Telecom
FG Optimistic Prices of Data, Telecoms Services Will Crash
Prices of data and telecommunication services are expected to crash by 40 percent following steps so far taken by the Federal Government to attract huge local and foeign investments, Dr Isa Ibrahim Pantami, minister of Communications and Digital Economy, has assured.
Dr Isa Ibrahim Pantami
According to the Minister, the government has addressed two critical challenges in the telecommunications industry, particularly Right of Way (RoW) Charges and infrastructural protection and development.
Pantami made the remarks while declaring open a week-long training programme organised by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) for ICT/Telecomm reporters in Abuja.
He said improvement on infrastructure has pushed up broadband penetration from 30 percent to 40.18 within the past one year.
The training programme, which began at the Public Service Institute of Nigeria, Kubwa, Abuja, had the theme “Digital skills in news reporting for ICT journalists”
The Minister said the government is targeting 40 percent reduction in data prices and other telecommunication services between now and 2025.
He asserted that it was part of the policy measures taken by the present administration to promote digital economy and improve the living standard of the citizenry.
The Minister said the Federal Government would be putting emphasis on skill acquisition and development, rather than certificates and degrees, stressing by doing so millions of jobs would be created in all sectors of the economy.
The Minister said the training for newsmen was part of government’s contribution towards upgrading the skills and knowledge of members of the Fourth Estate of the Realm as the new knowledge acquired during the programme would benefit the larger society.
The Minister said the roles of journalist towards a knowlegde-based economy cannot be over emphasised, pointing out that while professionalism, fairness, and justice in reportage of news and events are critical, journalism remains the key to stable democracy and good governance.
Meta may shut down its Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in protest against the substantial fines imposed by multiple government agencies.
The tech giant has been ordered to pay nearly $300 million in fines in Africa’s most populous nation, following regulatory demands which Meta described as “unrealistic.”
In July 2024, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), imposed a $220 million fine on Meta for allegedly discriminatory and exploitative practices against Nigerian consumers.
The commission stated that Meta had failed to engage a Data Protection Compliance Organisation and had not submitted a Nigeria Data Protection Regulation audit report for two consecutive years.
Similarly, the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON), demanded $37.5 million over unapproved advertising, while the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC), announced a $32.8 million fine for an alleged data privacy breach.
Meta challenged the decisions at the Federal High Court in Abuja but was unsuccessful, as the court upheld the fines in a ruling delivered last week.
The court directed the company to comply with payment by the end of June, but Meta has indicated it may not do so, according to the BBC.
“The applicant may be forced to effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria in order to mitigate the risk of enforcement measures,” the company stated in court documents.
Responding to the NDPC’s assertion that Meta’s data processing could expose Nigerian users to health and financial risks, the company said the agency had failed to “properly interpret the laws guiding data privacy.”
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.
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.
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.
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