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Tag: Airtel

  • Three face charges over MTN, Airtel, 9Mobile lines

    Three men yesterday re-appeared at a Federal High Court in Lagos for allegedly meddling and tampering with the telecoms lines of MTN, Airtel and 9Mobile.

    They are Chinonso Nwangwu, Udoka Nwaru and Emmanuel Okpogwu.

    They were first arraigned before Justice Ibrahim Buba, who has been transferred to another division of the court.

    They were re-arraigned before Justice A. Liman, following an amendment of the charge by the prosecutor, Mr. Daniel Apochi.

    Read also: ‘Why MTN listing is delayed’

    The defendants pleaded not guilty and were allowed to continue on the bail granted them by Justice Buba.

    The case continues on April 13.

    The defendants were alleged to have committed the offence in April 2015, in Enugu, Lagos, Ogun and Oyo states and other places within the court’s jurisdiction.

    The prosecution alleged that the defendants tampered and meddled with telephone wires of MTN, Airtel and 9Mobile, all managed by Biswal Ltd.

  • ‘Why Airtel is setting up payment service bank’

    Airtel Nigeria plans to set up a Payment Service Bank (PSB) to deepen financial inclusion in Nigeria.

    The plan follows the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN’s) issuance of guidelines for licensing PSB in the country.

    The telco has also commended the CBN for issuing guidelines for PSBs, saying the move would promote financial inclusion as well as enhance access to financial services to the rural poor, low income earners and financially excluded in the society.

    Airtel is to apply for the PSB licence through a subsidiary – in line with the CBN guidelines as it has a vision of becoming the largest and most secured PSB in the country.

    With subscriber base of over 40 million customers, retail footprint across major nooks and crannies of the country, it said it intends to leverage its distribution to drive financial inclusion amongst the unbanked and financially excluded.

    Its Chief Executive Officer/Managing Director, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, said: “We welcome the development and we express profound appreciation to the CBN for its commitment to driving financial inclusion through technology.

    “In line with the guidelines shared by the CBN, we have commenced the process of applying for a licence as we believe that we are at a vantage position to empower and connect more Nigerians as well as deliver mobile banking services to the door steps of the financially excluded. Folks will no longer need to keep their money inside cooking pots or under their beds because we will securely connect them to the financial system.”

    PSBs are expected to leverage mobile and digital channels to enhance financial inclusion and stimulate economic activities at the grassroots through the provision of financial services.

    Accordingly, PSBs are envisioned to facilitate high-volume low-value transactions in remittance services, micro-savings and withdrawal services in a secured technology-driven environment to further deepen financial inclusion and help in attaining the policy objective of 20 per cent exclusion rate by 2020.

  • Airtel to establish ‘payment service bank’

    Airtel Nigeria has announced plans to set up a payment service bank (PSB) in Nigeria

    Segun Ogunsanya, managing director, Airtel Nigeria, saying  it would help to deliver mobile banking services to its teeming customers.

    According to him, Airtel will apply for the PSB license through a subsidiary which is in line with guidelines to establishing a PSB, issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in November.

    He said Airtel, through its subsidiary, has a vision of operating the largest and most secured PSB in Nigeria, in order to promote financial inclusion as well as enhance access to financial services to the rural poor, low income earners and financially excluded of the society.

    “We welcome the development and we express profound appreciation to the CBN for its commitment to driving financial inclusion through technology,” he said.

    “In line with the guidelines shared by the CBN, we have commenced the process of applying for a license as we believe that we are at a vantage position to empower and connect more Nigerians as well as deliver mobile banking services to the door steps of the financially excluded.

    “Folks will no longer need to keep their money inside cooking pots or under their beds because we will securely connect them to the financial system.

    “With a subscriber base of over 40 million customers and retail footprint across major nooks and crannies of the country, Airtel intends to leverage its distribution to drive financial inclusion amongst the unbanked and financially excluded.”

  • Kogi govt telecom operators bicker over poor service

    The Kogi State government on Wednesday explained that the closure of the premises of some mobile telephone service providers and shutting of their masts was because of their refusal to pay due fees and rents.

    The government countered claims by the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators (ALTON) over the shutting of facilities in the state, saying that the action was based on court orders.

    The stalemate has however affected mobile telecommunication subscribers in the state who have in the last four days encountered difficulties following the dispute.

    Affected are mostly MTN and Airtel subscribers, as the service providers are alleged of evading payment of such dues to the state government.

    The Director, Legal and Enforcement, Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KGIRS), Jamil Isah said some of the fees and rents have been outstanding since 2006.

