ITU
MTN SA’s Airfibre Offering Surges Across 3.1 Million Homes in Just 1 Year
MTN South Africa says that its airfibre offering, MTN Supersonic, has seen enormous growth since launching in March 2021, with the product now being used in over 3.4-million homes. Airfibre, like Supersonic’s, leverages Gigabit 1 (G1) Radio to transmit internet data, unlike with traditional fibre cables. MTN says Airfibre uses open spectrum frequencies, which lowers the cost to customers. Users simply need the installation of an A4-sized antenna at their home and this antenna will then communicate with the radio equipment attached to an MTN mobile tower. MTN says that after passing 10,759 homes in the first month after launching in March, the rate of growth increased rapidly to reach 3.1 million homes in one year. This has continued to reach over 3.4 million in May this year. “We are conti...
New Vodafone & UN Initiative to Give 3.4-Billion Access to a Smartphone by 2030
A new global initiative has been launched by Vodafone Group and ITU, the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies, to address the global digital divide. The initiative aims for an additional 3.4 billion people to have the ability to access and use the internet through a smartphone by 2030. The Digital Divide With mobile broadband (4G) networks now covering 82% of the population of Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), the mobile usage gap is 6x larger than the mobile coverage gap (2) In line with the Broadband Commission Global Targets 2025 on affordability and connectivity, the new Working Group will identify policy, commercial and circular-economy interventions to increase smartphone access. Co-chaired by Vodafone Group CEO, Nick Read, and ITU ...
UN Calls on Nigeria, Others to Tighten Cybersecurity Regulations
Sourced from UN The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the global telecommunications arm of the United Nations (UN) has called on the government of Nigeria, and other governments across Africa to strengthen their Internet safety regulations. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and general shift online, many African countries are now more exposed to cybersecurity threats than before, necessitating renewed efforts into protecting these spaces. According to the Guardian Nigeria, the UN noted that in Africa, many countries have seen a rise in reports of digital threats and other malicious cyber activities. The results include sabotaged public infrastructure, large-scale monetary theft from digital fraud, and national security breaches. The UN says that addressing these vulnerabilities...
NCC: Internet subscription hits 154 million in Nigeria
Fix Africa News Magazine Executive Vice Chairman, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, on Monday disclosed that the number of clusters of access gaps has been reduced to 114 from 217, in the Commission’s efforts to ensure that more Nigerians are digitally-included in the ICT ecosystem. He revealed that Nigeria’s telecoms sector had reached basic internet subscription of 154 million; over 87 million broadband subscriptions, representing 45.93 per cent broadband penetration; over 207 million voice subscriptions with teledensity standing at 108.94 per cent as at October, 2020. Danbatta made the disclosures when hosted a delegation from Autoridade Reguladora Nacional (ARN), the Telecom National Regulatory Authority of Guinea-Bissau who were in a week-long ben...
Two suspects lynched after trader robbed, shot dead in Akwa Ibom
Gunmen suspected to be armed robbers in the early hours of Monday invaded Mbiabong Itam community in Itu Local government Area, Akwa Ibom State, and killed a young shop owner identified as Ecole. According to sources in the community, Ecole’s grocery shop at Mbiabong was invaded by the gunmen and in the process the young man was shot in the head. “He was rushed to an undisclosed hospital where he later gave up the ghost,” the source said. Newsmen report that in the ensuing confusion of that night, the youth of the community, with the help of the vigilante team, arrested two members of the robbery gang, killed them and set them ablaze inside a minibus used by the robbers. However, one of the gang members, identified as Itoowo from Usuk Ediene Community in Ikono LGA, was arrested alive and k...
NCC boss: Over $70 billion spent on telecoms infrastructure in Nigeria
Vox Media Over $70 billion have been invested in telecommunications infrastructure deployment in Nigeria since the liberalisation of the industry in 2001. The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, who made this known said the amount represented a larger chunk of local and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) attracted into the sector within the period. Danbatta made the remarks on Thursday while delivering the Bullion Lecture 2021 Edition organised by the Centre for Financial Journalism (CFJ), Lagos. According to him, the investment in infrastructures has boosted the economy and provided more opportunities for more Nigerians have access to telecoms services. “Today, the number of active telephone lines being used by Nigerians has signi...
