Telecom
Nigeria Remains Africa’s Largest Smartphone Market
The Africa mobile phone market declined 1.8% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) in Q2 2019, according to the latest figures announced by International Data Corporation (IDC).
According to the global technology research and consulting firm’s newly released Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, overall shipments for the quarter totaled 52.2 million units, down from 53.1 million units in Q1 2019. Feature phones accounted for 58.3% of the market, with shipments declining 3.7% QoQ, while smartphone shipments increased 1.0% over the same period to account for 41.7% share.
“Feature phones remain an integral part of the African mobile phone market due to poor network infrastructure across large parts of the continent, particularly in rural areas, and the ease of use of these devices,” says George Mbuthia, a research analyst at IDC. “However, the transition to smartphones is continuing, albeit slowly, and the affordability of feature phones alone was not enough to stop this segment of the market declining in Q2 2019. Smartphones, on the other hand, enjoyed a recovery from the decline in shipments seen in Q1 2019.”
Nigeria remained Africa’s largest smartphone market in Q2 2019, followed by South Africa and Egypt. Nigeria and South Africa saw smartphone shipments increase 3.6% and 0.2%, respectively, while Egypt saw 18.0% QoQ growth after the market shrunk considerably in Q1 2019 due to the introduction of import registration and other import regulations.
Transsion (Tecno, Infinix, and Itel brands), Samsung, and Huawei were the smartphone market’s leaders in shipment terms in Q2 2019, with respective market shares of 37.4%, 27.4%, and 8.7%. However, Samsung had the highest share by dollar value at 40.3%, followed Transsion (21.9%) and Huawei (12.2%). Samsung’s dominant revenue position in the market is sustained through timely product launches across all African markets, particularly in relation to its A-Series devices, which are shipped in large volumes.
Shipments of 4G-enabled smartphones increased 6.6% QoQ in Q2 2019 to account for 70.8% of the total smartphone market, spurred by the declining prices of LTE devices. IDC forecasts that 4G-enabled phones will constitute 74.4% of the African smartphone market by the end of 2020, with 5G phones tipped to garner 0.4% share.
“5G-enabled smartphones are expected to be introduced to the African market by end of Q3 2019,” says Ramazan Yavuz, a research manager at IDC. “The first country to see the launch of 5G phones is likely to be South Africa, where the 5G infrastructure is being developed by Ericsson in partnership with MTN.”
Looking ahead, IDC expects Africa’s smartphone market to grow 4.7% QoQ in Q3 2019 to total 22.8 million units. Despite feature phones experiencing an average QoQ decline of 1.8% in unit shipments between Q1 2018 and Q2 2019, the feature phone market will grow slightly in Q3 2019, with shipments increasing 0.1% QoQ to total 30.5 million units, spurred by the introduction of support for basic applications and the ability of these devices to serve as power banks.
“Africa’s increasingly tech-savvy younger generation is set to drive smartphone growth and the adoption of mobile services that are transforming businesses and empowering lives,” says Mbuthia. “The feature phone segment will continue to decline gradually over the longer term as the continent’s telecommunications infrastructure improves and the market embraces positive policies like tax reductions for mobile services and devices. Such developments will enable consumers to access more affordable connections and better devices, thereby driving the market’s transition to smartphones.”
Contrary to media some media reports yesterday, Mafab Communications, one of the companies granted Fifth Generation (5G) licences by Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has actually rolled out its 5G network services in Abuja since 2023.
According to Nigeria CommunicationsWeek findings, the rollout came almost a year since the telco paid $273.6 million for spectrum in the 3.5GHz band as part of a government auction.
Mafab Communications, has, not however kept to its promise to to strengthen its commercial operations by March 2025 as its services has remained skeletal since the media launch.
It said that it will roll out its high-speed 5G services through 102 operational sites strategically located in Kano and Abuja but that did not happen as at close of March.
An insider in the company, however assured that starting this month, subscribers with Mafab’s 5G routers will be able to enjoy ultra-fast connectivity on its expanding network.
This move aims to capture a wider share of Nigeria’s growing demand for 5G services.
Dr Musbahu Bashir, founder and chairman, Mafab Communications, said during the rollout launch that the telco will offer both voice and data services nationwide.
Additionally, Nigerian cities like Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kano, and Kaduna have been listed for the deployment of 5G services while those not on the list will have services deployed at a later stage.
“The rollout of Mafab Communications 5G network is the beginning of immense opportunities for the country as it represents Nigeria’s capabilities and infinite possibilities,” he said.
“The prospect of increased job opportunities as a consequence of the value-chain benefits the technology will generate and offer is the dream we have all gathered here to launch today,” Bashir continued.
Telecom
Samsung Introduces Local Nigerian Languages to Galaxy Devices, Celebrating Cultural Diversity
Samsung Electronics has taken a bold step in enhancing user experience and inclusivity by introducing Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba as official language options on selected Samsung Galaxy devices.
L-R: Stephen Okwara, Head, Product Management, Mobile Experience, Samsung Electronics West Africa; Joy Tim-Ayoola, Group Head, Mobile Experience, Samsung Electronics West Africa; Tae Sun Lee, Samsung Electronics West Africa CEO; Oge Maduagwu, Head of Marketing Samsung Electronics West Africa, and Nathan Lee, Regional Business Lead, Mobile Experience, Samsung Electronics West Africa, at the launch of Nigeria local language integration on Galaxy S25, A56, A36, and A26 devices, on April 03, 2025.
