Category: e-Business

The Federal Government has unveiled how it will get the balance of the budget N20.51 trillion on a total revenue of N9.73 trillion next year. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is one of the 63 government-owned enterprises (GOE) expected to remit N3.48 trillion to fund the budget. LUCAS AJANAKU reports that the fresh move to offer two slots of spectrum for the deployment of 5G services in the country early next year, in spite of current cash crunch, may provide a new boost to the budget.

These are not the best of times for Nigeria’s economy. Cash accruable to the Federation Account has continued to shrink, no thanks to leakages, especially oil theft and funding of subsidies on foreign exchange and petrol importation that have taken a huge chunk of revenues to government coffers.

Already, Finance Minister, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has said the government may borrow more than the current estimate of N10.78 trillion next year.

She said the total revenue available to fund the budget is estimated at N9.73 trillion. This includes the gross revenues of 63 Government-Owned Enterprises (GOEs) totalling N3.48 trillion. Of this, Federal Government oil revenue share is projected at N1.92 trillion, non-oil taxes are estimated at N2.43 trillion, and independent revenues are projected to be N2.21 trillion. Other revenues total N762 billion. The GOEs will remit N1.06 trillion to the Federal Government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund, and retain N2.42 trillion for their expenditures and reserves.

In aggregate, 20 per cent of projected revenues is expected from oil-related sources, while 80 per cent is to be earned from non-oil sources, Mrs Ahmed had explained.

Faced with this reality and the need for the government to continue to function, the government has worn its thinking cap to look inwards for revenue generation. One of the areas revenue could be generated from the telecom sector is through spectrum sale.

Spectrum refers to the invisible radio frequencies that wireless signals travel over. Those signals are what enable users to make calls from mobile devices, tag friends on Instagram, call an Uber, pull up directions to a destination, and do everything on the mobile devices.

The Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA) explained further that radio spectrum is used to carry information wirelessly for many vital services. “Demand for this precious natural resource is so great that regulators take great care to ensure it is used as efficiently as possible. Efficient use helps to ensure that the socio-economic benefits that spectrum enables can be maximised,” GSMA added.

Race for new spectrum sale

The NCC said it plans to generate over N500 billion as revenue for the Federal Government from the auction of the remaining 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum for the deployment of fifth generation (5G) technology in the country.

Its Executive Vice-Chairman, Prof. Umar Danbatta, who disclosed this during an interactive meeting on 2023-2025 MTEF-FSP, organised by the Senate Committee on Finance, said the commission had already initiated the bidding process for auctioning of the spectrums.

This new bid round will present yet another opportunity for Airtel, Glo and 9mobile to join the 5G race. Airtel had participated in the first auction but was out bid by a relatively unknown operator.

However, to stand a chance, Airtel, Glo, 9mobile and any other interested telecom firms are expected to pay a mandatory Intention-To-Bid Deposit (IBD) of $27,360,000.00 tentatively by December 5, 2022, which is also the tentative deadline for the submission of applications for the auction.

telecoms industry, has published the draft information memorandum (IM) on the auction of the remaining 3.5 GHz spectrum.

The IM defines the process that the Commission will adopt for the licensing of the remaining spectrum.

It also provided information on the Nigerian communications market, details of the spectrum on offer, the pre-qualification process, the auction process, and indicative timetable.

Barring any last-minute amendments by the NCC, the auction of the remaining will be held on December 19, 2022, at a yet-to-be-determined venue with a mock auction expected on December 16, 2022.

According to the IM, the NCC is offering the remaining lots of the 100MHz in the 3.5GHz spectrum band to ensure reliable communications services and innovative digital technologies in the country.

The Commission is offering the remaining two lots in the band ranging from 3400-3500 MHz and 3600-3700 MHz, totaling 200 MHz for auction.

Read Also: NCC to issue more 5G licences

This will be awarded to winning bidders in the 100MHz lot. The auction will be an Ascending Clock Auction. Each lot of 100 MHz TDD represents one eligibility point.

This means that only two telecom firms stand a chance to succeed in the final outcome of the auction. While 3400-3500 MHz represents Lot A, 3600-3700 MHz represents Lot C and are available for auction.

The auction closure will occur when the public announcement is made by the auction overseer/manager, revealing the provisional winners to be awarded the licences under the process, at which point each successful bidder will automatically be deemed to have been awarded a provisional licence.

Dambatta said NCC generated N257 billion in the first quarter of 2022, adding that N195 billion out of the cash has been remitted to government coffers.

He said from April to August, N318 billion was generated by the NCC, out of which N214 was remitted.

According to him, the fund realised was occasioned by the auction of two 5G spectrums at the rate of $263 million and $273 million.

He noted that from 2017 to 2021, NCC also generated N799 billion and remitted N423 billion to the government.

Lot B (3500-3600 MHz) had been won by MTN and Lot D (3700-3800 MHz) had been won by Mafab in 2021, with the Guard Band of 100 MHz in the range of 3800-3900 MHz.not available for auction.

