Telecom
CTO Celebrates 115 Years of Existence
Activities to mark the 115th anniversary of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) were announced last week at a special anniversary launch ceremony attended by over 120 member country representatives, diplomats, industry executives and journalists.
The CTO’s origins go back to 1901 with the creation of the Pacific Cable Board (PCB) established to operate the first trans-Pacific sub-marine telegraphic cable linking Canada to Australia.
With the advent of radio communications and the expansion of the cable system to other regions forming a global submarine cable network, PCB would undergo several changes, including the creation of Cable & Wireless and, shortly after, the Commonwealth Communications Council, one of the bodies created to oversee access to the cable system and which will be later merged to form the CTO in its present form.
In her congratulatory message to the CTO’s Secretary-General Shola Taylor, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II said that she was interested to learn that “the anniversary launch event will look to a future of new technologies, as well as reflect of the role of telecommunications over the last century.”
After giving a brief historical account of the history of the CTO to delegates guests at the anniversary launch ceremony held in London on Wednesday, Secretary-General Shola Taylor remarked: “The ICT landscape is changing fast and the theme of our celebrations aptly captures the developments that are taking place. The challenges of building infrastructure to provide for the four billion people currently not connected in the world stares us in the face.
“Governments have to adopt the right policies. Regulators have to ensure that they provide an enabling regulatory environment to attract the high capital investments required for infrastructure expansion. Operators and service providers must also deliver the much needed infrastructure to spur economic growth.” Mr Taylor said.
Celebrated under the theme “From Subsea to Cyberspace”, the anniversary year will include the holding of the Commonwealth ICT Awards for achievements by members in a range of areas including universal access, capacity building, policy and regulatory environments, cybersecurity, and youth empowerment, as well as the Commonwealth Youth ICT Applications Competition aimed at youths in Commonwealth countries, with entry categories for 2016 to include e-commerce, e-education, e-agriculture, and e-health.
Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice-chairman and CEO of the Nigerian Communications Commission and current Chairman of the CTO Council highlighted one of the key present-day challenges: “In many ways, the current and central issue of universal access to safe, reliable and affordable communication technologies is a race against time, because those who are deprived from accessing modern communication technologies are left further behind by the day.” he said.
Kamalesh Sharma, Commonwealth secretary-general who also addressed the audience at the launch ceremony highlighted the CTO’s “truly exemplary” role in establishing the infrastructure to connect the Commonwealth, from its earliest days when telegraph cables were first being run under the world’s oceans.
“Today, the CTO is working closely with the Commonwealth Secretariat to advocate for ICT access for all, and helps governments and the private sector to utilise telecommunications as means of connection and inclusion”, Secretary-General Sharma noted.
Also speaking at the launch event was Alhaji Alpha Kanu, minister of Communications of Sierra Leone who said technology had been critical during the West African country’s fight against Ebola and called for more efforts to achieve universal ‘computeracy’.
Also present at the event, Malcolm Johnson, Deputy Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union said: “The CTO has common objectives and a largely common membership with ITU, so we look forward to working together with CTO to help achieve the SDGs, and bring the benefits of the information society to all the world’s people.” as he concluded his address on the stakes at play in the global digital economy.
Theresa Swinehart, ICANN’s Senior Adviser to the President, highlighted the challenges and opportunities with cyberspace and ICANN’s continued efforts to ensure a harmonious and inclusive development of the Internet.
Conditions of participation in the above awards and competition will be released on the CTO’s website next week.
Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) on Monday commended the Federal Ministry of Communication, Innovation, and Digital Economy (FMCIDE) for spearheading a new initiative known as ‘Project Bridge’.
Tony Emoekpere, president, ATCON, stated in an interview with NAN in Lagos that the initiative aimed to create a robust and resilient telecommunications backbone across Nigeria.
Emoekpere stated that the project was an ambitious public-private partnership designed to connect all 36 states and Abuja, as well as LGAs, via fiber optic cables.
