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Consumer Advocacy in a Liberalized Telecom Sector

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Consumer advocacy is a form of social network which protects the interests of consumers. For instance, consumers posting their reviews on consumer advocacy sites will stir companies’ behavior towards consumers. Consumer advocacy and consumer protection is linked to the idea of consumer rights (that consumers have various rights as consumers), and to the formation of consumer organizations which help consumers make better choices in the marketplace.
Telecommunications sector is the only sector of the country’s economy that consumer’s right are protected as well as give opportunity to interface with service providers. It stands on a tripod. This did not happen spontaneously. It is as a result of regulatory framework initiated by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The consumer wants the services to be of a good quality and affordable. The consumer wants the operator to respond at all times when he or she needs attention, and to provide explanations whenever anything goes wrong. The consumer wants to be protected at all times from being taken advantage of by service providers. Just like consumers of any services, the consumer of telecom services wants to be well treated. The commission has recognized all these and has put in place special structures to ensure that the needs and desires of the consumer are taken care of. For NCC, the consumer is the main object, the subject and the reason for their being.
Against this backdrop, that the sector has good number of consumer advocacy groups that are active in the industry which the commission is supporting to ensure that interest of consumers are taken care of, such groups include, National Association of Telecommunications Consumers Association (Natcomms), Consumer Right Project, among others.
Support for advocacy
The commission has many stakeholders in the regulatory process. These stakeholders include the government, consumers, the operators, the media, and the international community, among few others. The commission strives to meet the expectations of the many stakeholders.
The Commission is supportive of the activities of several Consumer Advocacy Groups. This is novel approach in the history of consumer care in Nigeria.
 Collaboration with Consumer Protection Council (CPC): The Commission has signed an MOU with the CPC aimed at collaborating to further ensure protection of Consumers in relation to telecom service delivery.
Mr. Ken Ugbechie, executive secretary, Africa Telecom Development Initiative (ATDI), a Pan-African non Governmental Organization (NGO) committed to the development of telecom on the continent, said the telecom regulator’s revolutionary advocacy for the protection of telecom consumers in the country through the monthly telecom consumer parliament," is unequal.
According to him, upon the licensing of the Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) companies in 2001, NCC oriented itself to regulatory activism to protect the consumer, thereby raising the quality of service consciousness among operators and promotion of potentials in the nation’s ICT market.
Mr. Ugbechie also said such initiative speaks volume of a people-centric commission wholly committed to protecting the consumer in an increasingly capitalist investment environment.
He pointed out that through the Parliament, consumers have a voice and equally been heard. "More importantly, the consumer, the operator and the regulator now have a regular forum to rub minds for the overall development of the telecom sector," he declared. ATDI noted that by moving the event from one part of the country to another every month has assisted the operators to access and better appreciate their level of market penetration, quality of service delivery in addition to consumer behavior.
Government
Government is a very important stakeholder in the job of telecom regulation. The policy and the laws being implemented by the commission have been prepared and enacted by government for good of society. The government’s interest in the process also varies.
Government is interested that services are made available to the Nigerian people in a timely, qualitative and affordable manner and that activities in the sector are carried out in a legal and orderly manner. Government is also interested in creating an enabling environment that would continue to attract investment in the sector so that her desires for the people are substantially met.
The commission in all its actives is therefore mindful of the need to protect, preserve and implement actions and programmes that meet the expectations and objectives of government.
Service providers
The operators also belong to a class of stakeholders in the business of telecom regulation. Apart from obtaining their operational license, with certain obligations attached to them, the operators also expect certain obligations from government and the regulator. They expect a non partial regulator to protect their huge investment. They want the Commission to ensure that no other entity interferes with their network resources such as frequently spectrum. They expect a regulator that will not be arbitrary in decision making and one that will regulate by the rules as contained in the license agreement and provisions of the laws and regulations.
The Consumer
The commission does not just theorises about empowering the consumer in industry, it has given practical expressions to this phenomenon through actions, policies and programmes which have venerated, empowered, protected and uplifted him/her in the comity of stakeholder in the industry. Prior to the enactment of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, the commission had in September 2001 established a full fledged department called Consumer Affairs Bureau. The Bureau was charged with the mandate – to Protect, Inform and Educate the Nigerian telecoms consumers. This mandate has remained and irrevocable social contract between the commission and telecoms consumers in the country. At its maiden Consumer Forum at Flamingo Restaurant in Victoria Island in April 2002 and shortly after in August 2003, it launched the monthly Telecoms Consumer Parliament, a novel regulatory initiative that earned the commission, commendations not only in Nigeria, but from ITU, ICT professionals and groups across the globe. At the last count, 56 sessions of Telecoms Consumer Parliament has helped in no small measure in creating awareness of the rights of consumers and the obligations of the service providers in the resolution of their problems and concerns. It has enable operators to clarify issues pertaining to service delivery for the benefit of their subscribers and also to publicly give account of their stewardship to the people. Useful feedbacks have emanated from the programme which culminated in far-reaching regulatory interventions by the commission.
The commission has over the years proactively enunciated policies and programmes that served the interest of the consumers through promotion of competition in all segments of the telecom services portfolio to ensure that consumers have a wide range of products and services to choose from; and are not held to ransom by any service provider. Based on feedbacks received from consumers at the TCP, the commission intervened on the issue of tariff charged subscribers for calls made to customer care lines to lay consumers complaints.
In line with the commissions consumer-centric philosophy that it inaugurated a twelve-man Industry Consumer Advisory Forum, (ICAF), headed by Mrs. Ifeyinwa Umenyi the director general of the Consumer Protection Council to review the general consumer code of practice regulations by the Commission as well as facilitate consumer protection, information and educational programmes.
ICAF acts in advisory capacity, and will make recommendations to the commission regarding the interests and concerns of the consumer of ICT products and services, the interests and concerns of physically challenged and the elderly, ensure that consumers are protected from unfair practices and facilitate the review of the Consumer Code of Practice Regulations 2007 as well as make recommendations on all issues to the commission.
The commission has also defined acceptable quality of service thresholds which operators are expected to meet on the one hand, as well as sanctions in event of failure to meet those threshold. In order to ensure compliance by operators, regular monitoring by the commission of the operations of licenses across the length and breath of the country is undertaken.
Periodic reports on these monitoring activities are published on the website of the commission and in major national newspapers. To underscore the importance that the Board and management of the commission attach to improved QoS on the networks, an industry QoS Working Group was set up with members drawn from the public and private sectors of the economy.
In 2007, the commission caused to be gazetted Consumer Code of Practice Regulation which has become the reference document for both consumers and the operators. Each licensee is required to produce and submit a Code of Practice which has to be reviewed and approved by the Commission. The Code of Practice stipulates Services Level Agreements, the responsibilities and rights of each party, and procedure for resolving disagreements whenever they arise between parties.
Given the diversity of the country coupled with its geographical vastness, the commission has taken it upon itself to promote and nurture consumerism by identifying and collaborating with reputable Consumer Advocacy Groups to facilitate nation-wide consumer protection and empowerment as a precondition for orderly and sustainable growth and development for the telecoms industry in Nigeria.
Nigerians are craving for the replication of consumerism initiatives in telecommunications sector of the country’s economy in other sectors where consumers are badly treated without recourse to rules guiding service provision in those sectors. Among such sectors are energy, financial, healthy and housing.

