Telecom
Ikpoki, MTN Boss Parleys Fashola, Donates Security Vehicles
Michael Ikpoki, chief executive officer, MTN Nigeria, has expressed gratitude to the Lagos State government for its leading role in the provision of critical infrastructure and support for the ICT industry in the state.
Speaking during a courtesy call on the state governor, Ikpoki said the government’s impressive implementation of its development agenda has given Lagos residents renewed hope.
He reiterated MTN’s willingness to continue to partner with the state in its transformation drive.
“The development agenda of Lagos State ties in with MTN’s vision to lead in the delivery of a bold new digital world. Therefore, we will offer strong support in actualizing the dream by providing relevant ICT services,” Ikpoki said.
Welcoming the MTN Team, Governor Babatunde Fashola, acknowledged the company’s giant strides in the ICT sector and urged them to continue to deliver services in a more efficient manner so as ultimately enhance the livelihoods of all members of the community.
In his welcome address to the MTN delegation, Mr. Fola Arthur-Worrey, executive secretary of the Lagos State Security Fund applauded MTN’s contributions to the State Government in the area of security.
In his response, Ikpoki noted that positive development can only be achieved in a state of law and order, hence MTN’s decision to assist the Lagos Security Trust Fund, (LSTF) with the provision of 25 patrol vehicles.
According to Ikpoki, the initiative is in furtherance to MTN’s commitment to supporting the State Government in their efforts to ensure the safety of lives and property in Lagos State.
During the formal handing over ceremony of the patrol vehicles, His Excellency Governor Babatunde Fashola expressed his appreciation to the MTN for its voluntary show of concern for security in the state through the donation of security patrol vehicles through the MTN Foundation.
He said the initiative would go a long way in helping the state government fulfill its cardinal responsibility of securing the lives and property of Lagosians.
“Government cannot handle the security challenge alone which is why we are particularly pleased by this intervention and we are calling on other corporate organizations to emulate the gesture of MTN and support government’s effort in providing adequate security for residents of Lagos State as well as the entire country,” he noted.
Also speaking at the event, Fola Arthur-Worry, noted that ‘MTN through its Foundation has donated approximately N600 Million to the Lagos Security Trust Fund since the inception of the Fund till date. MTN Nigeria is one of the leading contributors to the state’s security project’.
It will be recalled that the MTN Foundation has invested over N7billion in social projects in the areas of education, health and economic empowerment in 338 locations across the 36 states of Nigeria including the FCT, Abuja.
In this second phase of the MTNF-SSP, the Foundation has presented security vehicles to Ondo with plans to donate vehicles to other states around the country.
Phase one of the project witnessed the provision of fully kitted security vehicles to Anambra, Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Delta, Oyo, Ogun, Jigawa, Imo, Katsina, Kano, Plateau and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Telecom
PAT Taps Osi as CEO

Pan African Towers (PAT), a Nigerian infrastructure provider serving 9mobile and Spectranet, has appointed Echezona Osi as chief executive officer.

Echezona Osi
Adefolarin Ogunsanya, company’s, board chairman, explained in a statement that Osi would succeed Oladipo Badru, whose tenure lasted nine months in acting CEO position. Osi has more than 28 years of experience in the telecommunications sector across various regions of Africa.
Prior to his appointment as CEO, he had served as the head of network deployment at Airtel Nigeria, operations director and chief technical information officer at MIC Tanzania, chief technology officer roles at IPT PowerTech Nigeria, Rhino Niger Networks and Biswal Nigeria.
He obtained a degree in electrical/ electronic engineering from the University of Benin and a postgraduate diploma in data science and business analytics from the University of Texas.
Telecom
NCC Introduces N10m Licence Fee for Bulk SMS Service

Companies sending bulk international text messages, also known as Application-to-Person (A2P) messages, will now have apply for a licence that costs N10 million.
This is part of new rules introduced by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) aimed at cleaning up the system, fighting fraud, blocking spam messages and stopping money from leaving the country unchecked.
These A2P messages are the kind customers get from banks, online stores, hospitals and political campaigns, automated texts sent from apps to their phones.
According to the commission, the bulk international text message system has been poorly regulated, allowing misuse and invasion of privacy.
“The International SMS Service Ecosystem in Nigeria has not been fully brought under regulatory control. It has been observed that the excessive use of the Short Message Service has led to fraud, spam and illegal activities,” the NCC said.
The regulator warned that without action, the problem would worsen as more people use mobile phones and digital services.
To solve this, the NCC is creating a central platform, or gateway, through which all international bulk text messages must pass through.
The agency said this would help to monitor messages in real time, ensure proper fees are paid, and make sure the money stays in Nigeria where it can contribute to the economy.
As part of the incoming change, service providers must follow strict rules, including strong data protection, spam filters, and message encryption.
Also, they must also work with local mobile networks and make sure all messages come from a verified sender
The NCC warned that any message without a proper sender ID will be blocked and not delivered to users.
To protect users from unwanted texts, the new rules say companies must get clear permission before sending any promotional content.
The rule also says people must also be able to choose whether they want to receive such messages or not.
Companies are now required to keep records of all messages for at least six months and must clearly state all charges involved.
The NCC said fees for help requests, cancellations, or service info must be transparent and not include hidden charges.
The commission will issue licences to several providers to encourage healthy competition but may limit new licences if needed.
Only companies that show they can stop fraud and safely deliver messages will be allowed to operate. They must also regularly report their message traffic and finances to the NCC.
It warned that any company that breaks the rules risks getting fined, suspended, or having its licence revoked.
Offences like charging illegal tariffs, ignoring security rules, or avoiding taxes will be punished, the NCC said.
The commission added that the new rules follow the Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023 and support the federal government’s goal of strengthening cybersecurity and controlling Nigeria’s digital space.
The framework will also be reviewed from time to time to keep up with new technology and market trends.
Telecom
MTN Nigeria Targets $1Bn Cloud Market with Largest Modular Data Centre

MTN Nigeria has launched what it claims is the country’s largest prefabricated modular data centre, marking a bold push into the country’s fast-growing cloud market and taking aim at global giants such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.

Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria.
The shift comes as demand for cloud services in Nigeria soars — driven by the uptake of mobile apps, fintech tools and e-learning platforms — while foreign providers have become costlier in the wake of the naira’s sharp devaluation.
“This is one of the biggest data centres in West Africa and probably one of the biggest in Africa,” said Karl Toriola, CEO, MTN Nigeria.
He described the new Tier III-certified facility, with locally hosted cloud services, as “transformative for the technology ecosystem in Nigeria and very supportive of the federal government’s agenda”.
MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecoms provider, has so far invested $120m in the first phase, delivering an IT load of 4.5MW. A second phase, set to double capacity to 9MW, is budgeted at $135m.
“We already have data centres that are running our existing capacities,” Toriola said.
“We will go to 9MW in short order, possibly 14MW, and we can expand even further.”
He said the facility would allow local hosting for tech developers, large enterprises including banks and oil companies, and government agencies — markets long dominated by foreign cloud providers.
“Multinational companies such as Netflix, Facebook and Instagram can also host a lot of their data here. That improves the quality of service and reduces the cost of storage,” he added.
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