Telecom
Telcos Risk N500,000 Fine for Violation of DND Instruction
A fine of N500,000 will be paid by any telecom network provider that violates the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) instruction, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) warned on Thursday.
Mr. Philip Eretan, Deputy Director, Licensing and Authorisation, NCC, gave the warning in Lagos at the 83rd edition of the Telecom Consumer Parliament (TCP).
The forum was sequel to complaints of unsolicited messages by telecom consumers on Value Added Services (VAS).
It had the theme, “Value Added Services (VAS) and its Benefits to Consumers”.
Eretan said that NCC had mandated telecom companies to provide adequate information on the services offered.
He said that network providers would be held responsible for whatever would happen on their networks.
” A fine of N500,000 will be paid by any network violating the DND instruction,” he said.
In his address, Prof. Umar Danbatta, NCC Executive Vice-Chairman, said that the parliamentary session was to educate consumers on the benefits of VAS messages and ways to deal with them.
He noted that the subject was discussed in Abuja during the 82nd edition of TCP.
Danbatta said that low participation of the targeted stakeholders especially VAS providers and the need to underscore the importance of the segment of telecom market made the commission to engage the industry stakeholders on the subject.
“There is no doubt that VAS is adding to the excitement in the telecom market as well adding up to consumer quality of experience in the industry.
“The Value Added Service is an important element of the telecom ecosystem network for optimising the benefits of telecom service to consumers.
” It enables, in a very special way, social media and e-commerce activities that may be useful to the consumer while offering a veritable tool for entrepreneurs and businesses in this modern and mobile age of the internet.
“VAS could be very useful and provide services that may interest consumers and assist online and offline entrepreneurs to reach customers, particularly on the mobile markets both to advertise and to sell their products and services, ” he said.
Danbatta said that, on the other hand, it could become a challenge when VAS would flood networks with all kinds of product offer that most consumers might not be interested in.
He said that the commission, therefore, deemed it fit to find a balance between enabling the opportunities that VAS could offer to some consumers and mitigating the challenges or inconveniences they could constitute to other consumers.
Danbatta said that while network service providers were licensed by the commission and allowed to operate and provide value-added services to consumers, the consumers were empowered through the DND platform to choose whether to allow or block access to the services.
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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