E-Business
NCC to Realize Win, Sabi by 2010
Engr. Ernest Ndukwe, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that he is poised to realizing Wire Nigeria, State Accelerated Broadband Initiative (Sabi), by 2010 when his tenure is expected to elapse.
He restated his commitment to leave a legacy of very professional and strong regulatory body, and a robust telecoms network crisscrossing the entire nation before he quits the scene in 2010.
Dr. Ndukwe said he believes that once the right processes are put in place, there will be no reason why things would not continue to move in the right direction, and that he would entrench those ideals within the one and half years left of his tenure.
He listed some of his priorities to include massive expansion of telecom transmission infrastructure across the country through the Wire Nigeria (WIN) project, spreading broadband and Internet services to urban and semi urban locations through the State Accelerated Broadband Initiative, SABI, and achieving a profound improvement in quality of services across the networks.
"Between now and 2010, this country will have even a more robust telecom industry. I will like to continue to develop the manpower of the Commission and set up the right processes. My major aspiration is to continue to develop the commission to be manned by very good people that will be able to sustain and maintain the reputation of the Nigerian Communications Commission even after I have left", he said.
He said Nigeria has a lot to celebrate on the 7th anniversary of the telecom revolution as Nigerian has become the leading telecom nation in Africa in terms of subscriber base, at more than 54 million lines as at today, and is one of the top ten countries in the world in the field of growth of the telecom industry.
According to him, the sector has witnessed surprise expectations with huge investments still coming. He cited the buying of Multilinks by Telkom South Africa, the merger of four operators to form the bigger Visafone, the partial acquisition of Intercellular by Sudatel, and expansion of the investment base of Starcomms which has also gone to the stock market, as very significant in the attractiveness of the industry to telecom investments.
"Since January this year, the telecom network has witnessed steady growth which currently outstrips 1.2 million lines every month, which indicates the fact that the growth rate is still not abetted. This also shows that Nigeria has witnessed economic growth because there is a linkage between acquisition of telecom services and economic improvement", he said.
Ndukwe also said Nigeria is proud to be playing host to other African regulators who are seeking to understudy the various processes and strategies adopted by the Commission to register the current successes. These countries include Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Liberia, Gambia among others.
He noted that the Commission has been very active on the issue of quality of services across the networks with marginal improvements recorded against all odds. According to him, some of the measures taken in this direction include the imposition of compensation to the subscribers. He said this is the first time a telecom regulator in Africa, if not in any part of the world, would force the operators to pay compensation to all the active subscribers in their networks.
He said the reason for forcing the compensation was because the Commission believed that the subscribers would have lost some seconds and minutes as a result of the unacceptable quality of services rendered by the affected operators.
Engr. Ndukwe also listed the projects by the Commission to address prevalence of phone thefts in the country before the end of the year, and the latest attempts to register prepaid SIM cards in order to combat incessant criminal activities perpetrated through use of phone lines without usage identities, as some those actions focused on improving the value of phone services in the country.
The commission he explained is working with the National Identity Management Commission, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) and other bodies to ensure that a good and credible database is put in place for the benefit of all.
On the issue of slow start by some operators who have not launched services since receiving license, the NCC boss said he is aware that Etisalat has done a test run on its network and had placed calls to him from its network while he was out of the country. He said the Commission has written Alheri (Member of Dangote Group which has a 3G license) to understand why much has not been heard from the company. But he was quick to add that it is the operator that paid huge license fees and failed to launch that is actually loosing money as it would not make sense to pay $400 million and keep the license.
On the slow growth of the landline network in Nigeria, Dr. Ndukwe said that most of the land line infrastructures across the world today were built in the 1980s and the 1990s, which he said was the time that Nigeria missed the opportunity and that up to 2000, rather than progress, Nitel’s infrastructure has retrogressed.
He noted that with the fibre optics projects going on with some operators like Globacom, their may be some hope. While agreeing that the cabling infrastructure is best for high bandwidth traffic, he however said some wireless systems are now carrying as huge bandwidth which is the reason why some of the operators have embraced it.
Nigeria has taken a major step toward strengthening its digital governance framework as the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) officially assumes control of the Nigeria Government Enterprise Architecture (NGEA) infrastructure.