NCC had in December 2021 conducted an auction of the first two lots of 100 MHz TDD in the 3.5 GHz band to deepen broadband penetration and support the delivery of ubiquitous broadband services in the country.

Mafab and MTN scaled through. The reserve price, the minimum price for one lot of the remaining 100 MHz TDD, for 10 year licence tenure, had been fixed at $273,600,000.00 or its equivalent in Naira at the prevailing Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rates at the time of the auction.

However, the fee for the new 5G spectrum licence will be determined at the auction. The opening bid will be an increment higher than the reserve price in the opening round of the auction.

A successful bidder at the auction will be expected to pay a sum equal to the amount of the winning bid minus the IBD, as well as an operational licence fee, where applicable.

The balance (winning bid amount less the IBD) of the auction fee shall be paid to the Commission on or before January 20, 2023.

NCC said it will hold a public consultation in respect of the draft information memorandum on November 15, 2022, in line with its participatory rule-making process for the communications sector.

If a bidder is disqualified from the process, the Commission reserves the right to impose a penalty. The maximum penalty may result in forfeiture of the full IBD paid and the bidder may be barred from future auctions.

MTN and Mafab had each completed payment of the $273.6million licence fee required by the NCC.

Aside the $273.6 million payment, MTN paid additional $15.9 million, being the bidding sum it offered at the assignment state of the spectrum auction, making it clinch its preferred Lot 1 (3500-3600 Megahertz-MHz) in the 3.5Ghz spectrum; while, Mafab Communications, which bided lower at the assignment stage, consequentially settled with Lot 2 (3700-3800Mhz) at no extra cost.

“I wish to officially announce that NCC has received and confirmed payments from MTN and Mafab for their acquisition of 1 slot of 100Mhz each in the 3.5Ghz spectrum auction, which was successfully conducted by the Commission on December 13, 2021. They both met the deadline of February 24, 2022 as set by the Commission,” Dambatta had said.

Waiting for Mafab

MTN Nigeria has since rolled out services in line with the IM while Mafab has secured a five-month extension to roll out from the NCC. The extension is expected to lapse by December.

On December 13, 2021, when the NCC announced that the MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications were the winners of the bid for the 5G licence, it came as a shock to the industry as Mafab was an unknown player in the sector.

A group, Transparency Nigeria Group, had petitioned the Federal Government and all relevant security agencies to investigate the business practices of Mafab Communications Limited.

“Mafab Communications was incorporated in 2020, has no comprehensive tax history, and appears to have been specifically set up by connected insiders for the purpose of acquiring one of the highly valued 5G licences,” the group had alleged in a statement.

The top bidders were the first auction Airtel Networks Limited, Mafab Communications Limited and MTN Communications Nigeria Limited, with the bidding price starting at $199,374,000. After  11 rounds of auction over a duration of 9 hours, the bid price rose to over $200 million with all 3 companies still active.

The auction process came to an end when MTN and Mafab posted an exit bid of $273 million, while Airtel posted a final bid of $270 million. Simply put, Airtel offered to pay the least amount among the three companies for the 5G licence, thus falling out of the race.

Before the auction proper, Airtel, MTN Nigeria and Mafab Communications had paid an initial non-refundable 10per cent deposit of $19.75million each, which was statutory and mandatory to qualify them to participate in the bid process.

The NCC also added to its claims that the auction was free and fair by pointing out that it had earlier awarded Mafab with international data access (IDA), inter-connect data exchange (IDE) and Value-Added Service (VAS) licences. The earliest licence being the IDA issued in October 2020, 4 months after Mafab was incorporated.

Mafab Communications Limited was registered on July 8, 2020, according to the company’s website and TechCabal’s search on the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) site. It claims to provide and operate local Interconnect and International carrier services; there’s no information about clients on its website.

The company is led by Musbahu Muhammad Bashir, the chairman of the Althani Group, an Abuja-based holdco that oversees a group of companies, including Eman Homes & Estate, Althani Investment Limited, Salam Takaful Insurance, and Mafab Communications

The Acting Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Mr Matthew Lawrence Pwajok has urged pilots, air traffic controllers, airlines, ground handlers, passengers and other stakeholders in the aviation industry to continue to report aviation incidents to the safety authorities.

 Embarking on such a task, he said, would further enhance the relative safety in the industry and also boost confidence in air travel.

 Pwajok disclosed this as an award recipient at the Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria (AFARN) safety summit and awards which were held in Lagos at the weekend.

 He contended that investing in sensitization of key stakeholders in the area of safety reporting is as important as investing in safety critical equipment and manpower training, stressing that incident reports were a critical and strategic aspect of the aviation safety chain, because “if you don’t report incidents we can’t control them.

 “If we don’t have reports we cannot provide the required risk analysis and mitigations.”

