E-Business
MainOne Expands Data Center Footprint in Ghana
MainOne has announced the expansion of its data center brand, MDXi, into Accra Ghana, in line with its ongoing West African expansion plans.
The company’s MDXi subsidiary, the largest commercial data center services provider in West Africa, is extending its imprint into Ghana with the new facility to expand MainOne’s already robust infrastructure and service profile in Ghana.
The new data center facility which will be based in Appolonia City, a mixed use development 20 kilometers from the center of Accra, is expected to be ready for service in the fourth quarter of 2020 and will cater to the ever-increasing demand for colocation and interconnection services for multinationals and local businesses seeking shared services facilities for their ICT resources in world class facilities.
The Tier III facility will be constructed on 4,047 sqm land area in Appolonia City, a fast-growing light industrial park, located within the northern suburbs of Greater Accra metropolitan Area.
The facility will be designed to international standards consistent with the MainOne brand, assuring collocated customers of the highest quality of service to meet their business requirements.
The 100-rack facility will offer customers the opportunity to host infrastructure in a facility guaranteed to provide high levels of availability and rich connectivity with a global network of customers, partners and suppliers thus ensuring 24X7 online delivery of services for the businesses.
MDXi’s world-class infrastructure will feature private data center suites, enterprise-grade 24×7 multi-level security and video surveillance, precision cooling, safety and fire suppression systems with multiple redundancies built into the power, cooling and security infrastructure.
In line with its parent company’s leadership in the telecoms sector, the facility will offer open access connectivity options to all the leading telecom networks in Ghana and direct access to MainOne and other submarine cable systems.
The facility will offer access to various Internet Exchanges including the GIX (Ghana), IXPN (Nigeria), LINX (London), DECIX (Frankfurt/Lisbon), and Cote d’Ivoire Internet Exchange (CIVIX), as well as the West Africa Internet Exchange (WAF-IX).
“As an organization committed to providing broadband infrastructure solutions across West Africa, we are excited to make this investment to support the digitization journey of our customers with the new data center facility” stated Kazeem Oladepo, Regional Executive, MainOne.
“Over the past few years, we have grown our business in Ghana to serve major enterprises and we are delighted to bring our world-class data center expertise to deepen the Ghanaian market. The Ghanaian economy continues to build industrial capacity to show strong economic growth and we need to deploy our best solutions to service the market”
MDXi’s Tier III data centre in Lekki, Lagos-Nigeria, is the largest purpose-built commercial data center in West Africa, designed with a strong focus on high availability, security, and open access connectivity.
It is certified to ISO9001, ISO27001, PCI-DSS and Uptime’s Tier III Certification of Constructed Facility standards. With 600 rack capacity, the data center provides services to a large customer base made up of local and multinational businesses.
The facility has experienced tremendous growth in the Financial and Oil & Gas sectors where it has helped advance the digitization efforts of customers and the lessons learned are viewed of particular relevance to these growing sectors in Ghana.
Speaking on the planned expansion, Gbenga Adegbiji, Director, MDXi stated, “Based on our strong track record as the preferred commercial data center in West Africa, it is with great pleasure that we announce the expansion of our MDXi footprint in Ghana.
This expansion will see MDXi contributing to the growth of the local economy by providing jobs, enhancing capacity development and economic growth. Most importantly, it ensures that we are fully equipped and positioned to serve more businesses in Ghana as the region continues to grow its digital economy.”
Regarding the impact the expansion will have on the city, Bright Owosu-Amofah, CEO Appolonia City, stated that, “The city’s innovative vision to drive industrialization and social infrastructure has been made possible through partnerships like MainOne and its subsidiary company MDXi, whose data centre infrastructure will play a major role towards the economic growth and viability of Appolonia City, and also be the backbone for a connected ICT ecosystem. We look forward to witnessing the future of Appolonia City businesses being locally hosted and digitally empowered.”
Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has commenced a forensic investigation into the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Lotus Bank and Hackerbella Ltd over alleged violations of data protection laws involving students’ personal information.
The investigation follows public complaints alleging that students’ personal data were used to open bank accounts without a lawful basis.
Dr Vincent Olatunji, national commissioner and chief executive officer of the NDPC, directed the investigation team to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the circumstances surrounding the collection, processing, use and disclosure of the affected students’ personal data.
The investigation will also determine the respective roles and responsibilities of UNILAG, Lotus Bank and Hackerbella in the alleged processing of the data.
According to the Commission, the investigation will assess the data protection compliance obligations of the parties under the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023 (NDP Act), as well as potential risks posed to the rights and freedoms of the affected data subjects.
The NDPC said the probe would cover several areas, including Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), the lawfulness and transparency of credit scoring or profiling activities, and the use of automated decision-making systems.
It will also examine the adequacy of privacy notices, data-sharing arrangements, lawful bases for processing, data minimisation and purpose limitation.
Other areas include data retention policies and the adequacy of technical and organisational measures put in place to safeguard the rights and personal data of affected students.
The Commission reiterated that institutions entrusted with the personal data of students, staff and other members of their communities have a heightened responsibility to ensure that such information is processed lawfully, fairly, transparently and securely.
The NDPC therefore warned educational institutions that are yet to comply with its existing data protection compliance directives to take immediate steps to achieve compliance.
The Commission said it would continue to exercise its regulatory mandate to protect the privacy rights of Nigerians and ensure that organisations processing personal data comply with the provisions of the Nigeria Data Protection Act, 2023.
Microsoft is planning to unveil its new Maia 300 AI chip this fall, potentially as soon as next month, The Information reported on Monday, citing people with direct knowledge of the plans.
