Telecom
Huawei Partners Galaxy Backbone in Building Nigeria’s First Dual-Certified Tier IV Data Center
Galaxy Backbone (GBB), a digital transformation company in Nigeria, recently achieved Uptime Tier IV certification for its second data center, making it the first data center in Nigeria to obtain the Tier IV design and facility certifications.
This accomplishment signifies that GBB Data Center’s design and facilities meet the highest international standards, ensuring high reliability and availability. It also strengthens GBB’s capability to provide cloud, disaster recovery and business continuity services to organizations in both the public and private sectors.
Furthermore, this milestone accelerates Nigeria’s digital transformation and accelerates the nation’s journey towards becoming one of the leading digital economies across the African continent.
Uptime Tier certification is one of the world’s most authoritative data center rating systems. The certification system ranges from Tier I to Tier IV, with Tier IV being the highest. It encompasses three dimensions: design, facility, and operations. Tier IV data centers offer the highest level of redundancy and fault tolerance, achieving an availability of 99.995%.
The global digital economy is booming. As Africa’s largest economy and most populous country, Nigeria has been promoting the digital economy. Recent initiatives include the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy 2020–2030 and the National Broadband Plan 2020–2025. These efforts aim to accelerate digital infrastructure construction, increase broadband penetration, narrow the digital divide, and promote sustainable economic growth.
Established by the Federal Government of Nigeria, GBB provides ICT facilities and services for government ministries, departments, and agencies, and is responsible for building and operating the National Information and Communication Technology Infrastructure Backbone (NICTIB), a fiber optic network that spans the country and has connected nearly 30 states with high-speed fiber connectivity. In phases 1 and 2 of the project, data centers were built in Abuja and Kano, respectively, to meet growing network demands.
Huawei Join Hands with GBB to Build Prefabricated Modular Data Centers and Achieve Ultimate TTM
Building a traditional data center takes up to 30 months from planning and design to onsite construction, which is not conducive to rapid service rollout. After several rounds of evaluation, GBB chose Huawei. In the phase 2 of the project, GBB adopted Huawei’s FusionDC1000B prefabricated modular data center solution.
This solution transforms the traditional sequential construction mode into one that features concurrent onsite construction and factory prefabrication, achieving fast delivery and on-demand deployment.
The data center consists of 17 prefabricated containers and integrates multiple systems such as the smart module, modular UPS, lithium battery, data center infrastructure management (DCIM), and iCooling. Through engineering productization, prefabrication, and pre-commissioning, only simple hoisting and assembly are required onsite, significantly reducing onsite construction waste and achieving dust-free construction.
It takes only one month to hoist 17 containers and complete equipment installation and testing, making it the fastest construction time among local data center projects of similar size.
Additionally, the prefabricated containers have a service life of 50 years and can withstand magnitude 3 earthquakes and scale 12 winds. They meet IP55 dustproof and waterproof standards, providing building-like quality and experience.
The Highly Reliable Tier IV Data Center Helps Nigeria Accelerate Digital Transformation
High reliability and availability are the eternal pursuits of data center construction. However, most of the existing data centers in Nigeria are Tier III. Therefore, to meet market demands, GBB partnered with Huawei to build Nigeria’s first Uptime Tier IV data center with dual certifications.
In designing the data center, GBB drew on the exterior and interior layout of the industry’s best data centers and pre-integrated the equipment and power distribution rooms.
And for the first time, peripheral power supply and distribution equipment, air conditioner indoor and outdoor units, and maintenance and visitor’s passages are prefabricated into modules. As a result, the data center achieves an industry-leading prefabrication rate and passes the Uptime Tier IV certification in both design and facilities.
Professor Ibrahim Adeyanju, Managing Director and CEO of Galaxy Backbone, said, “Achieving this Tier IV certification from Uptime Institute is a testament to our unwavering dedication to excellence in cloud, data center, and business continuity services.
“This certification assures our clients that they can rely on us for the highest levels of service availability and security. We remain committed to driving innovation and delivering world-class services to support the digital transformation of Nigeria and beyond.”
Huawei will continue to work with GBB to build green, simple, smart, and reliable (GSSR) digital infrastructures across Nigeria and other African countries interested in similar services.
This partnership aims to help Nigeria bridge the digital divide, share digital dividends, and illuminate the future of West Africa with digital advancements, powering the digital era forward.
Telecom
Wole Abu Takes over as Funke Opeke Resigns as MD of MainOne
Funke Opeke, founder/CEO, MainOne, Nigerian internet connectivity giant, has stepped down from her role after 14 years – two years after Equinix, digital infrastructure business, bought her company, albeit news reports indicate that the completion of MainOne’s full integration with Equinix, was more recent, taking place this month.
MainOne will retain its brand as MainOne, Solutions by Equinix, while its data centre division, MDXi, will operate under the Equinix name.
The development comes two weeks after the firm finalised its post-acquisition integration with Equinix Inc., a digital infrastructure company.
Recall that in 2022, Equinix Inc. announced that it had completed a deal to acquire MainOne, a West African data centre and connectivity solutions provider, for $320 million.
Speaking on her resignation in a statement on Tuesday, Equinix said Opeke will be replaced by Wole Abu as the new managing director in West Africa and lead the expansion of digital infrastructure in the region.
According to the organisation, Abu will oversee the Equinix business in Nigeria, Ghana, and Cote d’Ivoire; while Opeke will remain a strategic advisor for the company in the West African region through March 2026.
