Telecom
Interconnect, Others’ Switch Over 1Bn Minutes Traffic-WTL
World Telecom Labs (WTL) on Tuesday, announced that close to one point four billion (one thousand million) minutes have passed through its specialist 2nd generation VoIP switches deployed by five of Nigeria’s interconnect exchange carriers.
WTL disclosed this during the annual NigeriaCom telecoms conference and exhibition, when all five of the carriers will be presented with a trophy to mark this historic occasion.
Licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the carriers, Breeze Micro, Exchange, Interconnect Clearinghouse (ICN), Niconnx and Solid, were established to increase competition and transparency in the Nigerian telecom marketplace.
The four leading mobile operators in Nigeria are now all required to divert 10% of their inter-carrier voice and SMS traffic to one of these operators.
The five licensees started offering services at the end of last year initially acting as wholesale interconnect carriers for TDM voice traffic.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that they are using WTL’s switches to transfer traffic between the four existing mobile networks.
WTL is also helping the operators with their billing systems and the optimisation of voice traffic to increase capacity and reduce costs.
Leigh Smith, managing director of WTL, said “What a triumph for the NCC. The benefits of introducing the new carriers are clear: a huge amount of traffic is being taken off the infrastructure of the established carriers in Nigeria thereby freeing up capacity, increasing speeds and reducing latency. In addition, there is greater transparency and openness in the market.”
On his part, Jihad Jaafar, CTO of Breeze Micro, said “The billionth minute is a significant moment for both Breeze Micro and our interconnect exchange carrier colleagues. WTL has been instrumental in our success. Its team of experts continues to be generous in sharing their knowledge and experience which is benefiting both the telecoms market and indeed the people of Nigeria.”
WTL’s range of 2nd generation VoIP and hybrid VoIP/TDM switches have been specifically designed to replace the huge, expensive, maintenance-heavy switches that have traditionally been used to transfer VoIP traffic onto other networks.
They are capable of handling 1000s of simultaneous calls.
WTL’s VOIP and TDM voice optimisation services and equipment are being used by a number of operators throughout Africa and the Middle East and have a number of advantages over traditional switches.
It shows they are VoIP ready – WTL specialises in VoIP switches and so the switches installed in Nigeria can be easily switched from traditional TDM to VoIP once the existing mobile operators are ready to use VoIP as a means of interconnecting.
Highly reliable even under very heavy traffic loads, WTL’s switches are also simple and easy to run so they don’t need a dedicated, full-time engineer (unlike traditional switching equipment).
Service and support – WTL offers constant support and consultancy to all five operators.
Small footprint –WTL’s switches are physically small occupying 0.5 racks compared to the multiple racks needed by traditional voice switching vendors. Smaller racks means less power and reduced OPEX.
WTL’s switches are also easy to scale. The five Nigerian licensees all plan to set up multiple POPs throughout Nigeria to enable local switching and so want to ensure that their CAPEX is kept low.
WTL is exhibiting at NigeriaCom in Lagos on September 16 and 17 2014 where Leigh Smith will be available for meetings.
World Telecom Labs is a Belgium-based company which has long been a leader in the provision of VoIP switches, Pre-Paid applications and signalling gateways for emerging carriers and telecom service operators.
WTL has an installed base of 100,000s of voice ports with service providers worldwide switching billions of minutes of VoIP traffic using WTL equipment.
Telecom
Celebrating African Creativity: Made by Africa, Loved by the World’ Returns for Its Fifth Year
The “Made by Africa, Loved by the World” campaign is back for its fifth year, celebrating African creativity and global influence. This year’s theme, “Where Culture Meets Connection,” highlights how social media fosters conversations around cultural moments worldwide.
The campaign features three cinematic films premiering on the Meta Africa page, showcasing the groundbreaking work and personal stories of six dynamic African creatives.
These artists, from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa, represent diverse disciplines, including rap, animation, dance, photography, fashion, and videography.
Here are some of the featured talents:
- Ladipoe (Nigeria) – A BET-nominated rapper known for blending global hip-hop with African rhythms.
- Fatboy Animations (Kenya) – An animation studio founded by Michael Muthiga, recognized by Forbes for its original African storytelling.
- Lisa Quama (Ghana) – A dancer who gained fame after appearing in Beyoncé’s “Already” music video.
- Gilbert Asante (Ghana) – A photographer and creative director featured in GQ and Glam Africa.
- David Tlale (South Africa) – A fashion designer whose bold designs have been showcased at major fashion events, including the Met Gala.
- Ofentse Mwase (South Africa) – A filmmaker with over 24 international awards for his unique visual storytelling.
Kezia Anim-Addo, Communications Director for Africa, Middle East & Turkey, emphasized that the campaign not only celebrates individual success stories but also showcases how culture and social media drive meaningful connections and inspiration.
Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), has raised the alarm over a diesel supply crisis caused by an ongoing strike by the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG).
Mr Tony Emoekpere, president, ATCON in a statement said that the fuel supply disruption is critically affecting telecom base stations, pushing them to the brink of a shutdown and threatening millions of mobile and internet users in the region.
“This strike, which stems from the persistent harassment of tanker and petroleum product drivers by police officers in Lagos State, has effectively halted all truck loading operations and fuel movements,” Emoekpere stated.
He explained that diesel supply to telecom infrastructure has been severely impacted, leaving critical sites with dangerously low fuel levels.
According to him, if urgent measures are not taken, the situation could escalate into a full-blown network blackout, disrupting essential services, including mobile and internet access, business operations, emergency response systems, and daily communications.
ATCON has called on the governors of Lagos and Ogun states to intervene immediately by facilitating the release of diesel from depots to telecom operators to prevent further deterioration of the situation.
“This is not just a telecom issue—it is a national emergency that could cripple economic activities and compromise public safety,” Emoekpere stressed.
The association also appealed to security agencies and petroleum unions to resolve the crisis swiftly to safeguard Nigeria’s connectivity and economic stability.
ATCON emphasised that a prolonged disruption in fuel supply to telecom infrastructure could have far-reaching consequences for both businesses and individuals who rely on stable communication networks for daily operations.
In 2023, Nigerians spent a total of about ₦5.3 trillion on telecommunications services, which includes calls, data, SMS, and other telecom services, according to the Leadership.
Specifically for voice calls, Nigerians made approximately 408.5 billion minutes of local calls, generating around ₦3.28 trillion from outgoing calls and ₦3.23 trillion from incoming calls, totaling about ₦6.51 trillion in call-related revenue according to projections based on 2023 call volumes and tariff data.
However, the ₦5.3 trillion figure represents the overall telecom sector revenue, with voice calls being a major component but also including data and other services.
For individual spending, MTN subscribers spent an average of ₦2,508 monthly on voice calls in 2023, showing a 14.4% increase from 2022, while Airtel customers spent about ₦1,694 monthly on voice calls.
Total telecom spending (calls, data, SMS, etc.): ₦5.3 trillion in 2023
Estimated revenue from voice calls alone: around ₦6.5 trillion based on call minutes and tariffs
Average monthly spending on calls per subscriber: ₦1,694 to ₦2,508 depending on the network
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