According to him, the initiative is not meant to replace existing infrastructure but to complement it, creating a more resilient network.
“Right now, most of the networks that we have are linear in nature. ’Just imagine, if there’s only one road from Lagos to Ibadan; if anything happens to that road, you would not get to Ibadan.
‘’This project will create alternative routes,” he said.
The ATCON boss stated that the project was modeled after the successful PPP framework in the energy sector, with the government contributing a certain percentage to the Special Purpose Vehicle and the private sector providing the remaining funding.
He stated that the project’s goal was to establish alternative, redundant connections, thereby ensuring that services remained uninterrupted even if one part of the network was compromised.
The president expressed the full support of telcos, noting that the project would enable members to deliver services more effectively in locations where infrastructure was currently a significant challenge.
“With this project, we will have multiple options,” he said.
Project BRIDGE involves building a nationwide fiber optic network to expand digital infrastructure and connectivity, rather than a physical bridge, as part of Nigeria’s National Broadband Plan.
The project is a public-private partnership ($2 billion cost) using an SPV to deploy 90,000km of fiber-optic cable to enhance education, healthcare, and the digital economy.
MTN Nigeria has successfully completed a scheduled network maintenance operation that affected 101 sites across 15 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Adamawa, Borno, and Kano States.
The restoration marks a significant step in the company’s ongoing efforts to enhance service reliability in the Northeast region, amidst multiple fibre cuts and vandalism.
The maintenance, which took place on Sunday, August 24, involved the cutover of traffic to a newly installed fiber span along the AFCOT–Bawo Village route in Adamawa State.
This upgrade was necessary to replace a previously damaged section of the network infrastructure. All service maintenance was done within timeframe and restorations before 1 PM on Sunday August 24th.
We can confirm that all impacted sites have been fully restored, and services are now operating normally. We appreciate our subscribers’ patience and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused during the downtime.
The affected services included 2G, 3G, 4G, and enterprise connectivity, with temporary disruptions experienced in LGAs such as Girei, Song, Mubi North, Hong, and Michika in Adamawa; Askira/Uba and Shani in Borno; and Nasarawa in Kano.
The work was scheduled during daylight hours to ensure the safety of field engineers, given the linear and unprotected nature of the route.
This restoration is part of MTN’s broader strategy to strengthen its infrastructure in underserved regions and ensure consistent service delivery across Nigeria, amidst constant fibre cuts and vandalism.
TikTok has launched its music insights platform, TikTok for Artists, in Nigeria to support artist growth and fan engagement across the country’s vibrant music industry.
The platform, which debuted globally earlier this year, provides artists, labels, and management teams with access to daily-updated dashboards and analytics tools to track music performance, audience demographics, and fan interactions.
Toyin Mustapha, Head of Music Partnerships for the UK, Ireland, and Sub-Saharan Africa at TikTok, said the initiative was part of the company’s commitment to empowering African creators.
“With the launch of TikTok for Artists in Nigeria, we’re giving artists and their teams access to insights that can help them engage their fans in more meaningful ways and grow their careers globally,” Mustapha said.
The platform offers detailed song performance metrics, including views, posts, and creator engagements per track. It also provides granular post-level data such as likes, comments, shares, and completion rates, alongside demographic breakdowns by gender, age, and language.
In addition to analytics, TikTok for Artists includes educational resources and step-by-step guides to help artists build sustainable careers.
A key feature of the platform is the Pre-Release tool, which allows artists to launch campaigns for upcoming albums and enables fans to pre-save tracks on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
British artist Jordan Adetunji described the platform as a “game changer,” noting its value in helping artists and their teams plan effective campaigns.
TikTok said the rollout reaffirms its investment in Africa’s creative economy and aims to foster deeper connections between artists and fans across the continent.
The platform is now available to all certified TikTok Artist Accounts, with access also extendable to managers and label teams.
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