Telecom
Fast and Furious Mobility Hands End-Users More Power
Enterprise mobility, cloud computing, bring your own device (BYOD), the consumerisation of IT, collaboration, social media… the list of ICT trends is large.
But while the vast array of devices and capabilities at the fingertips of end-users has redefined the way we live, work and connect, the current megatrend in IT departments is that they’re overwhelmed, overburdened and struggling to enable and support users in this era of pervasive mobility.
However, with proper capacity, coverage and performance optimisation, organisations can begin to ride the mobility wave rather than get dragged under it.
Who’s in charge of procurement?
According to Nadeem Ahmad, Dimension Data’s Global Technology Director for Network Integration, when it comes to new devices on their networks, many organisations are playing catch up.
“IT teams can’t stop the proliferation of consumer devices accessing their networks, even if they wanted to. The days when the IT department dictated what you work on and where you work are over. The end-user has more power than ever before.
In fact, BYOD is one of the most influential trends to hit IT, and has literally redefined the way devices are used in the workplace,” added Ahmad. Employees want to integrate their personal and professional lives using their mobile devices and leverage the productivity gains that anywhere, anytime, any device connectivity provides.
Organisations are being forced to adapt quickly to the consumer device phenomenon or lose their relevance in what is now a world ‘on the go’.
Recent statistics indicate that on average, employees have 2.5 devices each. What’s more, they expect to use the advanced functionality and applications these devices offer – whether watching videos or Voice over WLAN – anywhere, anytime.
In addition, Cisco predicts that by 2016, mobile connected tablets will generate almost as much traffic as the entire global mobile network does today.
Tablets are just the latest bandwidth hogs, and – according to industry analyst firm, Gartner – “just the tip of the mobility iceberg”.
“When you consider that the media tablet market didn’t even exist two years ago, the only thing you can plan for when it comes to mobile innovation is more, more, and more,” said Ahmad who points out that a well-designed, pervasive WLAN infrastructure used to be a ‘nice to have’ but it’s now rapidly become a ‘must have’ necessity.
“The good news is that there’s much that organisations can do to help with the coverage and capacity of their wireless network and meet user requirements around service, performance and seamless mobility,” he said.
Let’s talk infrastructure
In particular, *802.11n enables optimal coverage, reliability and performance across the corporate network infrastructure for data, voice, video and other services vital to supporting mission critical mobile applications and services so if you’re still nursing along a legacy 802.11 a, b or g infrastructure, it’s time to upgrade.
And in many instances, connectivity plans need to include mesh topology to support communication in emergency situations, outdoors or in harsh environments.
When designing a high-density WLAN, it’s also important to consider the performance implications of all the tablets, smartphones and other Wi-Fi devices in a small area and that the integration of these multiple devices occurs with ease.
Today’s newer mobile devices all use 802.11n, but IT needs to make sure that other users with older devices and older technology – still common in the workplace – don’t suffer.
In reality, many IT departments have been looking at this from the wrong end.
“They’ve been so busy making sure the executives or the sales guys have the latest tablets they want and trying to cater to end users bringing in their own devices that they haven’t given enough thought to the fact their WLAN wasn’t designed for all these devices,” explains Ahmed. “But if you don’t optimise your technology and infrastructure, your network will simply not be able to withstand this uncontrolled explosion of new devices.”
Heavy traffic forecasted – expect delays Gary Middleton, Dimension Data’s Business Development Manager for Network Integration believes we only need to look at the traffic forecast to understand the magnitude of the problem.
According to a recent Cisco report, between 2011 and 2016, there will be an 18 fold increase in mobile data traffic. This translates to a compound annual growth rate of 78% over five years.
“That’s huge”, explains Middleton. “It’s almost doubling the amount of traffic per year that will be handled on global networks. Of course, not all of that will be on the enterprise network: much of it will be on the service provider networks.
However, – any way you slice it – it’s massive growth and organisations need to prepare the networks for this,” he said.
According to Middleton, it is one thing getting these devices connected to the network: the challenge is managing how all this new traffic affects network performance.
