Telecom
Poor QoS Everywhere as Telcos Load Shed Services to Cut Costs
Telecom operators in Nigeria have begun to implement load shedding in response to the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) reluctance to address their demands for a tariff hike.
Load shedding is a deliberate shutdown of telecom services in a part or parts, generally to prevent the failure of the entire system when the demand strains the capacity of the system.
Though operators did not confirm the development, but there is increased prioritization of network service in high-revenue areas, explaining why the service quality of network operators may be good in certain areas and poor in others.
Recall that the operators, citing the rising cost of operations, including the increased prices of diesel, infrastructure maintenance, and a depreciating naira, recently called on the NCC to approve a tariff increase to help mitigate their financial burdens.
For instance, MTN, with a subscriber base of 79.7 million as of December 2023, reported a first loss after tax of N137 billion since its 2019 listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 2023. The telco incurred FX losses of N740 billion ($815.79 million at N907.1/$).
Airtel Africa, which had 50.9 million subscribers in Nigeria as of March 2024, reported a loss after tax of $89 million for its full year ended March 2024, primarily due to FX headwinds in Nigeria and Malawi. It lost $1.26 billion to derivative and FX exposures, with $770 million attributed to the naira’s devaluation.
This has led to dwindled investment in the telecoms sector, Carl Cruz, chief executive officer of Airtel Nigeria, stated, adding that, “The devaluation of the Naira moving from N420/dollar to N760/dollar in a month’s time, to about N1500/dollar today, had indeed affected telecoms industry who rely heavily on importation of infrastructure to grow the sector.’
In the same vein, Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria, said operators are reluctant to invest, simply because of the high operating cost and the devaluation of naira, among other issues that have marred the growth of the sector.
According to him, “the telecoms sector in Nigeria is now in an intensive care unit (ICU) gasping for breath, while calling on the government to intervene. The sector is facing a lot of challenges of which if urgent action is not taken, it will dry up. The truth is that investors are not going to come to invest in the sector if the fundamental issues are not addressed. To rescue the sector from collapsing, there is a need to increase prices of telecom services.”
Despite repeated pleas, the regulatory body has remained silent on the issue, causing frustration and uncertainty among industry players.
The situation has escalated, with telecom operators warning that if the tariff hike is not granted, they may be forced to adopt load shedding—a strategy that would involve rationing network availability during certain periods. This could lead to disruptions in mobile and internet services, affecting millions of Nigerians who rely on these services for communication, business, and access to essential information.
“With the high operating cost and the delay on the part of the government to allow operators to increase prices of telecoms services, operators may adopt the method of load shedding in the sector.
“We may decide to give network to some areas, while others may not have network, just to cut down operating cost for survival of the industry,” Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).
Meanwhile, the NCC has yet to release an official statement addressing the operators’ demands or the looming threat of service disruptions.
Instagram is overhauling the way it works for teenagers, promising more “built-in protections” for young people and added controls and reassurance for parents.
The new “teen accounts” are being introduced from Tuesday in the UK, US, Canada and Australia.
They will turn many privacy settings on by default for all under 18s, including making their content unviewable to people who don’t follow them, and making them actively approve all new followers.
But children aged 13 to 15 will only be able to adjust the settings by adding a parent or guardian to their account.
Social media companies are under pressure worldwide to make their platforms safer, with concerns that not enough is being done to shield young people from harmful content.
UK children’s charity the NSPCC said Instagram’s announcement was a “step in the right direction”.
But it added that account settings can “put the emphasis on children and parents needing to keep themselves safe.”
Rani Govender, the NSPCC’s online child safety policy manager, said they “must be backed up by proactive measures that prevent harmful content and sexual abuse from proliferating Instagram in the first place”.
Meta describes the changes as a “new experience for teens, guided by parents”.
It says they will “better support parents and give them peace of mind that their teens are safe with the right protections in place.”
Ian Russell, whose daughter Molly viewed content about self-harm and suicide on Instagram before taking her life aged 14, told the BBC it was important to wait and see how the new policy was implemented.
“Whether it works or not we’ll only find out when the measures come into place,” he said.
“Meta is very good at drumming up PR and making these big announcements, but what they also have to be good at is being transparent and sharing how well their measures are working.”
Teen accounts will mostly change the way Instagram works for users between the ages of 13 and 15, with a number of settings turned on by default.
These include strict controls on sensitive content to prevent recommendations of potentially harmful material, and muted notifications overnight.