 He commended pilots “for being very faithful in incident reporting, even to the detriment of the airlines, as this could sometimes cause slight flight delays while awaiting a review or investigation of the incident by NCAA before releasing the aircraft back for operations.

 When these incidents are reported by pilots to ATC, they are immediately relayed to NCAA for investigation, and when the reported event or defect is mitigated, the aircraft is released back to service.

For instance, we had an occurrence at Escravos yesterday that was reported to the control tower by the pilot, and consequently NAMA informed AIB and NCAA, and after the required mitigations were effected, the aircraft was released back to service. It is as prompt as that! These are the kind of 24/7 collaboration, cooperation, and coordination that have largely enhanced safety in the sector.”

 The NAMA boss appreciated stakeholders in the industry for the enhanced safety in the sector which he attributed to the effective synergy amongst stakeholders and strategic efforts by service providers. The NAMA MD opined that the relative safety enjoyed in the sector over the last 10 years was not by chance or luck but as a result of significant investments both in infrastructural deployment and human capital development to enhance safety in the Nigerian airspace, thereby ensuring that major air disasters such as those witnessed between 2005 and 2006 were a thing of the past.

 According to him, “one of the first things the agency did under the Obasanjo government was the implementation of the Safe Tower project  and this began with the automation of the  control tower at Abuja airport in 2007.

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 In 2008 we completed that of Lagos and Port Harcourt and subsequently Kano. This project provided the main mitigation to what was considered the primary cause of most of these air disasters.

  The project provided NAMA with automated air traffic management systems, as well as meteorological sensors along the runways and provided ATC with real time weather information from the runways, availing us with wind direction, wind speed, low level wind shear alerting systems, cloud altitudes, cloud densities, cloud direction of movement, air temperature, air pressure, prevailing weather conditions. Thus, basically every element of weather is displayed at the control tower at the four major airports, so pilots are given adequate information on approaching weather, prevailing weather or forecasted weather conditions.”

 “We went further to deploy the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria (TRACON) in 2010. We could now track aircraft over the entire airspace of Nigeria and beyond, unlike before when air traffic controllers had to manually depend on pilot reports to control and ensure safety of flights, separation of aircraft from each other, sequencing them for arrival or for takeoff. The radar system has the capacity to detect conflicts, aircraft crossing each other, with inbuilt ground safety nets such as short-term conflict alert, medium term conflict detection with respect to aircraft crossing at the same level or in close proximity either vertically or laterally, the radar system will alert ATC. The radar system is also equipped with minimum safe altitude warning, thus if you are very low to the terrain it will alert us. The system also has danger area infringement warning to alert aircraft away from restricted, prohibited or danger areas with known or reported activities hazardous to air safety. These are all ground safety nets, about ten of them that are in-built in the radar system to give the air traffic controller adequate information, and to a large extent, that has enhanced safety in our airspace.”

 Pwajok further stated that the drive towards enhancing air safety is attributable to global, regional and national initiatives following the development of the ICAO Global Air Navigation Plan, Global Aviation Safety Plan and the Global Aviation Safety Plan in 2012.

 At the regional level, the ministers responsible for civil aviation in African met in Abuja, Nigeria following the ranking of Africa as the continent with the least volume of flight operations, but with the highest fatal accidents rate in the world.

 “Thus on 20th July 2012, we had the ministerial declaration in Abuja: what the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) refers to the Abuja Safety Targets. Ministers responsible for aviation met in Abuja, reviewed the safety level in Africa and agreed that over 60 per cent of the fatal accidents were caused by loss of control in flight controlled flight into terrain and runway incursion, excursion and confusion. In addressing these, the Ministerial Conference and the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) came up with a 16-point agenda out of that declaration: to reduce loss of controlled flight into terrain by 50 per cent reduce runway incursion and excursion by 50 per cent; reduce loss of control in flight by 50 per cent implement state safety programme by Civil Aviation Authorities and also ensure effective implementation of oversight, Pwajok said.”

 He noted that the above strategies were domesticated at national levels, while strategic and concerted efforts were made towards implementation and enhancement of air safety through investment in safety critical infrastructure, training, establishment of safety management system and quality management system, as well as development of safety plans, safety policies, safety objectives, safety key performance indicators, and acceptable level of safety performance.

 He also lauded the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika for facilitating the huge investment in development of air navigation services in line with the aviation roadmap, as well championing recent collaborative efforts by aviation agencies, airlines and other stakeholders in a bid to enhance safety in the nation’s airspace.

Original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Infinix has unveiled a device which it said will align with the growing trend of remote office meetings, rise of TikTok videos, and the increase of live broadcasts.

ItsTraining Manager, Toyin Oyinlade, who spoke in Lagos, said there had never been a greater need for an accessible product that offers a high-definition and stable front camera than the Infinix Zero 20 smartphone, which she said, is the first and only device in the world with a 60mmp OIS front camera, thereby, making it a perfect fit for aspiring and budding content creators and vloggers.

According to her, the device comes with a thunder fast charge that delivers 100 per cent full charge in 12 minutes.