“A smart phone now generates 35x more traffic, and a tablet 121x more than a regular cell phone. This amount of traffic – and the rich content, graphic data and ingenious applications that make these devices so attractive – are extremely tough on the network, and if not addressed, will affect performance,” he warns.
Intelligent networking
He says this is where intelligent networking becomes so important. “Organisations need to apply the concept of context. What is being connected; who is connecting; where they are connecting; from and what are they doing? This form of meaningful context is important when handling the network traffic and applying network resources in an appropriate way.”
With the ability to set policy on the prioritisation of traffic, organisations can make sure that, when the network is flooded with traffic, the business critical applications will get the bandwidth they need first.
A ‘free for all’ BYOD policy could come at the cost of mission critical applications. If an employee is at a client and cannot access the information he needs to close a deal because a training seminar is being transmitted to 50 users, then mobility could be getting in the way, and as a result, will stop enabling business.
Middleton said there are many technologies that can be applied to the network to improve performance and manage traffic better.
“For example, it’s possible to load-balanced users across applications using the context information we have – and even make sure that an iPad receives a more mobile version of an application, so as not to cause bottlenecks on the network.”
Planning for progress
Historically, organisations planned and budgeted around a seven year depreciation of their network.
However, with (just) mobile traffic growing at such exponential rates, that seven year depreciation period will not apply anymore.
The pace of technology innovation means that the usable life of the capital asset is much shorter. Clients that are holding out for calendar driven refresh over business-agility driven refresh are at risk of falling behind their more ‘mobility conscious’ competitors and losing their appeal to tech-savvy talent.
What we know for sure is the ever-increasing number and type of employee-owned devices in the workplace will be more bandwidth and information hungry than ever before.
And secondly, without proper consideration and future-proof planning, the IT headache is going to get bigger, particularly when network performance really begins to suffer.
“Failing to plan is certainly planning to fail when it comes to enterprise mobility,” said Ahmad.
“Today, IT departments take a reactive approach, which is understandable given the speed at which all this is happening. However, it’s critical they become more proactive and put a plan in place. When it comes to the various disciplines of enterprise mobility, we are helping more and more clients map the current stage of where they are today, where they want to be in the future and put together a clear development path to ensure they achieve these objectives,” concludes Ahmad.
*802.11n wireless networks let you create a seamless working environment by combining the mobility of wireless with the performance of wired networks.
Wireless Application Service Providers Association of Nigeria (WASPAN) has asked the Court of Appeal to suspend the enforcement of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission’s (FCCPC) Digital, Electronic, Online or Non-Traditional Consumer Lending Regulations, 2025 (DEON Regulations).
WASPAN warned that the implementation before the determination of its appeal could expose telecom value-added service providers to sanctions and disrupt their operations.
Millions of subscribers across the country rely on borrowed airtime to communicate.
Seun Sofoluwe, an Abeokuta, Ogun State resident, said another interruption would have severe consequences for many Nigerians who depend on airtime and data lending services for their daily communication needs.
“A lot of people depend on the services, and it will be very bad for them, especially those who are so reliant on it that they do debt-to-debt servicing,” he said.
Debt-to-debt servicing refers to the practice of repaying an outstanding airtime loan immediately to qualify for another advance, underscoring the extent to which some subscribers depend on the facility to remain connected.
Sofoluwe’s concerns echo the experience of Lagos-based employee Farouk Rabiu, who recounted the hardship caused by the six-month suspension of airtime lending services before they were restored.
“I was devastated because, after exhausting my data, I was hoping to borrow credit to access my bank account. Instead, it was a major disappointment,” Rabiu had said after the services resumed.
Adding another dimension to the debate, Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said the earlier disruption showed that airtime credit had evolved far beyond a conventional telecommunications offering.
“What this episode demonstrated is that airtime credit is not a financial product in the way regulators initially characterised it. It is economic infrastructure that approximately 40 million people use regularly, with the vast majority of them at the base of the economy,” Adebayo said.
WASPAN, which represents licensed value-added service providers, has asked the Court of Appeal to restrain the FCCPC from enforcing the DEON Regulations pending the hearing of its appeal against the July 20 judgment of the Federal High Court in Lagos.