    Read Also: Kogi threatens national security by shutting 150 BTS

    He said that the KGIRS obtained court order to distrain the business premises of Airtel and MTN to recoup money owed, haven adjudged that they were due and owing.

    According to him: “The major players that are affected for now are MTN and Airtel. The sites that have been shut for Airtel are just five, while for MTN I don’t believe are up to 10, so the 150 number is not correct.

    “The demanded levies, rents and fees are also not illegal. In the case of Airtel, they have not paid their Right of Way permit fees which allows them to lay fibre optic cables in Kogi State. This payment has been due and owing since 2006 There are also outstanding yearly rents payable on the Right of Way Permits for the years 2017 and 2018.

    “There is also the Annual Social Service Development Levy and the Employee Economic Annual Development Levy. The penalty for failure to pay for right of Way Permit and some other penalties are included,” he noted.”

  • Airtel raises $1.25b from investors

    Airtel Africa Limited, a subsidiary of India’s Bharti Airtel Ltd, said yesterday that it had raised $1.25 billion from six global investors.

    Among them are  SoftBank Group Corp, Warburg Pincus LLC and Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited.

    Also yesterday in Lagos,   the telco said it now has the widest 4G network coverage in the country.

    The $1.25billion cash, sourced through a primary equity issuance, now values the telco  at $4.4 billion and will be used to reduce existing debt of about $5 billion and grow its Africa operations, Airtel Africa said.

    “The transaction will help us further deleverage our balance sheet and boost our capacity to upgrade networks, expand coverage in different markets and achieve rapid growth of Airtel Money across our operations,” Chief Executive of Bharti Airtel’s Africa Unit, Raghunath Mandava,  said in a statement.

    Speaking at the Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi, Lagos during the formal unveiling of 4G,  the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya,  said the telco  has  launched its 4G network in over 60 major cities and towns  across many states of the federation.

    He said: “Airtel’s 4G network is now in over 60 major cities and towns in Nigeria across different states, making Airtel the network with the widest and largest 4G coverage in the country.”

    He said the 4G launch in Lagos served as a glowing testimony of the firm’s commitment to partner and empower the good people of Lagos.

    Ogunsanya said: “We know Lagos has its own spirit – a can-do spirit and it also has its own peculiar energy, which is very fast-paced.

    “The good news is that Airtel 4G will help everyone in Lagos to do more and achieve more, regardless of status and location.

    “With fast mobile internet, a young professional will be able to use his map to understand the traffic network, plan and connect with the right people. The tailor will be able to take measurement through video calls; the fish seller will be able to share photos and short videos of his current stock. Ditto every other person.

    “Indeed, 4G comes with tons of benefits and the possibilities are endless: it will accelerate economic and commercial activities; it will boost personal and professional productivity; it will help in creating more entrepreneurs; it will offer the youth a big leverage to express their creativity and talent; it will improve the overall quality of life and connect more people to their dreams.”

    Early this year, Airtel began an interesting journey of building the largest and most robust 4G – LTE (Fourth Generation – Long Term Evolution) network in Nigeria.

    On the 13th of February, 2018, the telco recorded a major milestone with the pioneer roll-out of its 4G network in Ibadan to the delight of many Nigerians who live in the ancient city.

    Since the pioneer launch, Airtel had not looked back. On Thursday, 4th May, 2018, it unveiled its 4G service in Abuja, the nation’s capital while on the 19th and 25th of September, it announced the launch of its 4G service in major towns and cities in Anambra and Delta states.

    Airtel CEO, Mr. Ogunsanya and the Executive Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Nyesom Wike, on the 27th of September, formally unveiled the Airtel 4G service in Port Harcourt.

    Faced with a price war in India since the market entry of Reliance Jio in 2016, Airtel, like its peers, has been trying to shed debt and aggressively win customers.

    Bharti Airtel has chosen UBS Group AG, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Citigroup Inc to coordinate the London initial public offering of its Africa business, Reuters reported in September, citing two people familiar with the matter.

    On Wednesday, Airtel Africa said it aimed to go public on an international stock exchange in a deal whose proceeds would also be used to reduce debt.

    Airtel operates in 14 African markets including Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Uganda and Zambia.

    The continent accounted for over a quarter of Bharti Airtel’s June-quarter revenue of about 201 billion rupees ($2.74 billion). The telecom firm is set to report earnings for its quarter ended September on Thursday.

    “Airtel Africa has seen a turnaround of its business in recent years,” the company said on Wednesday.

    “This investment demonstrates the confidence of leading global investors in the company’s ongoing robust growth and profitability.”

