Telecom
World Water Day: Improving Access to Clean Water, One Community at a Time
As the world celebrates World Water Day, the Social investment vehicle of MTN Nigeria, MTN Foundation, reaffirms its commitment to ensuring that communities in Nigeria have access to clean water.
World Water Day, held on 22 March every year since 1993, focuses on the importance of freshwater. The day is set aside to celebrate water and raise awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water.
It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis. A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.
According to the latest Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) report, 771 million people – 1 in 10 – lack access to safe water, and the water crisis is the 5th global risk in terms of impact on society. 144 million people depend on surface water, like a river, to meet their basic needs, and millions of people take multiple trips each day to collect water.
Based on reports from UNICEF in 2021, 26.5 million Nigerian children, or 29 per cent of Nigerian children experience high or extremely high water vulnerability, with over 86 per cent of Nigerians lacking access to a safely managed drinking water source.
MTN Foundation has continued to make giant strides in ensuring that communities across Nigeria have access to clean water. Through its What Can We Do Together project, a community based “give-back” initiative, MTN Foundation has successfully rolled out various interventions in 510 communities under 454 LGAs in Nigeria since 2015. Over the past seven years, MTN Foundation has ensured the availability of potable water in 50 communities.
After the installation of a 650ft borehole in Damaturu Local Government Area under the What Can We Do Together initiative, one of the residents in the community mentioned that prior to the donation, residents of that community had never had access to potable water.
He said, “We have never had access to potable water and we feel this more with the presence of a community school with a population of about 3,975 students. These students during the break period move from one compound to another requesting for water to drink from people who have sunk private boreholes.”
“Thank God for MTN Foundation. Today, with this borehole, we can now fetch and drink water without begging.” No organization has carried out a project of this magnitude in this community.” He concluded.
Recently, the MTN Foundation successfully installed solar-powered boreholes in Dawanu Janguru Community, Dawaki Tofa Local Government Area, Kano state and Gudugi community, Pategi Local Government area, Kwara state to improve their access to clean drinking water.
Speaking on the Foundation’s contributions in this space, C said “MTN is a company that believes that its success as a business is tied to the wellbeing of the people in the communities in which they operate. Connectivity for us is beyond the services we offer, but for people to live with basic standards of life and have access to the basic things of life. This is why we have tailored our interventions to align with national priorities and the SDGs.”
MTN Foundation is the social investment vehicle of MTN Nigeria. The Foundation was founded in 2004 and commissioned in May 2005 with MTN Nigeria Communication PLC committing up to 1% of its Profit after Tax (PAT) as its main source of funding for projects. MTN Foundation has invested over NGN 23.7 Billion in the 36 states of the federation and FCT.
MTN Foundation has over 924 project sites across Nigeria with 48 unique projects which spans 2,604 communities and reached over 30,741,005 people.
Airtel Nigeria, telecom service provider, has announced that its AI-powered Spam Alert Service issued over 9.6 million spam alerts between March 13 and May 20, 2025.
As part of its ongoing commitment to protecting customers from unwanted and potentially fraudulent communications, Airtel designed the AI Spam Alert service to analyze traffic patterns and detect anomalies.
In the period since launch the AI pinpointed a total of 9,667,008 SMS as potential spam messages in the two months after its launch.
Of these, the system identified 528,080 on-net (Airtel-to-Airtel) and 9,138,928 off-net (from other networks) numbers as suspected spam messages, demonstrating the scale of the threat and Airtel’s advanced processing capability.
Airtel Nigeria is a subsidiary of Airtel Africa.
Commenting on this development, Dinesh Balsingh, CEO, Airtel Nigeria, restated Airtel`s commitment to protecting its customers.
“This milestone demonstrates the strength of our AI-driven infrastructure in combating the growing menace of spam and scam calls. At Airtel Nigeria, we are focused on connecting Nigerians and ensuring their safety and confidence while using our network.
“We understand that trust is the cornerstone of digital communication. That’s why we’ve invested heavily in intelligent systems that not only detect potential threats but also learn and evolve with data. As threats become more sophisticated, so will our solutions. As a company, we remain focused on leading the industry in innovation and customer satisfaction, ensuring that every Nigerian can enjoy a safer and smarter digital experience,” Mr. Balsingh said.
