Telecom
Ghana Hosts Regional Prep Meeting for ITU World Telecom Development Conference
The Regional Preparatory Meeting for Africa, ahead of ITU’s World Telecommunication Development Conference 2014, opened yesterday in Accra, Ghana, to access the ongoing implementation of the Hyderabad Plan of Action agreed at the last edition of the Conference in 2010 and identify priority areas for ICT development strategies in the African region.
The meeting, will be in session until October 4 and is expected to push for ICTs as agents of development and empowerment in Africa.
ITU’s sixth World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-14) will take place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, March 31 to April 11, 2014.
The gathering of policy makers, regulators and experts from around the world will forge a plan of action for telecommunication and ICT development over the next four years.
The preparatory meeting in Accra will address key areas of interest for the African region.
Hamadoun I. Touré , ITU secretary-general, welcomed the opportunity to hold the preparatory meeting for WTDC-14 in Accra. “Ghana has been endowed with natural resources like many other African countries, but it has built on its human capital and innovation to develop high economic growth and count among top per capita GDP rates on the continent,” Touré said in his message.
“This is an inspiration for us to invest in ICT development in Africa and capitalize on the inherent talent for innovation among African people to generate overall economic growth and achieve the goals of sustainable development.”
Ghana enjoys over 100% mobile cellular subscriptions with 26.33 million subscribers recorded in February this year.
Mobile broadband subscriptions surpassed 33 per cent with over 17 per cent of the population using the Internet.
Addressing the opening session of the meeting, ITU Deputy Secretary-General Houlin Zhao, said, “ITU is committed to connecting the world, and to bring the benefits of ICTs to the world’s people. We will continue to make bold steps in accelerating progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals.”
Noting that the RPM aims to advance openness and inclusion in the discussions of ICT for development and ITU’s commitment to connecting the world serves as “a catalyst for Africa’s attainment the Millennium Development Goals”, Mr Edward K. Omane Boamah, minister for Communications and Technology of Ghana, remarked, “Over the past five years, Africa’s mobile market overtook fixed lines in 2001 and now outnumber fixed telephone lines by nearly ten to one, with mobile cellular subscribers set to grow to more than 300 million by the year end.”
He noted that this potential for development brings Africa into the Information Technology Age.
The African region has experienced remarkable growth in mobile-cellular networks and services development since 2008, allowing an increasing number of the almost 850 million people in the region to get connected and join the information society.
Within five years, the region’s mobile-cellular penetration rate has doubled from 32 to 64 per cent and active mobile-broadband penetration, which was practically non-existent in 2008, has grown to almost 11 per cent.
ICT uptake in the region has been growing faster than in other regions, with the 2008-2013 growth rates of key ICT services well above the global average.
“Credit goes to governments for their political will, to the private sector for investing in the ICT sector, and to the citizens for a high uptake of these new technologies,” said Brahima Sanou, director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau. “I believe the future is very bright for Africa.”
Sanou pointed to the global population of young people born in the digital age that are nurtured on information and communication technologies as an integral part of their lives.
“More than 20 per cent of the population in Africa consists of young people within the 15-24 age range – as compared to 12.4 per cent in Europe,” Sanou noted.
“As the future is in the hands of the youth, the prospects for Africa are very good.”
The RPM was preceded by the Regional Development Forum (RDF) for Africa. The Forum provided a platform for open dialogue, cooperation and partnerships among telecommunication/ICT policy makers, regulators, industry, academia, regional and international development agencies and organizations on telecommunication/ICT issues of regional concern.
Based on ICT for Development and Empowerment in Africa – IDEA, the sessions focused on broadband as an enabling agent for development and empowerment in Africa, examining innovative ways and initiatives to bring broadband applications and services to users, especially in the areas of governance, healthcare, commerce, agriculture and education.
Particular attention was given to the ITU m-Powering Development initiative and the potential for mobile applications to change lives.
Enhancing cybersecurity featured prominently with an emphasis on creating a safer cyberspace for children, electronic transactions, and personal data protection with the establishment of Computer Incidence Response Teams (CIRT).
Countries of the region welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the preparations for the upcoming world conference in 2014. A series of regional meetings have taken place around the world this year to provide inputs to WTDC-14, with two more of the six preparatory meetings remaining.
