Disconnection puts on hold as Globacom, MTN reach ‘agreement’

By Favour Unukaso  The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that MTN and Globacom have reached an agreement to resolve the interconnect debt issue, over which the former was to disconnect the latter.    This came as the 10-day pre-disconnection notice issued by the Commission lapsed today.     However, NCC in a statement signed... Read More

MTN gets NCC’s approval to disconnect Globacom from network

By Favour Unukaso THE Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has granted MTN approval to disconnect Glo from its network over interconnect debt.     NCC, in a document Monday, titled: ‘Pre-Disconnection Notice,’ notified the public and subscribers of Globacom that approval has been granted for the partial disconnection of Globacom from MTN Nigeria due to non-settlement of... Read More

NCC orders telcos to completely bar unlinked SIMs by February 2024

By Favour Unukaso THE Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has ordered telecommunications operators in the country to implement full network barring on all Subscribers Identification Module (SIM) cards not linked to their National Identification Numbers (NINs) by February 28, 2024. The operators, including MTN, Airtel, and Globacom, among others, have been lettered to carry out... Read More

FDI into telecoms sector falls as industry gets $399.9m in 2022

By Favour Unukaso THE harsh economic condition of the economy, insecurity and volatility in the foreign exchange market might have contributed significantly to the drop in Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) into the telecoms sector in 2022 as capital inflow dropped significantly by almost 50 per cent.    According to the 2022 Subscriber/ Network Data Yearly... Read More

Telecoms operators record 22.3% revenue growth

By Favour Unukaso Airtel and MTN Nigeria grew their service revenues by an average of 22.3 per cent in their 2023 half-year (H1) operations. Specifically, Airtel said its mobile services revenue in Nigeria was up by 23 per cent, while MTN recorded 21.6 per cent to N1.2 trillion. According to MTN in its unaudited... Read More

Telecoms sector contributes N2.5tr to Nigeria’s GDP

THE telecommunications and Information Services sector in Nigeria has, in the first quarter 2023, contributed N2.508 trillion in terms of financial value contribution to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), representing 14.13 per cent.   Figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the sector recorded a 4.3  per cent.  increase... Read More

NCC tasks 5G licensees on protection of citizens’ data

By Favour Unukaso THE Fifth-Generation (5G) network licensees in Nigeria have been mandated to ensure protection of citizens’ data in this critical period of cyber criminals.     The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which gave this directive in Lagos, Thursday, at the 2023 Nigeria DigitalSENSE Forum with the theme: “5G: Data Governance, Safety and Security in... Read More

Nigeria’s active telephone lines hit 222m as telcos share 25.1m subscribers in 2022

    By Staff Reporter TELECOMS operators in Nigeria added some 25.1 million telephone lines to the country’s network in 2022, statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have revealed. These 25.1million included new lines that were activated and those who were reactivated after they were barred due to their non-compliance with the NIN-SIM... Read More

Telcos want cost-based tariff in 2023 as broadband users hit 88.2m

By Favour Unukaso LATEST subscription statistics from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have revealed an increase in broadband usage in the country. The statistics, the November 2022 edition, showed that Internet subscription via the narrow band increased slightly within the period under review by 171,375, while broadband usage garnered fresh 1.32 million subscribers, rising... Read More

Stakeholders claim MTN’s interest in new 5G license is anti-competition

  By Adeyemi Adepetun SERIOUS crises appear to be brewing in Nigeria’s $70 billion telecommunications industry over interest shown by MTN to seek additional Fifth-Generation (5G) spectrum licence.    Other operators and stakeholders, yesterday in Lagos, kicked against MTN’s move, to seek additional 5G spectrum in the country.      This was part of the deliberations at... Read More