Telecom
NCC Shines @2021 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue, Bags Telecom E-Waste Regulator Award

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has bagged the 2021 ITREALMS Telecom E-Waste Regulator Award.

From left: Publisher/Editor Newsmart, Ms. Rose Moses; President, Guild of Corporate Online Publishers and Publisher/Editor Realnews, Ms. Maureen Chigbo; presenting the plague to NCC, President, National Association of Telecoms Subscribers, Chief Adeolu Ogunbanjo; host, Group Executive Editor-in-Chief ITREALMS Media Group, Mr. Remmy Nweke; Head, Online Media, Public Affairs Department, Nigerian Communications Commission, Dr. Omoniyi Ibietan; Teach/Admin Officer, E-Waste Producer Responsibility Organisation Nigeria, Ms. Mofesayo Oyedeji and Executive Director, DigitalSENSE Africa, Mrs. Nkem Nweke, at the 2021 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue on “E-waste in Nigeria Consumer as a Key to Circular Economy and 20 years of GSM” in Lagos.
The award was presented on behalf of the management of ITREALMS Media group by the president of the National Association of Telecom Subscribers (NATCOMS), Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, at the 2021 ITREALMS E-Waste Dialogue held Thursday at the Welcome Centre Hotels, Lagos, with the theme “e-Waste in Nigeria: Consumer as key to Circular Economy & 20 years of GSM.”
Also speaking on the award, the Executive Editor-in-Chief of ITREALMS Media, Mr. Remmy Nweke, said the award was in recognition of the Commission’s commitment in the regulation of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) in Telecom Sector.
The event keynoted by the Executive Vice Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, who was represented by the Head of New Media, Dr. Ominiyi Ibietan, dwelt on “20 years of GSM and e-Waste in Nigeria.”
He also said that Chief Ogunbanjo was accompanied at the presentation by the president, Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) and publisher of RealNews, Maureen Chigbo; publisher of Newsmart, Rose Mose; Teach & Admin Officer at the E-Waste Producer Responsibility Organisation of Nigeria (E-PRON) Ms Mofesayo Oyedeji, Executive Director, DigitalSENSE Africa, Mrs Nkem Nweke.
He recalled that NCC is the independent national regulatory authority for the telecommunications sector in Nigeria. The Commission is responsible for creating an enabling environment for competition among operators in the industry as well as ensuring the provision of qualitative and efficient telecommunications services throughout the country.
Created under Decree No. 75 by the [Federal Military Government of Nigeria] on 24 November 1992, the Commission was charged with the responsibility of regulating the supply of telecommunications services and facilities, promoting competition, and setting performance standards for telephone services in Nigeria.
Over the years NCC has earned a reputation as a leading telecom regulatory agency on the continent of Africa. The Commission strives to catalyze the use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT’s) for different aspects of national development.
In this regard, NCC has initiated several programmes such as State Accelerated Broadband Initiative (SABI) and Wire Nigeria Project (WIN) to help stimulate demand and accelerate the uptake of ICT tools and services necessary for the enthronement of a knowledge society in the country.
In order to achieve its mandate, the Commission being currently led by the Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, has put in place some necessary licensing and regulatory framework for the supply of telecommunications services, especially using “ASPIRE 2024” – (A: Advancement through S: Strategy, P: Professionalism, I: Innovation and R: Regulatory, E: Excellence).
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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