Telecom
Nigeria Records 2.3M Units of Smartphone Shipments in Q1 2019 – IDC

Africa’s smartphone market saw a 7.1% decline in shipments quarter on quarter (QoQ) in Q1 2019 to total 21.5 million units, according to the latest insights from International Data Corporation (IDC).
The global technology research and consulting firm’s recently published Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker shows the continent’s two biggest markets – Nigeria and South Africa – underperformed due to seasonal effects, posting QoQ declines of 14.7% and 23.4%, respectively.
“While Africa’s smartphone market experienced a QoQ decline, shipments actually increased 5.6% when viewed year on year (YoY),” says Arnold Ponela, a research analyst at IDC. “The YoY increase indicates that the market is showing some signs of improvement, while the QoQ decline can be attributed to the traditionally weaker performance of Q1 versus the seasonal buoyancy of Q4, in addition to disappointing results in some large markets.”
Nigeria saw smartphone shipments of 2.3 million units in Q1 2019, down 11.9% YoY.
The country’s poor performance can be attributed to a three-week embargo on shipments of Chinese mobile phone brands into the country, which negatively affected major market players.
Economic activity is usually slow in the first quarter and in Q1 2019 it was further exacerbated by widespread insecurity and the one-week postponement of the general election.
South Africa’s overall mobile phone market contracted 4.0% YoY in Q1 2019 to total 4.7 million units. “The decline can be attributed to seasonal factors, with Q1 traditionally being the slowest quarter of the year,” says Ponela.
“There was also an issue with overstocking in the channel because of the buoyant volumes seen during Q4, traditionally the strongest, when demand is stirred by Black Friday and the Christmas season.”
Africa’s smartphone market continues to be spurred by the growing popularity of low-end to mid-range devices.
Transsion brands (Tecno and Itel) top these segments and remain the continent’s leaders in terms of overall smartphone shipments, together accounting 33.1% of the market’s volume in Q1 2019. Samsung followed in second place with 24.5% unit share.
Huawei ranked third with a unit share of 11.8%. “With most of the continent’s markets experiencing numerous economic challenges, it is clear that cheaper phones offering better value will increasingly dominate the market,” says Ponela.
In the feature phone space, shipments were down 5.8% QoQ and 0.3% YoY in Q1 2019, with shipments totaling 31.6 million units.
Feature phones still constitute a significant 59.9% share of the total mobile phone market due to their relative affordability and durability, and they continue to play an important role in connecting even more Africans to the internet.
Transsion brands Tecno and Itel continue to dominate the feature phone landscape with a combined unit share of 59.7%, followed in third place by HMD with 9.2% share.
Looking ahead, IDC expects Africa’s overall mobile phone market to total 50.9 million units in Q2 2019, reflecting a YoY decline of 5.3% caused by sharp downturns in most countries.
“Africa is susceptible to challenging local macroeconomic environments as well as to the global tensions surrounding international trade,” says Ramazan Yavuz, a research manager at IDC. “Another factor is the rise of protectionist measures aimed at controlling smartphone shipments in multiple countries, which causes sudden short-term swings in the market’s performance.”
IDC’s research shows that 4G LTE networks are continuing to spread their reach in Africa, with shipments of 4G LTE devices increasing 15.1% YoY in Q1 2019 to constitute 67.1% of the smartphone market.
“A drop in prices for entry-level 4G phones and discounted tariff and data plans on the operator side are driving this growth,” says Yavuz. “However, despite the rapid penetration of 4G handsets, 2G and 3G mobile devices remain resilient as an economical option for price sensitive consumers.”
Telecom
Glo, Huawei, Communications Ministry Bring Digital Services to Abuja Village

