Telecom
NIS 2019 Promises to Drive Innovation for Economic Growth
Organizers of the annual Nigeria Innovation Summit has said that this year’s edition will promote the need for businesses, organizations, entrepreneurs and government in Nigeria to become more innovative and use innovation to drive sustainable economic development.
The summit at its 4th edition will hold on August 20-21,2019 at Sheraton Hotels, Ikeja Lagos, with the theme: ‘Accelerating Nigeria’s Economic Growth Through Innovation’.
It helps Nigeria embrace innovation and move in the direction of digital transformation through the use of Emerging Technologies and Trends, Research, Development, Commercialization, Entrepreneurship and Investments.
Each year the summit provides a platform that fosters collaborations among Government Agencies, businesses, International organizations, innovators, researchers, Academic community and startups.
While announcing this year’s summit, Mr.Kenneth Omeruo,CEO, Emerging Media-the organisers of the summit states “This is the time for Nigeria with her youthful population, to leverage new technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Blockchain, Internet of Things, Robotics, Data sciences etc and apply them in sectors like Health, Agriculture, Financial services, Education, Renewable Energy and Clean-techs to solve problems around us.
“These opportunities are already creating new businesses who are becoming a major source of foreign investments into Nigeria and that is a major way of accelerating Nigerians economic growth. This is our motivation each year to host this summit”
He further explains that small businesses and startups hold the key to a sustainable economic growth for the country as in 2018 according to Partech Africa report Nigerian startups attracted US$ 306 Million in funding over 26 deals, and encourages the government to provide more support and create the enabling environment for Nigerian businesses and innovations to thrive.
Mr Tony Ajah, Program Coordinator for Nigeria Innovation Summit 2019 states” Each year we bring in experts from around the world in several innovation ecosystems to Nigeria to share these global opportunities and network with participants are the summit.
“This year’s summit will feature keynote presentations, panel discussions, workshops, exhibitions focusing on Healthtech,Agritech, Renewable energy and CleanTech, FinTech,Edutech,Techtainment, Emerging Technologies, Research, collaborations, Women Entrepreneurship, Youths, Technology and Entrepreneurship Development in Nigeria”
The 2019 Nigeria Innovation Summit offers great opportunity through sponsorship, partnership, exhibitions of innovative products, ideas, applications and services.
The organisers therefore call for participation from government agencies, international organisations, academics, business leaders, companies, organisations, Smes, CEOs, entrepreneurs, decision makers, innovators.
Telecom
FG Plans EO to Criminalise Fiber Cable Damage Costing Telcos Billions
Nigeria will criminalize the destruction of broadband fiber cables following repeated complaints by MTN Nigeria Communications Plc and other telecommunications companies that they are losing billions of naira, according to people familiar with the matter.
Federal ministry of works, which supervises federal road constructors, is finalizing the regulation that will be signed as an executive order by President Bola Tinubu, said the people, asking not to be identified as they weren’t authorized to comment.
While there are presently laws against vandalism, the authorities are aiming to regulate construction firms more closely.
The order will enforce stiff penalties on offenders, said the people, declining to provide more details or say when it will be signed.
“Telecom assets are critical backbone that supports the economy across sectors,” said Temitope Ajayi, a senior presidential aide, who noted that the Association of Telecommunications Companies (ATCON) has been demanding the classification for years.
New rules will provide “further assurance that the Nigerian government will protect their investments against vandals and criminal elements.”
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) estimates that the sector will make up more than a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product by the end of 2027, up from 13.5% in the third quarter of last year.
The move will help alleviate pressure on the telecoms sector, which is facing increased operating costs and sales pressures from a sharp depreciation in the currency and a threefold increase in energy prices.
Repairs and revenue losses from damaged cables is estimated to have cost the sector almost 27 billion naira ($23 million) last year alone, documents seen by Bloomberg show.
MTN Nigeria, the biggest wireless operator in Africa’s most-populous nation, and Airtel Africa Plc bore the brunt of the costs, the documents show.
MTN suffered more than 6,000 cuts on its fiber cable last year, the documents show. On Feb. 28, a cut on its network in three different locations by a road construction firm, an oil serving company and someone burning rubbish in a manhole meant customers faced more than five hours of data and voice outages.
The operator relocated 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) of vulnerable fiber cables between 2022 and 2023, at a cost of more than 11 billion naira – enough to build 870 kilometers of new fiber lines to areas without coverage.
A presidential order on the matter would be welcomed, said Tony Izuagbe Emoekpere, president, Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria.
“When it comes to communication infrastructure, they are destroyed at will, so we are eagerly awaiting the president’s order,” he said. “It would be a great boost to the industry, and it will also encourage investment.”
Telecom
Telegram Eyes 1Bn Users amidst Political Pressures
Telegram, the messaging giant founded by Pavel Durov and headquartered in Dubai, anticipates hitting a remarkable milestone of one billion active monthly users within the next year.
Durov’s departure from Russia in 2014, prompted by governmental pressures to stifle opposition communities on his VK social media platform, underscores Telegram’s commitment to neutrality despite geopolitical challenges.
With 900 million active users currently, Telegram stands as a beacon of free speech in the digital realm, particularly influential in former Soviet Union republics and pivotal during conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine standoff.
Durov’s staunch advocacy for freedom of expression and opposition to censorship by tech giants like Apple and Google reinforces Telegram’s status as a neutral platform.
Opting for the UAE as its base, Durov cites its neutrality and openness as conducive to Telegram’s ethos, serving both opposition groups and governments alike while maintaining impartiality.
In Durov’s vision, the pursuit of freedom eclipses material gain, shaping Telegram’s trajectory as a bastion of digital liberation.
Telecom
NITDA, NIMC Announce Collaboration To Strengthen Digital Economy
To further strengthen Nigeria’s digital economy in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) have announced a collaboration on National Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to enhance and create synergy between digital identity, payment ecosystem, and secure & seemless data exchange capabilities for Nigeria.
During the meeting between the Director-General of NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, and Director General of NIMC, Engr. Bisoye Coker-Odusote, with some management staff of both organisations, they discussed various initiatives, which include building DPI stacks for a secured and seamless data exchange and forming partnerships to transform the national identity system.
This collaboration also aims to harness the potential of the innovative ecosystem and emphasise the use of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to drive digital transformation in Nigeria.
To ensure a smooth implementation, a 12-man committee was set up. This committee will play a crucial role in kickstarting and harmonising the initiatives. It is expected to deliver a comprehensive implementation report within the next 4 weeks
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