 

 


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Airtel Money Africa Partners pawaPay for Seamless International Remittances Across Africa

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Airtel Money Africa, Airtel Africa’s mobile money arm, announced an extended partnership with Africa’s largest mobile money payment service provider (PSP) pawaPay to enable seamless cross-border payments for licensed International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) across seven key Airtel Africa markets.

This collaboration officially launches pawaPay’s service for inbound remittances into Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Malawi, Gabon, Congo Brazzaville, and Tanzania. The partnership allows IMTOs to efficiently deliver funds globally directly to recipients’ more than 161 million Airtel Money customers wallets, leveraging pawaPay’s renowned reliability, scalability, and 99.9% platform uptime.

Building on five years of trusted collaboration in domestic mobile money, this expansion strengthens and simplifies Airtel Money Africa’s backend processes, using pawaPay’s robust payment service provider infrastructure, which processes over four million transactions daily.

Airtel Money Africa CEO, Ian Ferrao, said: “We’re pleased to expand our partnership with pawaPay to advance international remittances across Africa. Their proven reliability and commitment to African consumers make them an ideal partner. This integration empowers International Money Transfer Operators to securely connect with Airtel Money’s growing footprint, delivering real-time payments that support financial inclusion and economic growth.”

pawaPay CEO, Nikolai Barnwell, said: “Our mission is to simplify payments for businesses in Africa, and remittances are pivotal. Deepening our relationship with Airtel Money allows International Money Transfer Operators to leverage our world-class infrastructure for seamless cross-border payments.”

Remittances remain critical for millions of Africans, enabling family support, entrepreneurship, and financial inclusion. This partnership ensures secure, instant mobile wallet transactions, key to advancing Africa’s digital economy. pawaPay will extend this capability to additional Airtel Money Africa markets in coming months.


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Rubrik Joins Forces with Sophos to Reinvent M365 Recovery

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Rubrik, the cybersecurity company, and Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, have announced a strategic partnership to provide Sophos M365 Backup and Recovery Powered by Rubrik.

This marks the first Managed Detection and Response (MDR)-optimized Microsoft 365 backup and recovery solution fully integrated into Sophos Central, Sophos’ security operations platform.

Designed to support IT and cybersecurity teams, the new offering will provide a unified global platform to enhance cyber resilience against ransomware, account compromise, insider threats, and data loss in SharePoint, Exchange, OneDrive, and Teams.

