Telecom
Data Management a Catalyst for Boosting Businesses- LCCI
Mr. Babatunde Paul Ruwase, President, Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industries (LCCI) on Wednesday said that information and communications sector has become a catalyst for boosting business operations in Nigeria and across border trade.
He made this assertions at the 2018 Seminar on ‘Data Management: Tool for Economic and Security Change’ organised by ICT Group of Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industries in Lagos.
Ruwase stated that electronic transactions have made it possible to achieve high quality and speed in service delivery in the areas such as travels, e-commerce and e-government.
He reiterated the need for policies that will encourage and support innovation, software development and protection of intellectual property, adding that it is necessary for achieving useful collaborations with other technologically-advanced countries as well as attracting investments into the ICT sector.
He revealed that National Bureau of Statistics 2018 GDP second quarter report shows that ICT sector contributes 13.63% to GDP in a year on year growth of 11.81% from 1.58% in the first quarter of 2018.
“The statistics are a clear call for the need to identify opportunities for collaboration, sharing best practices and exploring inclusive technologies to drive Nigeria into a truly connected global community, he added.
He commended the national assembly for passing the electronic transaction bill after careful considerations of the potentials of the ICT sector.
According to him, “we acknowledge the efforts of the National Assembly in passing the electronic transaction bill after careful considerations of the potentials of the ICT sector and what an enabling and protective act can help the sector to achieve for the country.
Attendees at the Workshop
“There is therefore need for such business and investment elements that strengthen the private sector.
“The regulatory environment must also be sensitive to the ideals of a conducive business environment that can attract private sector participation and foreign direct investment.
“Let me therefore use this opportunity to call on the government to be consistent bwithg its policies and initiate platforms and waivers that will attract and support startups by the youths in Nigeria.
Mr.Zakari Usman, Chairman,ICT Group, Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industries,(LCCI) in his presentation said that as the world celebrated the end of Millennium Development Goals (MDGSs) and continue to drive the more ambitious Susatainable Development framework, the importance of making timely and reliable data available across the country cannot be over emphasized.
“In this increasingly complex world, the availability of high quality data is vital in facilitating decision-making for both private and pubic sectors.
“The World is also seeing greater demands for higher levels of transparency. This has become pivotal for building trust and confidence regardless of the line and nature of business. The data community has responded to these changes thereby causing a value shift in our economic security”, Mr. Usman said.
He said that one key trend that has elevated data management to a new level is the rapid innovation and advances in information and communication technology.
Engr. Remi Adejumo, Chief Technical Officer, Comercio Ltd delivering his presentation at the event.
“It is staggering that there are 2.5 quintillion bytes of data created each day at our current pace and that pace is only accelerating with the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT). With the rapid expansion of data storage capacity, growing global connectivity and double-digit growth rates in the middle broadband market, there is no doubt that the swift pace of technological developments has not only facilitated the rapid collection of new data but also led to more effective management of the data”, he said.
The Chairman also added that the improvements in technology have also brought tremendous benefits to the private and public segments of our country today, adding that amid wider availability of data on economic planning products, households now have the potential to make better savings and investment choices.
“For the government, data is a vital is a vital source of evidence, as they provide clear and objective statistics on all aspects of the state of the nation, including the growth and characteristics of our population, economic performance, levels of health and wellbeing and the condition of our surrounding environment.
“Accordingly, the significance of data for making evidence-based decisions that guide the implementation of new policies and monitoring and evacuation of the effectiveness of policy decisions cannot be overemphasized”, he added.
Mr. Usman further admitted that as the business community moves forward, it will be more evident that without data, they cannot make well-informed decisions that will catalyse the social and economic development and transform the future.
“The changing contours of the global landscape will increase the demand for higher quality and more comprehensive data which will also need to be accompanies by sound analysis in order to draw correct inferences. From the compliers of data, to the developers of data applications and the users of data, there will be many challenges, but also immense opportunities ahead”, he intoned.
Nigeria will criminalize the destruction of broadband fiber cables following repeated complaints by MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and other telecommunications companies that they are losing billions of naira, according to people familiar with the matter.
Federal ministry of works, which supervises federal road constructors, is finalizing the regulation that will be signed as an executive order by President Bola Tinubu, said the people, asking not to be identified as they weren’t authorized to comment.
While there are presently laws against vandalism, the authorities are aiming to regulate construction firms more closely.
The order will enforce stiff penalties on offenders, said the people, declining to provide more details or say when it will be signed.
“Telecom assets are critical backbone that supports the economy across sectors,” said Temitope Ajayi, a senior presidential aide, who noted that the Association of Telecommunications Companies (ATCON) has been demanding the classification for years.
New rules will provide “further assurance that the Nigerian government will protect their investments against vandals and criminal elements.”
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) estimates that the sector will make up more than a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product by the end of 2027, up from 13.5% in the third quarter of last year.
The move will help alleviate pressure on the telecoms sector, which is facing increased operating costs and sales pressures from a sharp depreciation in the currency and a threefold increase in energy prices.
Repairs and revenue losses from damaged cables is estimated to have cost the sector almost 27 billion naira ($23 million) last year alone, documents seen by Bloomberg show.
MTN Nigeria, the biggest wireless operator in Africa’s most-populous nation, and Airtel Africa Plc bore the brunt of the costs, the documents show.
MTN suffered more than 6,000 cuts on its fiber cable last year, the documents show. On Feb. 28, a cut on its network in three different locations by a road construction firm, an oil serving company and someone burning rubbish in a manhole meant customers faced more than five hours of data and voice outages.
The operator relocated 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) of vulnerable fiber cables between 2022 and 2023, at a cost of more than 11 billion naira – enough to build 870 kilometers of new fiber lines to areas without coverage.
A presidential order on the matter would be welcomed, said Tony Izuagbe Emoekpere, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria.
“When it comes to communication infrastructure, they are destroyed at will, so we are eagerly awaiting the president’s order,” he said. “It would be a great boost to the industry, and it will also encourage investment.”
Telegram, the messaging giant founded by Pavel Durov and headquartered in Dubai, anticipates hitting a remarkable milestone of one billion active monthly users within the next year.
Durov’s departure from Russia in 2014, prompted by governmental pressures to stifle opposition communities on his VK social media platform, underscores Telegram’s commitment to neutrality despite geopolitical challenges.
With 900 million active users currently, Telegram stands as a beacon of free speech in the digital realm, particularly influential in former Soviet Union republics and pivotal during conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine standoff.
Durov’s staunch advocacy for freedom of expression and opposition to censorship by tech giants like Apple and Google reinforces Telegram’s status as a neutral platform.
Opting for the UAE as its base, Durov cites its neutrality and openness as conducive to Telegram’s ethos, serving both opposition groups and governments alike while maintaining impartiality.
In Durov’s vision, the pursuit of freedom eclipses material gain, shaping Telegram’s trajectory as a bastion of digital liberation.
To further strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) have announced a collaboration on National Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to enhance and create synergy between digital identity, payment ecosystem, and secure & seemless data exchange capabilities for Nigeria.
During the meeting between the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, and Director General of NIMC, Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote, with some management staff of both organisations, they discussed various initiatives, which include building DPI stacks for a secured and seamless data exchange and forming partnerships to transform the national identity system.
This collaboration also aims to harness the potential of the innovative ecosystem and emphasise the use of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to drive digital transformation in Nigeria.
To ensure a smooth implementation, a 12-man committee was set up. This committee will play a crucial role in kickstarting and harmonising the initiatives. It is expected to deliver a comprehensive implementation report within the next 4 weeks
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