  • Airtel to create more entrepreneurs in Nigeria — CEO

    The management of Airtel Nigeria has assured Nigerians of its commitment to create more entrepreneurs and “connect more people with their dreams’’ in the country.

    Mr Segun Ogunsanya, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, gave the assurance at the flag-off Airtel’s 4G LTE in Port Harcourt on Thursday.

    According to him, Airtel which rolled out the product in February 2018 is also determined to maintain its position as “the largest and the fastest of the 4G network in Nigeria’’.

    Ogunsanya, who also described his organisation as the most modern communication network in Nigeria, said he was proud that the network “works all the time’’.

    He also noted that the deployment of 4G in Port Harcourt was a testimony of the telecommunication company’s commitment to partner and empower the good people of Rivers.

    “4G comes with tons of benefits: it will accelerate economic and commercial activities; it will boost personal and professional productivity; it will help in creating more entrepreneurs.

    “It will offer the youth a big leverage to express their creativity and talent; it will improve the overall quality of life and connect more people to their dreams.

    “With 4G, Airtel will also power people, businesses and aid governance through Technology,” he said.

    Read Also: Airtel’s 4G Internet service for Delta

    The event was attended by King Dandeson Douglas Jaja, Treaty King Amanyanabo and Natural Ruler of Opobo Kingdom and King Leslie Eke, Eze Gbakagbaka of Evo Kingdom among others.

    Ogunsanya had earlier during a visit to the Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers, said Airtel had rolled out its 4G technology in major cities across Nigeria to make the organisation the largest 4G network.

    “We bring our 4G Network to you and the people of Rivers State! I make bold to say we have the best and largest 4G Network in Nigeria.

    “It is a sign of our regard for and commitment to the government and people of Rivers State that we have chosen this state and indeed this city, as one of the early and biggest beneficiaries of this innovative system of mobile telecommunications.

    “We are not resting on our laurels as we are still connecting more cities and towns in Nigeria to our 4G network,’’ he said.

    Wike also commended Airtel for its 4G roll out and assured that his administration would continue to provide a conducive environment for investors and corporate organizations.

    “We want to partner with you (Airtel) and give you all the necessary support.

    “Rivers State abhors multiple taxation and we will do everything to protect investors, corporate organisations and businessmen and women,’’ he said.

  • Active mobile lines dip to 160.5m

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday said active mobile telephone lines in the country dipped marginally to 160.5 million in August from 161.42 million in July. This was contained in its monthly subscribers’ operator data posted on its website.

    The regulator said lines decreased by 904,767 in August.

    NCC said Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) for active mobile lines in August was 119,008 as against 125,444 recorded in July, a decrease of 6,436.

    The data said the number of fixed wired/wireless for active mobile lines in August was 140,806 compared with its July figure of 140,582 lines, recording an increase of 224. According to NCC, the number of Voice-Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) was 105,678 in August compared with 101,131 recorded in July, representing an increase of 4,547 while Teledensity reduced by 0.65 in August to 114.92 as against 115.57 in July. Teledensity is the number of telephone connections for every 100 individuals living within an area and it varies widely across the country.

    The data also showed that the number of connected lines in August stood at 240,432,680 million as against 238,219,577 million in July, showing an increase of 2,213,103 million.

    Connected lines for CDMA during the period was 247,983 as against 246,126 recorded in July, indicating an increase of 1,857.

    Read Also: NCC: 9mobile’s $100m debt news false

    According to the report, the number of fixed wired/wireless for connected lines in August was 351,103 compared with its July data that had 350,998, indicating an increase of 105 lines. It also showed that the number of VoIP for connected lines in August was 690,042 as against 667,763 in July rising by 22,279 lines.

    Meanwhile, the number of mobile internet users increased marginally to 104.6 million from the 103,671,778 in July showing an increase of 956,564.

    According to the NCC data, Airtel, MTN and Globacom gained more internet subscribers during the month under review, while 9mobile was the only loser.

    Further analysis of the data showed that Airtel gained the more with 421, 467 new internet users in August increasing its subscription to 27,508,240 as against 27,086,773 in July. It further showed that MTN was second, gaining 387,972 new users in the month under review, increasing its subscription to 39,459,642 in August as against 39,071,670 in July.

    Globacom was the third gainer with 272,692 new internet users, increasing its subscription in August to 27,418,767 from 27,146,075 recorded in July. Again, 9mobile was on the losing side as it lost 125, 567 internet users in August decreasing its subscription to 10, 241,693 as against 10,367,260 recorded in July.

     

  • Airtel committed to corporate philanthropy

    Airtel Nigeria said it would continue to promote corporate philanthropy in line with its vision of empowering and assisting underprivileged Nigerians.