“Wole is a seasoned professional with over 20 years’ experience in the Nigerian Telecoms Industry,” the statement reads.
“He joins Equinix from Liquid Intelligent Technologies where he held the position of CEO for Nigeria and Africa Data Centre (ADC).
“As well as driving business success, Wole is passionate about driving societal and social change through technology and is focused on driving a successful strategy for connectivity and digital access in West Africa.
“Wole will also lead Equinix’s key local engagements to make a meaningful impact to society through the support of initiatives focused on education, sustainability, and the betterment of society as well as driving the vital environmental and community initiatives so crucial to the sustainable goals and vision of Equinix.”
Speaking on the appointment, Judith Gardiner, vice-president for growth and emerging markets at Equinix, said Abu’s expertise will help the company expand its reach.
“We are delighted to have Wole join Equinix as the leader driving our operations in West Africa,” Gardiner said.
“With his expertise, we will support local businesses and multinational companies in expanding into Africa and beyond through Equinix.
“This marks a significant milestone for Equinix as we continue to develop our presence in Africa, establishing crucial strategic data hubs, accelerating digital technology development, supporting our customers, and contributing to the continent’s immense growth potential through robust digital infrastructure.”
On his part, Abu expressed eagerness to contribute to Equinix’s transformative work and help create a more connected, accessible digital landscape throughout Africa.
“I’m excited to be joining Equinix, as we share a common vision for expanding digital infrastructure across Africa,” he said.
“This mission is crucial for bringing life-enhancing services to the region and bridging the digital divide. By empowering both enterprises and individuals, we’re enabling broader participation in the global digital economy.”
Equinix also said Wole’s appointment as managing director for West African business follows shortly after the opening of its newest data center in Johannesburg.
Telecom
MTN Nigeria Posts N514.9Bn Loss as Subscribers Drop in Q3
MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has reported a loss after tax of N514.9 billion for the nine months ending September 30, 2024, driven largely by the naira’s devaluation.
Despite recording a Q3 profit after tax of N4.1 billion, MTN’s Profit After Tax (PAT), adjusted for net forex loss, was down 59.2% to N118.5 billion, reflecting the ongoing currency challenges.
The telecom giant’s half-year results previously reported a loss of N519.1 billion, with the recent figure reflecting a slight decrease.
Additionally, MTN’s total subscriber base fell by 0.9% to 77.0 million as the regulatory-driven National Identification Number-SIM linkage led to the deregistration of certain Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs).
In contrast, active data users rose by 5.1% to 45.3 million, while active mobile money (MoMo PSB) wallets declined by 21.8% to 2.8 million.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 5.3% to N860.2 billion, with the EBITDA margin shrinking by 14.9 percentage points to 36.3%.
Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria described the results as “resilient,” attributing the performance to the company’s adaptability despite high inflation, naira depreciation, and regulatory constraints.
He noted that inflation averaged 32.8% during the period, up from 24.5% in 2023, prompting the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to increase the Monetary Policy Rate by 8.5 percentage points to 27.25%, impacting funding costs.
As part of efforts to shore up working capital, MTN Nigeria has launched a new commercial paper issuance, aiming to raise N50 billion under its N250 billion Commercial Paper Issuance Programme.
The Series 11 and 12 issuances are part of MTN’s ongoing debt-market strategy to address short-term financial needs.
The telecom company, which recorded a net forex loss of N740.4 billion in 2023—a sharp rise from N81.8 billion in 2022—has been significantly impacted by the naira’s depreciation.
Following the Central Bank’s decision to float the currency in June 2023, the exchange rate rose from N461.1 per dollar in December 2022 to N907.1 by December 2023, impacting earnings and dividend declarations for shareholders.
Telecom
New Winners of Glo Jolly Win Promo Receive Millions in Prizes
The Glo Jolly Win promo by Globacom has again made new millionaires who were presented their prizes at an event recently held in Lagos.
The presentation was conducted in conjunction with NCC-licensed Nitroswitch, an aggregator company, and Tetragrammaton, as the value-added service provider for these services. The five winners received their cheques and were instantly credited with their winnings at the ceremony.
Last September, Mr.Olieh Somtochukwu, a member of staff of a real estate company in Anambra State, became the first winner of the sum of N1 million naira in the promo.
Mrs. Adebayo Idowu, a recently retired school teacher, found it hard to believe her good fortune in September when she should have received her money despite several voice and video calls to her. She was full of appreciation to Globacom when she eventually came for the presentation of her prize at the ceremony last week.
Glo Jolly Win also produced other millionaires including Ganiu Bayo, a Lagos-based printing and publishing specialist, Abdul Mumuni Oseni, a corporate driver, Abiodun Oluwasanmi Temitayo, a mechanical engineer and Ashimiu Aminat Idowu, a teacher.
Mr. Mojeed Aluko of the Value Added Services Department of Globacom, noted at the ceremony that “the Glo Jolly Win is a lottery service in which subscribers can answer trivia questions or spin a wheel to win loads of airtime, data and cash prizes for as low as N100/day, with no need for downloads or any storage usage on their phones.
Subscribers can select their preferred services from the options of Jolly Trivia, Wheel, Win & Life to join in the fun and excitement of the lottery with the potential to become millionaires”.
Subsribers who desire to be part of the promo are enjoined to dial *20152# or send JWD to 20152 on their Glo lines.
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