Telecom
Consumer, NCC Hold Solution to ‘Crying’ Telcos, Bleeding Industry– Allen

The consumer and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) are the principal actors that can save telecom operators and the industry from imminent collapse.
This is the view of Tom Allen, a highly experienced telecom consultant and currently, managing partner at CUBE Consulting (CubeUltra Ltd.).
Allen who was reacting to the recent news story where Broadband companies- Tier II telecoms operators, literally, cried to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), urging the regulator to save the industry from imminent collapse, said unequivocally that the regulators have no power to determine quality of service versus price.
Recall the Broadband companies- Tier II telecoms operators recently sent a Save-Our-Soul message, and warned that factors crippling their operations could also derail the National Broadband Plan (NBP) of the federal government, if not addressed.
The operators made this known when they visited Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, executive vice chairman of the NCC, in Abuja recently.
The operators therefore asked the NCC, to take immediate and decisive steps to avert the looming threat of strangulation, which its members currently face.
In the delegation were, Mr. Godfrey Efeurhobo, managing director, Smile Communications; David Venn, managing director, Spectranet; Mr. Osondu Nwokoro, director Regulatory and External Affairs of nTel; and Mr. Chuma Okoye, chief commercial officer, Swift Networks,.
They warned the regulator of a looming systemic industry failure which will have catastrophic effect on the socio-economic development of the country.
According to them, the industry is in a situation where all operators are finding it difficult to justify the required investment case for additional capital expenditure (capex) for network capacity expansion to improve quality of service to customers.
They further noted that the network operating expenditure (opex) of operations have sky rocketed in the last 15 months by over 85 per cent with revenues remaining relatively flat. Most operators, they lamented, are currently struggling with meeting obligations to their suppliers particularly network vendors, tower firms and servicing loan obligations.
This worrisome trend, they noted, extend to even some of the Tier I Operators.
According to them, a storm is raging in the industry which if unchecked, will result in the collapse of key players in the industry.
“This is because the domino effect of bankruptcy of any of the Tier I or Tier II Operators on the entire ecosystem particularly, banking, employment, corporate and SMEs constitutes a major threat to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the current administration. Such bankruptcy and consequent collapse will also substantially lessen competition with its attendant deleterious impact on consumer choice and attainment of the Broadband objectives of the country,” they warned in a statement yesterday.
But commenting on the matter via LinkedIn, Allen, who played key role as Group COO of Smile Communications for four years, said, “The answer is in the hands of the consumer, buy cheap and get nasty service or pay the fair price for a quality service. “Unfortunately regulators have no power to determine quality of service versus price. The major MNOs have put the price of data at less than the cost to produce it in order to protect their voice subscriber numbers. It is only the consumer that can force a change by paying a sensible price for a good service, rather than a cheap price for an almost unusable service”.
He warned that Nigeria will continue to fall behind in terms of the application of data related services as the operators are all unable to generate revenues to invest in the data services which the country desperately needs and deserves.
“The answer is in the hands of the consumer, buy cheap and get nasty service or pay the fair price for a quality service. The regulator could put in a floor data price that protects the small players, but that was tried and reversed within a day. If it was me….. I would merge some of the smaller players to give them a spectrum holding that would match or exceed the big MNOs, reduce costs through a larger scale, finally find the price somewhere between the current MNOs and the good service providers.
“That price being one that will tip most of the subscribers stuck with the MNOs poor service over to a great service provider…. instead of divide and conquer, combine and conquer”.
Also, the CEOs stated that the NCC’s declaration of 2017 as the Year of the Telecoms Consumer can be derailed by failure of operators to deliver on the expected quality of service particularly on data throughput and experience due to the weak investment case to support additional capex as a result of deteriorating market conditions.
Telecom
Telcos Resume SIM Card Sales after 2-Week Halt

Telecommunications operators have resumed full SIM swap and related services following a four-week nationwide outage linked to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)’s migration to a new verification platform.
The outage rendered millions of subscribers unable to perform SIM-related tasks such as swaps, replacements, and activations.
Operators in the industry say the disruption began on June 26, 2025 when telcos temporarily halted SIM registrations and swaps due to unforeseen technical challenges during the transition to NIMC’s upgraded identity verification system.
The migration was mandated to enhance the integrity and efficiency of national identity management but caused major service interruptions across all Nigerian networks.
However, July 21, both MTN and Airtel confirmed via their social media handles that SIM swap services have now fully resumed.
MTN announced: “SIM swaps have now resumed. We can confirm that NIMC services are fully operational and appreciate their support in the migration to a new platform for NIN verification services for the telecommunications industry.
In a public update issued via its MTN Nigeria Support handle on X (formerly Twitter), MTN confirmed that SIM swaps have now resumed.
Telecom operators complained that the portal was unreliable or inaccessible, which resulted in the suspension of SIM swaps, number porting, and new SIM registrations, even though NIMC maintained that the platform was operating as intended.
Unexpected technical difficulties arose during the switch to the new platform, according to the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria.
Real-time NIN verification for SIM registration, replacement, and network migration was impacted by these issues.
“Unexpected technical difficulties have surfaced, impacting real-time NIN verification for SIM registration, replacement, and porting, following a recent directive from the National Identity Management Commission mandating Mobile Network Operators to transit to a new identity verification platform,” ALTON stated in a previous joint statement signed by Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, and Damian Udeh, publicity secretary.
Telecom
Nigeria, Others Achieve 84% Adult Mobile Phones Penetration

