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We are Ensuring Utmost Commitment to Customer Service Excellence – Ajay

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Ajay Awasthi, chief executive officer, Spectranet spoke on how the telecommunications services provider was able to deliver quality service during the lockdown and challenges operators face is expanding capacity.

This pandemic lockdown presents huge opportunities for telecom and e-commerce companies as virtual communication and online transactions have become the order of the day. How is Spectranet faring?

The lockdown has presented more challenges than opportunities. Spectranet being a 24×7 service provider, the challenges are pretty much unique and related to ensuring site uptime in remote corners, ensuring call center operations with strict distancing rules, attending to customer complaints in their premises. All this needs to be done while ensuring safety of our people.

Cost of operations has gone up significantly as urgent network upgrades have to be done to ensure un-compromised customer experience while browsing. We have also seen an upsurge in call center volumes with customers enquiring about where to renew. This means deployment of more manpower.

Humbling to mention that team Spectranet, with its utmost commitment to customer service excellence, has fared well in countering these challenges in double quick time

In terms of traffic, how is your network coping with your consumers?

The Data traffic in the network has increased over 30%. While this is a happy situation to be in, the sudden increase in traffic poses a challenge in terms of keeping up with the quality of service. In order to ensure that our customers experience is not compromised, Spectranet has acted fast and invested significantly to enhance capacities on the access and backhaul network.

 By what are the major areas or products you have received the largest traffic on your network?

The traffic for Video applications (like Netflix, You tube) has shown a significant increase and so has the Facebook related traffic.

Also, we have observed trends wherein the traffic during night time has started overtaking the daytime traffic. We are happy that our Mega Value Plans offering anytime data plus free and truly unlimited night time browsing are becoming a big hit with our customers.

With the closure of business premises, how have your consumers being able to recharge their modems?

Being a technology company Spectranet has been investing heavily in building up Digital channels. Our customers can effortlessly pay through any of our digital channels available on Self Care.

Telcos may be making money from this lockdown, but in terms of telecom equipment importation and network rollout, how will it affect telcos like Spectranet?

In order to increase our access and backhaul network capacities, as mentioned earlier, we had to invest significant amounts and incur extra costs for ensuring 24X7 availability of network and call center operations.

To sustain this growth in traffic, fresh equipment is required to be imported. With tight FOREX supply, we are finding it extremely difficult to get access to FOREX to pay for this equipment. This will result in delayed projects and consequent degradation of services.

 Have you experienced are challenges like refueling your base stations or movement of your essential staff from law enforcement agencies?

Telecoms being one of the essential services, the law enforcement agencies have been extremely cooperative. This has helped us in keeping the vital operations like re-fueling of cell sites, carrying out repair and maintenance work going without any hindrance.

 What lessons can we learn from the current situation to get things done better as businesses and as a country?

This pandemic has completely changed the way work used to be done and transformed how companies engage and interact with their customers. Digitalization is the way forward. It is not only more cost efficient but also act as a turbo charger for productivity. Critical to add that a move towards digitalization will also need robust framework for data security and privacy related concerns.

Recently, the Naira was devalued, how does this affect your business?

Devaluation of Naira has certainly increased the cost of doing business. All the dollar denominated CAPEXes have suddenly got inflated by the devaluation. Similarly, cost of importing modems and other devices have increased. The devaluation is going to put significant financial burden on smaller operators. Similarly, cost of importing modems and other devices have increased. The devaluation and scarce availability of FOREX is going to hamper expansion of operations in a significant manner for smaller operators.

How has the lockdown impacted on telecoms services on the part of Spectranet?

The lockdown has presented quite a few challenges. Spectranet being a 24×7 service provider, the challenges are pretty much unique and related to ensuring site uptime in remote corners, ensuring call center operations with strict distancing rules, attending to customer complaints in their premises. All this needs to be done while ensuring safety of our people. Cost of operations has gone up significantly as urgent network upgrades have to be done to ensure un-compromised customer experience while browsing.

We have also seen an upsurge in call center volumes with customers enquiring about where to renew. This has resulted in deployment of more manpower. Humbling to mention that team Spectranet, with its utmost commitment to customer service excellence, has fared well in countering these challenges in double quick time

Checks showed that Spectranet customers are largely enterprises, I mean corporate bodies, but these entities are not opening offices, with most staff working from home. What is the percentage spike in traffic, either low or high?

