Telecom
Davido O2 Concert: MTN Nigeria Reiterates Commitment To Cultural Exploits With Udux Partnership

Nigeria’s leading digital solutions provider, MTN Nigeria, recently partnered with uduX to secure exclusive global rights to stream Davido’s second historic concert at the O2. MTN customers were granted access to watch the concert for free, contributing to a record-breaking turnout of 718,368 music fans across the world.
The partnership is in line with MTN’s new positioning as a digital-first entity, whilst facilitating the enablement of African cultural exports to a global audience as well as uduX’s “Africa to the World” initiative which seeks to showcase Africa’s artists on the global stage.
MTN had previously partnered uduX in 2021 to deliver a successful all-inclusive live experience in November 2021 to Nigerians.
The innovative experience featured Grammy Award-winning Nigerian artist, Ayodeji ‘Wizkid’ Balogun on the London tour of his hit album, Made in Lagos, where he performed to more than 20,000 fans at the iconic O2 Arena.
Adia Sowho, chief marketing officer, MTN Nigeria, expressed her excitement about the partnership with uduX, reiterating MTN’s commitment to promoting cultural moments.
“In harnessing our continent’s boundless opportunities and promoting its art, we at MTN will continue to partner with like minds in various industries to connect Nigeria with the world.
“Our partnership with uduX is a testament to our shared goals and confidence in the company’s capabilities.”
The CEO, uduX, Chidi Aneto-Okeke, adds, “We feel that curating musical experiences is vital to flourishing in an ever-changCEO, uduX, Chidi Aneto-Okeke,ing environment like ours which is why, at uduX, we are dedicated to partnering with many talented artistes who are constantly making strides globally to telling Africa’s narrative to the world.
“David is an inspiration to many and his record-breaking numbers from the stream is a confirmation of his iconic status and what better partner than MTN Nigeria to achieve this incredible milestone in the entertainment industry”.
Music enthusiasts who missed the live concert can visit https://wrblo2.udux.com/ to stream the show and watch all the exclusive behind the scenes footage.
Telecom
African Women Hit Hardest as Mobile Internet Gender Gap Persists

African women remain among the most digitally excluded globally, with smartphone affordability and digital literacy among the key barriers. New data from the 2025 GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report, launched recently, reveals a persistent global gender gap in mobile internet use across low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
It further notes that literacy, digital skills, safety, and affordability of data also remain critical barriers. The report highlights that 885 million women across these regions still do not use mobile internet, with nearly 60% of them living in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
While mobile internet is the primary way women in LMICs access the internet, offering critical lifelines to health, education, and financial services, the pace of female adoption has stalled, leaving 235 million fewer women than men connected.
Claire Sibthorpe, head of digital inclusion at GSMA, highlighted that the gender gap had narrowed significantly between 2017 and 2020, but progress flatlined in recent years.
Although 2023 brought a slight improvement, restoring the gap to 15%, 2024 saw minimal change, with the gap settling at 14%.
The disparity is most severe in Sub-Saharan Africa, where women are 29% less likely than men to use mobile internet.
“It’s disheartening that progress in reducing the mobile internet gender gap has stalled. The digital divide is driven by deep-rooted socio-economic and cultural factors that disproportionately impact women,” said Sibthorpe.
GSMA projects that closing the gender gap by 2030 could add $1.3 trillion to GDP across LMICs and deliver $230 billion in revenue to the mobile industry.
The report, funded by the UK FCDO, Sida, and the Gates Foundation, stresses the urgent need for targeted investment and policy action to bridge the digital divide and ensure that no woman is left offline.
“The mobile internet gender gap is not going to close on its own. It is driven by deep-rooted social, economic, and cultural factors that disproportionately impact women,” said Sibthorpe.
Telecom
Telcos Worry over Possible 5 Percent Tax Return

Nigeria may bring back a 5per cent excise tax on telecom services, according to the 2024 Finance Bill passed by the Senate last week.

Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON
The tax would apply to data transmission and voice calls.
First introduced in 2020 under the Mohammadu Buhari administration to widen the tax base, the measure was suspended in 2023 by President Bola Tinubu due to rising inflation.
With the budget under pressure, the government is now considering reinstating it.
Telecom operators warn that the tax would raise service costs and make it harder to close Nigeria’s digital divide, which still leaves more than 40% of the population without internet access.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said the proposal lacks detail and would increase the financial burden on users.
“We’ve had no clarity on how the 5% tax would be implemented, but the burden will fall on the consumer. Telecoms should be treated as a social good, not taxed like luxury items. No one taxes telecoms like this in countries where infrastructure is taken seriously,” he said.
ALTON also noted that operators are already subject to 54 different taxes nationwide.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has not yet received the official version of the bill for review.
Telecom
GSMA Urges Governments to Prioritise Affordable Spectrum Costs to Support Global Digital Growth

The GSMA released its latest ‘Global Spectrum Pricing Report’, highlighting that average spectrum prices have not reduced in line with operator revenues over the last decade — putting significant pressure on their ability to invest in essential network infrastructure.
The report shows that, whilst both consumer prices for mobile services and the average cost of spectrum have fallen, the overall cost burden on mobile network operators (MNOs) has actually risen sharply. Global cumulative spectrum costs now account for 7% of operator revenues, a 63% increase over the past ten years.
Meanwhile, the average revenue generated per megahertz (MHz) of spectrum has declined by 60% over the same period. Although costs per MHz have fallen by up to 75% in some bands since 2014, operators have increased spectrum holdings by 80% over the same period to cope with bandwidth demand, driving up the overall cost.
A gigabyte of data is far more affordable today than ten years ago, with operators experiencing a staggering 96% fall in revenue per GB between 2014 and 2024. However, these falling revenues, when combined with the proportionately high cost of acquiring spectrum, restrict operators’ ability to invest in expanding and improving mobile networks, particularly 4G and 5G. The report shows that higher spectrum costs correlate directly with lower network coverage and reduced mobile speeds, impacting consumers and slowing the development of digital economies worldwide.
Vivek Badrinath, Director General of the GSMA, said: “The mobile industry sits at the heart of the digital economy, enabling services and opportunities that transform lives. But a dollar can only be spent once, and high spectrum costs can choke investment at a time when the need for affordable, reliable connectivity has never been greater. Governments and regulators must prioritise spectrum pricing that reflects market realities and fosters long-term digital growth. By ensuring spectrum is affordable, they can unlock faster network expansion, better service quality, and greater digital inclusion for all of their citizens.”
The Global Spectrum Pricing Report also highlights that public policy choices — such as setting artificially high reserve prices, creating artificial scarcity, and attaching onerous licence obligations — have often contributed to inflated spectrum costs. In some countries, spectrum costs can reach as high as 25% of operator revenues.
The GSMA urges policymakers to adjust spectrum prices in line with current market conditions and the economic realities faced by operators. With nearly 1,000 spectrum licences set to expire worldwide by 2030, upcoming renewals present a critical opportunity to reset pricing policies to drive investment in the next generation of mobile networks.
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