Telecom
NCC Plans CSIRT to Combat Cyber Crime
Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that the Commission is working towards establishing a Cyber Security Incidence Response Team (CSIRT) exclusively for the Telecommunications sector.
He stated that CSIRT will complement the Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT) by handling and coordinating cybercrime incidences in the sector.
The NCC Boss, disclosed this at the 2019 Telecom Executives and Regulator Forum, organized by the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos yesterday.
It would be recalled that the Commission played a key role in developing the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy documents that led to the establishment of the Nigeria Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT) Coordination Center, domiciled in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
Danbatta who was represented by Mohammed Babajika, Director, Policy Competition and Economic Analysis at NCC, revealed that CSIRT will facilitate intervention, swift identification of threats/vulnerabilities and the sharing of valuable information and resources to assist in fortifying Nigeria’s national security.
Speaking on the formulation of policy and regulation for OTTs: Challenges and Prospects, Danbatta urged service providers to innovate, noting that OTTs, have some prospects in the ICT ecosystem, which cannot be ignored.
He added that OTTs will increasingly support future service model that are rapidly expanding across multiple communications & digital service domains, which will spur the growth of Smartphones that are affordable, which pushes the demand for broadband and increase mobility that will bring convenience.
Speaking earlier, Mr. Olusola Teniola, President, Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), organizers of 2019 Telecom Executives and Regulator Forum (TERF2019) said that the aim of the forum is to create a platform for the regulators to update the industry on the regulatory direction and plans for the industry in the coming years.
He noted that the outcome the forum will enable industry stakeholders to understand how best to cooperate with the regulatory agency in ensuring the effectiveness and success of policies and regulations in the industry.
According to him, “the forum is one of ATCON’s flagship initiatives for the telecom and ICT industry in Nigeria, Specifically designed for the purpose of creating a veritable opportunity for key industry players to interact with the industry regulators with the aim of building a continual good working relationship between industry players and the regulators.
“It is also aimed at creating a platform for the regulators to update the industry on the regulatory direction and plans for the industry in the coming years. This hopefully, would enable industry stakeholders to understand how best to cooperate with the regulatory agency in ensuring the effectiveness and success of policies and regulations in the industry.
“Furthermore, the forum is designed as an opportunity for the regulators to receive feedback from the industry with a view to understanding the challenges and prospects industry players have to grapple with and explore to ensure sustained growth of the industry.
“To a large extent, participants brainstorm on measures that would fast-track the rapid expansion of telecommunications services across the federation in the years ahead.
“The Association is of the opinion that today’s telecom and ICT sector in Nigeria is built on continuous strategic engagements amongst all players in the sector and the projected growth can only be attained if these engagements continue.
Mohammed Babajika, Director, Policy Competition and Economic Analysis at NCC, making the presentation
“ATCON is providing this platform for the purpose of accelerating and harnessing the changes that are taking place in the industry in order to grow the industry for all its teeming members who have made huge investments in the Nigerian telecom and ICT sector.
“There is a popular saying that ‘change is inevitable’, the truth is that our industry is changing on daily basis or we can say that the industry is being disrupted by new technological innovations and for our members to stay afloat and remain players in the industry, new business models must be evolved by our members but regulation and policies also need to be reviewed, fine-tuned and strengthened so that all and sundry can remain in business. To this end, new capacities must be developed to match the new opportunities that the new ecosystem is presenting.
ATCON firmly believes that this very important platform would provide a great opportunity for all critical stakeholders in the industry to leverage on this rare opportunity to share their views, contribute their expertise and experiences in discussion about best practices in their jurisdictions with a focus to grow and sustain the industry.
“We strongly believe in knowledge sharing that will further stimulate the accelerated development of our industry. Finally, we need to succeed in further winning the confidence of the international community to see Nigeria as a preferred investment destination in Africa.
“This is why we consider it a worthwhile venture to continually engage ourselves in programmes that would enable us to advance the frontiers of telecommunications/ICT in Nigeria”.
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.
Telecom
MUSON Graduates Shine at 2026 Concert as MTN Foundation Celebrates 20 Years of Music Scholarships
Emeka Nwodike, acting director of the MUSON School of Music, conducted the institution’s graduating class in a grand finale performance, bringing the 2026 graduation concert to a memorable close. The concert took place on July 7 at the Shell Hall of the MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos.
The event celebrated students who successfully completed the MUSON Diploma Programme through the MTN Foundation Scholarship Programme.
