E-Business
Ericsson Envisions 50Bn Networked Connections Globally by 2020
Ericsson has envisioned a Networked Society in which there would be 50 billion connections globally by 2020. Ericsson is leading the way in enabling the Networked Society in Africa as the world is experiencing a shift that rivals the magnitude of the journey into the industrial society as the world moves from the information society to the Networked Society, where the primary concern is not having access to information, but what benefit people get out of it. To this end, the company begun the first of a series of road shows in Lagos and will host five of its kind across sub-Saharan Africa between March and September this year to create the environment to imagine and understand the possibilities of a Networked Society in Africa. In this Networked Society people, knowledge and information are to be connected for continuous transformation driven by collaboration and creativity. These connections would be between mobile handsets, from machine to machine and between handsets and other devices. Shiletsi Makhofane, head of Marketing and Strategy, Ericsson sub-Saharan Africa said: “Africa will be part of this Networked Society and Ericsson is already playing a role in driving this reality. For example in education we introduced the Connect to Learn project. We are using mobile technology to help lost families meet again through Refugees United. In addition we are enabling Smart Cities by connecting all municipal offices in the City of Johannesburg to improve the performance and efficiency of local government and connecting government to the people.” The focus areas for the three-day event are Broadband, Smart Cities and Smart Villages, Network Efficiencies and Enterprise and Vertical Segment. The purpose of the sessions is to discuss the possibilities offered by the Networked Society. The road show will be attended by a cross sectional audience of senior management from local and regional operators, and representatives from local, regional and national government, the private sector and media. An Ericsson-commissioned study by Arthur D. Little found that for every 10 percentage point increase in broadband penetration, GDP grows about 1 percent. In addition, for every 1000 additional broadband users, roughly 80 new jobs are created. In this context Ericsson sees broadband as a key enabler of a 21st century infrastructure that will transform the way we live, including how we access virtually every product and service. A digital economy will emerge out of this infrastructure that will stimulate innovation across all sectors of society. Gary Dewing, country manager, Ericsson Nigeria said: “There is little doubt that Africa is taking the first steps towards a Networked Society and we want to use this road show to highlight that Ericsson is aware of its role in Africa and show our current and potential customers how we can help them transform society. This is not a farfetched concept. We are already seeing the results of Ericsson’s vision of a Networked Society in areas such as animal tracking, healthcare and logistics.” Participants at the Networked Society road show will hear Ericsson’s thoughts on existing and new industries including Smart Cities, Utilities, TV and Public Safety. Smart City workshops will be held for operators, city and government officials as well as representatives from verticals such as power utilities. Sessions explaining Ericsson’s vision and highlighting solutions around LTE, green power, cloud computing and mobile broadband all form part of the road show. Makhofane continues: “Unique opportunities exist in Africa for mobile applications that do not exist in developed markets. Already more people in sub-Saharan Africa connect to Internet using a mobile device than a fixed connection. Future access to broadband Internet in this region will mostly be via a wireless device.”
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has commenced a forensic investigation into the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lotus Bank and Hackerbella Ltd over alleged violations of data protection laws involving students’ personal information.
The investigation follows public complaints alleging that students’ personal data were used to open bank accounts without a lawful basis.
Dr Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner and chief executive officer of the NDPC, directed the investigation team to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the circumstances surrounding the collection, processing, use and disclosure of the affected students’ personal data.
The investigation will also determine the respective roles and responsibilities of UNILAG, Lotus Bank and Hackerbella in the alleged processing of the data.
According to the Commission, the investigation will assess the data protection compliance obligations of the parties under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 (NDP Act), as well as potential risks posed to the rights and freedoms of the affected data subjects.
The NDPC said the probe would cover several areas, including Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), the lawfulness and transparency of credit scoring or profiling activities, and the use of automated decision-making systems.
It will also examine the adequacy of privacy notices, data-sharing arrangements, lawful bases for processing, data minimisation and purpose limitation.
Other areas include data retention policies and the adequacy of technical and organisational measures put in place to safeguard the rights and personal data of affected students.
The Commission reiterated that institutions entrusted with the personal data of students, staff and other members of their communities have a heightened responsibility to ensure that such information is processed lawfully, fairly, transparently and securely.
The NDPC therefore warned educational institutions that are yet to comply with its existing data protection compliance directives to take immediate steps to achieve compliance.
