Telecom
ITU Launches Initiative to Protect Children Online
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has launched a new initiative to safeguard children, the most vulnerable users of the Internet.
Ban Ki-Moon , United Nations Secretary-General said this in an address at ITU’s high-level meeting on cybersecurity by video message. “We have to protect against cyberthreats, especially when they target children. I welcome the ITU’s ‘Child Online Protection’ initiative and urge all States to support it," he said.
The Child Online Protection (COP) initiative brings together partners from all sectors of the international community with the aim of creating a safe and secure online experience for children everywhere. While the virtual world offers unlimited opportunities in many respects, it is also the hunting ground for cybercriminals and paedophiles. Recognizing that a concerted global effort would be required to ensure that the cyberworld becomes a safe place for young people to work, learn and play, ITU is working with other UN agencies, including Unicef, UNICRI and UNIDIR.
Dr Pascal Villeneuve, associate director of Unicef in Geneva pointed out that promoting the rights of children is central to the mandate of Unicef, as the world is rapidly changing. “Issues around the protection of children increasingly involve some kind of online component. The Internet and telecommunications, for example mobile phones, present some major challenges in the context of child protection, but these technologies also make the world more connected — which means we have to be as well. That’s why we welcome efforts to combine expertise in combating cybercrime against children," he said.
Sandro Calvani, executive director of the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) said, UNICRI is proud to take part in the ITU initiative on Child Online Protection, acting in partnership with other agencies from the UN family. The UN is against any type of child abuse, which includes abuse online.
Along with UN agencies, other organizations have come forward to support the initiative. eWWG, a consortium of 37 international companies and universities, has come on board. Salma Abbasi, founder and chairman of eWWG, expressed optimism about the potential impact that the COP initiative will have. By focusing our collective efforts on making the online world safe for children, we have the opportunity to really make a difference, especially in developing countries.
Companies such Intel, Microsoft and Telecom Italia have also pledged their support. Organizations, such as the European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the GSM Association are fully behind the initiative.
Rob Conway, chief executive officer and member of the Board of the GSMA, said it is vitally important that children across the world can go online safely and that ITU’s Child Online Protection initiative is a significant step in that direction. "Our support for this global initiative is part of a broader effort by our members to work with governments and other stakeholders to prevent mobile networks worldwide from being used to endanger children," he said.
Other agencies, like the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children, INTERPOL and Save The Children have also signed on. Kristin Kvigne, assistant director of INTERPOL’s Trafficking in Human Beings Sub-Directorate, said INTERPOL is committed to fighting Internet-related crimes against children, which it has set as one of the top priorities for international policing. "To achieve this priority, INTERPOL is working globally with partners and supports initiatives like COP to raise awareness and focus on the need to act locally and think globally to ensure the online protection of children," he added.
Nigeria has exactly 156,662 active fixed wired internet subscriptions as of mid-2026.
This is a tiny fraction compared to mobile GSM networks, which dominate the market with over 154 million subscribers.
The fixed wired market primarily consists of homes and offices using direct physical cables like fiber optics.
Fixed wired services use physical cables, like glass fiber or copper wire, to bring internet directly into a building.
It is like a dedicated, private water pipe for your home. It provides very fast speeds, unlimited data, and is reliable.
In contrast, mobile GSM uses radio waves transmitted from tall towers to phones, acting more like a sprinkler that sprays a signal across an entire neighborhood.
Because laying physical cables across cities is expensive and hard to do, these subscriptions are very rare.
However, the market has seen recent growth, driven largely by Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) services.
The top players are: MTN FibreX with 110,564 subscribers, which is roughly 88.7 per cent of the entire market.
SWIFTNG accounts for about 13,945 connections.
The others are ipNX and 21st Century Technologies which make up the number.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it is intensifying efforts to implement Nigeria’s planned 112 national emergency number following its approval by the National Economic Council (NEC).