Senator Okon: Nigerian government handling insurgency, banditry with kid gloves
Pioneer National publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Anietie Okon has expressed concern that President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration is handling insurgency and banditry in the northeast and north-west with kid gloves. Okon who is also the Spokesperson of Akwa Ibom Leaders Vanguard, made the assertion yesterday during an interaction with newsmen in Uyo, the state capital. He regretted that the same government left the armed bandits, and Boko Haram insurgents destroying lives and property to be moving freely but deployed military forces to the Southeast to descend on unarmed agitators. His words, “It is unfortunate that the Buhari-led Federal government is treating insurgents and armed bandits with kid gloves by leaving them to operate freely on daily bas...
Broadband penetration hits 45.43 percent in Nigeria
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Pantami, says broadband penetration in Nigeria increased to 45.43 per cent in October. Dr Femi Adeluyi, Technical Assistant on Information Technology to the minister, said this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja. Adeluyi said that this was due to an increase of 4,061,731 broadband subscriptions between September and October 2020. “This increase in broadband penetration has been as a result of conscientious implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy for the overall benefit of the economy to achieve a Digital Nigeria. “The Nigerian National Broadband Plan (2020-2025), along with the harmonisation of Right of Way charges across the states and protection of critical national infrastructure across the country, had a signifi...
NiMet predicts hazy, sunny weather activities Monday to Wednesday
Facebook Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted hazy, sunny weather activities from Monday to Wednesday across the country. NiMet’s weather outlook released on Sunday predicted dust haze conditions over the northern region with a moderate visibility range of 2KM to 5KM throughout the forecast period on Monday. According to it, the North central region is expected to be in sunny and hazy condition throughout the forecast period. “The inland and coastal cities of the South are expected to be in partly cloudy to cloudy condition with slim prospects of thunderstorms over Rivers, Cross River, Eket and Bayelsa in the morning hours. “There are prospects of few thunderstorms over parts of Cross River, Ebonyi, Delta, Awka, Rivers, Delta, Cross River, Benin and Lagos state during the a...
Nigeria records lowest daily virus cases in three months
The Nigeria Center for Disease Control (NCDC) has announced 221 new cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak in the country. The NCDC made this known on its official twitter handle on Wednesday. Newsmen report that the 221 new cases was the lowest number of cases recorded in the country in about three months. It recalls that on Aug. 4, Nigeria reported 288 COVID-19 new cases and 290 one week later, while another low figure of 252 was recorded on Aug. 25. NCDC said that there were more persons who died of COVID-19 related complications in the country in the last 24 hours with the national death toll rising to 1,010. The NCDC said that the number of recovery crossed the 40,000 mark after 317 more people were treated and discharged from isolation centres across the country. The agenc...
Akwa Ibom council polls: Protests trail ‘imposition’ of candidates by PDP
File Photo A storm of protests has broken out in Akwa Ibom State over alleged imposition of unpopular candidates on the faithful by the hierarchy of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The selection process of aspirants to fly the flag of the ruling PDP in the state has been dogged by alleged underhand dealings, fetish oath-taking, among other dubious means. Specifically, youth from Mbo and Urue Offong/Oruko local government areas of the state have spoken against the imposition of Chairmanship candidates on them. The youth in Mbo have questioned the rationale for picking the incumbent chairman, Asukwo Eyo for a second term when his record in the first term was nothing to write home about even as their counterparts in Urue Offng/Oruko also faulted the imposition of Mrs Precious Selong as th...
Nigeria: 10 die of coronavirus in Kano, Ogun, three other states
No fewer than seven patients died of coronavirus-related complications in Kano and Ogun states on Friday. Three other patients also died of COVID-19 in Bauchi, Kaduna and Sokoto. The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control made this known in its 70th Situation Report on COVID-19 published on Saturday. According to the report, 10 COVID-19 fatalities were recorded in the country as of 11.30 pm on Friday. The 10 new COVID-19 fatalities bring the total deaths recorded in the country to 117. Of the 117 fatalities, 33 died in Lagos, Kano, 18; FCT, four; Borno, 14; Katsina, eight; Bauchi, one; Ogun, four; Kaduna, two; Sokoto, nine; Jigawa, one; Edo, four; Zamfara, three; Oyo, two; Osun, four; Nasarawa, one; Rivers, two; Delta, three; Akwa Ibom, two; Yobe, one and Ekiti one. Part of the report read, “3...