She said the Zero 20’s powerful front camera is complemented by a robust 108MP rear camera supporting a multi-style creation mode, offering creators more exciting possibilities for content creation. These features include an incredible 10X zoom for shots at a distance, and Infinix’s Sky Remap Algorithm, which adjusts the sky for your photos.

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Film Mode, which hosts a wonderful variety of templates to help make video capture and production a breeze, allowing the user to focus more on capturing the content at hand.

The smartphone has 8GB+256GB large memory to keep the device running faster and to allow for plenty of storage space for apps, pictures, music, and videos. The ZERO 20 provides Extended RAM Technology of 8GB+5GB (equivalent to 13GB) for a far better experience under heavy usage.

Infinix also announced the start of “CaptureYourStoryFromZero” Challenge for up-and-coming content creators from different lifestyle categories where they stand a chance to win the new smartphone, N100,000 and other consolation prizes.

The challenge, which will last for three weeks will start on October 21.

 

 

As 5G uptake in many parts of the world bridges the milestone from early adopters to mass adoption, major new Ericsson research – the industry’s largest global study of its kind to date – underlines consumers’ growing commitment to 5G and their expectations on next-generation uses cases.

Called 5G: The Next Wave, the Ericsson ConsumerLab report addresses the impact 5G has had on early adopter consumers since launching in various countries, as well as gauging the intention of non-5G subscribers to take up the technology – and their related expectations. The report forecasts that at least 30 per cent of smartphone users intend to take up a 5G subscription within the next year.

The mix of Ericsson tracking data covering 5G launches since 2019, and the new consumer survey, has enabled Ericsson ConsumerLab to identify six key trends impacting the next wave of 5G adoption.

The report covers the behavioral changes triggered by the bundling of digital services into 5G plans by communications service providers – particularly the increased use of enhanced video and augmented reality (AR) apps.

The report also addresses the speed of mainstream 5G adoption, whether consumer demands are being met, and 5G-related changes in smartphone behaviour – and their impact on network traffic.

More than 49,000 consumers in 37 countries were interviewed in the research – the largest global 5G-related consumer survey in the industry to date and the largest consumer survey conducted by Ericsson on any topic. The survey scope is representative of the opinions of about 1.7 billion consumers worldwide, including 430 million 5G subscribers.

Jasmeet Singh Sethi, Head of Ericsson ConsumerLab, said: ”The scale of the research gives us an authentic insight into consumers’ views and attitudes to 5G. The report shows that the next wave of potential 5G users have different expectations from the technology compared to early adopters. Overall, consumers see engaging with 5G as an essential part of their future lifestyles.

“It is interesting to note that 5G is emerging as an important enabler for early adopters to embrace metaverse-related services, such as socialising, playing and buying digital items in interactive 3D virtual gaming platforms. The amount of time spent on augmented reality apps by 5G users has also doubled over the past two years, compared to 4G users.”

Read Also: 5G technology: Opportunities and challenges

The report forecasts that 5G consumers with experience of using extended reality (XR) functionality are likely to be the first to embrace future devices as they are more positive about the potential of mixed-reality glasses. Half of 5G users who already use XR-related services weekly think that AR apps will move from smartphones to XR headsets within the next two years, compared to one-third of 4G consumer who hold this view.

 

5G – the Next Wave Report: Six key trends

5G adoption to be inflation resilient: At least 510 million consumers across 37 markets are likely to take up 5G in 2023.

The demanding next wave of users: The next wave of 5G users have high expectations on 5G performance, especially network coverage, compared to early adopters — who care about new innovative services enabled by 5G.

Perceived 5G availability is emerging as the new satisfaction benchmark among consumers. Geographical coverage, indoor/outdoor coverage, and congregation hot-spot coverage are more important to building a user perception than population coverage.

5G is pushing up usage of enhanced video and augmented reality. Over the past two years, time spent on AR apps by 5G users has doubled to two hours per week.

5G monetization models are expected to evolve: Six in 10 consumers expect 5G offerings to move beyond more data volume and speeds to on-demand tailored network capabilities for specific needs.

5G adoption is setting the path to the metaverse. 5G users on average are already spending one hour more per-week in metaverse-related services than 4G users. They also expect two hours of more video content will be consumed weekly on mobile devices, 1.5 hours of which will be on AR/VR glasses by 2025

Despite the progress made in narrowing the gulf in financial inclusion in the country, the 2020 financial inclusion targets of 80 per cent might not be realised until 2030. LUCAS AJANAKU, however, reports that the coming of Money Master payment service bank (PSB) alongside MoMo, Smartcash and 9PSB will add a new fillip to the push.

The essence of launching the National Broadband Plan (NBP) 2020-2025 was captured in the speech of President Muhammadu Buhari.  He had said: “As we continue with our efforts of diversifying our economy, the need for ubiquitous broadband access cannot be overemphasised. We are aware of the economic growth opportunities afforded by the deployment of broadband technologies.”

