Telecom
Trusted Data to Tip Balance between Success, Failure This Year
The wheels are turning ever faster in the telecom industry. For every year, there are new and often unexpected developments.
As we face another eventful year, industry expert David King, CEO of leading data centre and power management systems supplier Flexenclosure, describes which developments had the biggest impact in 2014 and what we can expect from 2015.
A year ago, when I was asked which trends would have a significant impact on the mobile industry in 2014, I predicted that there would be an increasing interest in prefabricated modular data centres to cope with the expected data boom in developing countries.
One year later, we can see that prefabricated modular data centres have proven to be just as flexible, energy efficient and quick to deploy as manufacturers had promised and customers had hoped, and many telecom companies and mobile operators have chosen this path – ACS Angola, Vodacom Mozambique and MTN Côte d’Ivoire being just a few examples in emerging markets.
Another trend that I predicted was a renewed focus on increasing reliability and reducing operating expenses when powering mobile base station sites.
In the last 12 months we’ve seen that this is indeed a critical combination for the specialised tower companies that are increasingly taking over ownership and management of these sites, as the success of their core business depends much more on the long term reliability and cost efficiency of their power equipment than it did to the mobile operators themselves.
Implementation of green power solutions that reduce diesel fuel consumption has been one result of this trend, as well as efforts to increase telecom sites’ reliability and uptime.
So what’s in store for 2015? Here are the three trends I think will have a major impact on the ICT industry in the year ahead:
1. 2015 is the year that prefabricated modular data centres will truly come of age. As the data boom continues to accelerate globally, prefabricated facilities will be increasingly adopted not only by telcos, but also by colocation and global Internet companies worldwide, driven by their ability to be quickly and easily expanded as required.
The data centre colocation market has been quietly putting down roots in Africa and will now enter a growth phase – with prefabricated facilities giving colocation providers the ability to precisely time facility expansion, thus allowing them to maintain a high level of utilisation (return on capital) while avoiding missing out on new customers due to a lack of capacity.
At the same time, global Internet companies will take increasing advantage of the capital-efficient expansion opportunities and risk-free build process offered by prefabricated data centre buildings.
And of course, an additional benefit is that prefabricated data centres can offer very high quality and price competitive solutions compared to traditional brick and mortar buildings. This previously tended to drive demand mainly in developing economies, but we will now see exponential growth in the adoption of prefabricated modular data centre solutions from developing and developed nations alike.
2. In the mobile telecom site arena, we will see specialised towercos continuing to take over responsibility for tower sites from the mobile operators.
For the towercos, operational cost savings are key to driving business profitability, while for the operators it’s network uptime. Power solutions that can reduce diesel-related expenditure in areas where grid power is unreliable or unavailable, while at the same time guarantee network uptime, will therefore be in much demand and drive significant innovation.
To ensure that this combination of operational reliability and guaranteed network uptime can be delivered, power equipment vendors will need to develop long-term partnerships with managed service companies and we will see new energy service companies (ESCOs) start to establish themselves in many markets. T
he broader presence of ESCOs will in turn reinforce the green site power trend, as these companies look to invest in the most cost efficient power equipment for generation and sale of power to the telecom operators under long term contracts.
3. As mobile towerco networks increase in both size and the number of tenants hosted, the availability of trusted site data will drive the difference between profitability and failure. To keep control over and reduce network energy costs (which can constitute up to 60 per cent of operating expenses for tower companies), as well as to prevent system failures, tower companies need to be able to trust their data and will invest in software-driven intelligent monitoring systems that are fully integrated with the power systems right from day one.
These solutions will give site owners and managers the ability to broadly monitor their entire networks as well as to perform deep dive analyses on a site-by-site basis. This will ensure that they understand the status of their equipment at all times, thus giving them full control over their assets and business.
David King, CEO, Flexenclosure, a designer and manufacturer of prefabricated data centres and intelligent power management systems for the ICT industry. Mr King has decades-long experience from C-level work with many international high-tech companies, several in emerging markets.
