Broadcasting
TD Africa, Dell EMC Harp on Benefits of PowerStore Solution for 21st Century Businesses
TD Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa’s leading tech, solutions and lifestyle distribution giant and multinational technology company Dell EMC Technologies have stressed the benefits of leveraging cutting-edge technology in gaining significant advantage in the 21st Century business environment.
They made this known while addressing channel partners and other key stakeholders from the technology ecosystem at an event co-hosted by TD Africa and Dell EMC on Thursday, September 16, 2021, where the latter’s award-winning PowerStore storage solution was unveiled to participants.
The event was held at the Tech Experience Centre located at the impressive Yudala Heights on Victoria Island, Lagos.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Niyi Onabanjo, head of Enterprise Sales, TD Africa, highlighted the company’s value proposition which captures its strengths, vision, core values and mission.
He also disclosed the company’s efforts in sustaining mutually rewarding relationships with over 6,000 partners and resellers by staying connected with them via the TD Super App, while also rewarding them with a host of mouthwatering incentives such as the Partner Advantage Scheme (PAS), special discount sales/auctionsand Truck Promo,among a few others.
“We are boldly leading the technology trade revolution in Africa by ensuring accessibility and affordability of products and services through our strong, reliable and efficient distribution network across the length and breadth of the continent.
“Programs such as this are avenues for continuous enlightenment for our partners and to strengthen business relationships. The PowerStore initiative is a model every modern business should adopt.
“Dell EMC has been a platinum partner and we will always look forward to more laudable future engagements,” he said.
While enlightening attendees on the unique advantages of the PowerStore solution, Tosin Amusa, Storage Platform and Solutions Lead for Western and Central Africa, stated that the PowerStore solution has won several awards in just two years after its inception.
Specifically, he disclosed that it has won the CRN tech innovator and product of the year individual awards for 2020.
According to Amusa, about 20% of PowerStore solution customers globally are new. This highlights that more customers are leaving their previous storage solution provider to adopt the new technology.
Further, he added that the PowerStore storage solution is extremely scalable in storage and performance, adding that the product currently has 7x more performance than its EMC Unity products.
It also supports 20x faster storage class memory than SSD variants. In addition, the PowerStore is intelligent and fully autonomous which means in other words, that it hardly requires administrator input when deployed to customers.
Also referenced by the Dell EMC representative is adaptability, which he highlighted as a strong point of the product, noting that it can be deployed directly on a T model hardware while it can also run a dual basis called the X model.
Also speaking at the event, Client Solution Lead for Central Western Africa, Dell EMC, Sonia Okpara spoke on work transformation and the use of intelligent devices that are mobile friendly and flexible, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic has revolutionized the nature of work in the contemporary business.
In line with the foregoing, she affirmed that Dell EMC is leading the pace of work transformation by positioning the right devices for its customers based on their work needs.
Specifically, Okpara emphasized the Optimizer technology embedded in its latest laptops, describing it as a smart, AI-based technology that uses data science along with a suite of intelligent functions including express response, crisp audio, express connect for Wi-Fi and bandwidth and express charge that intelligently monitors battery charge and discharge.
She assured partners that Dell remains arguably the biggest manufacturer of workstations which deliver unmatched performance and speed in computing tasks.
While imploring business owners to invest in the right tools to boost productivity of their employers, she stated that the Dell Optimizer and other models boast quality user experience, top reliability, water resistant and long-lasting batteries.
Okpara also addressed support issues raised by participants, even as she recommended the Dell Optiplex desktop lineup for business professionals, the XPS lineup for Executive Management and finally Dell’s mobile education series 2021 laptops for students.
More than 100 channels have signed on to broadcast free-to-air digital content under Nigeria’s Digital Switchover (DSO) programme, marking a major milestone in the country’s transition to digital broadcasting.
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday, saying the development followed the unveiling of FreeTV, a free-to-air direct-to-home (DTH) national platform supported by satellite and Internet Protocol (IP) delivery.
According to the commission, the platform offers a broad mix of content targeted at Nigerian households.
It said the channel line-up includes 14 news and current affairs stations, 15 general entertainment channels, six kids and family channels, two lifestyle and talk shows, three music and entertainment channels, one business and finance station, and five movie channels.
The commission added that 57 of the channels are already live and accessible through the FreeTV app and the NigSat satellite platform.
It advised viewers to download the FreeTV application from Google Play Store to access the services.
Director-General of NBC, Charles Ebuebu, said the initiative would improve television access and viewing quality for Nigerians.
“We will deliver digital TV with clearer pictures, more free channels, and opportunities for every family.
“It is one simple change for a better future,” he said.
Ebuebu noted that with over 100 stations onboard and a satellite-led strategy, Nigeria’s digital migration was making significant progress.
The DSO project was launched in 2008 following the Geneva 2006 Agreement (GE06) as part of efforts to modernise the nation’s broadcasting ecosystem.
Its objectives include improving picture and sound quality, freeing up spectrum space for broadband development, and supporting Nigeria’s creative industry.
