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Telecom

MTN Begins Process to Develop 5G Technology

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MTN Group has kicked off a process in which it will develop 5G technology as part of an evolution plan across its operations.

 

Speaking at a joint C-Band 5G trial launch at the AfricaCom meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, Mr. Giovanni Chiarelli, the MTN Group chief technology officer, said the future of technology had arrived as the world innovates amid a buildup to the Fourth Industrial Revolution that has revolutionised the ICT space.

 

During the C-Band 5G trial launch, MTN signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Huawei Technologies, which will allow the two companies research and innovate towards developing 5G technology.

 

“Three years ago, this was unheard of. There was no infrastructure to support 5G. But with research, we have moved greatly. With this technology, you don’t need fibre and more people will be keen to use 5G. The future is here,” Mr. Chiarelli said.

 

The partnership will seek to establish a Joint 5G Innovation Programme, which will assess and work on new technologies such as 5G and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

 

The technology is also expected to be a key driver towards achieving social impact programmes such as smart cities and education solutions.

 

According to Mr. Chiarelli, the 5G technology has been tested on four elements including speed, which averaged at 1635 Mbps, safe city, which does facial recognition, video gaming such as video assistant referee and arm robotics.

 

Mr. Dean Yu, the Huawei carrier business vice president for southern Africa, said 5G was at the stage of large-scale deployment, noting that the 5G era will significantly simplify services and allow a number capabilities to be mapped from clouds to devices.

 

MTN currently operates two generations including 3G and 4G across its networks in Africa. During the AfricaCom meeting, which is the biggest gathering of telecommunications companies, Mr. Ian Paterson, the Africel chief investment officer, said companies must begin to get change agents or champions who are willing to take forward the digital culture, noting that the biggest challenge today remains the cultural shift.

 

“In many cases, you should establish how different you want to present yourself to the market. Chief executives officers must be able to set the tone,” he said.

 

The digital revolution has in the last one decade disrupted a number of set ups, setting in motion various innovations and revolutions.

 

Across Africa, innovations such as mobile money and mobile banking, which have come as result of the digital revolution, have had an impact on business and economic development.

 

Shalk Visser, the Cell C chief technology officer, said there was need to change “our mindset to focus on the digital journey.

 

“The culture, everything we do must take into account of the digital world. It’s a whole cultural shift,” he said.


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Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

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Telecom

Mafab Gets 0724 Number Series, Launches Mcom 5G Brand

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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.

Mafab Gets 0724 Number Series, Launches Mcom 5G Brand

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.


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NCC to Name, Shame Telecom Infrastructure Vandals

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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).

NCC to Name, Shame Telecom Infrastructure Vandals

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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USSD: 13 Banks Clear Debts – ALTON

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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).

USSD: 13 Banks Clear Debts - ALTON

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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