Quoting a World Bank report, he said every 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration results in about 2.6 per cent to 3.8 per cent growth in gross domestic product (GDP). This, he said, informed the government‘s decision of renaming the Federal Ministry of Communications to the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy in October 2019 as well as the unveiling of the National Digital Economic Policy and Strategy in November of the same year.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami said broadband supports the development of the digital economy, stressing that a focus on growing the national digital economy will also improve and diversify the nation’s traditional economy.

“This new broadband plan is designed to deliver data download speeds across Nigeria, a minimum of 25 megabytes per second (Mbps) in urban areas, and 10 Mbps in rural areas, with effective coverage available to at least 90 per cent of the population by 2025 at a price not more than N390 per 1GB of data (two per cent of median income or one per cent of minimum wage).

The implementation of the plan, he argued, would lead to creation of jobs, improved socio-economic development and sustained economic growth, among others.

However, it is important to note that the successful implementation of the plan requires synergy between government and the private sector. As such, this plan has received input from all stakeholders and will be driven by the private sector, with the government providing the enabling environment.

On the broad based nature of input Pantami alluded to, no fewer than 32  experts served in the committee that produced the plan chaired by Funke Opeke, the Chief Executive Officer and founder, MainOne Cable Company.

 

Challenges

The challenges besetting the plan cannot be isolated from the challenges facing the entire telecoms sector. Some of these legacy challenges include lack of harmonised right of way (RoW), multiple taxations and regulation, insecurity and others.

For instance, over 50,000 telecom infrastructure destruction was reported in the sector over the past five years.

According to the regulator of the telecom sector, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), over 50,000 cases of major destruction to telecom infrastructure and facilities have been reported across the country in the past five years, raising alarm over the implication of these incidents to the quality of telecommunications services in Nigeria.

Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, expressed worry over how these incidents had continued to affect the Quality of Experience (QoE) of consumers, and called for efforts by the public, and security agencies, to stem this tide.

Danbatta said the negative impacts of incessant vandalism of telecom equipment, evidenced in fibre cuts, theft of telecom facilities such as generators at sites, vandalism of base stations, among other vices, have become a major burden on the service providers.

while telecom consumers have continued to suffer unwarranted disruptions of their hard-earned services.

“The impact of vandalism of infrastructure is felt by all in the quality of services rendered as it results in increasing drop calls, data and Internet connectivity disruptions, aborted and undelivered short messaging services (SMS), as well as countless failed calls,” he said.

Dambatta said considering the well-known fact that the ability to connect and communicate is fundamental to human existence, improvement in business processes, government services, education, as well as social and family networking through seamless connections, every community should get involved in protecting the critical infrastructure that makes these services possible.

“Therefore, as a community, you are expected to report cases of vandalism of telecoms infrastructure to the nearest law enforcement agencies such as the Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, and also share adequate information received from NCC with your family, friends, and neighbours.

“We believe, with your cooperation as critical stakeholders in the telecoms sector, we can all work with the law enforcement authorities in protecting telecom infrastructure in your community,” Danbatta said to emphasise the role of the communities in protecting critical national assets.

 

Way forward

These challenges were also not lost on the policy document as it identified four critical pillars such as infrastructure, policy, demand drivers, funding and incentive.

On the issue of security, it identified Infrastructure Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) and the issuance of Executive Order to declare telecoms infrastructure as CNI and full implementation of the plan.

It also hinted at establishing a coordinating body for fibre builds – to ensure open access, prevent overlap and facilitate RoW issuance at statutory rates to grow infrastructure.

On use of satellite infrastructure to complement fibre optic cable, it hoped to leverage existing NigComSat infrastructure to reach unserved/rural areas

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It stated the place of policy implementation and enforcement of national uniform RoW charges for fibre builds at a rate of N145/m and ensured Open Access/Accounting Separation.

On base station site acquisition, NBP identified a policy to work with states to implement one-stop-shop to accelerate approvals and harmonize fees.

The place of spectrum, the oxygene with which the telecoms industry breathes, was not lost on the wise men and women of the committee. The policy on spectrum was designed to ensure efficient use through the use it or lose it, open and transparent spectrum planning including TV White Space deployment for broadband

The funding /demand drivers will ride on the crest of affordability  with incentive for low cost smartphone devices and promote local assembly /manufacturing of telecom network and end device components.

The spending of the government was also to be coordinated through schemes and programs to ensure access in public institutions e.g. schools, hospitals and ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

 

Unified RoW

A major player in the infrastructure space, Phase3 Telecom has identified standardized RoW, subsidy, tax benefits, and other collaborative efforts with infrastructure providers as motivators to critical infrastructure deployment for faster broadband access in underserved or unserved areas.

Its Chief Technical Officer, Sunil Gubbi Rathna said the possibility of speedier broadband coverage in unserved and underserved areas is not a myth and will be realized quicker if key steps are taken or crystallized including lowered and standardized Row prices across states.

