Telecom
Ndukwe Reiterates Commitment to Improved Telecom Access
Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, chief executive officer, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reiterated the commitment of the commission to ensure that every Nigerian has access to telecommunications services wherever he lives.
He said that as we live in a global village where ICTs have a direct impact on a nation’s ability to improve the economic well being of her people and compete globally, we must therefore ask ourselves how well we have fared in comparison with other regions of the world in providing access to this vital infrastructure for our people. He noted Nigeria no doubt has cause to celebrate eight years of tremendous growth in the information and communication technologies sector.
Ndukwe stated this at the inaugural lecture of African Telecom Hall of Fame a part of 8th Nigerian Information Technology and Telecom Awards (Nitta 2009) organized by IT & Telecom Digest. He said while Nigeria and other African countries may be celebrating increase in access to and the use of basic telephone services, the more advanced countries are increasing access to internet and broadband at such an exponential rate. “Broadband is no doubt an accelerator of social and economic development in the modern world with its applications enabling and facilitating economic and social services such as Public Safety, National Security, Telemedicine, E-government, distance learning, utility applications among others,” he said.
One of the main limitations he said to faster deployment of internet in the continent is the access challenge. “Without access there is no internet. Internet is not real and cannot: be experienced, used or valued by the individual who does not have access. Access for me means being connected to the internet at the right speed and at the right price and linked to the right content at the right time and the right place,” he added.
He noted that many developing countries lost out on the telecom revolution that happened before the advent of mobile communications, when the rest of the world developed copious installed capacities for fixed line transmission and last-meter cable infrastructure. And that, with the coming of internet, the cable infrastructure became the access infrastructure in more developed countries for linking homes and offices to the internet employing ADSL technology. Thus for many developing countries today, mass market last-meter access to the internet has to be wireless.
“It is also important that last meter access is developed side by side with national and regional backbone infrastructure to ensure affordable bandwidth cost and interconnection/peering. Regulators and governments have a responsibility to encourage investment in the building of large capacity optic fibre infrastructure within the nations and across the region,” he explained.
He said "Fibre Without Borders" campaign he launched recently came on the realization that some countries in Africa delay or deny rights of way for cross border or cross country optic fibre cable (OFC) infrastructure projects. He said some countries even deny landing rights to companies seeking to land sub¬-marine cables on their shores. “These are serious policy and regulatory issues that must be addressed. Africa today needs optic fibre highways crisscrossing the continent. This no doubt will help aggregate African data traffic, reduce cost of access, increase regional transit footprints, encourage regional peering, facilitate development of local content and enhance the contribution of Africa to the knowledge resource in the World Wide Web,” he stated.
He stressed the need for security of access, citing recent development in the country where a major cable cut of the link to the SAT-3 submarine cable infrastructures was recorded, which affected voice and data traffic to and from the outside world. He said although this was an inadvertent and unplanned cable cut, it nevertheless disrupted critical business processes and social interactions. “This brought home the realization that a planned sabotage of unprotected critical communications infrastructure, whether State or privately owned can have far reaching consequences on the business and social life of a country and could grind certain critical activities to a halt and can escalate to disaster proportions.
There is therefore need for regulators and policy makers to encourage the build out of redundancies and diversity in the provision of critical infrastructure and this may include satellite communications ;alternatives, even where cable transmission access are available,” he said.
The need for Nigeria to think outside the box in its need to drive towards global relevance with innovations and scientific developments will be on the front burner at the NITRA Innovative & Scientific Conference scheduled to hold on Thursday July 23, 2026 in Ikeja, Lagos.
NITRA
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will lead other delegates to discuss and take far-reaching decisions at the event, which has its theme as “Bridging Nigeria’s Digital Divide With Scientific Innovation”.
Other companies that have indicated interest in partnering with NITRA include mobile communications company, Tecno; Africa’s premier end-to-end AI solutions company, Hyperspace; and telecommunications data infrastructure company, Digital Realty.
Speaking on the proposed event, the Chairman, Nigeria Information Technology Reporters Association (NITRA), Chike Onwuegbuchi noted that the event will seek to create a platform for government and private organisations to deliberate on policies around scientific innovations in Nigeria, challenges, place of indigenous and foreign collaboration, roles of each stakeholder, and grassroots development in that regard, among others.
According to him: “The Federal government, with series of programmes and partnerships, has established the urgent need to create an ecosystem that thrives on scientific innovation, breeding institutions and individuals with a target of placing the country at the fore-front of Next-Gen development.
It is a known fact that digital and scientific innovations are crucial, not only to the survivability of a nation, but also to the sustainability of its growth and development, with significant effect on economic strength, global image, defense and security, government capabilities to function, and public health and safety, communication and digital footprint, among others.
