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FG Extends Deadline Given to NCC to Slash Data Tariff

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Dr Isa Pantami, minister of Communications and Digital Economy, at the weekend, extended the deadline given to the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) to reduce the cost of data, and stop illegal deductions from subscribers by service providers.

 

The minister had Tuesday, last week, directed the commission to act on the directives within five working days.

 

A statement by Uwa Suleiman, minister’s spokesperson, explained that NCC sought the extension of the deadline in a letter forwarded to Pantami on Friday.

 

In the letter, according to the statement, NCC informed the minister that it had started taking steps to comply with the directive.

 

The statement did not specify the time-frame given to the commission to act on the minister’s orders, but it stated that the issues should be resolved “within the shortest time possible.”

 

The NCC intends to impose considerable financial sanctions on operators engage in illegal deductions.

 

Also, customers are to get refunds in established cases of illegal deductions.

 

The statement read in part, “Following the five-day ultimatum issued by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy to the Nigeria Communications Commission on November 5, 2019, to resolve the challenges of illegal data deductions and review the cost of data downward, the commission has risen up to the task and efforts are in top gear to carry out the minister’s directives.

 

“In a letter from the Executive Vice Chairman, received by the office of the minister on November 8, 2019, the telecommunications regulator intimated Pantami of the strategies being taken to stem the tide of short-changing subscribers by mobile network operators.

 

“In its earlier attempts to tackle the challenges, the commission informed the minister that it had issued a directive to all MNOs on the attendant penalties associated with Automatic Renewal and Forceful Subscription to Data and Value Added Services.

 

“The penalties include considerable financial sanctions on the erring operator.”

 

The letter sent to the minister by the NCC further stated that, in response to the directives, the commission had reviewed the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, on its rule-making powers and process.

 

“The commission is in the process of carrying out a study on the End-of-Session Notification for Data Services and depending on the outcome, may issue a direction in accordance with the Act.

 

“Furthermore, in a bid to protect consumers, the commission also notified the minister of their regulation of the initial directive to include refunds to the consumer in established cases of unauthorised subscription,” the statement added.

 

The NCC, in the letter, assured the minister that it was working round the clock to enforce the directives and requested an extension of the deadline to enable it properly re-strategise and fully implement long-term solutions to the challenges, as directed.

 

The statement said, “Pantami has graciously granted an extension with the understanding that the commission will resolve these issues within the shortest time possible.

 

“The minister assures the general public that the current administration will neither tolerate acts of injustice nor the short-changing of its citizens as it is working tirelessly to ensure that subscribers get full value for their money,” the statement said.

 

Meanwhile, the telecommunication companies have insisted that they are not guilty of illegal deductions, adding that the rates they charge for data in the country was informed by the cost of production.


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Telcos Resume SIM Card Sales after 2-Week Halt

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Telecommunications operators have resumed full SIM swap and related services following a four-week nationwide outage linked to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)’s migration to a new verification platform.

Telcos Resume SIM Card Sales after 2-Week Halt

The outage rendered millions of subscribers unable to perform SIM-related tasks such as swaps, replacements, and activations.

Operators in the industry say the disruption began on June 26, 2025 when telcos temporarily halted SIM registrations and swaps due to unforeseen technical challenges during the transition to NIMC’s upgraded identity verification system.

The migration was mandated to enhance the integrity and efficiency of national identity management but caused major service interruptions across all Nigerian networks.

However, July 21, both MTN and Airtel confirmed via their social media handles that SIM swap services have now fully resumed.

MTN announced: “SIM swaps have now resumed. We can confirm that NIMC services are fully operational and appreciate their support in the migration to a new platform for NIN verification services for the telecommunications industry.

In a public update issued via its MTN Nigeria Support handle on X (formerly Twitter), MTN confirmed that SIM swaps have now resumed.

Telecom operators complained that the portal was unreliable or inaccessible, which resulted in the suspension of SIM swaps, number porting, and new SIM registrations, even though NIMC maintained that the platform was operating as intended.

Unexpected technical difficulties arose during the switch to the new platform, according to the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria.

Real-time NIN verification for SIM registration, replacement, and network migration was impacted by these issues.

“Unexpected technical difficulties have surfaced, impacting real-time NIN verification for SIM registration, replacement, and porting, following a recent directive from the National Identity Management Commission mandating Mobile Network Operators to transit to a new identity verification platform,” ALTON stated in a previous joint statement signed by Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, and Damian Udeh, publicity secretary.

 


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Nigeria, Others Achieve 84% Adult Mobile Phones Penetration

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The World Bank has affirmed that 84 per cent of adults in low-and middle-income economies, including Nigeria, own personal mobile phones.

