Telecom
Huawei Global ICT Competition, 3 Nigerian Students Emerge Winners
Three Nigerian students have emerged among the top three winners in the Global Final of Huawei ICT Competition, concluded on 26th of May at the company’s headquarters in Dongguan, China.
The team of Nigerian students competed with 49 other teams with a total of 147 students representing 30 countries racing for the global trophy.
Adebayo Abdulqudus, a 22-year-old Nigerian university student on the team, describing the dedication and hard work it took the team of Nigerian students to aim for the top trophy, said “For the past eight months, we left our families, we left relatives, we left our friends, we left out social lives, and we participated in the Huawei ICT competition to win.
“Though we got the 3rd the prize at the global finals, our participation, the experience and the opportunity to learn is the most important thing of all”.
The Huawei ICT Competition is a global ICT talent exchange event, which comprises of Huawei Authorized Information and Network Academy universities and related colleges (Huawei ICT Academy).
Since the first Huawei ICT Contest held in 2015, the number of participants in the competition has grown exponentially and this has become one of the largest ICT events in the world.
The 2018/19 event attracted more than 1,000 universities in over 50 countries around the world under the slogan “Connection, Glory and Future”.
The total number of students participating globally was 80,000 including 28, 000 students from Sub-Saharan Africa.
L-R, Students from Amadu Bello University (ABU) who represented Africa/ Nigeria at he 2018/2019 Hauwei Global ICT Competition in China, Mr.Abdulqudus Adebayo; Mr. Shaibu Usman Abbas, Abdulqadir Babagana, Mohammed Mustapha, Kamaludeen Umar and Fahad Danladi, during the arrival at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja yesterday
Tank Li, Managing Director, Huawei Technologies (Abuja Office) Nigeria, said: “Huawei understands the value of a good talent ecosystem which is the foundation for a smart future.
“In the past 30 years, Huawei has made a lot of effort to cultivate ICT talents by sharing accumulated knowledge systems and best practices.
“Faced with the challenges of the future ICT industry, this ICT competition is part of our innovative initiatives to support and promote ICT skills.
“We believe that this event will inspire more students’ interest in ICT learning in Africa.
“This platform provides students with a world class stage to showcase themselves and consolidate the vital ICT needed for Africa’s development.”
This March, the team of Nigerian students emerged first place alongside Tanzania, Kenya and Angola to represent Africa at the global stage to compete for the world ICT title in Huawei Technologies’ flagship ICT development program which held in China, May 2019.
The team of Nigerian students ranked number one in Africa, leading with a dominant score of 790.4, followed by Tanzania with 745.6, then Kenya with 737 and Angola with 700.8.
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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