Telecom
Idea Dinner with Top CEOs: Stakeholders Urged to Form Ideas Around AI And Rural Telephony

Nigerians have been urged to form ideas around Artificial Intelligence (AI) and rural telephony as these two areas can turn around the fortune of Nigeria in terms of economy and employment, especially for the youths.
This is one of the several calls made at the ‘Idea Dinner with the Top CEOs’, which was organised by TechLife Media & Communications Limited for major stakeholders drawn from the Nigerian business community, especially those in the Information and Communications Technology industry.
Specifically, Mr. Yemi Oshodi, the Chief Executive Officer of iCSL and Coordinator of 2024 Best Ideas, said what rules the world today is an idea as every noticeable breakthrough in the world came as a result of an idea.
While urging Nigerians with great ideas to share them with government agencies like the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Mr. Yemi believes that Artificial Intelligence is a game changer that is going to do wonders in every sector with an emphasis on agriculture, security and financial services.
“My appeal to every Nigerian is to think and come up with ideas that can move the country. When you have an idea, do not hide it thinking someone may likely use it. The most important thing is it helps to move our country forward,” he said.
Also, in the area of rural telephony, Mr. Yemi believes that it is an untapped area that will massively aid the development of the digital economy that is being championed by the federal government.
According to him, even though the government has started working to get the whole country covered in terms of telephone services, many rural areas remained underserved and unserved. These areas without telephone service remained so after 23 years of liberalisation of mobile services as a result of the lack of ideas.
He argued that if Nigerians can explore the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) domiciled with the NCC by coming up with workable ideas, all 774 local government areas across the country will be covered by telephone services.
This will in turn create direct and indirect jobs, reduce rural-urban migration and ultimately, increase the industry’s gross domestic product (GDP) to the economy.
Other stakeholders who spoke at the event supported by Information Connectivity Solutions Limited, Digital Realty, Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria, TeamNigeria for Change, Inlaks, Coscharis Technologies and a host of others seek ideas to manufacture most equipment needed for the industry to thrive locally.
They noted that such an idea will help solve the forex challenges that Nigeria is presently grappling with.
Meanwhile, in her welcome address, Ms. Ugochi Emmanuel, Convener of the ‘Idea Dinner with the Top CEOs’ said the Idea Dinner focusing on the theme “Critical Thinking to Building a Sustainable Digital Economy” is a call to awakening the minds of Nigerians.
“We are acutely aware of the transformative power of digital technologies and their profound impact on every aspect of our lives. However, with these opportunities also come significant challenges that demand our collective attention and strategic thinking. Thus, it is important to call the meeting involving both the public and private sector players,” she said.
She noted that innovations such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, big data analytics, and the Internet of Things are reshaping business models, disrupting traditional industries, and creating new opportunities. Thus, staying abreast of these developments and harnessing their full potential requires not just technological prowess but also critical thinking and strategic foresight.
“Addressing the challenges of cybersecurity and data privacy demands not only robust technological solutions but also a deep understanding of risk management, ethical considerations and regulatory compliance. This is where we need ideas,” she added.
According to her, the quest for a sustainable digital economy necessitates a concerted effort to bridge the digital divide. Also, overcoming disparities in the industry requires innovative strategies, collaboration across sectors, and a commitment to ensuring that the benefits of the digital revolution are shared equitably.
Telecom
Gombe Commissioner of Police Visits GBB Command Centre, Strengthens Collaboration on ICT-Driven Security Solutions

Galaxy Backbone (GBB) Limited welcomed the newly appointed Commissioner of Police for Gombe State, CP Bello Yahaya, on a courtesy visit to its North East Regional Office and Safe City Emergency Command Centre.
This visit underscored the growing synergy between law enforcement and technology-driven solutions in strengthening security operations and fostering digital transformation in the region.
During the visit, CP Bello Yahaya was received by Mr. Ibrahim Bello, Regional Coordinator of GBB North East Regional Office, alongside key members of the GBB team.
The engagement provided a platform to explore strategic collaborations aimed at enhancing security infrastructure, digital transformation, and capacity-building initiatives for the Gombe State Police Command.
The Commissioner was taken on a guided tour of the Safe City Emergency Command Centre, a state-of-the-art facility that forms a critical part of the National Information and Communications Technology Infrastructure Backbone (NICTIB) project.
The centre plays a pivotal role in improving security architecture across Gombe State and the North East region, leveraging cutting-edge surveillance systems, real-time monitoring tools, and integrated emergency response mechanisms.
With its advanced Unified Communications System, security analytics, and digital emergency response coordination, the Safe City Command Centre provides law enforcement with real-time intelligence, proactive threat detection, and seamless inter-agency collaboration, enabling a more effective and responsive approach to public safety.
CP Bello Yahaya expressed keen interest in leveraging ICT solutions to strengthen policing efforts, emphasizing the importance of technology in modern crime prevention, data-driven policing, and crisis management.
He highlighted the need for enhanced digital transformation, improved connectivity, and expanded training programs to equip officers with the necessary skills to operate effectively in a digitally evolving security landscape.
Galaxy Backbone reaffirmed its commitment to supporting law enforcement agencies, government institutions, and critical stakeholders through innovative ICT solutions, secure cloud infrastructure, and digital training programs.
By providing access to high-speed connectivity, cybersecurity frameworks, and cloud-powered command centres, GBB continues to drive the adoption of smart policing solutions and enhanced security management across Nigeria.
The visit concluded with a shared commitment to deepening engagement between Galaxy Backbone and the Gombe State Police Command, focusing on optimizing digital transformation initiatives for law enforcement efficiency, expanding the scope of ICT-driven surveillance and emergency response systems and strengthening training programs for officers to enhance digital skills and operational effectiveness.
As Nigeria’s leading digital infrastructure provider, Galaxy Backbone continues to shape the future of public safety, digital governance, and cybersecurity, ensuring that law enforcement agencies have access to the best tools to protect lives and property.
Telecom
Salesforce Collaborates with Tech Leaders to Launch AI Energy Score for Model Efficiency