The Spam Alert Service is part of Airtel Nigeria’s broader strategy to integrate artificial intelligence into its core offerings to deliver smarter and safer experiences for its customers across the country.
Recall that the Spam Alert Service was launched on March 13, 2025. A groundbreaking and free solution from Airtel, it notifies users in real-time of suspected spam SMS messages by analyzing over 250 parameters.
The Airtel AI Spam Alert Service is available to all Airtel subscribers on smartphones and feature phones.
Vitel Wireless Limited, pioneer mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in Nigeria has made another history by announcing the successful completion of interconnectivity with all major Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in Nigeria.
Kenneth Nwabueze, Chairman and CEO of Vitel Wireless
Recall that Vitel Wireless, became the first Mobile Virtual Network Operator to receive a dedicated number series (0712) from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
This breakthrough enables Vitel Wireless subscribers to make and receive calls with users on MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom (Glo), and 9mobile Nigeria.
It also marks the first time an MVNO in the country has successfully interconnected with all the major MNOs, setting a new precedent for Nigeria’s telecom sector.
Following the NCC’s licensing of 46 MVNOs, Vitel Wireless continues to lead the way in establishing a dynamic MVNO sector in Nigeria—Africa’s largest market and most populous nation.
The company has already achieved several historic firsts: the first MVNO issued a numbering plan and national and international routing codes, the first to launch a location awareness network in Africa, and the first to unveil a strategic nationwide rollout plan.
“We are gathering momentum for our big launch,” said Kenneth Emeka Nwabueze, chairman and CEO of Vitel Wireless.
“We are proud to be showing what’s possible for MVNOs, while also creating a path for others to follow. By leveraging our years of experience in Nigeria’s telecom industry, we are opening up new possibilities where there used to be none.”
Interconnectivity was achieved through a combination of direct fiber connections with some MNOs and indirect routing via third-party providers.
This milestone was the result of a collaborative effort involving engineers from Vitel Wireless, Wireless Technology Labs (WTL), and Interconnect Clearinghouse Nigeria (ICN), working closely with engineers from MTN, Airtel, Glo, and 9mobile.
“We wish to thank the regulatory agency, the Nigerian Communications Commission, for their timely interventions and guidance, which were instrumental in achieving this interconnectivity and bringing the formal launch of the Vitel Wireless nationwide network one step closer to reality,” said Nwabueze.
The company entered a nationwide pilot phase in May 2025, with plans for a full rollout in July 2025, aiming to deliver next-generation mobile services to millions across Nigeria.
Layer3 Limited, One of Nigeria’s foremost ICT solutions providers, has once again solidified its place as a trailblazer in Africa’s technology landscape, emerging as the Enterprise Solutions Provider of the Year and Leadership Award in Cloud Services at the prestigious African Beacon of ICT Leadership and Awards held on May 24, 2025, at the Four Points by Sheraton, Lagos.
This year’s event brought together leading tech innovators, policymakers, and thought leaders to recognize organizations making extraordinary contributions to Africa’s digital transformation.
Among the many luminaries in attendance, Layer3 stood out for its 19+ years of consistent innovation, technical excellence, and client-centered service delivery.
Speaking at the event, the organizers praised Layer3’s pioneering work in delivering robust enterprise solutions across sectors, as well as its bold leadership in advancing cloud infrastructure and services across Nigeria and beyond.
“These awards are more than recognitions, they are a reminder of the fulfilment to our mission to deliver peace of mind to our customers,” said David Ita, the Head of Strategy and Business Development of Layer3.
“They speak to the impact we’ve made and the promise we hold for the future of the cloud and enterprise technology business in Africa. We dedicate this honor to our clients, partners, and the hardworking Layer3 team who continue to redefine excellence every day.”
Since its founding, Layer3 has championed a future-forward approach to ICT services offering cutting-edge solutions in enterprise networking, cybersecurity, broadband, cloud computing, managed services, and IT advisory. The company’s Layer3Cloud platform and managed service offerings continue to power the digital ambitions of Nigeria’s leading businesses.
These accolades underscore Layer3’s unwavering commitment to driving transformation and supporting digital economies through smart, secure, and scalable technology.
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