The Commission said it would continue to exercise its regulatory mandate to protect the privacy rights of Nigerians and ensure that organisations processing personal data comply with the provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
Microsoft is planning to unveil its new Maia 300 AI chip this fall, potentially as soon as next month, The Information reported on Monday, citing people with direct knowledge of the plans.
The company introduced its Maia AI chip in November 2023 but has lagged rivals such as Alphabet and Amazon in scaling up its in-house chip efforts as it seeks to reduce its reliance on Nvidia’s costly processors.
Google began recognizing revenue from direct sales of its custom AI chips, called Tensor Processing Units, in the quarter ended June, while Amazon has also seen growing adoption of its processors, including its Trainium chips.
Microsoft has been in talks with chipmaker TSMC to secure manufacturing capacity for more than 300,000 units of the chip for delivery in 2027, according to the report. It is also looking to significantly ramp up production and persuade major cloud customers such as Anthropic to adopt the chip.
Microsoft ultimately aims to secure capacity for more than 1 million Maia 300 chips, though component supplies and ongoing capacity negotiations with TSMC could constrain its plans, according to the report.
It unveiled its second-generation Maia 200 in January, built by TSMC using 3-nanometer technology.
Microsoft packed the chip with a significant amount of SRAM, a type of memory that can provide speed advantages for AI systems handling large numbers of user requests.
X has announced plans to discontinue its Revenue Sharing programme and introduce a new Original Content Rewards programme to reward creators for producing original content on the platform.
The social media company announced the changes at the weekend in a post on its X Creators handle, saying the new programme would reward creators who contribute original content.
“Today, we’re introducing the Original Content Rewards Program, a new way to reward creators who bring original ideas, expertise, reporting, creativity, and commentary to X,” the company said.
X said it would stop accepting new enrolments into the Revenue Sharing programme from Friday, while existing participants would continue earning until September 7, 2026.
“Starting today, we’re no longer accepting new enrollments into Revenue Sharing,” it said.
According to the company, existing Revenue Sharing participants will receive three final payouts, with two scheduled for August 14 and August 28, while the final payment for earnings accrued through September 7 is expected around September 11.
X said existing Revenue Sharing participants would begin getting access to apply for the new programme from September 8, subject to meeting its eligibility requirements.
The first payout under the Original Content Rewards programme will be made on August 28, 2026, while existing Revenue Sharing creators who enrol in the new programme from September 8 will receive their first payment on September 25.
Under the new programme, eligible creators will earn from qualified impressions generated by their original content, with payments made every two weeks.
X defined qualified impressions as unique impressions from Premium users on the Home Timeline feed, where at least 50 per cent of a post is visible.
On the other hand, “The following are excluded from qualified impressions: impressions from the same account counted more than once per post; paid, promoted, or artificially generated impressions; and fraudulent impressions,” it said.
To qualify, creators must be at least 18 years old, live in a country where the programme is available, maintain an account in good standing and have either a personal or vusiness account.
They must also subscribe to X Premium, Premium+ or Premium Business, have at least 500 verified followers and record at least 500,000 Home Timeline impressions from verified users within the previous 90 days.
X said creators must also regularly post original content to remain eligible.
“We want to recognize creators who break news, share expertise, tell stories, create entertainment, and contribute meaningful perspectives to the conversation,” the company said.
The platform said original content could include threads, videos, memes, graphics, illustrations, reporting, analysis, commentary and reactions that add meaningful value to existing conversations.
It said creators who use content produced by others would need to add meaningful commentary, context, analysis, humour or creative transformation for such posts to qualify.
“Building on existing conversations is a core part of X, but simply reposting someone else’s content is not enough,” it said.
X said minor edits such as cropping, filters, borders, watermarks, speed adjustments or simple text overlays would generally not qualify as meaningful transformation on their own.
It also warned that content copied or substantially reproduced from another creator, content downloaded and re-uploaded from X or another platform without being the original author’s, automated content, disinformation and misleading content would be ineligible.
The company said accounts that violate the programme’s requirements could be temporarily or permanently removed from it, depending on the severity of the violation.
It added that creators would be responsible for ensuring they had the necessary rights, permissions or licences to use content created by others.
“Original content is content you personally create that reflects your own voice, perspective, expertise, or creativity,” X said.
The company said the new programme was intended to reward creators who make the platform more valuable by bringing original ideas and perspectives to its conversations.
“The Original Content Rewards Program is designed to reward the creators who start them, shape them, and move them forward,” it said.
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