Nigeria’s telecom operators recorded 155, 397 fibre-cut incidents between April and May 2026, and these they blame on why internet or calls suddenly stop working.
Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed fibre-cut incidents increased from 74 276 in April to a record 79 121 in May, bringing the two-month total to the highest level recorded by the industry.
This represents a 2 428% increase from the 5 934 incidents reported during the first quarter of 2026.
Vandalism remained the leading cause of fibre cuts, accounting for more than 54 000 incidents despite telecom infrastructure being designated as Critical National Information Infrastructure, a classification intended to strengthen protection of key digital assets.
Also road construction constantly damages fiber where iggers and machines tear up buried cables during road repairs or construction.
Even with all these, some state governments make it hard for companies to fix cables quickly across different areas with all manners of fees and levies.
The NCC designation provides for penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment for offenders, but operators continue to face widespread infrastructure damage.
Proposed solutions, including Nigeria’s Dig-Once policy and AI-powered fibre sensing technologies, have yet to achieve widespread adoption.
The NCC is developing a cost-based framework for shared underground duct infrastructure, while operators are exploring AI-powered fibre sensing technologies that can detect cable damage in real time and improve network resilience.
Nigeria is pursuing ambitious broadband targets under its National Broadband Plan and has expanded fibre deployment to about 35 000 kilometres.
However, infrastructure protection has not kept pace with network expansion, leaving subscribers vulnerable to unreliable connectivity despite continued operator investment.
Standard Bank has partnered with Helios Towers to provide a $29 million Social Documentary Credit Facility. According to the financial services company, this transaction marks Standard Bank’s first Documentary Credit Facility structured in a Sustainable Finance format.
It notes that the facility will support the procurement and importation of telecommunications infrastructure and related services across Africa.
It will also provide payment certainty to suppliers, while supporting Helios Towers’ working capital requirements and infrastructure expansion programme, the bank adds.
Structured in accordance with the Loan Market Association’s Social Loan Principles, the financing is designed to promote digital connectivity and telecommunications infrastructure development in underserved markets.
This will help Helios Towers further expand its footprint and enhance mobile network coverage and connectivity across the continent.
Helios Towers operates one of Africa’s independent telecommunications tower platforms, enabling mobile network operators to extend coverage across multiple markets.
Standard Bank notes that the facility supports the expansion of tower infrastructure and services, increased network densification and improved connectivity in underserved markets and remote regions across the African continent.
It will also drive digital inclusion and tackle the digital divide while supporting economic growth and socio-economic development.
“This transaction demonstrates the power of innovation in trade finance. By combining a first-to-market Social Documentary Credit Facility with a cross-border funding solution, Standard Bank has supported Helios Towers’ growth ambitions while helping extend digital connectivity to underserved communities across Africa,” says Benoit Samouilhan, global transaction banker at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking.
According to the bank, this facility enables positive social impact by increasing and improving network coverage and connectivity in some of the world’s most remote regions.
“Reliable digital infrastructure is fundamental to Africa’s future growth and development,” says Alex Carter, group finance director at Helios Towers.
“This facility provides us with the flexibility and certainty needed to support our ongoing infrastructure investments while advancing our mission of expanding connectivity across the continent. We value our longstanding relationship with Standard Bank and look forward to building on this partnership.”
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will on Thursday convene a stakeholders’ consultative forum to review the draft business rules for Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) in Nigeria.
NCC
The forum, scheduled to hold at 10 a.m. at the NCC Annex Office, Mbora, Abuja, is expected to bring together telecommunications operators, industry associations and other stakeholders to provide input on the proposed regulatory framework before its finalisation.
The commission announced the event on its official social media platforms, inviting interested stakeholders to participate in the consultation process.
The engagement is part of the NCC’s efforts to strengthen the regulatory framework for MVNO operations and promote greater competition, innovation and consumer choice in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.
Mobile Virtual Network Operators are telecommunications service providers that offer mobile services by leasing network capacity from licensed Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), rather than owning spectrum licences or telecommunications infrastructure.
The NCC has identified the MVNO licensing framework as one of its initiatives aimed at deepening competition, expanding access to telecommunications services and driving digital inclusion across the country.
The consultative forum is expected to provide stakeholders with the opportunity to review the draft business rules, make recommendations and contribute to the development of a robust operational framework for the emerging MVNO segment.
The commission is expected to issue further details on the outcome of the consultation after the meeting.
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