The World Bank has affirmed that 84 per cent of adults in low-and middle-income economies, including Nigeria, own personal mobile phones.
The bank in its Global Findex 2025 report said mobile phone ownership was widespread and nearly everywhere. It said data from the Global Findex 2025 Digital Connectivity Tracker, revealed that “86 per cent of adults worldwide, and 84 per cent of adults in low- and middle-income economies, own personal mobile phones.”
The report pointed out that mobile phones and the internet had become widespread and essential to daily life in every economy around the world.
A earlier overview had indicated that Nigeria had a high mobile phone penetration rate, with estimates around 85 per cent to 87 per cent in 2024.
This translates to over 200 million mobile connections, making Nigeria a leading market in Africa for mobile phone ownership and usage. While the overall penetration is high, there’s a growing trend towards smartphone adoption, with forecasts predicting over 140 million smartphone users by 2025.
According to DataReporter, a total of 150 million cellular mobile connections were active in Nigeria in early 2025, with this figure equivalent to 64.0 per cent of the total population.
However, note that some of these connections may only include services such as voice and SMS, and some may not include access to the internet.
There were 107 million individuals using the internet in Nigeria at the start of 2025, when online penetration stood at 45.4 percent. Nigeria was home to 38.7 million social media user identities in January 2025, equating to 16.4 percent of the total population.
These headline stats offer a great overview of the “state of digital” in Nigeria at the start of 2025, but in order to make sense of how digital trends and behaviours have been evolving over time, we need to dig deeper into the data.
According to the World Bank, “as of 2024, individual ownership of mobile phones reached 86 per cent of adults worldwide.
“For many people, barely an hour goes by without their using a mobile device to make a call, ext a friend, read the news, access business information, post a meme on social media, pay for something, play a game, engage with a colleague or a customer, or search for information.
“As access to and use of digitally connected technologies increase, people, businesses, and governments place an increasingly high priority on online interactions. “Digitally connected technologies have clear, well-documented benefits.”
It further highlighted that access to mobile phones and the internet was associated with reduced poverty, increased consumption, and more employment for individuals in lowand middle-income economies.
“Women also experience these benefits, as internet access enables access to flexible jobs3 and has been shown to increase female labor force participation. “Mobile phones also facilitate information sharing.
For instance, in agricultural contexts, farmers’ access to real-time prices and buyer demand data can inform their decisions on where to sell, enhancing market efficiency and reducing the distances they would otherwise travel to get the best return for their product and time.
“Internet access also helps create jobs and aids individuals and countries in exporting goods and services,” it added. The World Bank further noted that owning a mobile phone furthermore enabled financial access through mobile money and other mobile financial services.
It added that these financial accounts and services, typically offered by mobile network operators or fintech firms and accessed via networks of local agents, were associated with lower rates of poverty, increased consumption and savings,and greater resilience to economic shocks.
Telecom
Sophos Secures Leadership Spot in 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection

Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, today announced that it has been named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP), marking the 16th consecutive time the company has received this recognition.
Sophos has been recognized in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms (EPP) since the inaugural publication for this category in 2007.
Sophos’ market-leading endpoint security solutions include Sophos Endpoint powered by Intercept X, Sophos Extended Detection and Response (EDR/XDR), and Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR).
Over 300,000 organizations trust Sophos endpoint security solutions to defend against cyberthreats, including advanced remote ransomware attacks and active adversaries.
Unique to Sophos, the solution includes adaptive defenses that automatically disrupt attackers by dynamically adjusting protection levels based on threat context.
“Sophos’ strength lies in its prevention-first strategy, designed to stop breaches before they start, adapt defenses in real time, and strengthen detection and response when it matters most,” said Kyle Falkenhagen, SVP, Product Management, Sophos. “We believe that receiving this recognition in the highly competitive endpoint security market for 16 consecutive reports reflects our relentless focus on developing innovative solutions that stay ahead of the global threat landscape and the adversaries we face every day.”
Sophos and Secureworks: The future of protection, detection, and response
Following Sophos’ acquisition of Secureworks in February 2025, combining two leading and complementary portfolios to offer a comprehensive suite of solutions for small, midmarket and enterprise organizations.
Secureworks Taegis XDR customers can use Sophos Endpoint to elevate their cyber defenses, at no additional charge, delivering both improved protection and return on investment.
The integration of Secureworks also adds a new Counter Threat Unit (CTU) to the Sophos X-Ops advanced threat response joint task force, further expanding the rich threat intelligence that informs all customers’ defenses.
Backed by Sophos’ advanced security technologies and a broad network of intelligence contacts and partners, the CTU plays a critical role in identifying and tracking threat actors and analyzing anomalous activity, uncovering new attack techniques, threats, and major shifts in the threat landscape.
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