Telecom
Medallion Data Centre Appoints Oluseyi Olanrewaju as CFO

Medallion Data Centre, Leading provider of carrier-neutral data centre services, announced the appointment of an award-winning financial expert, Dr Oluseyi Olanrewaju as its new Chief Financial Officer.
An astute, diligent, value-driven finance professional, with over 20 years of progressive experience from global multi-billion-dollar companies, Olarewaju brings onboard Medallion Data Centre resourceful experience with a proven track record of success.
Prior to his appointment, Oluseyi was once the Executive Director of Finance, Board member, and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Vodacom Business Africa (Nigeria). He is currently a member of, Governing Council of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

Oluseyi Olanrewaju
He has held various senior roles in Multinational Organizations like Mixta Africa, General Electric, MTN Nigeria, Dimension Data, PwC, Zenith Bank, Konga etc. He is a seasoned Finance/IFRS/IPSAS expert and respected analyst on Corporate Governance and Financial Reporting matters, with practical experience spanning virtually all sectors of business endeavour and the academics.
Known as an effective cross-functional team leader with creative problem-solving skills and decisiveness, he’s expected to foster productive partnerships with internal stakeholders and clients to achieve corporate goals, streamlining operations and controlling costs to deliver substantial revenue growth in highly competitive business markets.
His financial acumen spans key areas including general administration, payables, revenue reporting, receivables, general ledger administration, tax management, audit, treasury operations and risk management.
In 2019, he was named Chief Financial Officer of the year at the 5th Nigeria Finance Innovation Award held in Lagos.
Ikechukwu Nnamani, the CEO of Medallion Data Centres, said: “Oluseyi joins us at the period we are embarking on exciting expansion across the West African region. Having recently become part of Digital Realty, world leading Datacentre provider, we want to continue our growth strategy and improve our service offerings to current and potential customers, providing unmatched service in the data center space. Oluseyi is joining us at a time we need his expertise in financial engineering to ensure not just successful implementation of new world-class datacenters, but also making sure we continue to remain a profitable organization in our current datacenter operations”
Medallion’s datacenters are today the most connected facilities in West Africa. It is the region’s number one peering point connecting the sub-region to the rest of the world. Over 70% of all internet traffic switched at the Nigeria Internet Exchange takes place at Medallion’s datacenters. No other facility has the same number and concentration of operational International Submarine Fiber Operators (Mainone, Glo1, SAT3, WACs, ACE, etc); Digital Mobile Services Providers (MTN, Airtel, Glo, 9Mobile); LTE Service Providers (Smile, Ntel, InterC, etc); Long Distance Operators (Phase3, Multilinks-Telkom, MTN, Airtel, Globacom, etc); Metro Fiber Operators (Broadbase, 21st Century, VDT, IPNX, Suburban, etc); Critical National Contents Infrastructure (Nigeria Internet Exchange, Nigeria Internet Registration Agency, NCC CSIRT, NgREN, etc); OTT Service Providers (Google, Facebook, etc); VAS Providers (Brainshare, Platinum Index, Cedarview, Interra, etc); ISPs (Netfinity Africa, Internet Solution, Vodacom, Layer3, etc). Medallion ensures seamless interconnectivity and peering amongst these service providers.
Medallion is now part of the Digital Realty group of companies under the Digital Realty-Pembani Remgro JV. Digital Realty (NYSC: DLR) is the largest global provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral data centers, colocation and interconnection solutions. Digital Realty supports the world’s leading enterprises and service providers by delivering the full spectrum of data centre, colocation and interconnection solutions. PlatformDIGITAL.
The company’s global data centre platform, provides customers a trusted foundation and proven Pervasive Datacenter Architecture (PDx™) solution methodology for scaling digital business and efficiently managing data gravity challenges.
Digital Realty’s global data centre footprint gives customers access to the connected communities that matter to them with 290+ facilities in 50 metros across 26 countries on six continents. Digital Realty currently maintains over 170,000 cross connects and client base of over 4,500 customers. Digital Realty operates in the Americas as Ascenty; Europe and Middle East as InterXion; Asia Pacific as MC Digital Realty; East Africa as Icolo; West Africa as Medallion Data Centres Limited; and in South Africa as Teraco.
Telecom
Mafab Gets 0724 Number Series, Launches Mcom 5G Brand

Mafab Communications, operating under the brand Mcom, has officially activated its mobile service infrastructure and commenced offering telecommunications services — including voice, data, and SMS — with new number range, Nigeria CommunicationsWeek can report.

