Connect with us

Telecom

Telcos Warn against Proposed Excise Tax on Airtime

Published

on

Gbenga Adebayo
Kindly share this post

Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), has warned against the fresh plan to introduce excise duty on telecoms’ airtime charges, arguing that it will lead to double taxation.

Telcos Warn against Proposed Excise Tax on Airtime

ALTON, the official industry body for all providers of telecommunications and subsidiary services in Nigeria, was reacting to reports that the federal government was considering an excise tax on telecoms airtime charges as a way of boosting revenue for the cash-strapped nation.

The report quoted Mr. Ben Akabueze, director-general of the Budget Office of the Federation, as saying that “Last year, we found that 51 countries in Africa have excise on airtime charges, so we are looking at that as well as an area to tax”.

Akabueze spoke at a World Bank event in Abuja Tuesday, where the need for the federal government to raise additional revenues was discussed.

Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of ALTON, however, said that since the purpose for the planned introduction of excise tax on telecoms airtime charges were not clear to industry players, telecoms operators would rather wait to see how the federal government intends to introduce an excise tax on airtime recharges.

He stated that the proposed tax will amount to double taxation because there is existing value-added tax (VAT) on all telecoms airtime recharges.

He said: “It is not clear to telecoms operators why the federal government wants to introduce an excise tax on telecoms airtime recharge. Excise duty is introduced in manufacturing goods and it is introduced when the government wants to reduce the intake of such manufactured product. Except the federal government wants to discourage importation of recharge cards into Nigeria in order to encourage telecoms operators to use alternative means of vending airtime, like the virtual top-up that does not need a physical recharge card.

“For example, it will be understandable if the federal government decides to introduce an excise tax on consumption of tobacco product because it wants to reduce the consumption of tobacco in Nigeria because of the health implications, but it will be out of place for government to introduce an excise tax on telecoms airtime.”

He added that the telecoms sector remains the only sector that has not increased charges on services and airtime charges since the launch of Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) and warned that any attempt to introduce an excise tax on telecoms airtime recharge would negatively affect telecoms services offerings across networks.

“Government should be careful not to introduce additional burden on telecoms operators,” Adebayo said.


Kindly share this post

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

Telecom

Airtel Money Africa Partners pawaPay for Seamless International Remittances Across Africa

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Airtel Money Africa, Airtel Africa’s mobile money arm, announced an extended partnership with Africa’s largest mobile money payment service provider (PSP) pawaPay to enable seamless cross-border payments for licensed International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) across seven key Airtel Africa markets.

This collaboration officially launches pawaPay’s service for inbound remittances into Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Malawi, Gabon, Congo Brazzaville, and Tanzania. The partnership allows IMTOs to efficiently deliver funds globally directly to recipients’ more than 161 million Airtel Money customers wallets, leveraging pawaPay’s renowned reliability, scalability, and 99.9% platform uptime.

Building on five years of trusted collaboration in domestic mobile money, this expansion strengthens and simplifies Airtel Money Africa’s backend processes, using pawaPay’s robust payment service provider infrastructure, which processes over four million transactions daily.

Airtel Money Africa CEO, Ian Ferrao, said: “We’re pleased to expand our partnership with pawaPay to advance international remittances across Africa. Their proven reliability and commitment to African consumers make them an ideal partner. This integration empowers International Money Transfer Operators to securely connect with Airtel Money’s growing footprint, delivering real-time payments that support financial inclusion and economic growth.”

pawaPay CEO, Nikolai Barnwell, said: “Our mission is to simplify payments for businesses in Africa, and remittances are pivotal. Deepening our relationship with Airtel Money allows International Money Transfer Operators to leverage our world-class infrastructure for seamless cross-border payments.”

Remittances remain critical for millions of Africans, enabling family support, entrepreneurship, and financial inclusion. This partnership ensures secure, instant mobile wallet transactions, key to advancing Africa’s digital economy. pawaPay will extend this capability to additional Airtel Money Africa markets in coming months.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Telecom

Rubrik Joins Forces with Sophos to Reinvent M365 Recovery

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Rubrik, the cybersecurity company, and Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, have announced a strategic partnership to provide Sophos M365 Backup and Recovery Powered by Rubrik.

This marks the first Managed Detection and Response (MDR)-optimized Microsoft 365 backup and recovery solution fully integrated into Sophos Central, Sophos’ security operations platform.

Designed to support IT and cybersecurity teams, the new offering will provide a unified global platform to enhance cyber resilience against ransomware, account compromise, insider threats, and data loss in SharePoint, Exchange, OneDrive, and Teams.

“We are reshaping what it means to stay operational in a world shaped by constant digital disruption,” said Joe Levy, CEO, Sophos. “This is the future of cyber resilience: an intelligent, adaptive partnership that ensures organizations remain secure, responsive, and uninterrupted. By combining Sophos’ prevention-first approach with Rubrik’s unwavering recovery capabilities, we empower businesses to withstand attacks and maintain continuity, even under pressure.”