He joined Phase3 in 2022 to provide another layer of technical leadership to amplify network efficiency, agility, and security as well as to optimize Phase3 increasing business interests, network systems and architecture, and good revenue growth trajectory with innovations and core technologies to continue to power Phase3 forward.

Sunil cited overarching NBP goal to assure a 90per cent broadband penetration by 2025, maintaining that with such potential game changers as subsidy and tax benefits to infrastructure providers, unified RoW is perhaps a critical factor to bridging the country’s digital divide as well as expanding digital access has desired by regulators and broadband service providers across tiers.

“Before now, countless forums and media reports, some well researched have stressed that to cull more investments in broadband infrastructure by industry players such as Phase3 Telecom, a RoW pricing model that echoes present economic realities, is cost-friendly to existing and would-be Nigerian broadband subscribers and internet users as well as keeps operators in business – is both imperative and expedient for the coveted economy that fosters and engenders the capabilities to transition all Nigerians from an analogue to a digital economy,” he said.

That as ambitious as it may sound, curbing the disproportionate gap between Nigerians that are online with those who are not or the small number that is digitally literate enough to explore the benefits of broadband access for economic empowerment – will take a lot more than forums as the summit.

Adding that all states – consider that their governors reserve the right to determine and enforce RoW rates – will have to activate the clear will to diversify the Nigerian economy by lowering rates to reap the unquantifiable benefits, revenue possibilities, and exponential GDP contributions at federal and state levels that a significantly broadband penetrated country assures.

Stating that for instance, the current amount of subsea cable investments in the country, with a volume of terabytes lying unseeded on the shores hence, pending last mile deployments stemming from high and non-standardized federal and state governments RoW rates – make it a herculean task for operators to transition such critical resource into services that every Nigerian can benefit from, and be empowered by, digitally.

However, Sunil said the elaborated critical role of unified RoW in speedier broadband coverage in unserved and underserved areas should not cloud the fact that other informed strategies like the deployment of alternative solutions such as VSAT for faster broadband deployment in unserved areas where fiber networks are expensive to deploy either due to cost or the nature of the terrains vis a vis Phase 3 Telecom growing satellite broadband (VSAT) play in partnership with YahClick or; that while the state government and private sector collaborations to build open access infrastructure have their merits -.

Lower customs duty for importing fibre, active equipment, and other accessories required for network expansion; the provision of subsidies for infrastructure providers to motivate new and faster infrastructure deployment, and tax benefits for local material manufacturers who plan to establish manufacturing plants to support infrastructure expansion in underserved or unserved areas are active considerations that will see NBP 2020 – 2025 realize the goal of delivering data download speeds across Nigeria, a minimum of 25Mbps in urban areas, and 10Mbps in rural areas.

Nigeria is the largest mobile telecommunications market in Africa, largely based on rapid development following the successful auction of Digital Mobile Licenses (DML) in 2001. As at December 2019, the market served over 184 Million Mobile lines, with 126 Million of those lines connected to Internet services. According to the NCC, telecommunication services in the country have grown from a tele-density of lower than one per cent on fixed wireline and wireless networks before the DML auctions, to reach approximately 89 per cent population coverage for voice services in 2019 primarily based on 2G/2G+ networks

The new NBP is designed to deliver data download speeds across Nigeria of a minimum 25Mbps in urban areas, and 10Mbps in rural areas, with effective coverage available to at least 90per cent of one per cent of minimum wage).

 

Dubai Investment Fund (DIF), one of the largest investment and asset management companies in the MENA region, will participate in the new Ignitica Minerals project, which will mine niobium in Nigeria and Brazil and develop reserves there.

As a result of the fact that this rare-earth metal is predominantly utilized in the aerospace, aviation, nuclear power, and electronics industries, we can safely assume that the company plans to diversify its revenue streams by establishing a new segment of this market for its products.

Ignitica Minerals is planning to begin business activities in the year 2025, and over the first five years of operation, the company will invest roughly 430 million dollars. The project will result in construction of a world-class open-cast mining plant in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. A new kind of industrial zone will be built in Nigeria, and the newly established firm will be in charge of mining rare earth elements. The mine is expected to generate around 5,000 tons of rare minerals each year by the end of its operational period.

It is anticipated that the building and development phases of the project will result in the creation of at least 1,500 new jobs, while the operational phase of the project will result in the creation of around 800 new employments.

The corporation’s decision to invest in niobium discoveries and mining in Brazil appears to be warranted, given that Brazil is currently home to the greatest resources of these ores anywhere in the world. In the case of Nigeria, the country’s niobium and tantalum reserves are not nearly as extensive as those of other countries, but there is potential for the development of new mines in the area.

Despite the fact that many countries have large reserves of certain rare earth elements, their extraction and production require complex separation and purification processes, which, in turn, require large financial investments.