The company introduced its Maia AI chip in November 2023 but has lagged rivals such as Alphabet and Amazon in scaling up its in-house chip efforts as it seeks to reduce its reliance on Nvidia’s costly processors.
Google began recognizing revenue from direct sales of its custom AI chips, called Tensor Processing Units, in the quarter ended June, while Amazon has also seen growing adoption of its processors, including its Trainium chips.
Microsoft has been in talks with chipmaker TSMC to secure manufacturing capacity for more than 300,000 units of the chip for delivery in 2027, according to the report. It is also looking to significantly ramp up production and persuade major cloud customers such as Anthropic to adopt the chip.
Microsoft ultimately aims to secure capacity for more than 1 million Maia 300 chips, though component supplies and ongoing capacity negotiations with TSMC could constrain its plans, according to the report.
It unveiled its second-generation Maia 200 in January, built by TSMC using 3-nanometer technology.
Microsoft packed the chip with a significant amount of SRAM, a type of memory that can provide speed advantages for AI systems handling large numbers of user requests.
X has announced plans to discontinue its Revenue Sharing programme and introduce a new Original Content Rewards programme to reward creators for producing original content on the platform.
The social media company announced the changes at the weekend in a post on its X Creators handle, saying the new programme would reward creators who contribute original content.
“Today, we’re introducing the Original Content Rewards Program, a new way to reward creators who bring original ideas, expertise, reporting, creativity, and commentary to X,” the company said.
X said it would stop accepting new enrolments into the Revenue Sharing programme from Friday, while existing participants would continue earning until September 7, 2026.
“Starting today, we’re no longer accepting new enrollments into Revenue Sharing,” it said.
According to the company, existing Revenue Sharing participants will receive three final payouts, with two scheduled for August 14 and August 28, while the final payment for earnings accrued through September 7 is expected around September 11.
X said existing Revenue Sharing participants would begin getting access to apply for the new programme from September 8, subject to meeting its eligibility requirements.
The first payout under the Original Content Rewards programme will be made on August 28, 2026, while existing Revenue Sharing creators who enrol in the new programme from September 8 will receive their first payment on September 25.
Under the new programme, eligible creators will earn from qualified impressions generated by their original content, with payments made every two weeks.
X defined qualified impressions as unique impressions from Premium users on the Home Timeline feed, where at least 50 per cent of a post is visible.
On the other hand, “The following are excluded from qualified impressions: impressions from the same account counted more than once per post; paid, promoted, or artificially generated impressions; and fraudulent impressions,” it said.
To qualify, creators must be at least 18 years old, live in a country where the programme is available, maintain an account in good standing and have either a personal or vusiness account.
They must also subscribe to X Premium, Premium+ or Premium Business, have at least 500 verified followers and record at least 500,000 Home Timeline impressions from verified users within the previous 90 days.
X said creators must also regularly post original content to remain eligible.
“We want to recognize creators who break news, share expertise, tell stories, create entertainment, and contribute meaningful perspectives to the conversation,” the company said.
The platform said original content could include threads, videos, memes, graphics, illustrations, reporting, analysis, commentary and reactions that add meaningful value to existing conversations.
It said creators who use content produced by others would need to add meaningful commentary, context, analysis, humour or creative transformation for such posts to qualify.
“Building on existing conversations is a core part of X, but simply reposting someone else’s content is not enough,” it said.
X said minor edits such as cropping, filters, borders, watermarks, speed adjustments or simple text overlays would generally not qualify as meaningful transformation on their own.
It also warned that content copied or substantially reproduced from another creator, content downloaded and re-uploaded from X or another platform without being the original author’s, automated content, disinformation and misleading content would be ineligible.
The company said accounts that violate the programme’s requirements could be temporarily or permanently removed from it, depending on the severity of the violation.
It added that creators would be responsible for ensuring they had the necessary rights, permissions or licences to use content created by others.
“Original content is content you personally create that reflects your own voice, perspective, expertise, or creativity,” X said.
The company said the new programme was intended to reward creators who make the platform more valuable by bringing original ideas and perspectives to its conversations.
“The Original Content Rewards Program is designed to reward the creators who start them, shape them, and move them forward,” it said.
NUPRC Warns of Counterfeit, AI-Generated Appointment Letters
KudiWave Asks for Clarification over N750m Transfer from PalmPay Account
NCC Reports over 5,000 Fibre Cuts in 6 Months
PalmPay Reinforces Commitment to Youth Empowerment on International Youth Day
ipNX Joins Calls for Innovation-Friendly Ecosystem and Stronger Local Opportunities at Regenesys AI Summit
EFCC Busts NIS Visa Overstay Racket, Uncovers N700m in an Account
Fact-Check: Elon Musk’s “Tesla Pi Phone” is Internet Rumor
NBC Tasks Broadcasting Stations over 2028 DSO Global Deadline
NBC Scraps Annual Digital Access Fee on DSO
Glo Sponsored African Voices to Feature Netflix’s “The Polygamist” Stars
E-Business2 days agoX Replaces Revenue Sharing wit New Creator Rewards Programme
Telecom2 days agoMTN Alerts Subscribers over Fake 25GB Anniversary MTN Data Giveaway
E-Financial2 days agoInterswitch, Temenos Commit to Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Banking Technology
E-Financial2 days agoFG Spent N3.1 Trillion on Domestic Debt Servicing in Q1- DMO
General News2 days agoFake Agency: ICPC Indicts NITDA, Others over Inadequate Due Diligence
General News2 days agoUNESCO Taps Oguamanam,Nigerian Scholar to Advisory Body on Science, Tech Ethics
General News2 days agoTax Reform Built on Taxing Prosperity, Not Poverty– Adedeji
News1 day agoMoove Achieves Unicorn Status With $250m Funding