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Telecom

Integrating Challenged Group in Universal Access Effort

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One section of the Nigeria society that seems not to have been carried along in both services and programmes such as promos by telecommunications operators is the Challenged Group.
Challenged group comprises people with one form of disability or the other which incapacitated them from competing effectively with physically fit in the society.
In recognition of this ugly trend, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) sometime last year held an interactive session with the group and found that they are left out and exposed to compete with physically fit in the society in the use of services provided by telecom operators when their disability did not allow them.
It was in view of this that the commission held a consultative forum with operators in the telecommunications industry in July last year on how to assist this group and old people through a special service and tariff.
Ms. Lola Emekporia, director, Consumer Affairs, NCC, said the commission also discovered from the commission’s interaction with the group that they constitute 25 per cent of the society. She stressed the need for urgent attention as to the way services are provided in order that they are carted for.
It was also noticed she added, that billing platform that support checking of account balance through short message service does not accommodate this group as those of them that are visual impaired can not know their account balance. Deactivation of audio/voice prompt facility used by visual impaired people by GSM operators. It added that the operators that have not deactivated the service charge between N20 to N25 for using that service. It was observed that promotions run by operators exclude challenged group by the way it is structured.
The neglect being suffered by the challenged group and old people in the country by telecommunications service providers is not specific to Nigeria, they are as well faced with similar neglect in some others countries that informed the focus of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Asia-Pacific Regional Forum on Mainstreaming ICT Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities, held in Bangkok, Thailand from 25 to 27 August 2009. The forum shared a range of critical policy and regulatory measures to promote accessible information and communication technologies (ICT) for persons with disabilities.
The Forum was hosted by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) of Thailand, and marked the first coordinated effort to promote implementation of the ICT provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD). The Convention puts rights to ICT accessibility on a par with well-recognized rights to accessibility to transportation and the physical environment, such as ramps to buildings for those in wheelchairs.
The Forum was opened on behalf of Ranongruk Suwanchawee, Minister of Information & Communication Technology for Thailand, who in her message to delegates called the UN CRPD "a significant step for all of humanity, since its main purpose is to protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity."
It is expected that the UN Convention will make assistive ICT technologies as common as wheelchair ramps and audible signals for traffic lights, which have already become standard in many parts of the world. Assistive technologies include screen readers (which read content from websites out loud for the visually impaired), captioning or sign language on television for the deaf, cell phones that include features such as special volume control, large character touch pads and predictive text features, as well as the adoption of accessible website design by both the public and private sectors.
As of last month, 142 countries have signed the UN CRPD. "The 64 nations that have already ratified the convention represent over two-thirds of the world’s population. Gaining the right to ICT access for the 650 million persons living with disabilities around the world has made the legislative, policy and regulatory activities related to digital accessibility a major priority among ITU Member States," said Sami Al-Basheer, director of ITU’s Telecommunication Development Bureau.
The number of persons with disabilities is increasing worldwide, due to aging populations in some countries, as well as war and civil conflict, natural disasters, malnutrition and other causes.
ITU organized the Forum together with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). The event welcomed some 140 participants from 21 countries, including policy makers, regulators, operators, industry representatives, NGOs and disabled persons organizations, as well as experts and ICT professionals including disabled persons from across the region and beyond.
It was supported by the National Telecommunications Commission of Thailand (NTC), Australia’s Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE), and the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (Nectec).
Dr Eun-Ju Kim, head of the ITU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, said the Forum demonstrated that the Asia-Pacific region is leading the ICT accessibility agenda of the UN CRPD through multi-stakeholder partnership. "There is significant momentum in the region and a great level of awareness of the need to promote ICT accessibility. This Forum enabled countries in the region to not only provide a platform to all stakeholders but also share their innovative practices," she said.
The Government of Thailand, which has ratified the UN CRPD, is working on implementation by establishing learning centres nationwide that include assistive technologies such as Braille printers and digital talking books for use by the visually impaired. There are also plans to use closed captioning for television programming to promote use by hearing impaired users.
ITU and its partner, the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs (G3ict), recently teamed up to develop an online Toolkit for Policy Makers on e-Accessibility & Service Needs for Persons with Disabilities, to assist national regulators, policy makers and legislators to implement measures and foster national programmes supporting the digital accessibility agenda of the CRPD. At the same time, ITU is a major champion of the role of agreed international standards for ICT accessibility development. ICT accessibility standards applied to different technologies will help manufacturers gain access to global markets and leverage economies of scale in production and distribution. Users benefit through lower costs and the assurance that equipment will integrate and work efficiently with other ICT systems.
At the consultative forum NCC held with telecom operators, service providers pledged their willingness to support the challenged group through implementation of policies geared towards the benefit of members of the group.
Olajide Aremu, technical manager, Globacom, said that there should be clear policy on what is expected of operators to implement to assist the challenge group.
Operators were urged to look at designing a programme or service for the challenged group as part of their over all marketing strategy and not as if they doing the group a farvour, as such effort forms part of universal access which ensures that nobody is left behind in the provision of telecommunications services.
Deolu Ogunbanjo, president, National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers of Nigeria (Natcomms) said that his association had made representation to NCC at the commission’s consumer outreach programme held in Ile-Ife, in which they are seeking implementation of certain service and policies in favour of the challenged group.
He noted that the use of voice prompt to check account balance is yet to be implemented by GSM operators except GloMobile that charge for the service. He said if other operators in the GSM space which accounts for greater percentage of subscribers as well as coverage, provide the voice prompt platform for checking of account balance it would have taken care of agitation of blind people in the society.
Ogunbanjo, added that Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) service providers have both platforms on their network and are not charging for it.
He also emphasized on the need for operators to provide a system that allows deaf people to lodge complain and solve problems associated with service provision through data on their phone, which presently is not available. He explained that the argument by operators that such people could use internet and send email to their customer care department, did not provide access to greater percentage of deaf people as most of them don’t have access to the internet especially those living in rural areas.
Challenged group are as important as physically feet in the society and therefore should be carried along especially in the provision of telecommunications services by address their unique challenge through the provision peculiar services. NCC as the regulator of the industry need to monitor effectively the implementation of recommended challenged group and old people oriented services by telecommunications operators, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD).

