The traditional ground-based cellular towers may start dying by instalment in the next two years, due largely to Elon Musk’s SpaceX of acquisition of mobile frequencies of EchoStar, a US based firm for $17 billion.

Subject to affordability and availability, the move could be disruptive as it is intended to accelerate the development of “direct-to-cell” technology, which enables mobile phones to connect directly to satellites without relying on ground-based cellular towers.

Cell Phone Towers (also called Base Stations), have electronic equipment and antennas that send and receive signals to and from cell phones.

Antennas may be attached to free-standing towers or structures or may be mounted on non-tower structures such as building rooftops, billboards or church steeples.

But the Direct-to-Cell technology, primarily driven by Starlink, allows smartphones and IoT devices to communicate directly with low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites.

This innovative approach eliminates the need for traditional cell towers, enabling connectivity in areas where cellular service is limited or non-existent.

The technology is designed to work with existing LTE and 5G smartphones, requiring no additional hardware or applications.

According to Gwynne Shotwell, president and COO of SpaceX, “In this next chapter […] SpaceX will develop next generation Starlink Direct to Cell satellites, which will have a step change in performance and enable us to enhance coverage for customers wherever they are in the world.”

Shotwell,  added that the first Starlink satellites with direct-to-cell capabilities have already connected millions of people in critical moments—during natural disasters, to reach emergency services or loved ones, or when they were off-grid.

National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM) are working closely to explore new ways of building innovations and technology, using the expertise and skills of Nigerians living in the diaspora, as well as those at home.

L-R: Special Assistant to the EVC on Foreign Relations, Dr. Mohammed Dahiru; Chairman/CEO, NiDCOM, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa; Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, NASENI, Khalil Suleiman Halilu and another official of NIDCOM during the visit yesterday.

The Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, NASENI, Khalil Suleiman Halilu and the Chairman/CEO, NiDCOM, Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, during a strategic meeting at NIDCOM headquarters described this collaboration as a “timely intervention”, noting that it will help connect Nigeria’s local innovators with scientists, engineers, technologists, and entrepreneurs in the Diaspora.

Mr. Halilu, highlighted NASENI’s key projects, including Revolut, a payment platform already serving thousands of Nigerians with low-cost, real-time transfers; the Innovation Hub and Incubation Programme, which funds Nigerian scientists and innovators, both in home and diaspora; and Delta-2, a partnership with the Czech Republic entering its third phase this September to bring new technology and international collaboration to Nigeria.

Halilu said his visit to NiDCOM was to present two key projects: a government-backed payment platform, similar to Revolut, designed to be seamless, flexible, multi-currency, and to provide real-time monitoring at affordable rates, while the second project aims to engage Nigerians in the Diaspora, particularly in science, technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship, to develop practical projects that can grow the economy.

While commending Dabiri-Erewa, the NASENI CEO added that NiDCOM’s database of professionals would play an essential role towards this course.

She asserted that the partnership will foster opportunities for Nigerians everywhere to work together for Nigeria’s progress; through sharing ideas, skills, and experiences that can help build a stronger, more innovative Nigeria, especially under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Dabiri-Erewa lauded the works done by the Agency. She assured that the Commission will give them the relevant support needed, while suggesting the NASENI team to participate at the 8th Nigeria Diaspora Investment it (NDIS), to be held from November 11-13, 2025 in Abuja.

Both NiDCOM and NASENI also agreed to set up a joint working committee to streamline areas of collaboration and design projects focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), alongside wider Diaspora engagement.

Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), has reported that reverting to market-driven pricing in the industry has attracted about $1 billion new telecoms infrastructure investments in Nigeria in 2025.

Dr Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman of the commission, stated this in an interactive session with journalists recently.

Dr Maida noted that the decision has restored investors’ confidence and reversed years of under investment that witnessed the slow network expansion and service quality improvement.

He said that as at June 2025, operators were already receiving new equipment ordered and that upgrades and new site construction underway, noting that the fresh investments will boost capacity, improve service quality and strengthen Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global telecom space.

According to Maida, the move has made one operator, who has not invested a single Kobo on network upgrade over the last three years, to start doing something in that direction.

He explained that when the NCC issued licences for the provision of services on the fifth generation (5G) technology, MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria and Mafab Communications, all underestimated the huge challenges in the industry when they promised nationwide rollout of the services.

The NCC boss also said that the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) that got the licences “over-promised” to deliver services to their consumers, without minding challenges in the industry.

He said that the 50 per cent tariff hike for end users of telecom services approved by the NCC to MNOs earlier in the year has started changing the dynamics by stopping the drought in both local and foreign direct investments (FID).

While highlighting why the increase in tariff has failed to translate to improved service quality, Maida explained that such equipment are not what can easily be purchased on the shelf and that some of the equipment are yet to be built by the original equipment manufacturers.

According to him, bringing the equipment into the country will require a process and that the “MNOs would need to book, pay, ship, pay for clearing at the ports, transport to sites, install and commission before customers would start feeling the impact.”

Maida, however, admitted that installing the equipment nationwide will take some time and the installation process, which has already commenced in the North Central zone and Abuja, will soon be extended to other areas gradually.

He disclosed that since the rollout of the technology in Nigeria less than 2000 5G sites have been built across the country, a situation he blamed on a combination of factors, including foreign exchange (forex) issue and difficulty securing land for new cell sites.

On infrastructure protection, he said the NCC was working with the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) to design region-specific rapid response frameworks, blending community engagement with civil defence presence to tackle threats such as generator theft, poor security, and local disputes.

Addressing the issue of low local content in the Telecoms industry, Maida stated that only three countries are responsible for the supply of low level software and hardware used and these are China that has Huawei and ZTE; Finland with Nokia and Sweden with Ericsson.