Telecom
Ringier Africa Digital Publishing Unifies All Its Brands Under Pulse
Ringier Africa Digital Publishing (RADP) (RADP.Africa), one of Africa’s leading media groups is unifying its assets across the continent – to form one integrated media company under the Pulse brand.
With the unification, the former RADP group of assets will now be known collectively as Pulse (Pulse.Africa) across Africa.
Its digital media arm ‘Pulse’ will retain its Pulse.ng (Nigeria), Pulse.com.gh (Ghana) and Pulselive.co.ke (Kenya) digital news platforms as well as its popular social media news channels (Like @PulseNigeria247 on Instagram out of Nigeria – one of the leading news channels on the platform globally).
Its well-known digital video formats arm ‘Pulse TV’ will also retain its current name. Its digital marketing company ‘Ringier Digital Marketing (RDM)’ will from now on be known as ‘Pulse Marketing’, while its creative production arm ‘Play Studio’ will from now on be known as ‘Pulse Studio’.
Following the unification, Pulse will also be extending its editorial and regional content range – with the launch of Pulse Business as well as the launch of Pulse.sn in Senegal. Pulse Business will cover business and finance news, while Pulse Senegal will extend Pulse’s mission to Francophone Africa.
Speaking on the development, Leonard Stiegeler, founder of the new set-up: “Pulse is a regional champion news and entertainment brand built up over many years by great teams in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Senegal.
“Our value for our constituency of users is to be a publisher for this mobile and social generation.
“Our work for clients in the field of marketing and media taps into the creativity and insights that come from this – telling stories that connect. I am looking forward to growing our integrated Pulse offering for the benefit of our users and clients.”
While Pulse will be a dedicated entity with local expertise, international Swiss media group Ringier will continue to be an important independent backer for Pulse, lending its expertise specifically in the marketing field.
Talking further about the brand unification, Yetunde Oyeleke, director of Marketing for Pulse affirms that the company remains committed to sustainably create value for clients and users across markets.
“This decision aligns with our mission to serve our users and advertisers optimally by combining our leading media assets towards delivering a compelling Pulse experience.
“Our continued commitment is to transform brands and engage audiences through creative storytelling, our extensive media reach and digital expertise. We are confident that in harnessing the collective strength of our brands, we will be able to channel all our capacity towards achieving that. Pulse has achieved significant brand status and all aspects of the business will benefit from it”.
Pulse has operations and teams in 4 African countries: Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Senegal – and is also covering Uganda in East Africa and Cote d’Ivoire in Francophone Africa remotely.
Telecom
FG Plans EO to Criminalise Fiber Cable Damage Costing Telcos Billions
Nigeria will criminalize the destruction of broadband fiber cables following repeated complaints by MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and other telecommunications companies that they are losing billions of naira, according to people familiar with the matter.
Federal ministry of works, which supervises federal road constructors, is finalizing the regulation that will be signed as an executive order by President Bola Tinubu, said the people, asking not to be identified as they weren’t authorized to comment.
While there are presently laws against vandalism, the authorities are aiming to regulate construction firms more closely.
The order will enforce stiff penalties on offenders, said the people, declining to provide more details or say when it will be signed.
“Telecom assets are critical backbone that supports the economy across sectors,” said Temitope Ajayi, a senior presidential aide, who noted that the Association of Telecommunications Companies (ATCON) has been demanding the classification for years.
New rules will provide “further assurance that the Nigerian government will protect their investments against vandals and criminal elements.”
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) estimates that the sector will make up more than a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product by the end of 2027, up from 13.5% in the third quarter of last year.
The move will help alleviate pressure on the telecoms sector, which is facing increased operating costs and sales pressures from a sharp depreciation in the currency and a threefold increase in energy prices.
Repairs and revenue losses from damaged cables is estimated to have cost the sector almost 27 billion naira ($23 million) last year alone, documents seen by Bloomberg show.
MTN Nigeria, the biggest wireless operator in Africa’s most-populous nation, and Airtel Africa Plc bore the brunt of the costs, the documents show.
MTN suffered more than 6,000 cuts on its fiber cable last year, the documents show. On Feb. 28, a cut on its network in three different locations by a road construction firm, an oil serving company and someone burning rubbish in a manhole meant customers faced more than five hours of data and voice outages.
The operator relocated 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) of vulnerable fiber cables between 2022 and 2023, at a cost of more than 11 billion naira – enough to build 870 kilometers of new fiber lines to areas without coverage.
A presidential order on the matter would be welcomed, said Tony Izuagbe Emoekpere, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria.
“When it comes to communication infrastructure, they are destroyed at will, so we are eagerly awaiting the president’s order,” he said. “It would be a great boost to the industry, and it will also encourage investment.”
Telecom
Telegram Eyes 1Bn Users amidst Political Pressures
Telegram, the messaging giant founded by Pavel Durov and headquartered in Dubai, anticipates hitting a remarkable milestone of one billion active monthly users within the next year.
Durov’s departure from Russia in 2014, prompted by governmental pressures to stifle opposition communities on his VK social media platform, underscores Telegram’s commitment to neutrality despite geopolitical challenges.
With 900 million active users currently, Telegram stands as a beacon of free speech in the digital realm, particularly influential in former Soviet Union republics and pivotal during conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine standoff.
Durov’s staunch advocacy for freedom of expression and opposition to censorship by tech giants like Apple and Google reinforces Telegram’s status as a neutral platform.
Opting for the UAE as its base, Durov cites its neutrality and openness as conducive to Telegram’s ethos, serving both opposition groups and governments alike while maintaining impartiality.
In Durov’s vision, the pursuit of freedom eclipses material gain, shaping Telegram’s trajectory as a bastion of digital liberation.
Telecom
NITDA, NIMC Announce Collaboration To Strengthen Digital Economy
To further strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) have announced a collaboration on National Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to enhance and create synergy between digital identity, payment ecosystem, and secure & seemless data exchange capabilities for Nigeria.
During the meeting between the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, and Director General of NIMC, Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote, with some management staff of both organisations, they discussed various initiatives, which include building DPI stacks for a secured and seamless data exchange and forming partnerships to transform the national identity system.
This collaboration also aims to harness the potential of the innovative ecosystem and emphasise the use of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to drive digital transformation in Nigeria.
To ensure a smooth implementation, a 12-man committee was set up. This committee will play a crucial role in kickstarting and harmonising the initiatives. It is expected to deliver a comprehensive implementation report within the next 4 weeks
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