Telecom
MTN Nigeria to Invest Over N300m in Media Innovation Programme in Partnership with Pan-Atlantic University

MTN Nigeria, Nigeria’s leading technology company, has joined global organisations supporting media practitioners to stay relevant in an ever-changing media profession with the launch of groundbreaking Media Innovation Programme to train 20 Nigerian media practitioners in digital skills, improvement in writing and reporting skills through group presentations and sessions on PowerPoint tools for effective communication.

L-R: Bureau Chief, Nigeria, Bloomberg, Anthony Osae-Brown; Vice Chancellor, Pan-Atlantic University, Prof. Enase Okonedo; Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Karl Olutokun Toriola, and Chief Executive Officer, Smooth Promotions, Ayo Animashaun at the launch of the MTN Media Innovation Programme held at Honeywell Auditorium, Lagos Business School on Wednesday 27 April, 2022
“The MIP fellows will engage in intensive sessions on courses covering creativity and innovation, entrepreneurship and management principles, subscription business, strategic planning skills, amongst others,” Karl Toriola, the CEO of MTN Nigeria, said at the launch of the programme on Wednesday, April 27 at the Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos.
The six-month fully funded fellowship programme is in partnership with the School of Media and Communication, Pan-Atlantic University, in Lagos.
The 20 Fellows will spend some time in accelerator labs and innovation centres, creating and incubating ideas, as well as a study visit to the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, adjudged one of the top universities in Africa in media training.
The Media Innovation Programme is coming at a time when media leaders from more than 50 countries across the world say lack of sufficient resources and skills are the major barriers to delivering innovation in their works, according to the ‘Journalism, media, and technology trends and predictions 2022’ report published by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, in January 2022.
The report revealed that around 51% of 246 media leaders in 52 countries surveyed say they don’t have enough money to invest in innovation this year. A similar proportion says they struggle to hire or keep enough technical, design, or data staff to deliver solutions.
Through the MIP, MTN will be investing over N300 million in helping Nigerian journalists deliver innovation in their works and have a better understanding of media business and revenue models in a way that guarantees career and financial success.
By investing in media training for journalists in different beats, MTN continues its tradition of contributing significantly to educational growth in Nigeria.
“We are driven by our belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected world inspired by the potential of Africa. The world is constantly evolving, with the media landscape changing at remarkable speed boosted by technology. Our motivation is to support the Nigerian media space with our infrastructure and enable capacity building initiatives to accelerate innovation in media practice.”
“It’s a delight to partner with Pan-Atlantic University, who through their expertise have contributed to the professional development of the media industry, not only in Nigeria but across Africa,” Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria noted during the announcement.
Telecom
PAT Taps Osi as CEO

Pan African Towers (PAT), a Nigerian infrastructure provider serving 9mobile and Spectranet, has appointed Echezona Osi as chief executive officer.

Echezona Osi
Adefolarin Ogunsanya, company’s, board chairman, explained in a statement that Osi would succeed Oladipo Badru, whose tenure lasted nine months in acting CEO position. Osi has more than 28 years of experience in the telecommunications sector across various regions of Africa.
Prior to his appointment as CEO, he had served as the head of network deployment at Airtel Nigeria, operations director and chief technical information officer at MIC Tanzania, chief technology officer roles at IPT PowerTech Nigeria, Rhino Niger Networks and Biswal Nigeria.
He obtained a degree in electrical/ electronic engineering from the University of Benin and a postgraduate diploma in data science and business analytics from the University of Texas.
Telecom
NCC Introduces N10m Licence Fee for Bulk SMS Service

Companies sending bulk international text messages, also known as Application-to-Person (A2P) messages, will now have apply for a licence that costs N10 million.
This is part of new rules introduced by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) aimed at cleaning up the system, fighting fraud, blocking spam messages and stopping money from leaving the country unchecked.
These A2P messages are the kind customers get from banks, online stores, hospitals and political campaigns, automated texts sent from apps to their phones.
According to the commission, the bulk international text message system has been poorly regulated, allowing misuse and invasion of privacy.
“The International SMS Service Ecosystem in Nigeria has not been fully brought under regulatory control. It has been observed that the excessive use of the Short Message Service has led to fraud, spam and illegal activities,” the NCC said.
The regulator warned that without action, the problem would worsen as more people use mobile phones and digital services.
To solve this, the NCC is creating a central platform, or gateway, through which all international bulk text messages must pass through.
The agency said this would help to monitor messages in real time, ensure proper fees are paid, and make sure the money stays in Nigeria where it can contribute to the economy.
As part of the incoming change, service providers must follow strict rules, including strong data protection, spam filters, and message encryption.
Also, they must also work with local mobile networks and make sure all messages come from a verified sender
The NCC warned that any message without a proper sender ID will be blocked and not delivered to users.
To protect users from unwanted texts, the new rules say companies must get clear permission before sending any promotional content.
The rule also says people must also be able to choose whether they want to receive such messages or not.
Companies are now required to keep records of all messages for at least six months and must clearly state all charges involved.
The NCC said fees for help requests, cancellations, or service info must be transparent and not include hidden charges.
The commission will issue licences to several providers to encourage healthy competition but may limit new licences if needed.
Only companies that show they can stop fraud and safely deliver messages will be allowed to operate. They must also regularly report their message traffic and finances to the NCC.
It warned that any company that breaks the rules risks getting fined, suspended, or having its licence revoked.
Offences like charging illegal tariffs, ignoring security rules, or avoiding taxes will be punished, the NCC said.
The commission added that the new rules follow the Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023 and support the federal government’s goal of strengthening cybersecurity and controlling Nigeria’s digital space.
The framework will also be reviewed from time to time to keep up with new technology and market trends.
Telecom
MTN Nigeria Targets $1Bn Cloud Market with Largest Modular Data Centre

MTN Nigeria has launched what it claims is the country’s largest prefabricated modular data centre, marking a bold push into the country’s fast-growing cloud market and taking aim at global giants such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.

Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria.
The shift comes as demand for cloud services in Nigeria soars — driven by the uptake of mobile apps, fintech tools and e-learning platforms — while foreign providers have become costlier in the wake of the naira’s sharp devaluation.
“This is one of the biggest data centres in West Africa and probably one of the biggest in Africa,” said Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria.
He described the new Tier III-certified facility, with locally hosted cloud services, as “transformative for the technology ecosystem in Nigeria and very supportive of the federal government’s agenda”.
MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecoms provider, has so far invested $120m in the first phase, delivering an IT load of 4.5MW. A second phase, set to double capacity to 9MW, is budgeted at $135m.
“We already have data centres that are running our existing capacities,” Toriola said.
“We will go to 9MW in short order, possibly 14MW, and we can expand even further.”
He said the facility would allow local hosting for tech developers, large enterprises including banks and oil companies, and government agencies — markets long dominated by foreign cloud providers.
“Multinational companies such as Netflix, Facebook and Instagram can also host a lot of their data here. That improves the quality of service and reduces the cost of storage,” he added.
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