    Speaking at a media viewing of Episode 12 of Airtel Touching Lives Season 4 in Lagos at the weekend, its Director of Corporate Communications & CSR, Emeka Oparah, said it was part of the telco’s strategy to continue to give back to the communities where it operates and also encourage other corporate organisations and individuals to adopt the spirit of giving.

    According to Oparah, the Airtel Touching Lives, initiated four years ago, has positively impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of Nigerians in areas, such as healthcare delivery, economic empowerment, water, environment and primary education.

    “You and I know that the government cannot provide all the basic needs, so as a socially responsible organisation, we elected to try and do this and in the past four years. I’m proud to say we’ve done a bit of our own to help out.

    “This initiative is spread across the country and it’s our way of giving back to the society. These stories are documented and shown to people. What we do is not to look good on TV but to inspire other people to contribute their own quota.

    “There are so many people out there who are suffering and we try to mitigate this; but how many can we do? That is why we showcase this so that people can key into it and be spurred to lend helping hands to the needy,” Oparah said.

    He also said the company will not rest on oars in terms of creating positive impact, noting that plans are in top gear to roll out a much more robust Touching Lives Season 5.

    At the media viewing, the Episode 12 of Touching Lives Season 4 was shown and it featured the story of Joy Musa who lost her husband, four children and her brother in a 2013 insurgent attack on Dogo Nahawa in Jos, Plateau State, and how Airtel came to the rescue of the forlorn widow.

  • Airtel offers ‘double data’ on selected Smartphone brands

    Airtel Nigeria has announced a strategic partnership with original equipment manufacturers, Infinix, TECNO and itel smartphones brand.

    Under the new partnership, customers who purchase a new Infinix, TECNO or itel smartphone will enjoy the exclusive Airtel ‘Double Data Offer’ for a six-month period which allows users to enjoy twice the value of any data plan they purchase on their newly acquired smartphones.

    For instance, if a customer buys the One-thousand-naira monthly data plan on any of the aforementioned newly acquired smartphones, he/she gets 3GB instead of 1.5GB of data.

    To enjoy the offer, which is available to both new and existing Airtel customers, consumers are required to send the key word, “GET” to SMS short code 141. Upon sending the SMS, a confirmation is sent to the customer for the ‘Double Data’ six months offer.

    Commenting on the new partnership, Ag Chief Commercial Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Dinesh Balsingh, said the new offer will help deepen data penetration in line with Airtel’s positioning as the mobile Internet operator of the first choice for telecoms consumers in Nigeria.

    “This partnership will empower more Nigerians to fulfil their personal and professional endeavours and also help connect more telecoms consumers to their dreams. Airtel is committed to delivering innovative and affordable mobile Internet value propositions that will make life richer, better and more meaningful for Nigerians,” he said.

    Also commenting on the partnership, General Manager, Transsion Holdings, Nigeria, Eason Duan, reiterated the Group’s promise in delivering the best-in-class mobile experience to every Nigerian: “A smart and connected world today is possible when everyone has access to mobile devices and good connectivity. With our goal of ensuring every Nigerian owns a smartphone, we are confident that Our partnership with telecoms giant Airtel will be beneficial for all our consumers as they continue to stay connected with whatever they love to do, for longer.”

    After the six month offer period, customers can thereafter subscribe to their desired data plans and enjoy the double data benefit. The bonus and regular data have the same validity. The offer applies to smartphones never seen before on the Airtel network as of July 30th, 2018.

  • Internet users in Nigeria hit 103.6 million in July – NCC

    Internet users in Nigeria increased marginally to 103.6 million in July, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)  has said.

    The NCC disclosed this on Wednesday in its Monthly Internet Subscribers Data for July posted on its website.

    According to the data, Airtel, MTN and Globacom gained more internet subscribers during the month under review while 9mobile was the biggest loser.

    The data also showed that overall internet users increased to 103,671,778 in July from 102,805,122 in June, showing an increase of 866,656.

    Read Also: NCC: sale of 9mobile ‘ll be completed soon

    The breakdown also revealed that Globacom gained the most with 574,821 new internet users, increasing its subscription in July to 27,146,075, up from 26,571,254  in June.

    It further showed that 9mobile lost 218,086 internet users in July, decreasing its subscription to 10,367,260, as against June when it recorded 10,585,346.

    NCC indicated that MTN also gained 134,171  new users in the month under review, increasing its subscription to 39,071,670, in July as against 38,937,473  in June

    It said that Airtel gained 375,754  new internet users in July, totalling  27,086,773 as against 26,711,049 in June.

     

    NAN