Spectranet has a fair mix of enterprise, retail 4G LTE and HomeFiber ( FTTx) customers. While the traffic from enterprise customers has reduced, we have seen an upsurge in traffic from retail customers.

Overall, the data traffic in the network has increased over 30%. While this is a happy situation to be in, the sudden increase in traffic poses a challenge in terms of keeping up with the quality of service. In order to ensure that our customers experience is not compromised, Spectranet has acted fast and invested significantly to enhance capacities on the access and backhaul network.

What strategies is Spectranet putting in place to remain up and doing this period?

This pandemic has completely changed the way work used to be done and transformed how we engage and interact with our customers. Digitalization is the way forward. It is not only more cost efficient but also act as a turbo charger for productivity. Being a technology company Spectranet has been investing heavily in building up Digital channels. The pace of digitalization needs to be hastened up now.

Going forward, what is the fate of Tier 2 operators in the country?

Spectranet by virtue of its robust network with industry leading uptime figures, excellent customer service and an extremely strong brand, will continue to play its role as a leading Internet Service Provider. Our recent diversification into FTTx an WTTx based Fixed line services has further strengthened the position of the brand as numero uno in the industry. We will continue to invest in cutting edge technologies to offer high speed broadband in Nigeria, at par with international broadband standards.


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Paradigm Initiative Warns of AI-Driven Hate Speech, Urges Global Tech Reform

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As the world commemorates the International Day for Countering Hate Speech, Paradigm Initiative (PIN) is calling on big tech companies to intensify their efforts in combating online hate speech and ensuring respect for fundamental human rights.

PIN’s 2024 Londa report highlights the widespread prevalence of hate speech online. In Angola, for instance, at least 25 content removal requests were made in connection with hate speech, harassment, and political misinformation. Globally, the consequences of unchecked hate speech have been severe—ranging from incitement to violence and heightened ethnic tensions to the targeting of vulnerable communities, including minorities, women, and foreigners.

Nigeria witnessed a tragic example in 2018 when a Facebook post showing a massacre in Plateau State was viewed more than 11,000 times, triggering ethnic conflict and resulting in fatalities. In South Africa, inadequate content moderation has worsened the problem, while in Ethiopia in 2021, a false Facebook post led to the killing of a man wrongly implicated in a scandal. India saw a surge in hate speech during its elections.

PIN notes that actors behind hate speech are becoming increasingly sophisticated, often leveraging technologies like artificial intelligence to boost visibility. Meanwhile, existing moderation systems—especially for non-English content—struggle to keep up.

Bridgette Ndlovu, PIN’s Partnerships and Engagements Officer, said, “Hate speech online is a direct attack on the dignity and safety of individuals.” She urged technology companies to adopt transparent and effective moderation strategies and to prioritize human rights in their operations.

The spread of hate speech raises complex challenges for lawmakers. Governments are trying to regulate harmful content such as misinformation and harassment while protecting freedom of speech. However, PIN warns that hate speech laws should not be misused to arbitrarily detain human rights defenders or stifle dissenting voices.

To address these concerns, PIN recommends that tech companies invest more in moderating non-English content to reflect local nuances, improve transparency around government takedown requests, promote digital literacy—particularly in underserved regions—and conduct regular human rights due diligence, aligned with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.


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Moniepoint Deepens Commitment to Africa’s Future Through Education and Innovation

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Moniepoint Inc, one of Africa’s leading financial institutions partnered with the Mega Impact Foundation to support the 5th edition of the NextGen Connect Interschool Oratory Competition in Asaba, Delta state. This collaboration showcases Moniepoint’s unwavering commitment to youth empowerment and human capital development across the African continent.

The competition, which was held commemoratively to celebrate this year’s International Day of the Boy Child, brought together SS2 students from across Delta State to address the critical theme: “The Role of Financial Inclusion and Technology in Shaping a Brighter Future for Young People in Africa.” Moniepont has received critical acclaim over its core mission of advancing financial inclusion through innovative digital financial technology solutions and payment services..

The oratory competition showcased exceptional talent among Nigeria’s youth, with Otovo Praise of Crystalloid International School emerging as the champion. His outstanding performance earned him a full-year scholarship through the Tosin Eniolorunda STEM Foundation, reflecting Moniepoint’s philosophy of investing in educational excellence. Second-place winner Audi Innocent of St Patrick’s College received ₦300,000, while third-place winner, Asher David of Glorious Kids Academy was awarded ₦200,000.

