E-Business
NigComSat Secures Stakes in Nitel
Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat) has formerly secured 15 percent stakes in Nigeria Telecommunications (Nitel) PLC with the admittance of Engineer Timasaniyu Ahmed-Rufai, the managing director of NigComSat Limited as a non-executive director and member of Nitel Board of Directors.
Receiving the new member who was admitted at the 61st meeting of the board, Tom Iseghohi, chairman, Board of Directors, noted that Ahmed-Rufai’s membership will further widen the horizon of the board and enhance the repositioning exercise already embarked upon by Nitel.
“It is my pleasure to welcome Engineer Ahmed-Rufai to the Board of Nitel. We are particularly pleased with his training, wealth of experience and the capacity of the company he represents, which we are certain will further enhance our repositioning exercise to make Nitel more successful and better disposed to offer enhanced quality service delivery to all its customers,” he said.
According to him, “NigComSat’s representation on the board of Nitel marks the beginning of a rewarding partnership that will benefit not only both organizations, but also the customers. A combination of satellite transmission capacity of NigComSat and the SAT–3 capacity of Nitel could only beget affordable broadband service delivery to internet service providers (ISPs), private telecommunications operators (PTOs) and other end users”.
Kevin Caruso, managing director, Nitel, said Ahmed-Rufai’s entry on the board will boost their efforts aimed at revamping the national carrier’s immediate revenue generation and making it occupy its leadership position in the country’s telecommunication sector.
Timasaniyu Ahmed-Rufai is a graduate of chemical engineering from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He also holds an MBA in technology management. He was a project manager of NigComSat-1 and subsequently became the managing director of NigComSat Limited, operator of Africa’s premier communications satellite, successfully delivered into orbit on 13 May 2007.
It would be recalled that Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) recently ceded 15 per cent of federal government equity shareholding and a seat on the board of directors of Nitel under a private equity transfer arrangement. With the new arrangement, the federal government now has 34 per cent stakes in Nitel.
Nitel has shares in several other companies including 6.91 per cent of Regional African Satellite Organization (Rascom); 0.21 per cent of International Maritime Satellite Organization (Inmarsat); 7.33 per cent of South Atlantic Telecommunication (Sat3)/West African Submarine Cable Organization (Wasc) and 0.07 per cent ICO Global Communications Ltd (I-CO). It also owns 0.60 per cent of International Telecommunication Satellite Organization (Intelsat).
E-Business
OpenAI CEO Rejects $97.4Bn Takeover Bid from Elon Musk
![](https://www.nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Open-AI.jpg)
Sam Altman, chief executive of ChatGPT-owner OpenAI, has firmly declared the company “not for sale” following a $97.4bn (£78.4bn) takeover bid from a consortium led by Elon Musk.
![OpenAI CEO Rejects $97.4Bn Takeover Bid from Elon Musk](https://i0.wp.com/www.nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Elon-Musk.jpg?resize=563%2C229&ssl=1)
Elon Musk
Speaking at the AI Action Summit in Paris, Altman emphasised OpenAI’s mission to develop AGI (artificial general intelligence) for the benefit of humanity.
Marc Toberoff, attorney for Elon Musk, confirmed the bid submission on Monday.
In response, Altman humorously offered to buy Twitter for $9.74 billion on Musk’s platform.
Unlike many tech giants, OpenAI is not publicly traded but operates through a complex partnership between non-profit and for-profit entities.
Musk aims to return OpenAI to its non-profit roots, despite owning a rival firm, xAI.
Christie Pitts, a tech investor, expressed scepticism about Musk’s intentions, noting his competitive interests.
Altman echoed this sentiment, suggesting Musk’s move disregards OpenAI’s mission.
Altman, who holds no stock in OpenAI, advocates transforming the organisation into a fully for-profit company to raise more funds for AI research.
Although the board has the final say, the $97.4bn offer falls short of OpenAI’s previous $157bn valuation and rumoured $300bn in future funding talks.
Toberoff stated the consortium might increase their bid. Meanwhile, OpenAI is collaborating with Oracle, a Japanese investment firm, and an Emirati sovereign wealth fund on “The Stargate Project,” a $500 billion AI infrastructure initiative announced by President Donald Trump.
E-Business
Adobe Launches AI Video Tool to Compete with OpenAI
![](https://www.nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Adobe-logo.jpg)
Adobe yesterday released the first public version of an artificial intelligence tool that can generate video clips and revealed how much it will charge, but said it will not set pricing for major users such as studios until later this year.
The Firefly Video Model, as Adobe is calling the service, will compete against Sora, a model developed by ChatGPT creator OpenAI, and startup Runway, both of which currently offer video-generation services. Facebook owner Meta Platforms has also developed a video-generation AI model but has not given a timeline for when it will be released.
Adobe’s model differs from its rivals because it is geared toward generating clips that will fit into how film and television studios use Premiere Pro, its flagship video editing software.
To that end, many of the features that Adobe is emphasizing revolve around feeding existing shots into the video model and asking it to generate clips that fix or expand on shots that were taken on a real production set but that did not come out quite right.
Adobe said the service will generate five-second clips at 1080p resolution. While that is shorter than the clips of up to 20 seconds generated by OpenAI’s service, Adobe executives said the majority of individual clips in most productions are only three seconds.
Adobe said a user can generate 20 clips per month for $9.99 and 70 clips for $29.99. That compares with 50 videos for $20 per month with OpenAI’s plan at lower resolution and a $200 OpenAI plan that can handle longer, higher resolution videos.
Adobe is also working on a “Premium” pricing plan for studios and other high-volume video users and will release those pricing details later this year. Alexandru Costin, Adobe’s vice president of generative AI, said the company is working to generate 4K video and will remain focused on quality rather than longer clips.
“We actually think that great motion, great structure, great definition scheme, making the actual clip look like it was film, is more important than making a longer clip that’s unusable,” Costin told Reuters.
E-Business
GSMA Launches Innovation Fund to Boost AI Solutions in Emerging Markets
![](https://www.nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/GSMA.jpg)
GSMA Innovation Fund for Impactful AI has been unveiled, marking a significant initiative aimed at empowering small and growing enterprises in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) across Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific.
This fund is designed to foster AI-driven innovations that tackle critical socio-economic and climate challenges, helping underserved regions unlock the transformative potential of artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence has proven its ability to address pressing global issues, from precision agriculture and renewable energy to remote healthcare and financial inclusion.
Yet, LMICs remain underserved in funding and resources, with only a small percentage of global grants directed toward locally-developed AI solutions.
Despite the growth of AI-driven technologies, these advancements are often not tailored to the unique needs of local populations in LMICs.
The GSMA Innovation Fund seeks to close this gap by identifying, testing, and scaling impactful AI solutions that are contextually relevant and capable of delivering measurable socio-economic and climate benefits.
In partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), the GSMA Innovation Fund provides a comprehensive support package to selected enterprises. Key benefits include:
Grant Funding: Ranging from £100,000 to £250,000 for projects lasting 15–18 months.
Tailored Venture Support: Guidance to strengthen business models and improve scalability.
Partnership Opportunities: Facilitation of collaborations with mobile operators, public sector organizations, and other stakeholders.
Peer Learning: Platforms for exchanging knowledge and best practices with other innovators.
Visibility and Exposure: Access to GSMA’s global events, publications, and online platforms to connect with potential investors and partners.
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