The federal government is actively driving scientific innovation to foster economic diversification and build a $1 trillion economy by 2030. Efforts are heavily focused on commercializing research, establishing massive research funds, and funding strategic infrastructure, particularly in technology, biotechnology, and healthcare. Core government initiatives and policies include the newly instituted National Research and Innovation Development Fund (NRIDF), which aims to mobilize about $500 million annually to support research and the commercialization of scientific outputs; and the Nigeria Genomic City, a multi-ministerial initiative aimed at transforming Nigeria into a leading hub for genomics, precision medicine, and biotechnology. It is designed to protect indigenous data, stimulate artificial intelligence in health, and develop a highly skilled scientific workforce.
According to the General Secretary of NITRA, Mr. Chidiebere Nwankwo, the forum will also be a vehicle to propagating the views of decision makers to the public, thereby furthering the cause of public awareness and information dissemination on the topic.
The focus, he said will be on how Nigeria can sustain digital innovative growth and scientific development in Nigeria
The board of global payments company, PayPal, says a 53 billion dollars takeover offer from financial technology firm, Stripe, and private equity company, Advent International, does not adequately reflect the company’s long-term value.
PayPal
According to reports, the proposed acquisition, valued at 60.50 dollars per share, remains under consideration, with the board yet to formally respond to the offer.
The directors are said to be evaluating not only the financial value of the proposal but also the structure of the financing, the timeline for completing the transaction and the likelihood of obtaining regulatory approvals.
They are also considering the possibility of competing bids emerging.
Although the offer represents a premium of about 28 per cent above PayPal’s recent share price, the board believes the company could deliver greater value to shareholders if its ongoing turnaround strategy succeeds.
Following reports of the bid, PayPal shares gained about two per cent to close at 56.73 dollars.
Sources familiar with the discussions said Stripe and Advent have secured approximately 50 billion dollars in debt financing from JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, while both firms would jointly contribute 17 billion dollars in equity.
Under the proposal, the two companies would jointly own PayPal instead of dividing its operations.
PayPal, Stripe, Advent International, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley have all declined to comment on the proposed transaction.
The discussions come as PayPal seeks to strengthen its business after years of increasing competition from rivals including Apple Pay, Google Pay and emerging financial technology firms.
The company, which was valued at about 360 billion dollars in 2021, now has a market capitalisation of approximately 36 billion dollars.
Since assuming office as Chief Executive Officer in March 2026, Enrique Lores has embarked on a restructuring programme aimed at improving operational efficiency and restoring growth.
The restructuring includes the creation of three business divisions comprising Checkout, Venmo and Consumer Financial Services, and Payments and Crypto.
The company is also targeting 1.5 billion dollars in cost savings through the deployment of artificial intelligence technologies.
PayPal’s latest financial results indicated signs of recovery, with first-quarter revenue rising seven per cent year-on-year to 8.35 billion dollars, while total payment volume increased by eight per cent to 464 billion dollars.
If approved, the transaction would combine two of the world’s largest digital payments companies.
The combined business would process an estimated 3.7 trillion dollars in annual payment volume, significantly strengthening its position in the global online payments market.
However, analysts expect the proposed acquisition to face intense regulatory scrutiny because of the companies’ combined market share in merchant payment services.
To address possible antitrust concerns, the bidders have reportedly considered options, including separating PayPal’s Braintree business or other assets if required by regulators.
Sources said Stripe and Advent remain interested in pursuing the acquisition despite the board’s reservations, although negotiations are expected to continue.
Market observers are also awaiting PayPal’s earnings report scheduled for July 28 for further indications of the company’s financial recovery and future growth prospects.
Concerns over network reliability and its impact on Nigeria’s growing creator economy took centre stage at MTN Nigeria’s Data on Trial event, where content creator and streamer, Jarvis, challenged telecommunications operators to improve connectivity for digital creators.
Speaking during the event, Jarvis asked whether there were locations in Nigeria where uninterrupted internet connectivity could support real-life (IRL) streaming without network disruptions.
“Are there places where there is no breakage when streaming IRL?” she asked.
Her question highlighted the challenges faced by content creators who depend on stable internet services for live streaming, content uploads and real-time engagement with audiences.
Responding, MTN Nigeria’s Chief Technical Officer, Mr Yahaya Ibrahim, said network performance depends on several factors, including location, network coverage, device capability and the number of users connected to a particular base station.
He noted that operators continue to invest in expanding network capacity to meet the growing demand for data services.
Earlier, MTN’s General Manager, Network Performance and Quality Assurance, Mr Michael Ndukwe, explained the evolution of mobile network technology in Nigeria, from first-generation (1G) services to the current fifth-generation (5G) technology.
According to him, each phase of technological advancement has significantly increased network capacity and enabled new digital services.
Ndukwe cited Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) data showing that Nigerians consumed about 13.2 million terabytes of data in 2025.
He added that data usage reached approximately 4.06 million terabytes in the first quarter of 2026, reflecting the country’s increasing reliance on digital platforms and online services.
According to him, the growth is being driven by wider adoption of 4G and 5G networks, increased smartphone penetration, the proliferation of smart devices and expanding use of social media platforms.
Participants at the event noted that as more Nigerians build businesses and careers around digital content, access to reliable and high-speed internet has become critical to sustaining the country’s digital economy and creator ecosystem.
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