 

 


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Telecom

MTN’s ₦31.75Bn Investment in Health Lauded at Arthur Mbanefo Lecture

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ARTHUR MBANEFO
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MTN Foundation has been spotlighted as a model for private sector-driven healthcare development in Nigeria, following commendations at the 6th Arthur Mbanefo Lecture held at the University of Lagos, Akoka.

ARTHUR MBANEFO

Themed “A Healthy Nation is a Wealthy Nation: The Role of Impact Investments and Sustainable Financing in Nigeria,” the lecture featured Dr. Tolulope Adewole, Managing Director of NSIA Advanced Medical Services Limited (MedServe), as keynote speaker.

Dr. Adewole praised the Foundation’s strategic investments, noting that MTN commits 1% of its profit after tax annually to development sectors. “They’ve invested ₦31.75 billion, reaching over 32 million Nigerians. Though only 25% went to health, it accounted for 51% of all lives impacted. That’s catalytic,” he said.

He cited MTN’s dialysis centre programme as a transformative intervention for patients with kidney disease, and highlighted community-focused initiatives like the Y’ello Doctor mobile scheme and ‘What Can We Do Together’ (WCWDT) programme, which revitalised 164 Primary Healthcare Centres, including 44 in 2024 alone.

Executive Director of MTN Foundation, Odunayo Sanya, reflected on the COVID-19 pandemic’s exposure of systemic health vulnerabilities. “When COVID hit, we realised a health emergency is also an economic and social emergency,” she said.

Sanya revealed that of the 52 PHCs remodeled in 2024, only one had clean water. “I’m not a doctor, but I know you can’t live a good life without clean water,” she added, reaffirming the Foundation’s commitment to bridging healthcare gaps in underserved communities.


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PIN to Empower 20 Million Youths with New Digital Rights Board Game

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Hundreds of university students across Africa are set to benefit from a new gamified learning experience on digital rights and inclusion launched by the leading pan-African non-profit organisation, Paradigm Initiative (PIN).

The Digital Rights and Inclusion Board Learning Experience (DRIBLE) is a game developed by Paradigm Initiative with support from the Open Society Foundations (OSF). The custom-designed board game provides young individuals with a fun and engaging entry point into digital rights and inclusion conversations, training sessions and storytelling tools.

