General News
Case for Intervention Fund in Telecom
In few years, Nigeria has grown from being one of the most under-served telecommunications market in Africa to one of the fastest growing in the world.
The licensing of digital mobile and fixed wireless operators unleashed a wave of local and international investment for over a decade now with the pace still showing no sign of slowing down.
As a result of this, Nigeria is now the largest mobile telephony market in Africa in terms of subscription figures as the country recently, crossed the milestone of 101million connected phone lines.
However, despite the massive increase in subscribers’ lines, Nigeria’s huge population and land mass has created a situation in which market demand is still running way ahead of supply.
As operators have struggled to meet market demand, one of the most noticeable challenges is the infrastructure deficit that is prevalent in the telecommunications sectors as in many other areas of the economy.
This led the Nigerian Communications Commission to initiate the Wire Nigeria project, (WiN) under its Universal Service Provision Fund, USPF.
USPF is a special fund set up by the Federal Government under the National Communications Act 2003, designed to provide telecommunications and ICT services to unserved, underserved and deprived groups and communities in the country.
The fund comprises one per cent levy of annual profit of telecom operators in Nigeria. The USPF has been involved in promoting ubiquitous connectivity in Nigeria, facilitating community communication centers in underserved and unserved areas of Nigeria, facilitating among other projects.
As a scheme under USPF, WiN is a telecom subsidy project aimed at expanding the transmission network across the length and breadth of the country.
The project is focused at cabling the whole country in the shortest possible time with the objective to ensure that no place in the country should be farther than 30 miles from the backbone infrastructure.
By this, all hinterlands can be connected with the hope of boosting commerce and trade in those places as well as meeting basic communications needs. So far, hundreds of KM’s of new optic fiber cables have been installed under the WiN programme.
This is obviously an unsung story of subsidy success in Nigeria.
Globally, government subsidy has always been a way to aid faltering businesses. During what was called ‘The Great Recession’, the United States government subsidized many vital sectors of the country’s economy.
To aid the development and exploration of the energy sector, the U.S government provided subsidies for businesses in the energy sector.
A broad variety of tax accounting allowances, credits, exemptions, deductions, depreciation and other financially beneficial tax breaks were given by the federal government to energy producers.
Up till now, in order to assure power availability at lower than market price, the U.S government owns certain dams which generate hydroelectric power.
The government also still provides subsidy to the agricultural sector. Some of the agricultural subsidies include direct cash payments, loans with no penalty, and payments from government insurance.
The U.S government subsidizes many elements of the transportation sector to assure the fast, efficient, reliable, and economical movement of people, commercial goods, and mail from one place to another.
Generally, government subsidies of critical business sectors have promoted profitability in many enterprises and assure a general national prosperity and domestic well-being.
Despite these positive benefits, critics have complained that subsidy gives unfair competitive advantages to some businesses.
With the dearth of telecommunication infrastructure in Nigeria and the need to quickly get telecommunication services to the nooks and crannies of Nigeria industry experts have opined that the move decision by NCC to initiate the WiN project is a welcome development.
One of those who identified the need for telecom intervention fund is the immediate past President of the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria, Mr. Titi Omo-Ettu. According to him, it is a good thing that subsidy already exists in the form of the Universal Service Provision Fund, (USPF).
He noted that this has helped in taking services to places which would ordinarily have taken some time before being reached.
According to research carried out by Streamz Media, a Nigerian telecom research firm, while the sector is currently recording impressive subscriber growth and also the introduction of increasing variety of services, further gains can be made if government can sustain subsidy for capacity expansion into underserved and unserved areas. It is also said that a change of the scope of coverage of current subsidy programmes would facilitate enhance benefits under the fund.
Mr. Lanre Ajayi, the President of ATCON, noted that USPF is already doing a lot in bringing access to many deprived communities, adding that this shows success in government-private sector subsidy programmes.
Omo-Ettu, however, added that there is an urgent need to change the workings of USPF to deliver further benefits to Nigerians. According to him, the definition of some areas as unserved and underserved must be changed to promote increasing service usage in the country.
“The existence of telephone service in an area does not mean that it is not underserved. Under the current definition, we cannot use USPF for certain class of projects in Lagos because the state does not fall under underserved areas. But if you take the University of Lagos where there are over 30,000 students, you see that we can put extensive fibre on the school and promote use of telecommunication in more innovative and cost-effective ways. This can be done under USPF.”
Omo-Ettu noted that the need to provide such a service has been realized by Google, the world’s leading Internet Company, which is currently working at putting fibre in a number of Nigerian universities.
He added that the fact that Google is trying to do it shows that there is some form of value in embarking on such subsidized projects. Omo-Ettu advised that government should see the move by Google as a challenge for it to do more in facilitating similar projects.
Another aspect of subsidy that was identified is in the area of taking services beyond basic voice and facilitating access to the most recent technologies.
Mr. Olusola Teniola, the Chief Operating Officer of Phase3 Telecom, noted that while millions of Nigerians now have mobile phones, the shift in telecommunications development must be towards actual number of citizens that have access to broadband services.