“At Moniepoint, we believe that driving sustainable innovation begins with future-proofing and expanding the talent pool by empowering the next generation with the tools that they need to succeed especially basic literacy skills which remain fundamental pillars in socio-economic development,” said Tosin Eniolorunda, CEO Moniepoint Inc.  “These young voices represent the future of African leadership, and their insights into financial inclusion and technology demonstrate the remarkable potential that exists within our communities. Through our various educational and developmental initiatives such as the CAD/CAM lab we donated to OAU last year or the Moniepoint DreamDevs programme, we are betting big on an investment in Africa’s future.”

The initiative extends beyond monetary rewards, creating meaningful platforms for young people to express their ideas on a global stage. Through its support of the NextGen Connect Conference and Tech-In-School conversations, Moniepoint is fostering an environment where youth can develop critical thinking skills, build confidence, and engage with pressing societal issues.

In her remarks, Founder, Mega Impact Foundation, Florence Ogonegbu said that “we reaffirm our commitment to building an Africa where every young person has simplified access to sustainable education, capacity building, and empowerment. By leveraging technology and local initiatives, we are creating platforms that enable our youth to thrive and transform their communities.

“Together with partners like Moniepoint, we are not just shaping futures—we are driving a movement for social development that will resonate globally. Every boy, every young person, deserves the opportunity to unlock their full potential and drive lasting impact across our continent.”

The competition received additional support from the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, Delta State, highlighting the collaborative approach required to nurture young talent effectively.


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Zoho Unveils Zia Hubs to Harness AI Insights from Unstructured Business Data

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Zoho, a global technology company, today launched Zia Hubs, a solution within Zoho WorkDrive that brings new forms of unstructured business data into the company’s broad portfolio of applications and AI services. Using Zia Hubs, organisations can now present any type of business content to Zoho’s powerful capabilities and services—including agentic AI, comprehensive analysis, and accurate, unified search—regardless of file format or structure.

“According to IDC, 80 percent of business data is unstructured,” said Kehinde Ogundare, Country Head, Zoho Nigeria. “Most unstructured data is text-based, meaning pertinent information lives within email conversations, social media posts, word processor documents, or audio and video transcripts. With Zia Hubs built into the full product suite, Zoho can provide customers with a deeper integration than any comparable software platform and nearly limitless potential uses for their data.”

Deeper Intelligence Accessing More Customer Data

Launching as part of Zoho WorkDrive, Zia Hubs brings content intelligence to the company’s unified content management and collaboration platform. Designed with a high level of user control over what content AI is allowed to access, Zia Hubs enables users to organise project or task-specific content into dedicated hubs within WorkDrive. Each hub serves as a focused space where Zia, Zoho’s flagship AI, can understand and act on the content stored within. This includes a wide range of formats such as PDFs, documents, videos, and audio files.

Zia Hubs automatically organises uploaded content by grouping related information—such as section headings, supporting text, and visuals—to preserve context. For video and audio files, Zia generates transcripts and links key moments to relevant topics, making it easier to pinpoint exactly where something was said.

With Zia Hubs, users can surface the most relevant answers when asked a question, even across different content formats. Each response includes clear citations that link back to the original content, whether it is a document, spreadsheet, image, or a specific moment in an audio or video file.

Organisations can also create custom workflows with Zoho Flow, automating document storage processes for particular projects or specific teams. This ensures that Zia always has access to the latest necessary documents automatically.

Furthermore, content from third-party software—such as Docusign PDFs, RingCentral call logs, Zoom video files—are all readable by Zia, and can be automatically placed into a hub by building a workflow with Zoho Flow.

From Intelligent Content to Intelligent Action with Zia

Zia Hubs is a foundational element of Zoho’s long-term AI strategy. It lays the groundwork for a future where intelligent agents can act contextually on content across the company’s entire product suite. With full ownership of its technology stack spanning more than 55 products, Zoho is uniquely positioned to help organisations unlock deeper value from their business content compared to competitors.

Potential use cases for Zia Hubs include: a legal team’s content hub hosting a case’s relevant files: court files, correspondence, and research, allowing a lawyer to have Zia provide summaries with citations without having to manually scan lengthy files to gain insights; a company’s support center placing call logs into a hub, then querying Zia to identify trends, like, “Have we received an increase in calls regarding specific issues?”

Future updates to Zia Hubs will enable it to identify structured information within unstructured files and trigger specialised agents tailored to specific business needs. This will further establish Zia Hubs as the central content intelligence layer that activates AI-native workflows across the full Zoho ecosystem.


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