Telecom
Pantami Addresses BTAF with First-Ever 5G Hologram Display in West Africa
The Federal Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami has again stressed the importance of the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) for nation-building.
Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami
The Honourable Minister was speaking at the Broadband Technical Awareness Forum (BTAF) for Governors which held on Thursday, October 20, 2022, at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja where stakeholders witnessed first-hand, the power of 5G connectivity.
Powered by the low latency of 5G enabled by MTN Nigeria, Pantami delivered the keynote speech from a different section of the venue, and attendees were able to interact with him as he was beamed onto a platform as a three-dimensional projection in real-time.
Organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the BTAF is a forum that discusses the importance of internet broadband penetration by highlighting its various benefits across different sectors of the economy for increased revenue generation, employment opportunities, and the efficiency its impacts across various fields such as education, medicine, and agriculture.
According to data released by the NCC on September 26, 2022, there is a 44.68 per cent broadband penetration in Nigeria and up to 79.8 per cent of the population has access to the internet.
Pantami says these figures reflect a progression from data released in 2019. Despite this marked growth, he insists that there is a need to view broadband penetration as a necessity and no longer as a luxury.
According to the Minister, research carried out by the World Economic Forum and Oxford Economies revealed that a 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration resulted in a minimum of 2.5 per cent increase in GDP sampled countries.
“There is no way we can attain economic development without broadband penetration, and there is no way we can acquire knowledge effectively and deliver content effectively to our students without broadband access,” Pantami asserted.
He continued: “Broadband penetration today is no more luxury, but rather it becomes necessary for security, for economic development, and education among many, many others. For example, when it comes to security, if you look at all the service systems that have been deployed by security institutions, today you cannot manage all this service effectively without broadband penetration.”
Also speaking at the forum, the Chairman, NCC, Prof Adeolu Akande noted that “it would be difficult to achieve faster and desired broadband penetration level without effective collaboration of state governors.”
The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki in his remarks called for trust and open dialogue between the Federal Government and State Governments while assuring stakeholders of state governors’ commitment to broadband deployment in their respective states.
The BTAF played host to stakeholders in the communications and information sector, governors and their representatives.
Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) on Monday commended the Federal Ministry of Communication, Innovation, and Digital Economy (FMCIDE) for spearheading a new initiative known as ‘Project Bridge’.
Tony Emoekpere, president, ATCON, stated in an interview with NAN in Lagos that the initiative aimed to create a robust and resilient telecommunications backbone across Nigeria.
Emoekpere stated that the project was an ambitious public-private partnership designed to connect all 36 states and Abuja, as well as LGAs, via fiber optic cables.
According to him, the initiative is not meant to replace existing infrastructure but to complement it, creating a more resilient network.
“Right now, most of the networks that we have are linear in nature. ’Just imagine, if there’s only one road from Lagos to Ibadan; if anything happens to that road, you would not get to Ibadan.
‘’This project will create alternative routes,” he said.
The ATCON boss stated that the project was modeled after the successful PPP framework in the energy sector, with the government contributing a certain percentage to the Special Purpose Vehicle and the private sector providing the remaining funding.
He stated that the project’s goal was to establish alternative, redundant connections, thereby ensuring that services remained uninterrupted even if one part of the network was compromised.
The president expressed the full support of telcos, noting that the project would enable members to deliver services more effectively in locations where infrastructure was currently a significant challenge.
“With this project, we will have multiple options,” he said.
Project BRIDGE involves building a nationwide fiber optic network to expand digital infrastructure and connectivity, rather than a physical bridge, as part of Nigeria’s National Broadband Plan.
The project is a public-private partnership ($2 billion cost) using an SPV to deploy 90,000km of fiber-optic cable to enhance education, healthcare, and the digital economy.
MTN Nigeria has successfully completed a scheduled network maintenance operation that affected 101 sites across 15 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Adamawa, Borno, and Kano States.
The restoration marks a significant step in the company’s ongoing efforts to enhance service reliability in the Northeast region, amidst multiple fibre cuts and vandalism.
The maintenance, which took place on Sunday, August 24, involved the cutover of traffic to a newly installed fiber span along the AFCOT–Bawo Village route in Adamawa State.
This upgrade was necessary to replace a previously damaged section of the network infrastructure. All service maintenance was done within timeframe and restorations before 1 PM on Sunday August 24th.
We can confirm that all impacted sites have been fully restored, and services are now operating normally. We appreciate our subscribers’ patience and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused during the downtime.
The affected services included 2G, 3G, 4G, and enterprise connectivity, with temporary disruptions experienced in LGAs such as Girei, Song, Mubi North, Hong, and Michika in Adamawa; Askira/Uba and Shani in Borno; and Nasarawa in Kano.
The work was scheduled during daylight hours to ensure the safety of field engineers, given the linear and unprotected nature of the route.
This restoration is part of MTN’s broader strategy to strengthen its infrastructure in underserved regions and ensure consistent service delivery across Nigeria, amidst constant fibre cuts and vandalism.
TikTok has launched its music insights platform, TikTok for Artists, in Nigeria to support artist growth and fan engagement across the country’s vibrant music industry.
The platform, which debuted globally earlier this year, provides artists, labels, and management teams with access to daily-updated dashboards and analytics tools to track music performance, audience demographics, and fan interactions.
Toyin Mustapha, Head of Music Partnerships for the UK, Ireland, and Sub-Saharan Africa at TikTok, said the initiative was part of the company’s commitment to empowering African creators.
“With the launch of TikTok for Artists in Nigeria, we’re giving artists and their teams access to insights that can help them engage their fans in more meaningful ways and grow their careers globally,” Mustapha said.
The platform offers detailed song performance metrics, including views, posts, and creator engagements per track. It also provides granular post-level data such as likes, comments, shares, and completion rates, alongside demographic breakdowns by gender, age, and language.
In addition to analytics, TikTok for Artists includes educational resources and step-by-step guides to help artists build sustainable careers.
A key feature of the platform is the Pre-Release tool, which allows artists to launch campaigns for upcoming albums and enables fans to pre-save tracks on streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
British artist Jordan Adetunji described the platform as a “game changer,” noting its value in helping artists and their teams plan effective campaigns.
TikTok said the rollout reaffirms its investment in Africa’s creative economy and aims to foster deeper connections between artists and fans across the continent.
The platform is now available to all certified TikTok Artist Accounts, with access also extendable to managers and label teams.
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