Salesforce, in collaboration with Hugging Face, Cohere, and Carnegie Mellon University, announced the release of the AI Energy Score, a first-of-its-kind benchmarking tool that lets AI developers and users evaluate, identify, and compare the energy consumption of AI models.
Salesforce also announced it will be the first AI model developer to disclose the energy efficiency data of its proprietary models under the new framework.
The AI Energy Score aims to address the lack of transparency about the environmental impact of AI models. Similar to how ENERGY STAR transformed energy efficiency standards for appliances and electronics, this initiative establishes a clear, trusted benchmark for AI model sustainability.
“Reducing AI energy consumption lowers operational costs, optimises infrastructure, and enhances long-term sustainability and profitability. We are proud to work with industry leaders to build a more transparent AI ecosystem,” says Linda Saunders, Salesforce Country Manager and Senior Director of Solution Engineering for Africa.
The AI Energy Score will debut at the AI Action Summit, where leaders from over 100 countries, the private sector, and civil society will convene to harness AI for good. By enhancing transparency, the score can drive market preference for efficient models and incentivise sustainable AI development. Recognised by the French Government and the Paris Peace Forum for its transformative potential, the AI Energy Score features:
Standardised Energy Ratings: A standardised framework for measuring and comparing AI model energy efficiency.
Public Leaderboard: A comprehensive leaderboard that features scores for 10 common AI tasks — such as text generation, image generation, and summarisation — performed by 166 models, including Salesforce’s SFR-Embedding, xLAM, and SF-TextBase.
Benchmarking Portal: A platform where AI developers can submit their open or proprietary AI models to be evaluated and added to the leaderboard. Open models can be automatically tested, while closed models can be evaluated through a secured testing sandbox.
Recognisable Energy Use Label: A new 1- to 5-star label that rates AI model energy use, with five stars indicating the highest efficiency. This helps developers and users easily identify and choose more sustainable models. Once rated, AI developers can generate standardised labels to share their models’ energy score, with built-in guidance on the proper label display for visibility and impact.
Last year, the company introduced Agentforce, the agentic layer of the Salesforce Platform for deploying autonomous AI agents across any business function. Agentforce offers tools to build and customise agents, as well as a library of ready-to-use skills for sales, service, marketing, commerce, Tableau, Slack, and more.
Telecom
Breaking….Tariff Hike: MTN Apologizes to Nigerians but Silent on Reversal

MTN Nigeria Communication Plc has apologised to customers for the 200 per cent tariff hike.
MTN’s apology came in the wake of public outcry for raising tariff above the 50 per cent upward review approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The network provider urged netizens to ‘forgive and forget’.
Recall that MTN surprised its customers by raising its 15GB data bundle from N2,000 to N6,000, reflecting 200 per cent hike.
MTN also reviewed the 1.5TB plan from N150,000 to N240,000, which represents a 60 per cent hike.
Before, a 100GB bundle cost N20,000 but the network reviewed a 90GB bundle to N25,000.
The 600GB bundle has been raised from N75,000 to N120,000 for 480GB, representing 60 per cent surge.
The operator has apologized for the increase but no mention was made on whether the data price would be reviewed.
MTN said in a message:
“To our 15G digital bundle lovers,
You dey vex. We know.
We know how upsetting it must have been to suddenly wake up to a 200% increase on your favourite digital bundle.
We could share several reasons, and provide explanahions, bur omo, all that One na story.
We don cast. We get it and admit it. Let’s just say na mistake.
In this love season, don’t stay angry with us. Please Forgive and forget. You matter die and we will never stop showing you how much.
Let’s continue our relationship.
Thank you for your understanding.
Yours Truly,
MTN Nigeria”
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