Telecommunications and digital services provider, Globacom, has partnered with the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and Huawei Nigerian Enterprises, to provide digital access to 7,000 remote communities in Nigeria with the commissioning of the pilot project in Isuanin Kura in Ibwa 2, Gwagwalada, on the outskirts of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on Wednesday.
The project, which is championed by the Ministry, will deliver 2G/3G/4G services, free public Wi-Fi access, digital healthcare and remote learning capabilities to the over 12,000 residents of the community.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, was full of commendation to Globacom and Huawei for supporting President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to addressing the connectivity crisis affecting more than 20 million Nigerians who currently lack basic telecommunication access in the country.
Said he: “If you bring out your phone in many communities, there is no network at all. This is costing the country significantly because people cannot access financial services, medical care, or education”, adding that this also poses governance challenges as disconnected areas are difficult to administer.
“Where you live should not determine your access to opportunity. We are using innovation to ensure every Nigerian, regardless of location, can thrive in the digital age”, the Minister added.
Globacom’s Group Chief Technical Director, Mr. Sanjib Roy, who spoke on the project said the company worked with the Ministry and Huawei to bring up the site by providing the Microwave backhaul link and access to Globacom’s full core network resources and also manage the operation of the site to ensure uninterrupted voice and data services for the community.
“The Smart Education facility allows for young students within the community to receive education remotely, with the teachers being in Abuja or any other part of the world, while Healthcare delivery has been revolutionised through connected medical equipment that enables remote consultations between patients in Ibwa and doctors and specialists in urban-locations”, Mr Roy explained. The site and all the equipment are powered by solar thereby ensuring clean environment and uninterrupted power supply.
During the inauguration, the system’s effectiveness was demonstrated with the leader of Isuanin Kura, Ibwa 2 Community, Chief Abubakar Bamaiyi, having a live consultation with a medical doctor in Abuja, while the Minister and other guests watched as the students in the local school were being taught via online video by a teacher in Lagos, using equipment provided by Huawei.
Mr Kazeem Kaka, Globacom’s Head of Division, North West, who also spoke at event, said, “For Globacom, this is a continuation of our long-standing mission to democratize access to communication. Since 2003, we have remained at the forefront of efforts to lower the barriers to connectivity—making telephony, internet, and data services more accessible and affordable for all Nigerians.
“Today’s launch reinforces that commitment. We are particularly excited about the impact this initiative will have on education, healthcare, and economic empowerment of Ibwa people”.
In his remarks, Mr Terrens Wu, Managing Director, Huawei Nigerian Enterprises, said his company was proud to be part of the initiative to provide connectivity, and promote learning and healthcare in rural communities through digital technology. His company later gave out 120 affordable smartphones to the community to help them have access to telephony.
Telecom
Experts @ ABoICT 2025 Warn of Digital Disaster Risks in Nigeria Without AI Governance

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform the global digital landscape, two prominent technology leaders have issued urgent warnings and strategic calls for Nigeria and Africa to adopt a unified, governance-driven approach to AI development, emphasizing that trust, regulation, and cybersecurity are more important than ever.

