Telecom
ICT Accounts for 1% of Nigeria’s Total Employed Populace – Report
According to UNCTAD, there are only about 479 000 people employed in Nigeria’s ICT sector, despite the west African country being one of the economies with rising ICT and telecom sectors.
These employees account for about 1% of Nigeria’s total employed populace. The UNCTAD report cites Sierra Leone as one of the African countries where there has been strong growth in mobile connectivity.
The report also finds that while an increase in mobile and internet penetration in certain African countries is boosting trade in telecommunications and e-commerce, mobile connectivity is not robust enough and employment in specialist ICT areas remains subdued.
These are key findings from a new report Information Economy 2017, released by the United Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) this week.
The Report identifies Senegal and Tanzania as the African countries with the most notable economies where “telecommunications accounted for 85% of ICT services exports”.
ICT platforms and services are boosting Africa’s economies as e-commerce emerges.
However, “the Central African Republic, Eritrea and South Sudan, have not increased as much” in terms of robust growth in mobile cellular services.
“Mobile cellular services in (this) group reach less than a third of the population, and the telecommunications markets are yet to be liberalised,” said the report.
However, for countries such as Rwanda and Zambia, a rise in mobile subscriptions has boosted imports and trade in communications equipment.
The UNCTAD report did not provide specific details regarding the value of imported communications equipment in the two countries.
“Rwanda and Zambia, the rise in mobile subscriptions occurred simultaneously as the rise in imports of communications equipment,” it said.
In Rwanda, mobile subscriber numbers reached 8.5 million in August this year after rising by 1% from the July numbers according to the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority.
MTN controls about 42% of the mobile market share in Rwanda; Tigo has about 39% while Airtel Rwanda has about 19%.
Zambia’s Communications Minister, Brian Mushimba said in May that the country had about 12 active mobile phone subscribers as at the end of 2016, while the country is reportedly keen to add a new mobile operator.
The Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) has also confirmed that there are about 5.2 million mobile internet subscribers in the southern African country.
African countries have also lagged other global peers in terms of posting cloud computing jobs online, with the cloud still emerging as an important aspect of ICT services.
“In Africa, most countries have not yet posted a single one (cloud vacancy). Even relative tech hubs, such as Egypt and South Africa, accounted for only 0.5 percent each of the announced vacancies,” said UNCTAD researchers.
MTN Nigeria Communications PLC has announced that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has approved the renewal of the spectrum lease agreement between MTN Nigeria and Natcom Development and Investment Limited (NTEL).
Uto Ukpanah, Company Secretary in a statement released recently said that the agreement covers the lease of NTEL’s 5MHz frequency division duplex (FDD) in the 900MHz spectrum band and 10MHz FDD in the 1800MHz spectrum band, which spans 19 states.
The renewal is for another two-year period, effective 1 May 2025. Additionally, the NCC has approved a one-year lease expansion of the spectrums, covering the remaining 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), effective 1 January 2025.
Commenting on the transactions, MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola said, “We are pleased with the renewal of the spectrum lease agreement with NTEL, which now includes coverage for all states, including the FCT.
“The lease enables us to enhance our 3G and 4G user experience as we improve coverage and capacity by utilising the spectrums.
“This positions us to capitalise on the growing demand for data and improve the delivery of services to our customers.”
Nigeria’s technology company, Globacom, has extended warm felicitations to Nigerians on the occasion of the 2024 Christmas celebrations.
In a goodwill message released in Lagos, Globacom urged Nigerians to embrace the spirit of love and kindness during the festive season, especially in the face of prevailing economic challenges.
The company emphasized the importance of practicing the teachings of Jesus Christ, particularly the virtues of obedience to God and loving one’s neighbor as well.
“Christ taught many virtues including obedience to God and loving one’s neighbour as oneself”, the company said, adding, “Now is the apt time to practise these teachings by sharing with the needy”.
Globacom also encouraged Nigerians to extend the conviviality of Christmas beyond the festive season by fostering love, peace, and harmony, as demonstrated by God through the birth of Jesus Christ.
Assuring its customers of uninterrupted services throughout the Yuletide period and beyond, Globacom urged them to take advantage of its innovative products and services to stay connected and share the memories of the season with loved ones.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have ordered Deposit Money Banks and Mobile Network Operators to settle the long-standing N250bn USSD debt dispute before January 2, 2025.
The CBN and NCC also directed banks to pay the pre-Application Programming Interfaces (API) debt before July 2, 2025.
They also ordered that post-API debts be settled before December 31, 2024.
The directive was issued in a joint cirular titled, “2nd Joint Circular of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian Communications Commission on the Resolution of the USSD Debt Issue Between Deposit Money Banks and Mobile Network Operators.”
The circular dated December 20, 2024, was signed by Oladimeji Taiwo, acting director of the Payments System Management Department, CBN, and Chizua Whyte, head of Legal and Regulatory Services, NCC.
The regulators said, “In view of the foregoing, the CBN and the NCC hereby direct DMBs and MNOs as follows: 1. That 60 per cent of all pre-API invoices must be paid as full and final settlement.
“Payment plans (lump sum or installments) must be agreed upon between a concerned DMB and MNO by January 2, 2025. Installments must be based on equal monthly payments, with full payment due by July 2, 2025.
“DMBs must pay 85 per cent of all outstanding invoices issued after the implementation of APIs (i.e., February 2022) by December 31, 2024.
“Similarly, 85 per cent of future invoices must be liquidated within one month of service.”
According to the regulators, the transition to end-user billing will be activated only for DMBs and MNOs that comply with the payment conditions cobtained in the circular.
CBN and the NCC said they would provide further guidance on public enlightenment initiatives related to the transition.
The regulators also directed MNOs to implement the “10-seconds rule” for USSD invoicing.
This implies that any session lasting less than ten seconds will not be billable.
The regulators added, “Failure to comply with the terms outlined in this directive will attract necessary sanctions, ensuring that both DMBs and MNOs uphold their obligations.”
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