The largest use of REE in the world is the production of permanent magnets, which accounts for about 29% of all expected demand. However, due to their crucial role in the production of green energy products, rare earth elements are also referred to as “green elements.” As a result of the world’s pressing need to cut greenhouse gas emissions, demand for rare earths will continue to rise as they are utilized in the construction of numerous environmentally friendly goods – from solar panels, energy-efficient lighting, catalytic converters, and hybrid automobiles to rechargeable batteries.

Not surprisingly, companies such as DIF are seeking to invest in this sector and they talk about their long-term plans in this direction on their social media page.

According to our investigation findings, the fund’s investment history reveals that DIF has a track record of investing in businesses that operate within the heavy industry sector, which can be found in the company’s study.

Their investments also included the purchase of shares in major oil and gas businesses such as Statoil and Petrobras in 2002. These companies are involved in the production, processing, transportation, and sale of oil and gas in markets located in Latin America, Africa, and Europe.

An analysis of the fund’s previous investment activity reveals that it has consistently increased the proportion of its holdings related to the steel and oil and gas industries and has just made another move in the same general direction. This may suggest that huge investment corporations are not yet prepared to give up investing in traditional energy assets, which is the most likely interpretation of this finding.

ROYAL Electronics, a global brand and manufacturer of consumer electronics and home appliances, is celebrating its Royal week 2022 with lots of promo deals for its loyal and new customers from October 10- 17, 2022.

The Royal week 2022 will provide customers and public the opportunity to buy any Royal product and get other products free at all leading electronic stores across the country.

The company’s Head of Operations, Raja Rajesh, said: Royal Week is designed not only to appreciate loyal customers but also to draw attention to the quality of products by the company made available to Nigerians over the years.

‘’It is also a week of celebration that highlights the importance of customer service and staff who serve and support daily to deliver exceptional service to consumers.

“Through this Royal week campaign, our customers will be best assured of our commitment to high-quality products and the efficient service that we offer them. We are proud of the quality of our product offerings, as the week offered us an opportunity to reward our growing number of customers; hopefully, we will sustain this campaign in the coming years.’’

According to him, some of the products include Smart Televisions, Air Conditioners, Refrigerators, Freezers, Electrical kettles, Microwave Ovens, etc.

He said some of the deals include buy a Royal side-by-side Refrigerator and get a water dispenser and electric iron for FREE!!

ROYAL Electronics headquartered in Dubai, UAE is a large-scale high-tech manufacturing company with huge investments in research & development of consumer electronics and home appliances like LED TV Screens, Air Conditioners, Refrigerators, Washing Machines, Electrical kettles, Blenders, Microwave ovens and other appliances.

Nigeria has an ambitious national broadband plan targeting the coverage of at least 90 per cent of the population and penetration rate of 70per cent by the end of the plan’s lifetime among others. But a combination of factors including wilful vandalism of infrastructure, low investment, right of way challenges and many others continue to narrow the band. LUCAS AJANAKU reports.

The essence of launching the National Broadband Plan (NBP) 2020-2025 was captured in the speech of President Muhammadu Buhari.  He had said: “As we continue with our efforts of diversifying our economy, the need for ubiquitous broadband access cannot be overemphasised. We are aware of the economic growth opportunities afforded by the deployment of broadband technologies.”

Quoting a World Bank report, he said every 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration results in about 2.6 per cent to 3.8 per cent growth in gross domestic product (GDP). This, he said, informed the government‘s decision of renaming the Federal Ministry of Communications to the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy in October 2019 as well as the unveiling of the National Digital Economic Policy and Strategy in November of the same year.

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof Isa Pantami said broadband supports the development of the digital economy, stressing that a focus on growing the national digital economy will also improve and diversify the nation’s traditional economy.

“This new broadband plan is designed to deliver data download speeds across Nigeria, a minimum of 25 megabytes per second (Mbps) in urban areas, and 10Mbps in rural areas, with effective coverage available to at least 90 per cent of the population by 2025 at a price not more than N390 per 1GB of data (two per cent of median income or one per cent of minimum wage).

The implementation of the plan, he argued, would lead to creation of jobs, improved socio-economic development and sustained economic growth, among others.

However, it is important to note that the successful implementation of the plan requires synergy between government and the private sector. As such, this plan has received input from all stakeholders and will be driven by the private sector, with the government providing the enabling environment.

On the broad based nature of input Pantami alluded to, no fewer than 32  experts served in the committee that produced the plan chaired by Funke Opeke, the Chief Executive Officer and founder, MainOne Cable Company.

Challenges

The challenges besetting the plan cannot be isolated from the challenges facing the entire telecoms sector. Some of these legacy challenges include lack of harmonised right of way (RoW), multiple taxations and regulation, insecurity and others.

For instance, over 50,000 telecom infrastructure destruction was reported in the sector over the past five years.

According to the regulator of the telecom sector, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), over 50,000 cases of major destruction to telecom infrastructure and facilities have been reported across the country in the past five years, raising alarm over the implication of these incidents to the quality of telecommunications services in Nigeria.

Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, expressed worry over how these incidents had continued to affect the Quality of Experience (QoE) of consumers, and called for efforts by the public, and security agencies, to stem this tide.

Danbatta said the negative impacts of incessant vandalism of telecom equipment, evidenced in fibre cuts, theft of telecom facilities such as generators at sites, vandalism of base stations, among other vices, have become a major burden on the service providers.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) has in Abuja set up a committee to work  towards the protection of the interest of telecom consumers against malpractices that may attend mobile lotteries in the country.

The Committee, which was inaugurated at the NCC Head Office in Abuja, was tasked with articulating measures to address mutual regulatory issues, including the review of revenue-sharing formula between Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and lottery operators.

The NCC’s Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management (ECSM), Mr. Adeleke Adewolu, who presided at the meeting comprising senior staff of the two agencies, recalled fondly previous engagements between the agencies and stated that the committee was important in order to review and update an NCC-NLRC Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed on the 6th of August 2018 but has now expired.

The ECSM said the Commission is committed to regulatory collaboration and strategic partnerships and has reviewed NLRC’s requests and is convinced that both organisations can address issues and other concerns that have been identified in the operation of lotteries in the telecom industry.

“We expect that the Joint Committee of senior members of staff in both organisations will work to develop a collaborative framework to progressively improve gaming service delivery for telecoms consumers and further accelerate holistic development in Nigeria’s digital economy,” Adewolu stated.

In addition, the ECSM reiterated that the Committee is expected to articulate a new MoU to address issues around revenue sharing between MNOs and lottery operators, the need to review and recommend a workable model for addressing the needs of both organisations, and present informed recommendations to deepen regulatory collaboration between the two regulatory agencies.

“Given the strong professional pedigree of the members of this Joint Committee, I have no doubt that they will meet and even exceed the expectations of the Managements of both the NCC and the NLRC, and I wish you all success in this task,” Adewolu added.

Speaking on behalf of the Director-General, NLRC, Lanre Gbajabiamila, the Director, Legal Services, NLRC, Olayemi Ajayi, expressed her organisation’s commitment to improving revenue generation from the lottery industry while appreciating NCC for being receptive to interorganisational collaborations.

Ajayi reiterated the need for renewal of the expired MoU with amendments to accommodate new provisions that will be favourable to stakeholders and fast-track the development of Nigeria’s digital economy.

Ajayi assured that, “The NLRC is working tirelessly to ameliorate its functions and service delivery to stakeholders. Therefore, this renewed collaboration with NCC will help for better and efficient service delivery by both agencies.”

 

 

The fourth National Cyberchain Conference and National Tour is scheduled to be held in Abuja in this month.

According to the organiser and founder, Cyberchain, Mr Jude Ozinegbe, a Digital Transformation and Blockchain Consultant, the conference with the theme: “Embracing The Metaverse Economy” will be held on October 22 at NAF Conference Centre, Kado, Abuja.

Cyberchain converges some of the best minds in the tech space yearly and connects them with enthusiasts that are eager for the knowledge shared by these experts.

“As technology continues to foster the growth of businesses across the globe, it has become imperative for Nigeria to be positioned as a contributor to the fast-growing digital economy.

“Cyberchain was born out of the need to ensure Nigerians get proper sensitisation about the numerous benefits of the digital economy, which includes but not limited to creating more jobs for Nigerians, ease of doing business, transparent governance, safe online presence and even placing Nigeria on the global map by creating world class projects that contribute to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),” Ozinegbe said.

The conference started in Akure, the Ondo State capital in March, while Uyo Akwa Ibom State held in May and July in Benin City, Edo State.

Speakers include Mr Mohammed Jega, founder, Domineum Blockchain; Mr Adedeji Owonibi, founder, Convexity and A&D Forensics, and Mr William Phelps, Investment Manager, Adaverse.

The grand finale of the national tour will be held in Lagos on November 12, with more industry leaders like Chris Ani of DabaTV, Tony Emeka of CryptoTV Plus, Chuta Chimezie of BNUG, Kristian Kruz of Element United States.

Nollywood ace actress and business tycoon Mimi Orjiekweng will also be making an appearance at the Lagos event and present prizes at the flagship Cybersecurity Hackathon dubbed: “Cyberthon” where winners will walk away with over N1,000,000 and other gifts for their performance at the ethical hacking competition, supervised by Digital Encode Limited.

The organiser also planned to wrap up this year’s event with the first and biggest Blockchain boat cruise on 13th November 2022 where celebrities, founders, investors and top leaders in the Blockchain space will have ample time to network, dine and wine, while enjoying the lush and ambient view of the Ikoyi/Lekki waters.

Ozinegbe used the opportunity to thank brands that have always supported Cyberchain, especially Zinochrome, NCC, NITDA, Digital Encode, Binance, TradeFada, Bitmama, FBM Homes, and Convexity.