“We are reshaping what it means to stay operational in a world shaped by constant digital disruption,” said Joe Levy, CEO, Sophos. “This is the future of cyber resilience: an intelligent, adaptive partnership that ensures organizations remain secure, responsive, and uninterrupted. By combining Sophos’ prevention-first approach with Rubrik’s unwavering recovery capabilities, we empower businesses to withstand attacks and maintain continuity, even under pressure.”

Sophos will offer a powerful new add-on solution for its more than 75,000 MDR and XDR customers, enabling fast, secure recovery of critical Microsoft 365 data in the event of accidental deletion or malicious compromise.

This solution integrates Rubrik’s industry-leading SaaS-based protection directly into the trusted Sophos Central platform, giving organizations the flexibility to enhance their existing security operations with robust data recovery capabilities.

The Sophos Central platform integrates over 350 different telemetry sources across endpoint, cloud, network, identity, email and business applications. The platform leverages deep learning, custom LLMs, and frontier models to detect and respond to threats across the entire attack surface, enhancing defense effectiveness.

“The reality of today’s threat landscape demands a holistic approach to cyber resilience,” said Bipul Sinha, CEO, Chairman, and Co-founder of Rubrik. “With AI-enabled attacks and sophisticated breaches on the rise, organizations need more than just prevention; they need the ability to recover rapidly and reliably. Our partnership with Sophos delivers this critical capability directly within a platform security teams already use and trust, raising the bar for Microsoft 365 resilience.”

The Evolving Threat Landscape

According to The State of Ransomware report by Sophos, nearly half of organizations impacted by ransomware chose to pay the ransom to recover their data. Despite this, only 54% of affected companies relied on backups for data restoration, highlighting a continued gap in effective cyber resilience practices.

Recent research highlights the urgent need for robust Microsoft 365 data protection: 60% of Microsoft 365 tenants have experienced account takeovers, a frequent launchpad for lateral movement within an organization, and 81% have encountered email compromise.

When global admin credentials are compromised, attackers can manipulate retention settings and permanently delete critical business data.

Existing tools were not designed for comprehensive, large-scale recovery, which requires speed, granularity, and reliability for rapid restoration.

Sophos MDR and XDR customers will benefit from:

  • Secure, immutable backups: Rubrik will isolate Microsoft 365 backups with air-gapped storage, WORM locks, and customer-held encryption keys. Multifactor authentication and data lock prevent tampering, even with compromised credentials.
  • Fast, flexible recovery: Customers will be able to restore Microsoft 365 emails, OneDrives, SharePoint sites, Teams channels, and more to original or alternate users, including inactive accounts.
  • Automated protection: Rubrik will automatically discover Microsoft 365 users, sites, and mailboxes, applies Entra ID-based policies, and supports delegated admin – all integrated with Sophos Central to reduce manual effort.
  • Unified experience: Microsoft 365 protection and security operations will be managed via Sophos Central with no extra tools.

Rubrik and Sophos’ shared commitment to helping organizations operate with confidence in the face of risk, will provide Sophos customers and partners with a powerful solution to recover with speed and precision when threats inevitably break through.

This offering will be available through Sophos’ channel partner network in the coming months.


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MTN Nigeria Rolls Out Network-as-a-Service and Signs First MVNO to Drive Industry Efficiency

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MTN Nigeria is deepening its role as an industry enabler with the launch of its Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) platform and the signing of its first Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreement, Chief Financial Officer Modupe Kadri revealed on Monday.

Speaking in an exclusive Channels TV interview, Kadri confirmed that MTN has opened its network to T2 (formerly 9Mobile) under the NaaS framework approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). This allows T2 subscribers to roam seamlessly on MTN’s infrastructure while retaining their own customer relationships and branding.

“Network-as-a-Service is a platform where MNOs can roam within the NCC framework on MTN’s network,” Kadri explained. “It makes the industry more efficient in the utilisation of scarce resources.”

Kadri also announced MTN’s first MVNO partnership, with the virtual operator set to go live soon. MVNOs lease network capacity from established mobile operators, enabling them to offer services without investing in costly infrastructure.

These initiatives align with NCC’s push for infrastructure sharing to boost sector efficiency and coverage. By providing network access to smaller players, MTN is positioning itself as a critical enabler of market expansion.

The Nigerian telecom industry, valued at $10.8 billion, now reaches 169 million active phone lines and over 142 million internet subscribers. While competition remains intense, the trend toward infrastructure sharing is expected to lower barriers to entry for new service providers, increase service quality, and expand access in underserved areas.

“As MTN, we are here to help the industry survive,” Kadri said. “It makes it much easier when you see other operators willing to come on and provide quality services to Nigerians, which we all deserve.”

Industry analysts view the move as a strategic diversification for MTN. With voice revenues plateauing and data driving growth, shared network models offer new revenue streams and a hedge against market saturation.

MTN’s investments in NaaS and MVNO partnerships are part of its broader transformation strategy, which also includes cost optimisation, forex risk reduction, and targeted capital expenditure to strengthen network quality.


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