Accounts will also be set to private rather than public – meaning teenagers will have to actively accept new followers and their content cannot be viewed by people who don’t follow them.
InstagramParents who choose to supervise their child’s account will be able to see who they message and the topics they have said they are interested in – though they will not be able to view the content of messages.
However, media regulator Ofcom raised concerns in April over parents’ willingness to intervene to keep their children safe online.
In a talk last week, senior Meta executive Sir Nick Clegg said: “One of the things we do find… is that even when we build these controls, parents don’t use them.”
Age identification
The system will primarily rely on users being honest about their ages, but Instagram already uses tools to verify a user’s age if they are suspected to be lying about their age.
From January, in the US, it will use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to proactively detect teens using adult accounts, to put them back into a teen account.
The UK’s Online Safety Act, passed earlier this year, requires online platforms to take action to keep children safe, or face huge fines.
Ofcom warned social media sites in May they could be named, shamed or banned for under-18s if they fail to comply with its new rules.
Social media industry analyst Matt Navarra said Instagram’s changes were significant but hinged on enforcement.
“As we’ve seen with teens throughout history, in these sorts of scenarios, they will find a way around the blocks, if they can.”
Questions for Meta
Instagram is not the first platform to introduce such tools for parents – and already claims to have more than 50 tools aimed at keeping teens safe.
In 2022 it introduced a family centre and supervision tools for parents, letting them see accounts their child follows and who follows them, among other features.
Snapchat also introduced its own family centre allowing parents over the age of 25 see who their child is messaging and limit their ability to view certain content.
YouTube said in September it would limit recommendations of certain health and fitness videos to teenagers, such as those which “idealise” certain body types.
Instagram’s new measures raises the question of why, despite the large number of protections on the platform, young people are still exposed to harmful content.
An Ofcom study earlier this year found that every single child it spoke to had seen violent material online, with Instagram, WhatsApp and Snapchat being the most frequently named services they found it on.
Under the Online Safety Act, platforms will have to show they are committed to removing illegal content, including child sexual abuse material (CSAM) or content that promotes suicide or self-harm.
But the rules are not expected to fully take effect until 2025.
In Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently announced plans to ban social media for children by bringing in a new age limit for kids to use platforms.
Instagram’s latest tools put more control in the hands of parents, who will now take even more direct responsibility for deciding whether to allow their child greater freedom on Instagram and supervising their activity and interactions.
They will also need to have their own Instagram account.
But parents cannot control the algorithms which push content towards their children, or what is shared by its billions of users around the world.
Social media expert Paolo Pescatore said it was an “important step in safeguarding children’s access to the world of social media and fake news.”
“The smartphone has opened up to a world of disinformation, inappropriate content fuelling a change in behaviour among children,” he said.
“More needs to be done to improve children’s digital wellbeing and it starts by giving control back to parents.”
Telecom
GSMA MWC Kigali 2024 to explore role of connectivity in driving socio-economic growth across Africa
GSMA MWC Kigali will return to the Kigali Convention Center from 29-31 October 2024.
MWC Kigali, Africa’s largest and most influential connectivity event, will convene powerful innovators and political leaders from across the entire continent, geared towards driving the digital economy forward and enabling socio-economic growth.
MWC Kigali will deliver a range of keynotes and panel sessions hosted by industry thought leaders and leading enterprises, focussed around the four event themes: Connected Continent, The AI Future, FinTech, and Africa’s Digital DNA.
Recently confirmed speakers include Airtel Africa’s CEO, Sunil Taldar; Amini’s Founder & CEO, Kate Kallot; the GSMA’s Director General, Mats Granryd; the ITU’s Secretary-General, Doreen Bogdan-Martin; Lelapa AI’s CEO and Co-founder, Pelonomi Moiloa; MTN Group’s FinTech CEO, Serigne Dioum; Republic of Rwanda’s Minister of ICT and Innovation, Hon. Paula Ingabire; Take Back the Mic’s CEO & Founder, Derrick Ashong and, Wi-Flix’s CEO, Louis Manu.
For the first time in Africa, the GSMA Ministerial Programme will be hosted at MWC Kigali, marking a new chapter in the commitment to advancing the digital agenda in Africa.
The programme will convene the most influential telecommunications leaders from across the African continent to discuss policy and regulatory topics key to the region.
The Mobile for Development (M4D) team will once again play a central role at the event, driving innovation in digital technology to reduce global inequalities. M4D will host the ‘Mobile for Development Theatre’, a dedicated space for keynote sessions, panels, and discussions.