Google has opened applications for the 2025 Google for Startups Accelerator Africa program, a three-month initiative designed to support early-stage startups using artificial intelligence to address Africa’s most pressing challenges.
Across the continent, startups are demonstrating how local innovation can solve deeply rooted problems. In West Africa, Crop2Cash – an agritech platform and alumni of the program – is using AI to digitally onboard smallholder farmers, build their financial identities, and provide them with access to credit, traceable payments, and productivity tools.
Through these efforts, Crop2Cash is improving agricultural outcomes and unlocking economic opportunity for farmers who have long been excluded from formal systems—illustrating the kind of impact that’s possible when African startups receive the support they need to scale.
The Accelerator is open to Seed to Series A startups based in Africa that are building AI-first solutions. Startups must have a live product, at least one founder of African descent, and a clear vision for responsible AI innovation. Selected participants will receive:
Dedicated technical mentorship from Google and industry experts
Up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits
Access to a global network of investors, partners, and collaborators
Workshops focused on technology, product strategy, people leadership, and AI implementation
AI’s potential to accelerate Africa’s development is real, and Google is investing in ensuring that African startups lead that charge. According to McKinsey, AI could add $1.3 trillion to Africa’s economy by 2030, but only if bold innovation is supported at the grassroots.
“Startups are Africa’s problem solvers. With the right resources, they can scale their impact far beyond local communities,” said Folarin Aiyegbusi, Head of Startup Ecosystem, Africa at Google.
“This program reflects our belief that AI can be transformative when shaped by those who understand the context deeply.”
Since 2018, the program has supported 140 startups from 17 African countries. These alumni have raised more than $300 million in funding and created over 3,000 jobs. Many are now regional and global leaders in their categories.
Applications for the 2025 cohort are now open. Startups interested in participating can apply at: https://startup.google.com/programs/accelerator/africa
For further information and updates, visit the Google Africa Blog or follow @GoogleAfrica on social media.
The Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF25) is all set for its 12th edition, taking place from April 29th to May 1st, 2025, at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka, Zambia.
Over 1,000 delegates from 65 countries are expected to attend this highly anticipated event, with registration officially closed on April 13th, 2025.
The forum will feature esteemed speakers, including Zambia’s Minister of Technology and Science, Hon. Felix Mutati; Advocate Pansy Tlakula, Chairperson of the Information Regulator of South Africa; and ‘Gbenga Sesan, Executive Director at Paradigm Initiative.
Other notable contributors include Usama Khilji, Executive Director of Bolo Bhi, and Beatrice Mutali, the UN Resident Coordinator for Zambia.
Organized by Paradigm Initiative (PIN) with support from local and international partners such as Bloggers of Zambia, Internet Society Zambia, and the Zambia Ministry of Technology and Science, DRIF25 will focus on the theme: Promoting Digital Ubuntu in Approaches to Technology.
Discussions will tackle critical issues such as Artificial Intelligence, Data Protection, Digital Inclusion, and Human Rights.
The three-day forum will include 122 sessions, ranging from workshops and panel discussions to tech demos and exhibitions.
These were selected from a record-breaking 345 proposals, continuing the forum’s growth over recent years. Sponsors like Ford Foundation, Meta, Google, and Wikimedia Foundation play a crucial role in making the event possible.
PIN is set to unveil key publications during the event, including the 2024 Digital Rights and Inclusion in Africa Report – Londa and the organization’s book, The PIN Story: Work in Progress, chronicling its journey from a small cybercafe in Lagos, Nigeria, to a leading pan-African digital rights organization.
As one of the continent’s premier platforms for advancing digital rights and inclusion, DRIF25 promises to build on the success of previous editions, driving dialogue and collaboration among diverse stakeholders.
Telecom customers will have to pay for the use of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) by having their airtime deducted, according to an information obtained by the Guardian.
According to reports, discussions to implement an end-user billing system between telecom providers and deposit money banks (DMBs) are presently in advanced stages.