The board game aims to build digital literacy, deepen understanding of online safety, and introduce young individuals to the organisation’s tools of impact. Currently being piloted in three universities: University of Lagos, Nigeria, the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) in Nairobi, Kenya and the Dakar American University of Science and Technology (DAUST) in Dakar, Senegal, it will enhance interactions and create a holistic experience.

Speaking at the event launch at the University of Lagos, Nigeria, ‘Gbenga Sesan, Paradigm Initiative’s Executive Director, said: “PIN’s vision is to reach 20 million people through our Digital Inclusion and Digital Rights interventions. From Lagos, to Dakar, to Nairobi.. we will use the vehicle of our new Digital Rights and Inclusion Board Learning Experience (DRIBLE) which entails using gamification, training, multimedia materials, tools and other interventions to connect African youth with digital opportunities and protect their digital rights.”

‘Gbenga gave the keynote address on “Digital inclusion at PIN, our Past, Present and Future” and Nnenna Paul-Ugochukwu, the organisation’s Chief Operating Officer, said the goal of the learning experience would be instrumental in raising awareness of digital rights among the youth, building their capacity to address digital rights and inclusion issues in their communities. Prof. Olunifesi Adekunle Suraj shared a goodwill message with the students and other stakeholders.

Paradigm Initiative, which has been operational since 2007, started in a tiny cybercafe in Ajegunle, Lagos, Nigeria. Today, the organisation has expanded its wings to cover six African countries; Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia and Zimbabwe, impacting the livelihoods of over 150,000 young Africans.

The launch of DRIBLE builds on the progress the organisation has made over the years in tackling the challenge of digital exclusion across Africa.

Paradigm Initiative’s tools of impact include Ripoti, a platform that enables individuals to report digital rights violations, Ayeta, a platform that provides digital security resources for stakeholders, more so human rights activists, defenders, journalists and other vulnerable groups, and the organisation’s latest short film, Whispers in the Wires.

Targeted at students, PIN rolled out a Campus Tour in the three universities on the continent starting July 15th, 2025.


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Meta Cracks Down on Fake Accounts, Deletes 10m Profiles

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Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has intensified its crackdown on fake accounts and spam, announcing it removed over 10 million fake profiles and roughly 500,000 spam accounts in the first half of 2025.

The sweeping purge is part of Meta’s broader effort to combat impersonation, fake engagement, and content duplication, aiming to elevate authentic creators and improve the quality of content across its platforms.

In a blog post, Meta said: “We’re making progress. In the first half of 2025, we took action on around 500,000 accounts engaged in spammy behaviour or fake engagement. We also removed about 10 million profiles impersonating large content producers.”

Meta stressed that accounts which primarily repost or recycle content without meaningful edits will face penalties such as reduced reach and the loss of monetisation tools.

The company also warned that repeatedly sharing unoriginal content — whether videos, photos, or text — undermines the platform’s integrity by crowding out genuine voices and making it harder for new creators to grow.

To support authentic creators, Meta is rolling out new tools that automatically trace reposted content back to its original source. The company says this will help ensure rightful credit and give higher visibility to original posts.

“Pages and profiles that post mostly original content tend to enjoy wider distribution across Facebook. Simply stitching clips together or adding a watermark will no longer count as meaningful editing. Content that provides real value and tells an authentic story is likely to perform better,” Meta explained.

Creators are also being cautioned against uploading content that includes watermarks from other platforms. Such posts could see their reach restricted or lose monetisation privileges altogether.

As part of its latest update, Meta introduced post-level insights on the Professional Dashboard, allowing creators to monitor how individual posts perform. They can also check their Support Home screen to see if their content or earnings are facing restrictions.

In a parallel development, Google’s YouTube updated its monetisation guidelines, stating that content deemed mass-produced or excessively repetitive will no longer qualify for ad revenue. The announcement initially sparked concern among creators, who feared it was a blanket ban on AI-generated content. YouTube later clarified:

“We welcome creators using AI tools to enhance their storytelling, and channels that use AI in their content remain eligible to monetise.”

Both tech giants say these new policies are aimed at raising content standards and safeguarding genuine creators in a crowded and rapidly evolving digital landscape.


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