanre Ajayi, president of ATCON, said that while the members are delight over the positive development in our industry, which has been identified as the fastestest growing sector of the Nigerian economy, the association has some concerns.
ICT industry presently contributes more 8% to the nation GDP.
Ajayi who acknowledged that the success is not without the professional way the NCC has been regulating the industry, thanked the Commission for being steadfast and being professional.
“and we particularly thank the new management of NCC for sustaining the tradition of excellence in the organisation”.
However, the ATCON president said that inspite of these positive developments, they would like to express a deep concern about how the frequency spectrum is being managed in Nigeria, not only by NCC but by other entities concerned with frequency managemnet, including the National Frequency Management Board (NFMB).
He said, “We expected the NFMB to proactively discharge its responsibility. But that seems not to be the case in its handling of 700 MHZ recently sold by the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to MTN. It was expected that when frequencies that were previously allocated to an agency of Government is no longer of relevance to that agency and such frequency has been freed, we expect an immediate re-allocation of such frequencies to other appropriate Government agencies for assingning to deserving operators.
“If such measure had been taken the mess that is being reported in the sale of the spectrum would have been avoided. We are also disturbed that NCC has not been able to assign spectrum to operators for a long while. Past attempts to assign 2,6 Ghz have failed”.
To this end, the Association pushes for secondary spectrum market.
He said that ATCON holds the opinion that the Nigerian market is matured enough to have a secondary spectrum market.
“Presently, there is large number of idle spectrums in custody of some operators while numerous investors are yearning for spectrum to roll out services. Since it takes a lot of hurdles to retrieve such spectrum from the owners, it makes sense to allow such owners sell to new buyers who may have a need for the spectrum.
“These will benfit everyone concerned. It benefits the seller, who may have challlenges in rolling out after the acqusition of the spectrum. It benefits the buyer who now have spectrum to roll out services. It benefits the consumer who are now able to obtain services, it benefit Government who can take in more taxes.
“However, participation at secondary market should be limited to those who obtained spectrum through competetive bidding, like auction, to avoid a scenario where people use their contact to obtain spectrum from Government and sell in the secondary market.
On Free spectrum, he said, “As a strategy to attract small operators to unserved and underserved areas, we would like to recommend to NCC to make available some spectrum to operators for free. Big operators are mostly focused on commercial and very productive population centers.
“Small operators can easily mobilise to service small communities if appropriate incentives are given. Some countries in the world, including the United States, give unlicensed or lite licensed frequecies to operators to attract them to underserved or unserved communities and we would like to recommend this to NCC”.
Ajayi said that this will not only ensure provision of services in those communities but also serve as a great opportunities to create jobs in the communities.
In the wake of increasing geopolitical tension, Cassava Technologies has unveiled its National Sovereign Cloud offering for African governments.
The solution, the company claims, will help the continent’s governments ensure data is kept on infrastructure that remains under local legal and operational jurisdiction.
According to the official announcement, made yesterday, the solution provides “secure, locally-governed digital infrastructure that enables the deployment of AI-enabled public services”.
The overarching solution encompasses cloud, cyber security, AI computing infrastructure, as well as local language AI models and skills support for governments.
The announcement comes amid increasing uncertainty over the hosting of sensitive national data on cloud services operated by foreign hyperscalers, which are subject to legal frameworks, such as the U.S. CLOUD Act. The CLOUD Act opens the door to allow American authorities to access data stored on the servers of US hyperscalers, wherever those servers are physically located.
Cassava has claimed separately that currently, “approximately 33% to 45% of the world’s data is hosted in the USA”.
The company added: “A sovereign cloud reduces exposure to extraterritorial laws, improves cyber resilience, and ensures that model weights and training data for public AI remain under national custody.”
The Africa Data Centres Association’s 2026 Economic Report states that “data sovereignty has evolved from a legal aspiration into a strategic policy lever”.
Ahmed El Beheiry, Group COO and Group Chief Technology and AI Officer, Cassava Technologies said: “Across Africa, governments are accelerating their digital transformation agendas and are increasingly focused on ensuring that data and digital infrastructure remain secure and sovereign.”
Announced at the Mobile Word Congress in Barcelona, this week, the Sovereign Cloud offering launch accompanied the launch of Cassava’s Cloud Partner programme.
The partner programme targets mobile network operators and system integrators across Africa to resell and distribute AI, cloud, and other digital services using Cassava’s infrastructure and technology platforms.
El Beheiry added: “We are expanding Africa’s sovereign AI ecosystem to build solutions that address the continent’s unique challenges while creating new opportunities for growth and digital inclusion.”
The programme offers partners access to NVIDIA Cloud Partner solutions, Cassava’s AI Factory, its own native AI solutions and its AI Multi-Model Exchange, which supports both Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini models.
Mazen Mroue, a non-executive director at MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has resigned effective February 27, 2026, to prioritise other responsibilities within the MTN Group, the company announced in a Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filing.
MTN Nigeria
The notice, signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah, stated: “This is to enable Mr. Mroue to focus on other priorities within MTN Group Limited. The Board wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Mroue for his immense service to MTN Nigeria and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
Mroue joined MTN Nigeria’s board on June 1, 2022, bringing over 28 years of telecom experience. A veteran MTN executive, he previously served as CEO of MTN Uganda and MTN Liberia, non-executive director at MTN Cyprus, and held leadership roles at MTN Ghana.
Since February 2022, he has been MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, overseeing technology strategy and governance. Earlier, as MTN Nigeria’s COO from August 2018 to January 2022, he also sat on the MTN Nigeria Foundation board.
The exit follows MTN Nigeria’s stellar 2025 results, posting a ₦1.70 trillion profit before tax—reversing a ₦550.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by forex woes—marking one of the telco’s strongest rebounds.
Google has rolled out support for Yorùbá and Hausa languages in its AI-powered Search features—AI Overviews and AI Mode—enabling millions of Nigerians to get quick answers, summaries, and conversational web exploration in their mother tongues.
The update forms part of Google’s push to cover 13 African languages, including Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, and isiZulu, selected based on high search activity across the continent.
Now, a Kano student can ask complex questions in Hausa, while an Ibadan trader seeks business tips in Yorùbá—both receiving culturally nuanced AI responses via text or voice on Android, iOS, or web.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, said: “Building truly global Search requires nuanced local understanding. With Gemini-powered AI, we’ve made advanced capabilities relevant in Yorùbá and Hausa, so Nigerians converse naturally with Search in their mother tongues.”
To use: Open the Google app, tap AI Mode, and query in Hausa or Yorùbá for personalised guidance—breaking language barriers and making technology reflect Nigeria’s diverse identity.
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