Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Connect with us

Telecom

Experts Call for Use Unlicensed Spectrum for Rural Internet

Published

on

Lanre Ajayi, President, Association of Telecommunication Company of Nigeria (ATCON)
Kindly share this post

Information and communications technology stakeholders have urged federal to make available more unlicensed spectrum for the provision of broadband internet in the rural areas.

Unlike licensed spectrum, with its significant regulatory oversight and high costs to obtain and build a usable service, unlicensed spectrum offers accessible spectrum to entrepreneurs with fewer resources, which facilitates innovation. Users of unlicensed spectrum do not have to buy the spectrum, and are more easily able to experiment and deploy products with minimal regulatory oversight.

Lanre Ajayi, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) who spoke to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek, said that spectrum ordinarily, should be unlicensed but because it is limited resources.

According to Ajayi, unlicensed spectrum is used for the benefit of the people and need not to be given commercial value.

He cited Wi-Fi which according to him is an unlicensed frequency that smartphones and laptops use for internet connectivity at hotspots.

“Government should make available more frequencies as unlicensed for use in the rural areas in the provision of broadband internet just as United States is doing”, he stated.

Nodding in agreement, Mohammed Rudman, managing director, Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) said that unlicensed spectrum could be deployed in small communities for internet connectivity.

Unlicensed spectrum such as Industrial Scientific Medical (ISM) bands operating on 2.4 ghz among others, are mostly used by university community and research centres among others.

“Presently, such unlicensed frequency is being used in some towns in Jigawa and Kano states to provide internet connectivity within those towns,” Rudman added.

Elswhere, Chima Onyekwere, chairman, Linkserve, a pioneer internet service provider, said that unlicensed spectrum has been proven over time to be stable in service provisioning.

Onyekwere said it also suitable for providing internet connectivity in rural areas, but noted that such spectrum are not designed for profit making which means that for it to be made available for rural broadband internet,  government needs to subsidize it for the operators.

He added that unlicensed frequencies cannot propagate very far because they are higher which make them suitable for community connectivity.

 


Kindly share this post

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

Telecom

 Telecoms Services Resume in Kogi State as Telcos, Govt Resolve Dispute

Published

on

 Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of ALTON,
Kindly share this post

Telecommunications services disrupted in Kogi State have resumed following a resolution of the dispute between MTN Nigeria and the state government, the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has said.

 Telecoms Services Resume in Kogi State as Telcos, Govt Resolve Dispute

Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of ALTON, told TVC News that the issues that led to the shutdown of telecom masts in the state, primarily affecting MTN, had been addressed, paving the way for service restoration.

TVC News earlier reported that businessmen and women were counting their losses as they suffered the impact of a shut down of telecommunication service in Kogi State

Over the past two weeks, telecoms connectivity had been erratic, with competing brands experiencing glitches, particularly in the Lokoja metropolis.

The State government suspended the operations of some telecom services citing unpaid taxes and fibre-related dues.

The shutdown stemmed from a compliance dispute between MTN and the Kogi State Utility Infrastructure Management and Compliance Agency, which accused the telecom giant of violating operational rules and under-declaring the extent of its optic fibre network coverage in the state.

 


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Telecom

Banks Settle ₦160Bn USSD Debt to Telcos, Ending Five-Year Dispute

Published

on

Kindly share this post

The protracted Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) debt misunderstanding between the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and telecommunications operators appears to have been resolved.

This was confirmed by the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola, Thursday, March 1, when he appeared on Arise TV to speak on the firm’s first-quarter 2025 result, where the telecommunications company reported over N1 trillion in revenue earnings.

Recall that the USSD debt had been a major issue between the DMBs and telcos and had lasted for about five years.

In the third quarter of 2024, the telcos had threatened to withdraw their service over the lingering debt, which was around N200 billion at the time. This led to the swift intervention of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and an agreement was reached on payment.

As of November 2024, the NCC put the debt at N160 billion. However, earlier this year, when it appeared the banks were not forthcoming with payments, the NCC directed the telcos to withdraw the USSD services from debt-owning DMBs, where about 18 banks were listed.

This directive prompted the banks to look inward and start to comply with an earlier circular signed by the CBN and NCC, which articulated the payment patterns for the debt.

Speaking, on Arise TV this morning, May 1, Toriola confirmed that the matter has been fully resolved and that banks have made payments.

“I can confirm that the matter has been fully resolved. We have received payments in full. Special thanks to the CBN, NCC, the banks, and other stakeholders that intervened in the matter,” the MTN CEO stated.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Telecom

Sterling Bank Introduces AlwaysOn, Offering Nigerians Up to ₦1 Million Monthly

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Sterling Bank, Leading commercial bank and Africa’s most agile company has announced the introduction of AlwaysOn by Sterling, a bold new feature on its OneBank platform that will give eligible customers up to ₦1 million extra every month -even when their account balances are running low.

Launched on Workers’ Day 2025, the initiative is part of an ongoing movement to remove structural barriers to financial freedom and empower everyday Nigerians to move boldly, even in uncertain times.

AlwaysOn is a specialised, invitation-only feature for customers who maintain an active OneBank account for a while. It provides an advance to settle bills or make payments without delays, or any of the friction associated with traditional credit systems.

“This is not just about funds,” said Abubakar Suleiman, Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank. “It’s about freedom and dignity. It’s about backing our customers with the trust and tools to act boldly when life demands it.”

Suleiman emphasised that the new feature is not a product, it’s a logical shift in how the bank supports its customers.

“We’re building a financial ecosystem designed for momentum -for people with grit, urgency, and dreams too big to wait. If you’ve banked with us, you’ve earned our confidence. Now you’ll have our backing to match,” added Suleiman.

The introduction of AlwaysOn marks the next chapter in Sterling’s growing movement to create a fairer and more responsive financial system. It follows the Zero Transfer Fees initiative in April, which returned an estimated ₦13 billion to Nigerians by eliminating transfer charges across the OneBank platform. It also builds on Sterling’s Free Bus Ride initiative, which helped commuters get home from work for free during a time of intense economic pressure.

Together, these efforts reflect the bank’s bold, people-first approach to customer impact, now made possible by its adoption of SeaBaas, Nigeria’s first indigenous core banking platform.

“We’re not the kind of bank that stands on the sidelines while Nigerians hustle,” said Obinna Ukachukwu, Growth Executive for Retail and Consumer Banking. “We removed the fees that slowed them down. Now we’re giving Nigerians the financial freedom to seize opportunity when it shows up. We’re on the pitch with them.”

Sterling’s actions have sparked widespread public support and national recognition as they have continued to push the boundaries of what corporate citizenship can mean to everyday Nigerians.

Notable icons from various fields have canvassed their support and praised the bank’s stance in redefining financial services, inspiring other institutions to follow suit.

Nigerians are encouraged to apply to join the waitlist for the scheme when it goes live in later this month and ultimately, eligibility for up to N1M extra in relief advances.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Trending