NCC
The commission disclosed this during a meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and an NCC delegation led by the Chairman of its Governing Board, Chief Idris Ibikunle Olorunnimbe, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Briefing the Vice President, Olorunnimbe said the NCC had already established about 35 Emergency Communications Centres (ECCs) across the country to support a unified national emergency response system.
He said the next phase of implementation would focus on closer collaboration with state governments and emergency response agencies to ensure the effective rollout of the initiative.
The development follows the recent approval by the NEC, chaired by the Vice President, for the adoption of 112 as Nigeria’s single national emergency number across all tiers of government and emergency response agencies.
The council also approved the establishment of a multi-agency implementation committee to be jointly coordinated by the Office of the Vice President and the NCC.
Olorunnimbe stressed that the success of the initiative would depend on the commitment of state governments to support and maintain emergency communications infrastructure, as well as the readiness of response agencies to promptly attend to distress calls.
“We need commitment at every level of all response agencies—from top to bottom—including the Nigeria Police Force, ambulance services across the states and, at the national level, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA),” he said.
Responding, Shettima directed the NCC to develop a comprehensive roadmap for the nationwide implementation of the single emergency number in line with international best practices.
He also urged the commission to work closely with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), citing the agency’s experience in disaster management, relief and rehabilitation.
The Vice President assured the commission of the Federal Government’s commitment to sustaining the initiative, saying funding would be mobilised through the National Economic Council and partnerships with the private sector.
He also called for greater dedication from all emergency response agencies to ensure the success of the programme.
The adoption of 112 is expected to harmonise emergency communications across Nigeria by providing a single number through which citizens can quickly access police, fire, ambulance and other emergency services.
The initiative is also expected to replace multiple emergency contact numbers currently in use and improve coordination and response during emergencies.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that it was strengthening collaboration with state governments and industry players to develop a transparent, cost-based pricing framework for sharing telecom ducts as part of efforts to speed up broadband expansion across Nigeria.
Ayuba Shuaibu, director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, NCC, disclosed this at the Stakeholders’ Forum in Abuja.
Shuaibu said the initiative was designed to build consensus among all parties.
“The primary purpose of this forum is to ensure seamless synergy between the Commission and all stakeholders,” he said.
The director said the consultation was prompted by longstanding complaints over permits, levies and other charges imposed by different levels of government.
He said bringing together state commissioners, telecom operators, tower companies and representatives of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum had helped improve understanding of the issues.
“This engagement is a work in progress. We expect more input from stakeholders before presenting the outcome to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum,” he added.
Dr Helen Adeneye, commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Kogi State. welcomed the consultation, saying Nigeria needs a harmonised policy that clearly defines the responsibilities of both the federal and state governments.
“We need a harmonised policy that allows states to collaborate better with telecom operators and creates a more business-friendly environment,” she said.
Dr Adeneye added that adopting the Dig-Once policy would establish a uniform pricing system and help resolve disputes over charges for telecom infrastructure deployment.
Chidi Ajuzie, chief executive officer, WTES Projects Limited, whose firm is conducting the consultancy study, said the proposed framework would introduce a common cost structure for duct sharing to support broadband investment and economic growth.
“The study is designed to create a uniform pricing model that will drive broadband growth, economic development and wider adoption across the country,” he said.
Ajuzie explained that the consultants had developed preliminary floor and ceiling prices to guide operators while allowing flexibility within the approved range.
He added that the recommendations remain open to industry input before the NCC finalises the framework.
The Dig-Once Policy is designed to reduce the cost and disruption of deploying broadband infrastructure by requiring fibre ducts to be installed whenever roads are constructed or rehabilitated.
The NCC is developing a cost-based pricing framework for sharing these ducts to promote fair pricing, reduce duplication of infrastructure and encourage investment.
The proposed model is expected to support the Federal Government’s broadband expansion targets while improving collaboration between telecom operators and state governments.
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