He noted that while the country had achieved a lot in bringing basic services to people, adding that the move now must be towards delivering broadband services.
Teniola called for greater support of USPF in order for the fund to succeed and deliver further gains to Nigerians especially in the backdrop of its potential.
According to him, subsidy in telecommunications is different from what obtains in the power and transportation sectors.
“The Nigerian Communications Commission has done a great job by helping to set up the USPF. In the coming days and years, we must all support the fund to record greater success to Nigerians,” he stated.
Mr. Austin Egbunike, chief executive officer of CANE Digital Services, said while USPF is helping to support in infrastructure sharing, if government had helped in providing facilities right from the onset, operators would just utilize for their base transceiver stations and the distress suffered by CDMA operators could have been averted. He noted that subsidy is a necessity in every liberalised economy
.
He said: “Every economy, almost all over world, has some form of subsidy programme. In the Nigerian aviation industry, we see an obvious need and the recent events have further exposed this need. In the United States, the intervention of government in General Motors is what prevented the firm from going under during the global financial meltdown.
“While the telecommunications industry may be doing well today, we must not be fooled into thinking that all is well in every aspect of the industry. If USPF were not set up with the aim of providing finance for the project expansion, many places that have services today would remain unconnected.”
Egbunike added that it is commendable that in the power sector government had also realized the need for some form of subsidy. He however warned that it should not be looked at in the same way as the fuel subsidy which has been badly managed. He commended the new steps taken by USPF management to facilitate infrastructure sharing and construction of new ones, noting that it showed that the NCC was on top of its game in the sector.
Fidelity Bank Plc, a leading financial institution, will host a free virtual training on the Nigeria Tax Act 2025 (NTA) as part of its commitment to helping small businesses prepare for the upcoming legislation.
Fidelity Bank
The masterclass is scheduled for 10:00 AM (Nigerian time) on Friday, 12 December 2025. It will provide participants with clear insights into changes in the tax framework, the impact on income and business operations, and practical steps to avoid penalties in 2026.
Attendees will also learn strategies to stay ahead in an evolving regulatory environment.
The Nigerian government enacted major tax reforms on 26 June 2025 when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed four tax bills into law.
These Acts will take effect on 1 January 2026 and represent a significant overhaul of the country’s tax system.
The reforms aim to modernize and harmonize Nigeria’s tax framework, improve revenue generation, broaden the tax base, and create clearer rules for individuals, businesses, and government agencies.
“Our decision to host this masterclass reflects our commitment to empowering businesses with the right information ahead of the commencement of the new tax regime.
“Information is money and a well-informed business owner is already steps ahead in the race to success.
“This is why we are bringing experts to provide accurate details and demystify the tax act,” said Osita Ede, Divisional Head, Product Development, Fidelity Bank Plc.
Interested participants can register via https://bit.ly/2026TaxLawMasterclass .
PalmPay, Nigeria’s leading digital banking platform, has renewed its commitment to deepening financial inclusion across the country. At the CeBIH Annual Conference 2025, themed “Reimagining Financial Inclusion through Cultural Shifts in Consumer Credit,” PalmPay’s Managing Director, Chika Nwosu, urged industry players to deepen financial inclusion by embracing community-aligned solutions and customer-centric innovations that can better serve Nigeria’s underserved and unbanked populations.
Speaking during a panel session titled “Social Inclusion, A Veritable Tool for Financial Inclusion,” Chika Nwosu joined other industry leaders to share insights on strengthening participation among women, rural dwellers, low-income earners, and other financially excluded groups.
Chika Nwosu highlighted PalmPay’s commitment to inclusive finance through its 500,000-strong agent network, which enables seamless cash-in/cash-out services for unbanked users across Nigeria. He also emphasised the importance of PalmPay’s USSD platform, 861#, which allows users with basic phones or limited internet access to perform essential financial transactions.
“Financial inclusion goes beyond access; it must be equitable and tailored to real-life needs,” Chika Nwosu said. He shared how PalmPay leverages behavioural insights to design impactful services, including affordable health insurance, reliable bill payments, merchant solutions, and automated savings features that support financial discipline among users.
The session further examined the role of grassroots agents and community touchpoints in driving last-mile adoption. Chika Nwosu noted that PalmPay’s widespread community presence continues to build trust and encourage excluded populations to embrace digital financial tools.
The session was moderated by Ronke Kuye of the CeBIH Advisory Council and featured representatives from E-Doc Online, SmartCash Payment Service Bank, SANEF, and EFINA.
PalmPay reaffirmed its commitment to driving accessible, secure, and inclusive financial services for all Nigerians. PalmPay is a leading digital banking platform driving financial inclusion and economic empowerment in underserved emerging markets. Through its secure, user-friendly, and inclusive suite of financial services, PalmPay empowers individuals and businesses with tools to manage and grow their money.
PalmPay offers a comprehensive range of products, including mobile payments, savings, and micro-insurance via its app and mobile money agent network.
Since launching in Nigeria in 2019 under a Mobile Money Operator license, the platform has grown to over 35 million app users. PalmPay has operations in Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, and Bangladesh.