L-r: Dr. Krishnan Ranganath, Regional Executive, West Africa, Africa Data Centres, Adewale Obadare, chief visionary officer, Digital Encode, Amrish Singhal, chief operations officer, Spectranet, Engr. Ike Nnamani, Managing Director, Digital Realty Nigeria and Rudman Muhammed, Managing Director, Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria, at the 16th Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership awards held in Lagos recently.
At the 2025 Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit & Leadership Award (ABoICT 2025), held over the weekend in Lagos, Professor Adewale Peter Obadare, Chief Visionary Officer of Digital Encode, and Amrich Singhal, Chief Operating Officer of Spectranet, independently but powerfully echoed the same sentiment: AI without governance is a ticking time bomb.
Delivering his keynote on “AI Governance, Standardization and Cybersecurity in the AI Era,” Prof. Obadare warned against the rising trend of “AI washing”—where companies label basic software or services as “AI” to capitalize on hype, often without the underlying technological integrity or oversight.
“People are calling everything AI today, from photography apps to basic automation, but no one is talking about AI governance,” he said.
Drawing comparisons to the early days of the internet, Obadare cautioned that failing to integrate security and governance into AI architecture could lead to far-reaching consequences. “We are repeating the same mistake we made with TCP/IP, which was not built with cybersecurity in mind. We cannot afford to make that error again.”
He emphasized that governance should not be seen as a hindrance but as an enabler of safe innovation. “Governance is not a brake to stop movement; it is a brake to make movement safe,” he said.
Citing international standards like ISO/IEC 42001 and ISO/IEC 38507, Obadare called for responsible innovation grounded in clear ethical guidelines, stressing the importance of securing the core components of AI: data, models, and infrastructure.
Echoing similar concerns, Amrich Singhal, chief operating officer, Spectranet in his presentation themed “Responsible AI and Nigeria: Balancing Innovation, Regulation, and Cybersecurity,” stressed that “the countries that will benefit most from AI are not necessarily those with the most powerful models, but those with the most trusted systems.”
Singhal painted AI as a double-edged sword, capable of boosting national productivity while also enabling new forms of cyber manipulation—from deepfakes to identity theft and disinformation. “AI can clone voices, create fake personas, and even undermine democracy. It’s no longer a question of readiness, it’s a question of urgency,” he declared.
He acknowledged Nigeria’s potential due to its youthful, tech-savvy population and its expanding use of AI across sectors like healthcare, agriculture, education, and oil exploration.
However, he criticized existing regulatory structures such as the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) and NITDA’s 2023 draft AI framework as being “underdeveloped, underfunded, and poorly enforced.”
Both experts called for a multi-stakeholder approach to AI governance. Prof. Obadare warned of real-world failures, such as Microsoft’s racist chatbot Tay, Amazon’s gender-biased recruitment AI, and Uber’s fatal autonomous vehicle incident, not as tech failures, but as governance failures.
He also cited cybersecurity breaches, including the 2023 hacking of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and the leak of DeepSeek’s API keys and user data on launch day, to stress that “the danger is not just in the algorithms, but in how we design and deploy them.”
Singhal proposed a three-tiered strategy to build Nigeria’s AI resilience: government must champion AI education, create safe innovation sandboxes, and enforce data laws; private companies must adopt ethical and secure design practices; and civil society must raise awareness of digital rights and AI risks—especially for vulnerable populations.
In a firm conclusion, Prof. Obadare urged that “governance must be embedded by design,” warning that irresponsible innovation has already proven costly and called on both developers and policymakers to act before Nigeria’s AI future becomes a liability rather than a strength.
Meanwhile, Singhal closed with a stark challenge: “AI is already here. The question is not whether to use it, but how. Nigeria must choose whether AI will be a great equalizer or its greatest vulnerability.”
As the nation moves deeper into the AI era, the message is clear: building trust, enforcing cybersecurity, and embedding responsible governance must be at the core of Nigeria’s AI journey, before it’s too late.
Telecom
NCC Unveils E-Health Project in Akure, Pledges to Deepen ICT Integration in Healthcare

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has taken a major step toward revolutionizing healthcare in Nigeria with the commissioning of an e-Health project at the State Specialist Hospital in Akure, Ondo State.
Speaking at the event on Thursday, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Aminu Maida, highlighted the Commission’s commitment to leveraging Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to enhance medical services across the country.
Dr. Maida emphasized that integrating advanced ICT solutions into healthcare would improve accessibility, streamline medical processes, and enhance patient care. He stressed that the initiative aligns with the NCC’s broader drive to deepen Nigeria’s participation in the digital economy.
“With the successful takeoff of this project, we anticipate a significant boost in the adoption of e-health solutions nationwide,” Maida said.
“By equipping healthcare facilities with innovative technology, we are ensuring timely and accurate diagnoses, treatment plans, and follow-up care, ultimately leading to better patient satisfaction and improved health outcomes.”
He praised stakeholders, including technology experts and government officials, for their contributions to the project, noting that their collaboration helped create a model that could be replicated across different regions.
The e-Health initiative is expected to set a precedent for similar projects nationwide, ensuring that modern healthcare solutions reach all citizens, regardless of their location.
With the commissioning, the NCC reaffirms its commitment to fostering innovation, supporting digital integration, and driving national development through ICT-enabled solutions.
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