The commission acknowledged that the project had faced delays despite its official launch in 2016 and an earlier pilot phase in Jos.
It said nationwide implementation had remained slow due to infrastructural and logistical challenges.
According to NBC, a major turnaround came after President Bola Tinubu approved a N10 billion intervention fund in August 2024 to accelerate the project.
The commission said the funding enabled the adoption of a new satellite-first model under a partnership between NBC and the Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT).
The strategy replaces the earlier terrestrial tower-heavy rollout with direct satellite broadcasting using the NigComSat-1R satellite.
“This technological leap is expected to accelerate nationwide rollout by over 65 per cent while avoiding infrastructure bottlenecks,” Ebuebu said.
He added that about 10 million Nigerian households already own satellite-ready televisions or DVB-S2 set-top boxes and can immediately access the channels.
For households without compatible devices, NBC said hybrid set-top boxes combining satellite reception and internet streaming would be introduced.
The commission added that the DSO initiative would also support local content creation, with 40 per cent of channel slots allocated to independent and regional producers.
It said plans were also underway for local production of five million set-top boxes annually, a move expected to generate more than 20,000 jobs.
Music streaming platform Spotify has introduced a new verification system, “Verified by Spotify,” to help users identify authentic human artists and distinguish them from AI-generated music content.
Spotify
The company disclosed that the new verification badge, represented by a green checkmark on artist profiles and search results, would be rolled out in the coming weeks.
Spotify said only artists who meet specific authenticity requirements would qualify for verification.
According to the company, eligibility criteria include consistent listener engagement, compliance with platform policies, and proof of an active presence beyond the platform, such as live performances or verified social media activity.
“In the AI era, it is more important than ever to be able to trust the authenticity of the music you listen to,” Spotify said in a statement.
The company added that more than 99 per cent of artists actively searched by users are expected to be verified at launch, covering hundreds of thousands of musicians across multiple genres and regions.
Spotify’s move comes amid a rapid rise in AI-generated music on streaming services.
Music platform Deezer recently reported that approximately 44 per cent of daily uploads on its platform are fully AI-generated, while Apple Music has also recorded growing uploads created using artificial intelligence tools.
Spotify stated that profiles primarily dedicated to AI-generated music or virtual personas would not be eligible for the verification badge.
The company said the policy forms part of broader efforts to improve transparency and build user trust on the platform.
In addition to the verification badge, Spotify is also rolling out expanded profile details for all artists, including release history, touring activity, and career milestones.
The company described the feature as similar to “nutrition facts” for music, offering listeners clearer insight into an artist’s background and credibility.
Spotify noted that the initiative is part of wider measures to address growing concerns around AI in the music industry, including impersonation, spam uploads, and reduced visibility for human creators.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have jointly sued the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over what they described as an “arbitrary, unconstitutional, and unlawful” threat to sanction broadcast stations and presenters.
The development was disclosed in a Sunday statement signed by Kolawole Oluwadare, deputy director, and Onuoha Ukeh, general secretary of the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
According to the statement, SERAP and NGE challenged a recent directive by NBC, warning presenters and journalists against “expressing personal opinions as facts,” “bullying or intimidating guests,” and failing to maintain neutrality.
The statement reads, “SERAP and the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) have filed a lawsuit against the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over the arbitrary, unconstitutional, and unlawful ‘Formal Notice’, which threatens to sanction broadcast stations and presenters for allegedly ‘expressing personal opinions as facts, bullying or intimidating guests, or failing to maintain neutrality.’
“The NBC had recently threatened to sanction broadcast stations and presenters who ‘express personal opinions as facts’ or ‘bully and intimidate guests,’ claiming it had ‘identified a sustained increase in breaches of the 6th Edition of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code across news, current affairs, and political programmes.’”
In the suit marked FHC/L/CS/854/2026 filed last Friday at the Federal High Court in Lagos State, SERAP and NGE asked the court to determine whether the various provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code relied upon by the NBC in the directive are inconsistent with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) and the country’s international human rights obligations.
According to the statement, the groups disclosed that Femi Falana (SAN), human rights lawyer, would lead a team of senior lawyers to represent SERAP and NGE in the lawsuit.
SERAP and NGE asked the court to declare that the provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code used by the NBC are vague and constitute a fundamental breach of press freedom guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights standards.
The statement added, “SERAP and NGE are asking the court for a declaration that the provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code used by the NBC are vague and overly broad and constitute a fundamental breach of freedom of expression and media freedom guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights standards.”
The groups also sought an interim injunction to restrain the NBC, its agents and other authorities from imposing sanctions on broadcast stations and presenters based on what they described as “unlawful provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code”, pending the hearing and determination of the motion.
“SERAP and NGE are also seeking an order of interim injunction restraining the NBC, its agents or privies, whether jointly or severally or any other authority, from imposing sanctions on broadcast stations and presenters based on the patently unlawful provisions of the 6th Edition of the Broadcasting Code, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed simultaneously in this suit,” the statement concluded.
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