The graduating students delivered a rich choral repertoire that reflected the breadth of their musical training, performing Italian Salad by Richard Genee, My Song by Eriks Esenvalds, Obi Dimkpa by Laz Ekwueme, and an ABBA Medley arranged by Goran Bejstam. Under the Acting Director’s baton, the choir demonstrated technical precision, vocal maturity and artistic expression before an audience of family members, music enthusiasts and industry stakeholders.
The concert formed part of the long-running partnership between the MTN Foundation and the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON), which has, since 2006, provided scholarships for hundreds of talented young Nigerians to receive formal music education through the MUSON Diploma School. The programme continues to serve as one of the country’s foremost platforms for developing professional musicians and strengthening Nigeria’s creative economy.
Speaking at the close of the concert, Nwodike expressed appreciation to the MTN Foundation for its sustained support of the scholarship programme over the past two decades. He also thanked the Director of the MUSON Centre, faculty members, mentors and other stakeholders whose dedication has contributed to the school’s continued success.
“For nearly 20 years, the MTN Foundation has remained a steadfast partner in our mission to nurture young musical talent. We are deeply grateful for that commitment. I also want to thank the Director of the MUSON Centre, our faculty, mentors and everyone whose dedication has helped the MUSON School of Music continue to grow and thrive. Their support has made this programme what it is today, and our graduates are a testament to that collective effort,” he said.
Meta is rolling out Muse Image, the companyʼs first image generation model from Meta Superintelligence Labs, now available in Meta AI . Muse Spark made Meta AI a smarter assistant; now, Muse Image acts as the creative partner that knows your world, making it easy to turn your ideas into high-quality visuals that you can download and share anywhere, including directly to your feed, story, or chat.
The model also powers new creative tools across Metaʼs apps. You can use more than 30 new AI-powered effects for Instagram Stories and generate images in your direct chats with Meta AI on WhatsApp — starting in limited countries with more locations on the way.
Simple Prompts, High-Quality Outputs
Whether you’re starting from scratch or working with an existing photo, you can describe what you want in simple, conversational language, and Meta AI handles the rest thanks to Muse Image. Ask it to mock up an image of you in front of a historical landmark, cleanly erase a photobomber from the background of a shot, or write a custom prompt to build a functional QR code. It will also render text cleanly inside your visuals, meaning you can ask for a how-to guide or a detailed infographic on a specific subject, and the text comes out legible and styled to match.
Suggested Presets to Help You Get Started
Sometimes the hardest part of creating is getting started. Meta AI now includes a presets panel with suggested prompts to help inspire you. One tap restores an old family photo, lets you see yourself with trending hairstyles, or reimagines you as a claymation character or a 16-bit video game hero. Whatever you create, itʼs easy to share with friends across Metaʼs apps so they can try the same preset on their own photos.
Shop Your Room Redesigns
You can also snap a photo of your room and ask Meta AI to redesign it with real products from the web or Facebook Marketplace. Suggest a style you love or ask Meta AI to pull from whatʼs trending to see what your space looks like with a full makeover.
An Intelligent Creative Partner
Muse Image doesn’t just build an image; it thinks through your prompt first. By pairing up with Muse Spark, the model takes multiple steps behind the scenes — planning its layout, looking up real-time web context, and intelligently blending multiple visual references at once. Whether you want to place your pet in a famous painting or combine a selfie with a vacation photo to create a custom postcard, Meta AI handles the complex reasoning for you so the final visual matches your vision perfectly.
Rooted in Your World
You can also @-mention Instagram accounts in the Meta AI app to bring specific Instagram profiles right into your images. Whether you want to design a custom event invitation, mock up a collaborative creative concept, or generate a personalized graphic, tagging a username lets Meta AI use public photos to build a visual thatʼs ready to post. You have control over how your content can be tagged for AI creation with an easy setting to turn this feature off at any time.
Edit Directly on the Photo
To make a change, just tap the markup icon on your creation to circle, sketch, or annotate edits right on top of the photo. Since Meta AI remembers the full context of your conversation, you can keep refining by swapping styles, adding elements, or tweaking details — all without starting from scratch.
Whatʼs Next
Soon, Meta will bring Muse Image to more countries and the places where people use Meta AI, including Facebook and Messenger, and additional surfaces on Instagram and WhatsApp. In the coming weeks, advertisers and agencies will be able to tap into Muse Image through Advantage+ creative.
Using Meta AI with Muse Image is free for everyday creation. For people who want to create even more, itʼs available as part of Metaʼs subscription plans.
Images are just the beginning. With Muse Video already in development, Meta is building entirely new ways for you to bring your ideas to life, getting one step closer to personal superintelligence.
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