The association argued that immediate enforcement would expose operators to sanctions, create regulatory uncertainty and disrupt telecom-enabled services, including airtime credit and data advances, used daily by millions of Nigerians.
The FCCPC, however, has defended the resumption of enforcement, insisting the regulations are intended to sanitise the digital lending industry, curb predatory debt recovery practices, protect consumer data and eliminate illegal digital lenders.
The Court of Appeal is expected to determine whether enforcement of the regulations should remain suspended while it considers WASPAN’s appeal, a decision that could shape the future of telecom-based digital lending services and determine whether subscribers continue to enjoy uninterrupted access to airtime and data credit.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) have entered into a partnership to deploy renewable energy solutions for telecommunications infrastructure in rural and underserved communities, a move expected to reduce operators’ energy costs and improve network availability.
Abraham Oshadami, executive commissioner for Technical Services at the NCC, disclosed this during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Abuja.
According to Oshadami, the NCC-REA Stakeholder Forum and MoU signing ceremony will enable telecom base stations located near mini-grids to access cleaner and more affordable electricity, reducing their reliance on diesel-powered generators.
He said the agreement came at a time when telecom operators are facing rising operational costs due to increased spending on diesel to power network sites amid unreliable electricity supply from the national grid.
The partnership reflects the growing relationship between the power and telecommunications sectors, as both rely on each other to deliver essential services.
Oshadami explained that while telecom infrastructure requires a steady power supply to remain operational, digital connectivity also supports electricity services such as smart metering, electronic payments and remote customer management.
According to him, the collaboration is aimed at improving access to reliable electricity and telecommunications services, particularly in remote communities where inadequate power supply has slowed digital inclusion.
He said both agencies had identified telecom base stations located within one to two kilometres of existing mini-grids, allowing the implementation of the initiative to begin immediately.
“Where mini-grids exist, we are able to identify nearby base stations and connect them to those power sources,” Oshadami said.
He added that future mini-grid projects would be planned with telecommunications infrastructure in mind, ensuring that electricity investments also support the expansion of digital services.
Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Dr Aminu Maida and the Executive Commissioner Stakeholder Management, NCC, Barr. Rimini Makama, congratulating Engr. Kezias Kazuba Mwale of Zambia (middle) as the newly elected Secretary General of the African Telecommunications Union, ATU, at the 7th Ordinary Session of the ATU Conference of Plenipotentiaries held in Abuja, Nigeria on 24th July 2026.
See Verified 20 Countries Nigerian Passport Holders Can Travel Visa-Free
NPC Opens 131 Births, Deaths Registration Centres in Anambra
Lagos Chamber Opposes 21 Percent Pension Contribution, Warns of Job Losses
Subscribers, Telcos Warn FCCPC over Airtime Lending Enforcement
NCC, REA Partner to Cut Telecom Costs with Renewable Energy
NRC, Ponzi Scheme Collapses Resulting Loss of Billions of Naira
EFCC Busts NIS Visa Overstay Racket, Uncovers N700m in an Account
Tokenization, Blockchain Technology will Transform Financial Institutions – IMF
From Scarcity to Scale: What Africa Can Learn from India’s Agricultural Transformation
Spotify partners Afro Nation Portugal to expand African music experience
Telecom2 days agoGSMA Supports Abuja Declaration on Meaningful Connectivity for Africa, Joins Partners to Launch ATLAS Umoja
Telecom2 days agoAirtel Secures Another 10-year Spectrum Renewal in Nigeria
Telecom2 days agoMTN Nigeria Warns Customers Against Fake ‘One Month Free Data’ Promotion
News2 days agoNigeria, Israel Strengthen Research, Technology Collaboration
Broadcasting2 days agoGlo Sponsored African Voices to Feature Netflix’s “The Polygamist” Stars
E-Business2 days agoHURIWA, CLO Protests Bill Asking Social Media Firms’ to Open Shops Nigeria
E-Financial2 days agoMoniepoint as a Key Driver in Expanding Financial Access for Businesses in Nigeria
General News2 days agoAnambra Govt Bans Graduation Ceremonies in Anambra Schools