The feature, which is now available on the Galaxy S25, A56, A36, and A26 devices, reaffirms Samsung’s commitment to delivering innovative technology that speaks the language of its users.
With this groundbreaking update, Samsung users across Nigeria can now navigate their smartphones in their preferred local language, making technology more accessible, while also upholding our cultural heritage.
A Celebration of Culture and Technology
To mark the launch, Samsung hosted a cultural-themed press briefing featuring traditional music, local cuisine, and a showcase of the new language feature. Employees and guests attended in traditional Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa attires, celebrating Nigeria’s rich cultural diversity.
Samsung also announced plans to expand local language support to more devices in the near future, reinforcing its dedication to making technology more inclusive for African users.
Empowering Users Through Language
The integration of Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba on Samsung devices reflects the brand’s mission to bridge the digital gap and enhance user engagement. Speaking at the press conference, Oge Maduagwu, Head of Marketing, Samsung Electronics West Africa, said, “At Samsung, we understand that technology is most powerful when it is accessible to all.
“By incorporating our local Nigerian languages, we are making our devices more intuitive and relatable, ensuring that millions of Nigerians can interact with their smartphones in the language they love and understand best”.
Seamless Language Transition on Galaxy Devices
Stephen Okwara, Head of Product Management, Samsung Electronics West Africa added, “The new local language feature is designed to deliver a seamless user experience, allowing customers to easily switch between languages. Users can activate Hausa, Igbo, or Yoruba on the Galaxy S25, A26, A36, and A56 by navigating to: Settings > Language & Input > Select Language
“This update enhances smartphone usability, particularly for those who prefer their native language over English, ensuring greater digital inclusivity, enhancing digital literacy and encouraging more users to engage with technology in their native tongues” He concluded.
Availability
Customers can visit all Samsung Experience Stores or authorized retailers in Nigeria to learn more and experience the feature firsthand.
Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, has released the 2025 Sophos Active Adversary Report, which details attacker behaviour and techniques from over 400 Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and Incident Response (IR) cases in 2024.
The report found that the primary way attackers gained initial access to networks (56% of all cases across MDR and IR) was by exploiting external remote services, which includes edge devices such as firewalls and VPNs, by leveraging valid accounts.
The combination of external remote services and valid accounts aligns with the top root causes of attacks. For the second year in row, compromised credentials were the number one root cause of attacks (41% of cases). This was followed by exploited vulnerabilities (21.79%) and brute force attacks (21.07%).
Understanding The Speed of Attacks
When analyzing MDR and IR investigations, the Sophos X-Ops team looked specifically at ransomware, data exfiltration, and data extortion cases to identify how fast attackers progressed through the stages of an attack within an organization. In those three types of cases, the median time between the start of an attack and exfiltration was only 72.98 hours (3.04 days). Furthermore, there was only a median of 2.7 hours from exfiltration to attack detection.
“Passive security is no longer enough. While prevention is essential, rapid response is critical. Organizations must actively monitor networks and act swiftly against observed telemetry. Coordinated attacks by motivated adversaries require a coordinated defense. For many organizations, that means combining business-specific knowledge with expert-led detection and response. Our report confirms that organizations with proactive monitoring detect attacks faster and experience better outcomes,” said John Shier, field CISO.
Other Key Findings from the 2025 Sophos Active Adversary Report:
· Attackers Can Take Control of a System in Just 11 Hours: The median time between attackers’ initial action and their first (often successful) attempt to breach Active Directory (AD) – arguably one of the most important assets in any Windows network – was just 11 hours. If successful, attackers can more easily take control of the organization.
· Top Ransomware Groups in Sophos Cases: Akira was the most frequently encountered ransomware group in 2024, followed by Fog and LockBit (despite a multi-government takedown of LockBit earlier in the year).
· Dwell Time is Down to Just 2 Days: Overall, dwell time – the time from the start of an attack to when it is detected – decreased from 4 days to just 2 in 2024, largely due to the addition of MDR cases to the dataset.
· Dwell Time in IR Cases: Dwell time remained stable at 4 days for ransomware attacks and 11.5 days for non-ransomware cases.
· Dwell Time in MDR Cases: In MDR investigations, dwell time was only 3 days for ransomware cases and just 1 day for non-ransomware cases, suggesting MDR teams are able to more quickly detect and respond to attacks.
Ransomware Groups Work Overnight: In 2024, 83% of ransomware binaries were dropped outside of the targets’ local business hours.
· Remote Desktop Protocol Continues to Dominate: RDP was involved in 84% of MDR/IR cases, making it the most frequently abused Microsoft tool.
To shore up their defenses, Sophos recommends that companies do the following:
· Close exposed RDP ports
· Use phishing-resistant multifactor authentication (MFA) wherever possible
· Patch vulnerable systems in a timely manner, with a particular focus on internet-facing devices and services
· Deploy EDR or MDR and ensure it is proactively monitored 24/7
· Establish a comprehensive incident response plan and test it regularly through simulations or tabletop exercises
Read the full It Takes Two: The 2025 Sophos Active Adversary Report on Sophos.com.
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