Telecom
NCC, CPN Support Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum on IG4D 2021

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN) have drummed support for the 12th Nigeria DigitalSENSE Africa Forum on Internet Governance for Development (IG4D), slated for Thursday, June 10, at the Golden Tulip Hotels Essential, International Airport Road, Lagos.
Confirming this in Lagos, the organisers through Mr. Remmy Nweke, Lead Consulting Strategist and Group Executive Editor, ITREALMS Media inc, said that NCC communicated its support through the office of the Director, Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde to NDSF 2021, even as the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, has been billed to address stakeholders on “Digital Cooperation in Nigeria’s Telecom Sector” at the forum.
Nweke also said that CPN communicated its support via the registrar, Mr. Muhammad Bello Aliyu in a letter available to ITREALMS.
This is coming as the Chief Executive Officer, Wisdom Computer Technology, Mr. Francis Uzor, would address the forum on “Citizens Participation in Digital Cooperation for Enhanced Multistakeholder Governance for Digital Economy.”
In addition, Nweke said, the chief executive of CloudFlex, Mr. Aderemi Adejumo, has been confirmed to share insight on “Cloud Leverage for Digital Cooperation to Enhance Governance in Digital Economy” at the forum.
DigitalSENSE Africa, Nweke said, is a project of ITREALMS Media group; made up of internationally reputed and award-winning Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry analysts and perception managers; professionally affiliated to African Regional At-Large Organisation (AFRALO) for shaping the future of the Internet.
Further, he said, DigitalSENSE Africa is a certified At-Large Structure (ALS) of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and is excited to have ISPON president to give a keynote at the 12th edition of this forum series on Internet Governance for Development.
This year’s Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum series on Internet Governance for Development would be presided over by the National President of the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Prof. Adesina Sodiya with a keynote by the President of Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Mr. Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu, Nnenna Nwakama of WWW Foundation and Dr. Abimbola Alale of NigComSAT to name a few.
He recalled that NCC is an independent regulatory authority for the telecommunications industry in Nigeria, created under Decree number Decree 75 by the [Federal Military Government of Nigeria] on 24 November 1992. NCC has since transformed into a leading telecom agency in the continent.
CPN on the other hand, Nweke noted, is a body corporate with perpetual succession and common seal, a legal entity charged with the control and supervision of the Computing Profession in the country.
CPN was established by Decree No. 49 of 1993, promulgated on June 10, and gazetted on August 9, of the same year. Mr. Kole Jagun is the current President and Chairman in council, while Mr. Aliyu is the chief executive officer cum registrar.
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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