Themes will range from AI for impact and humanitarian innovation, agriculture and climate, to digital inclusion and gender.
Also returning this year is the Mobile Money Leadership Forum, which will explore key trends and innovations in mobile financial services.
The MWC Kigali keynotes will cover some of Africa’s most pressing digital connectivity issues.
Keynote 1 will discuss how digital technologies are driving socio-economic development in Africa to address the continent’s unique challenges.
Keynote 2 will focus on the transformative potential of AI, including how it can drive sustainable and inclusive growth across Africa.
Keynote 3 will see speakers explore the rapid evolution of Africa’s Fintech landscape and the technologies impacting investment opportunities.
While Keynote 4 will explore how the evolving content landscape is allowing African content creators to be heard and celebrated globally.
An agenda of GSMA Summits will be hosted during the event, inviting industry leaders and policymakers to discover the issues affecting enterprises in areas from network security to diversity in tech:
The Security Summit will tackle the most pressing security challenges mobile network operators face today, in the context of a rapidly evolving cyber risk landscape.
The Digital Summit will explore the digital economy’s potential in Africa, exploring how digital technologies and policy reform can drive significant socio-economic growth in Africa.
The AI Summit will cover both the vast potential and the associated risks of AI technologies in Africa, as the technology’s prevalence grows in the global economy.
The 5G Summit will address the barriers preventing the technology’s widespread adoption and ways to unlock its potential for both enterprises and consumers.
The Diversity for Tech Summit will focus on the urgent need for greater disability inclusion in Africa’s tech sector, ensuring that people with disabilities have access to the tools and opportunities they need to succeed.
MWC Kigali is held alongside the Africa Health Tech Summit and FEWA (Future of Education and Work in Africa), offering an in-depth exploration of connectivity challenges and opportunities in the health and education sectors.
We are proud to have the support of our stellar line up of sponsors, exhibitors and event partners, including Africa CDC, Africa Union, Huawei, inABLE, MTN, the Republic of Rwanda, Smart Africa and ZTE.
For more information, follow our updates on the MWC Kigali Press Zone or visit www.mwckigali.com.
Accredited media are invited to register here for a complimentary pass, which is required for access to the press centre.
African Public Relations Association (APRA), the umbrella body of public relations practitioners and professionals in Africa, expresses deepest sympathy to the Governments and people of Nigeria and Cameroon over the overwhelming floods ravaging the countries, particularly the recent flooding in Borno State and other parts of the Northeast zone in Nigeria, as well as in Cameroon’s Far North Province, with severity in the city of Yagoua, the capital of Mayo Danay Department.
APRA laments the occurrence of the distressing floods caused by the collapse of a dam in Maiduguri, and in Mayo Danay after torrential rains.
In both instances, the floods have resulted in the death of many people, displacement of persons, and unprecedented in its upsetting of the ecology.
APRA notes with grave compassion and serious concerns the impact of the floods on markets and by implication livelihoods in Maiduguri and environs as well as the reported escape of wildlife, including snakes and other lethal reptiles after the flooding partially destroyed a zoo.
In Cameroon, over a hundred primary and secondary schools are affected as well as livestock, infrastructure and livelihoods.
In these incidents, we are faced with humanitarian crises and, therefore, really concerned about the recurrence, just a month after the collapse of Arba’at Dam in Sudan that equally caused deaths and displacement of persons in many communities.
APRA is determined to work with all governments, institutions and other stakeholders within and outside the continent to address communication management on climate change and other topical issues central to securing livelihoods, improving quality of life and enhancing growth across sectors in Africa.
Just two months ago, APRA leaders met with other stakeholders within the Association to announce the institutionalization of committees to act on specific challenges of African people. One of these teams focuses on the African Union and Related Linkages.
Through that committee, APRA plans to leverage its observer status with the African Union and to engage with appropriate councils of ministers to enhance communication management that will transform many sectors in Africa.
APRA is united behind the aims of the governments and peoples of Nigeria and Cameroon to find solutions to the humanitarian crises attending the disasters.
The central governments of these countries, the subnational governments in Borno State and Far North Province in Nigeria and Cameroon respectively, and other local and international stakeholders are commended on their responses to the crises to bring succour to those affected by the floods.
On behalf of all members, the Executive Council of APRA hereby sends sincere condolence to those who lost family members and friends, and wish the displaced, the injured as well as those whose livelihoods have been affected a speedy recovery.
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