Reality Defender and 1Kosmos have announced a strategic partnership that will see the deepfake detection firm integrate its real-time deepfake defenses into 1Kosmos’ blockchain-based biometric authentication platform.
Deepfake
A release says the integration enhances the platform’s existing PAD capabilities with new signals on both live and pre-recorded AI-generated image and video impersonations: “multimodal deepfake detection” that “enhances ISO/IEC 30107-3 PAD Level 2 performance to counter the growing share of synthetic-media attacks.”
“Deepfake attacks are evolving faster than most organizations can adapt, and detecting them requires specialized, continuously updated models,” says Ben Colman, CEO of Reality Defender. Reality Defender’s models keep pace with regulatory changes like the EU AI Act and upcoming ISO 25456 standards, to ensure seamless compliance.
“Advances in AI-generated impersonations are rewriting the rules of identity assurance and ratcheting up fraud losses,” says Mike Engle, chief strategy officer for 1Kosmos. “By adding Reality Defender as an embedded detection layer, we’re enabling enterprises to verify identity with greater certainty and stop AI-driven impersonation attacks before they result in financial loss, brand damage, or regulatory consequences.”
The product deploys without friction, integrating natively into existing 1Kosmos workflows, identity stacks, and user experiences with no new licenses, retraining or rearchitecture.
Resemble AI heads straight to market with new funding
Resemble AI has raised 13 million dollars in strategic funding to accelerate development on its voice generation and deepfake detection products. An announcement says the investment round includes Google’s AI Future Fund, Okta Ventures, Taiwania Capital, Gentree Fund, IAG Capital Partners, Berkeley Frontier Fund and KDDI – partnerships, the firm says, that “create immediate paths to market distribution and embed our technology within key identity and security ecosystems.”
The company says its deepfake detection model achieves 98 percent accuracy across more than 40 languages with multimodal threat detection across audio, video, images and text, and enhanced explainability for content analysis. It intends to use the investment to “fuel our global expansion and accelerate the development of our AI detection platform.”
FARx releases new multimodal deepfake detection tool
FARx, which bills itself as “the world’s only fused-biometrics company,” has announced the launch of FARx 2.0, its new generation of biometric software which fuses speaker, speech and face recognition for added capabilities in synthetic and cloned voice detection. The software can be integrated into browsers, apps and communication systems, and operates in the background to provide continuous multi-factor authentication without disruption.
A post on the firm’s LinkedIn page says FARx 2.0 “identifies not just what is being said but who is speaking, enabling it to detect and block attempts to spoof someone’s identity using synthetic voices, deepfakes, or cloned audio and video.” Trained on some 55,000 synthetic voices from real telephony environments, it can “reliably distinguish between real and AI-generated voices.”
The Malvern Gazette quotes Clive Summerfield, CEO of the Worcestershire, UK-based firm, who says the new product aims to deliver “an even more sophisticated, flexible biometric multi-factor authentication technology to users across a broad range of industries and applications.”
“Legacy voice biometrics and traditional MFA systems are simply no longer enough to outsmart the new era of AI-powered threats.”
The launch follows a recent investment of 250,000 pounds (about US$337,00) through the Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme (SEIS).
Grant funds deepfake tool tailored to South Korea, Singapore
A team from Singapore Management University (SMU) has won a grant to develop a deepfake detection tool. A release says the project will be “the first multilingual deepfake data set that includes dialectal variants such as Singlish and Korean dialects.”
“Many existing tools don’t perform well on Asian languages, accents, or content,” says Professor He Shengfeng, who leads the team. “We’re focused on building something that fits the specific needs of our region.”
Understanding different linguistic, socio-cultural and environmental characteristics was a key requirement for the grant, which comes from AI Singapore (AISG) and South Korea’s Institute for Information & Communication Technology Planning & Evaluation (IITP).
The team has dubbed its tool DeepShield, which its proposal paper calls “the first unified interpretable detection system capable of handling diverse and multi-modal manipulations – including object insertions, lighting alterations, background swaps, and voice dubbing – within a single, explainable pipeline.”
Overall, DeepShield wants to position itself as “not merely a detection tool, but a next-generation AI governance layer for digital media integrity – setting it apart from commercial offerings in both ambition and design.” The ultimate goal is a spin-off startup that He imagines licensing services such as deepfake forensics, media authenticity verification, enterprise compliance and digital governance to public and private enterprise.
Work commences in January 2026 with the scouring of large-scale, publicly available datasets such as the YouTube8M dataset.
Ant International’s winning deepfake detector looks to eliminate bias
Ant International has won first place at the NeurIPS Competition of Fairness in AI Face Detection. A release from the company says its entry trumped over 2,100 submissions from 162 teams globally.
The deepfake detection contest challenged participants to develop AI models that “not only achieve high-utility performance but also demonstrate fairness across demographic subgroups such as gender, age, and skin tone.”
“A biased AI is an insecure AI,” says Dr. Tianyi Zhang, general manager of risk management and cybersecurity at Ant International. “Our model’s fairness prevents exploitation from deepfakes and ensures reliable identity verification for all users, supporting our mission to deliver secure and inclusive financial services worldwide.”
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