The bank in its Global Findex 2025 report said mobile phone ownership was widespread and nearly everywhere. It said data from the Global Findex 2025 Digital Connectivity Tracker, revealed that “86 per cent of adults worldwide, and 84 per cent of adults in low- and middle-income economies, own personal mobile phones.”

The report pointed out that mobile phones and the internet had become widespread and essential to daily life in every economy around the world.

A earlier overview had indicated that Nigeria had a high mobile phone penetration rate, with estimates around 85 per cent to 87 per cent in 2024.

This translates to over 200 million mobile connections, making Nigeria a leading market in Africa for mobile phone ownership and usage. While the overall penetration is high, there’s a growing trend towards smartphone adoption, with forecasts predicting over 140 million smartphone users by 2025.

According to DataReporter, a total of 150 million cellular mobile connections were active in Nigeria in early 2025, with this figure equivalent to 64.0 per cent of the total population.

However, note that some of these connections may only include services such as voice and SMS, and some may not include access to the internet.

There were 107 million individuals using the internet in Nigeria at the start of 2025, when online penetration stood at 45.4 percent. Nigeria was home to 38.7 million social media user identities in January 2025, equating to 16.4 percent of the total population.

These headline stats offer a great overview of the “state of digital” in Nigeria at the start of 2025, but in order to make sense of how digital trends and behaviours have been evolving over time, we need to dig deeper into the data.

According to the World Bank, “as of 2024, individual ownership of mobile phones reached 86 per cent of adults worldwide.

“For many people, barely an hour goes by without their using a mobile device to make a call, ext a friend, read the news, access business information, post a meme on social media, pay for something, play a game, engage with a colleague or a customer, or search for information.

“As access to and use of digitally connected technologies increase, people, businesses, and governments place an increasingly high priority on online interactions. “Digitally connected technologies have clear, well-documented benefits.”

It further highlighted that access to mobile phones and the internet was associated with reduced poverty, increased consumption, and more employment for individuals in lowand middle-income economies.

“Women also experience these benefits, as internet access enables access to flexible jobs3 and has been shown to increase female labor force participation. “Mobile phones also facilitate information sharing.

For instance, in agricultural contexts, farmers’ access to real-time prices and buyer demand data can inform their decisions on where to sell, enhancing market efficiency and reducing the distances they would otherwise travel to get the best return for their product and time.

“Internet access also helps create jobs and aids individuals and countries in exporting goods and services,” it added. The World Bank further noted that owning a mobile phone furthermore enabled financial access through mobile money and other mobile financial services.

It added that these financial accounts and services, typically offered by mobile network operators or fintech firms and accessed via networks of local agents, were associated with lower rates of poverty, increased consumption and savings,and greater resilience to economic shocks.


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Sophos Secures Leadership Spot in 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection

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Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, today announced that it has been named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP), marking the 16th consecutive time the company has received this recognition.

Sophos has been recognized in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP) since the inaugural publication for this category in 2007.

Sophos’ market-leading endpoint security solutions include Sophos Endpoint powered by Intercept X, Sophos Extended Detection and Response (EDR/XDR), and Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR).

Over 300,000 organizations trust Sophos endpoint security solutions to defend against cyberthreats, including advanced remote ransomware attacks and active adversaries.

Unique to Sophos, the solution includes adaptive defenses that automatically disrupt attackers by dynamically adjusting protection levels based on threat context.

“Sophos’ strength lies in its prevention-first strategy, designed to stop breaches before they start, adapt defenses in real time, and strengthen detection and response when it matters most,” said Kyle Falkenhagen, SVP, Product Management, Sophos. “We believe that receiving this recognition in the highly competitive endpoint security market for 16 consecutive reports reflects our relentless focus on developing innovative solutions that stay ahead of the global threat landscape and the adversaries we face every day.”

Sophos and Secureworks: The future of protection, detection, and response

Following Sophos’ acquisition of Secureworks in February 2025, combining two leading and complementary portfolios to offer a comprehensive suite of solutions for small, midmarket and enterprise organizations.

Secureworks Taegis XDR customers can use Sophos Endpoint to elevate their cyber defenses, at no additional charge, delivering both improved protection and return on investment.

The integration of Secureworks also adds a new Counter Threat Unit (CTU) to the Sophos X-Ops advanced threat response joint task force, further expanding the rich threat intelligence that informs all customers’ defenses.

Backed by Sophos’ advanced security technologies and a broad network of intelligence contacts and partners, the CTU plays a critical role in identifying and tracking threat actors and analyzing anomalous activity, uncovering new attack techniques, threats, and major shifts in the threat landscape.


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