Sophos will offer a powerful new add-on solution for its more than 75,000 MDR and XDR customers, enabling fast, secure recovery of critical Microsoft 365 data in the event of accidental deletion or malicious compromise.

This solution integrates Rubrik’s industry-leading SaaS-based protection directly into the trusted Sophos Central platform, giving organizations the flexibility to enhance their existing security operations with robust data recovery capabilities.

The Sophos Central platform integrates over 350 different telemetry sources across endpoint, cloud, network, identity, email and business applications. The platform leverages deep learning, custom LLMs, and frontier models to detect and respond to threats across the entire attack surface, enhancing defense effectiveness.

“The reality of today’s threat landscape demands a holistic approach to cyber resilience,” said Bipul Sinha, CEO, Chairman, and Co-founder of Rubrik. “With AI-enabled attacks and sophisticated breaches on the rise, organizations need more than just prevention; they need the ability to recover rapidly and reliably. Our partnership with Sophos delivers this critical capability directly within a platform security teams already use and trust, raising the bar for Microsoft 365 resilience.”

The Evolving Threat Landscape

According to The State of Ransomware report by Sophos, nearly half of organizations impacted by ransomware chose to pay the ransom to recover their data. Despite this, only 54% of affected companies relied on backups for data restoration, highlighting a continued gap in effective cyber resilience practices.

Recent research highlights the urgent need for robust Microsoft 365 data protection: 60% of Microsoft 365 tenants have experienced account takeovers, a frequent launchpad for lateral movement within an organization, and 81% have encountered email compromise.

When global admin credentials are compromised, attackers can manipulate retention settings and permanently delete critical business data.

Existing tools were not designed for comprehensive, large-scale recovery, which requires speed, granularity, and reliability for rapid restoration.

Sophos MDR and XDR customers will benefit from:

  • Secure, immutable backups: Rubrik will isolate Microsoft 365 backups with air-gapped storage, WORM locks, and customer-held encryption keys. Multifactor authentication and data lock prevent tampering, even with compromised credentials.
  • Fast, flexible recovery: Customers will be able to restore Microsoft 365 emails, OneDrives, SharePoint sites, Teams channels, and more to original or alternate users, including inactive accounts.
  • Automated protection: Rubrik will automatically discover Microsoft 365 users, sites, and mailboxes, applies Entra ID-based policies, and supports delegated admin – all integrated with Sophos Central to reduce manual effort.
  • Unified experience: Microsoft 365 protection and security operations will be managed via Sophos Central with no extra tools.

Rubrik and Sophos’ shared commitment to helping organizations operate with confidence in the face of risk, will provide Sophos customers and partners with a powerful solution to recover with speed and precision when threats inevitably break through.

This offering will be available through Sophos’ channel partner network in the coming months.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Telecom

MTN Nigeria Rolls Out Network-as-a-Service and Signs First MVNO to Drive Industry Efficiency

Published

on

Kindly share this post

MTN Nigeria is deepening its role as an industry enabler with the launch of its Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) platform and the signing of its first Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreement, Chief Financial Officer Modupe Kadri revealed on Monday.

Speaking in an exclusive Channels TV interview, Kadri confirmed that MTN has opened its network to T2 (formerly 9Mobile) under the NaaS framework approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). This allows T2 subscribers to roam seamlessly on MTN’s infrastructure while retaining their own customer relationships and branding.

“Network-as-a-Service is a platform where MNOs can roam within the NCC framework on MTN’s network,” Kadri explained. “It makes the industry more efficient in the utilisation of scarce resources.”

Kadri also announced MTN’s first MVNO partnership, with the virtual operator set to go live soon. MVNOs lease network capacity from established mobile operators, enabling them to offer services without investing in costly infrastructure.

These initiatives align with NCC’s push for infrastructure sharing to boost sector efficiency and coverage. By providing network access to smaller players, MTN is positioning itself as a critical enabler of market expansion.

The Nigerian telecom industry, valued at $10.8 billion, now reaches 169 million active phone lines and over 142 million internet subscribers. While competition remains intense, the trend toward infrastructure sharing is expected to lower barriers to entry for new service providers, increase service quality, and expand access in underserved areas.

“As MTN, we are here to help the industry survive,” Kadri said. “It makes it much easier when you see other operators willing to come on and provide quality services to Nigerians, which we all deserve.”

Industry analysts view the move as a strategic diversification for MTN. With voice revenues plateauing and data driving growth, shared network models offer new revenue streams and a hedge against market saturation.

MTN’s investments in NaaS and MVNO partnerships are part of its broader transformation strategy, which also includes cost optimisation, forex risk reduction, and targeted capital expenditure to strengthen network quality.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Trending