The handover ceremony held in Abuja, marks the culmination of a high-level partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
This transition signals a shift from fragmented IT projects to a unified, disciplined approach to national digital investment.
The NGEA initiative forms a core part of the e-Government Masterplan 2.0 (Ne-GMP 2.0), aimed at establishing a unified and structured approach to managing government IT investments and digital resources.
The framework is designed to ensure that technology deployment across public institutions aligns with national priorities while improving efficiency and accountability.
With the system now operational, government agencies are expected to adopt more integrated digital processes, allowing seamless data sharing and interoperability.
This is anticipated to reduce duplication, strengthen risk management, and translate policy objectives into measurable digital outcomes.
Over the past two and a half years, Nigerian technical experts worked closely with their Korean counterparts to develop the architecture framework, create reference models, and execute pilot programmes in key institutions.
These include the National Identity Management Commission, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigeria Immigration Service, and NITDA.
Officials say the NGEA represents a shift from fragmented digital efforts to a more coordinated, citizen-focused system.
The infrastructure is hosted by Galaxy Backbone Limited, providing a secure and reliable platform for nationwide deployment.
Looking ahead, NITDA is expected to work with government stakeholders to expand and sustain the system, while the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy will provide policy guidance to ensure its adoption across the country.
Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, has said the government is shifting focus from expanding access to ensuring “meaningful connectivity” that drives economic growth and inclusion.
Bosun Tijani, minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy
The minister made the statement on Friday while addressing stakeholders at the inauguration of board members of the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) in Abuja.
He said that although Nigeria had made significant progress since the introduction of GSM services, millions of people, particularly in rural and underserved communities, remain either unconnected or unable to fully benefit from digital services.
Dr Tijani highlighted ongoing investments in digital infrastructure, including plans to deploy 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic network and nearly 4,000 telecom towers nationwide.
He said initiatives under the USPF had improved access through projects such as rural connectivity and digital facilities in schools but stressed that the next phase must prioritise effective usage.
“It is not enough to connect a community. We must ensure that schools can teach with digital tools and that small businesses can access market opportunities,” he said, citing a pilot project in the Kura community where connectivity has enhanced access to communication, education and healthcare.
Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) also called for a shift towards meaningful connectivity, noting that while data usage had grown significantly, it remained concentrated in urban areas.
According to him, recent data shows that telecom usage has increased by about 160% over the past two years, largely driven by urban demand.
“When we drill down, we see that a lot of that growth is actually in urban centres. So, the gap between those who are not connected or not meaningfully connected is growing,” he said.
Dr Maida added that the trend underscored the need for the USPF board to intensify efforts to bridge both access and usage gaps across the country.
Both officials emphasised the importance of collaboration, sustainable investment models and improved digital literacy to ensure that connectivity translates into real economic benefits for Nigerians.
A jury in Los Angeles has found technology companies, Meta and Google liable for contributing to a young woman’s social media addiction, in a case being described as a landmark ruling.
The 20-year-old woman, identified only as Kaley, argued that she became addicted to Google’s YouTube and Meta’s Instagram from an early age due to their attention-driven design features.
According to her testimony, she began using YouTube at the age of six after downloading the app on her iPod Touch to watch videos about lip gloss and online games.
Kaley told the court that she joined Instagram at nine, bypassing parental restrictions put in place by her mother, and spent extended periods on social media.
The trial, which lasted about a month, with arguments and evidence from both sides.
Jurors also heard testimony from Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive, Meta and Adam Mosseri, Instagram head.
However, Neal Mohan, YouTube chief executive, did not testify.
The jury found that the companies were negligent in the design of their platforms and failed to adequately warn users about potential harms. Meta and Google were ordered to pay the woman $3 million in damages.
Jurors also recommended additional punitive damages, including $900,000 against YouTube and $2.1 million against Meta, according to company spokespersons.
The jury apportioned 70 per cent of the responsibility to Meta and 30 per cent to YouTube.
Kaley was present in the courtroom when the verdict was delivered, alongside parents of other teenagers who say they were harmed by social media use. Both companies said they plan to appeal the decision.
“We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal. Teen mental health is profoundly complex and cannot be linked to a single app. We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously as every case is different, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online”, a Meta spokesperson said.
José Castañeda, Google spokesperson, said the case misunderstands YouTube, which is a responsibly built streaming platform, not a social media site.
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