A system that charges the client directly for utilizing the USSD service instead of the service provider is known as end-user billing.
This implies that, independent of any further fees the bank may impose, the customer’s mobile account (airtime or direct billing) is deducted for the USSD session.
This is a shift from the conventional corporate billing approach where banks were invoiced for USSD usage.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said to The Guardian that conversations are underway, and the mechanisms are being fine-tuned to suit subscribers, telcos and DMBs.
r billing, which the banks have been supporting for a while, may help prevent accumulated debts, as seen by the current crisis between the banks and telecom providers, according to Adebayo.
Therefore, we have started talking about switching to end-user paying without causing customers’ services to stop working.
The banks now charge you and debit your account when you make USSD (Debit alert for the transfer). Banks won’t debit you again after the talks are over; instead, your airtime will be used immediately. The funds will be deducted from your airtime rather than your account by the banks.
“The discussion has begun; we will work with the banks to agree on a migration plan. The banks have long been demanding a solution to the USSD debt problem, and this will be it. In order to prevent consumers from being charged for services they did not receive, the parties must nevertheless agree that systems must be updated and operations must be transparent.
“The discussion is underway,” he said.
Recall that on September 16, 2019, the Bank Chiefs wrote to ALTON on behalf of the Body of Banks’ Chief Executive Officers (BOBCEO) proposing a “orderly implementation” of end-user charging for bank clients that would “align with the standard practice for USSD billing.”
The bank executives expressed disapproval of splitting the profits from USSD transactions with the telcos in the note to ALTON.
They stated that the service providers, who supply the platform for the USSD service, had suggested deducting N4.50k per 20 seconds from the fees that clients pay the banks. The banks objected, claiming that it would increase the cost by 45% immediately.
However, the dynamics, especially the underlying technology, made the concept unpopular with the telcos at the time.
Instead, the carriers had demanded corporate billing. According to the telecoms, the banks declined to attend a roundtable in 2020 to address the issue and put a definitive stop to it.
As a result, the USSD obligations that are presently being recovered from were greatly exacerbated by the matter’s failure to be resolved five years ago. Since March 16, 2021, subscribers have been charged N6.98K for each USSD transaction.
The authorities instructed DMBs and MNOs to agree on payment options, either a lump amount or instalments, by January 2, 2025, in a circular jointly issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and NCC.
They stated that the payments must be finished by July 2, 2025, if they are chosen.
It is required that 60% of all pre-API bills be paid in full and as a final settlement. By January 2, 2025, a concerned DMB and MNO must agree on payment options (lump amount or instalments).
To be clear, if a DMB suggests instalment payment, it must be based on equal monthly instalments, and the money must be paid by July 2 at the latest.
Just to be clear, if a DMB suggests instalment payment, it must be based on equal monthly instalments, and the money must be paid by July 2 at the latest.
In accordance with past decisions made by the CBN and the NCC, DMBs are required to settle eighty-five percent (85%) of all unpaid invoices between the relevant DMB and MNO (also known as post-API debts) by December 31, 2024, following the implementation of Application Programming Interfaces (API) in February 2022.
Additionally, within a month of the invoice being served, 85% of all subsequent invoices must be paid off.
The NCC will initiate the required regulatory procedures to switch back to End-User Billing (EUB), provided that the directions in Paragraphs 1 and 2 above are satisfactorily implemented and that the agreement between DMBs and MNOs for the switch to EUB is furthered.
Only MNOs and DMBs that fully adhere to the aforementioned paragraphs 1 and 2 will be permitted to switch to EUB. In due order, the CBN and the NCC will offer guidelines on public education initiatives related to the changeover. MNOs are required to implement the “10-second rule” for USSD invoicing until the transitional procedures in paragraph 3 above are finalized.
Thus, any USSD session that lasts less than 10 seconds is not eligible for billing. “DMBs with prepaid billing options have the opportunity to migrate to EUB, subject to the execution of the required regulatory processes,” the authorities added.
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