Dr. Musbahu Bashir, founder Mafab, owners of Mcom
Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) has also confirmed the entry of Mcom which listed 0724 as officially assigned to Mafab.
An insider at Mafab told this reporter that “ We are Nigeria’s first 5G standalone network provider, revolutionizing the telecommunications landscape. We are driven by a vision to foster a world where possibilities know no bounds with the power of technology”
Recall that the original 5G licence was awarded to Mafab in 2021, with an expectation that rollout would have fully commence by August 2022.
MTN Nigeria, the other winner of the license adhered to this timeline and deployed its 5G across major cities like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt.
Mafab on the other hand, requested and was granted an extension of time, which it have finally taken advantage of by the recent launch.
Mafab Communications is owned by Dr. Musbahu Bashir, who is also the founder and chairman of the company.
He is the individual behind the Mcom 5G brand and has been instrumental in launching the company’s 5G services.
Telecom
NCC to Name, Shame Telecom Infrastructure Vandals

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has vowed to intensify its collaboration with security agencies to arrest and prosecute individuals vandalising the country’s Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII).
Auwal Abdullahi, head of Quality of Service at the NCC, said this during a media engagement held in Abuja.
The move comes on the heels of the recent signing of the “Designation and Protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure Order, 2024” by President Bola Tinubu.
The Order is aimed at protecting essential digital and communication systems from cyberattacks, vandalism, and related disruptions.
Speaking on the development, Abdullahi said: “The Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) Act has provisions for prosecution, and the operationalisation of CNII falls under the purview of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). Anyone found liable for damaging or disrupting CNII will be prosecuted going forward. We are working with relevant agencies like the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to tackle these problems and prosecute offenders.”
He recounted that some telecom operators recorded significant financial losses two years ago, largely due to exchange rate pressures and infrastructure vandalism.
“About two years ago, we noticed a situation where some of our key telecom operators were recording massive losses. Despite increasing revenues, they were struggling with heavy forex-related obligations that ate into their revenues. This led to poor quality of service,” he said.
According to him, the recent tariff adjustments have placed the industry back on a path to profitability and renewed investment.
“As a result, they are able to reinvest in their networks, which will lead to better quality of service and experience. We expect investments in the industry to increase significantly this year, more than what was seen in the last two years. The Nigerian telecoms industry has great promise, evident in its revenue growth and service delivery, despite the recent challenges,” he added
Also speaking at the event, Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman and CEO of the NCC, reassured stakeholders that the Commission remains committed to driving improvements in network quality across the country.
Represented by Mrs. Nnena Ukoha, acting head of Public Affairs, Maida challenged journalists to act on the knowledge shared at the forum.
“This is not for you alone. You now have this information, do not just sit on it. For instance, you were given figures on fiber cuts and thefts affecting NCC. Who is responsible for those infrastructures? The NSCDC. Ask them: ‘Of all these incidents, what are you doing about them? How many people have been prosecuted?’ Every state has legal departments. Go and ask them: ‘What are you doing to protect critical infrastructure?’ he queried.
Telecom
USSD: 13 Banks Clear Debts – ALTON

Association of Licensed Telecommunications Companies in Nigeria (ALTON) has revealed that 13 commercial banks have fully settled their outstanding Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) service debts to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).

Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON
The remaining three banks are nearing completion of their payments, having cleared over 95% of their respective debts, according to Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, ALTON.
This resolution paves the way for a new billing system for USSD banking transactions.
Going forward, charges for these services will be debited directly from customers’ airtime accounts.
The update on debt settlements and the upcoming billing model were discussed , during the ‘ASK the Exec’ online meeting anchored by MTN.
Participants included Lynda Saint-Nwafor, chief enterprise business officer at MTN and Adebayo.
According to the ALTON Chairman, there has been substantial progress in resolving the long-standing debt issue.
“As of January, the outstanding debt from banks to MNOs for USSD services was N180 billion. Of the 17 banks with pre-API outstanding payments (excluding Heritage Bank, which is insolvent), 13 have fully settled their debts, and the remaining three are in the final stages of installment payments, with over 95% of the debt cleared”, he explained to journalists present at the call.
The clearance of historical debt is crucial as the industry moves to a new operational model.
“Banks with outstanding debts will not be excluded from the new system; they can either migrate to end-user billing once their debts are cleared or choose to remain on the old corporate billing model, provided they settle their outstanding obligations”, Adebayo pointed out.
Since 2021, collaborative efforts between the telecommunications and banking industries, supported by their regulators, have aimed to standardize charges for USSD banking transactions, resulting in a unified fee of N6.98 per transaction.
Saint-Nwafor, explained the upcoming change: “The most significant change is the transition to end-user billing, where customers will now be billed for USSD transactions directly from their airtime accounts instead of their bank accounts. This means deductions will no longer occur from bank balances but from airtime balances held with MNOs.”
Previously, banks directly debited customers’ bank accounts, a system that presented challenges regarding transparency and control.
To address this, an Application Programming Interface (API) was developed, granting banks full control over their USSD channels. For instance, a bank like GTBank with the USSD code *737# can now ensure a customer’s number is accepted by the bank before a transaction proceeds, after which the bank applies the N6.98 charge.
MNOs like MTN simply facilitate the connection, earning their N6.98 fee for providing the channel.
To ensure a smooth transition and consistent experience, a standardized process for end-user billing has been implemented across all operators and banks: Consent Message: Customers dialing a bank’s USSD code will receive a clear consent message informing them of the N6.98 deduction from their airtime and requesting acceptance.
Aggregator Communication: Upon acceptance, the MNO will contact a USSD aggregator to confirm the bank’s availability, preventing billing for unfulfilled services. Transaction and Billing: Once the bank confirms readiness, the MNO connects the customer and bills the airtime account.
All MNOs have also unified their messaging to customers, providing consistent communication on service levels and transaction outcomes, clarifying if a transaction failed due to issues on the bank’s end or the telco’s side.
Crucially, telco service purchases (airtime and data) from banks are zero-rated when customers use direct strings (e.g., dialing *737*10000# for N10,000 airtime instead of the generic *737#).
This informs both the MNO and the bank of the specific intent, making these transactions free.
Customers are strongly encouraged to use these direct strings to avoid charges, and extensive communication campaigns are planned. Any instance of double deduction (from both airtime and bank accounts) should be reported to the customer’s bank.
Adebayo addressed several key questions, reassuring the public about the implications for consumers and businesses.
He noted that for consumers, the shift to end-user billing has a zero net effect on cost, as they were already paying the N6.98 fee, albeit from their bank accounts.
Transparency and accountability are enhanced through standardized consent messages, inter-industry agreements, and MNOs’ commitment to provide monthly performance statistics to regulators.
“If a transaction fails due to MNO network issues, the customer will not be billed, or any deduction will be reversed. However, if the failure originates from the bank’s end (e.g., insufficient bank balance, bank system downtime), the customer will still be billed, with the reason for failure communicated”, ALTON Chairman explained.
The concern about USSD usage limiting access for those in unbanked areas or without airtime was also addressed.
“The N6.98 charge is considerably lower than alternative transport costs to physical banking points. Furthermore, customers can purchase airtime from their bank accounts at zero cost using direct strings, even if they have no airtime, as long as they have funds in their bank account. USSD is seen as a convenience channel, with all stakeholders contributing to the cost of providing financial services”, Adebayo stated.
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