Author: Rommy Imah

Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta has reechoed claims that telecommunication is highly capital intensive and therefore, charged operators to see continuous network upgrade and expansion as very key to their ability to deliver top-notch Quality of Service to their consumers. Speaking at the first-ever virtual edition of the Telecom Consumer Parliament (TCP) organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission and hosted at the Commission’s Conference Room, Maitama, Abuja, Danbatta said if operators fail to do this, they could be putting their quality of service delivery at risk. “If operators are not able to…

Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta has listed some of the critical steps taken by the Commission in conjunction with the supervising Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy towards mitigating the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on service delivery by network operators. Danbatta who spoke on Friday at the first-ever virtual edition of the Telecom Consumer Parliament (TCP) organised by his Commission, noted that despite the pandemic and the lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19 virus, the Commission on its part, have not relented in its efforts at ensuring that the quality of…

In the last one year, NITDA under Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi has carried out different IT project interventions across the country, including building 80 Digital Capacity Training Centres (DCTCs) with E-Learning facilities, 6 IT Hubs, 6 IT Community Centres, 4 IT Innovation & Incubation Parks, and 3 IT Capacity Training Centres, all aimed at bridging the digital divide and providing access to the unserved and underserved population. Nigeria is today listed among the top three countries in Africa attracting the largest investments from Venture Capitalists among its flourishing Technology Startups and Hubs. NITDA under Mallam Kashifu Abdullahi no doubt contributes…

Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Pantami on Monday commissioned Phase 3 of the completed projects under the Ministry at the National Information Technology Development Agency’s Corporate Headquarters in Abuja. The commissioning according to Dr Pantami was in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy of the Buhari administration. The projects include the Digital Conference Centre for remote collaboration; Integrated Computer Emergency Response and Readiness Centre; and Digital Studio for Virtual learning. Pantami noted that the Computer Emergency Response (CER) and Readiness Centre (RC) were in alignment with the key priority area of His Excellency,…

Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi is not new in Nigeria’s IT industry, having graduated as a Computer Scientist from the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. He worked for nine years (2004-2013) in Galaxy Backbone and held various positions there including IP Network Field Engineer, Senior Network & Lead, IP Operations Team, and Senior Solution Architect & Lead Technical Solution Design Team. Abdullahi joined the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2014 as a Technology Architect, developing Technology Architecture Repository that gives 360 views of the Bank’s IT infrastructure and easy decision on new IT investment. He was also part of the team…

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that it has as one of its strategic tenets, deliberate partnership and collaboration with its various stakeholders, including the media. Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta who stated this on Wednesday at a virtual meeting the Commission had with Online publishers declared that it values its relationship with the media. “We see you as a major part of our success and will like to appreciate your contributions, timely and accurate dissemination of news and information regarding our regulatory activities as a telecoms industry regulator,” the EVC said. Danbatta, who…

The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has said that it organized the virtual forum on “Meeting the Interests of Government, Consumers and Telecom & ICT Companies in the Era of COVID-19 and Post COVID-19 Pandemic for Digital Economy Development” because it wanted to converge regulators’ interests -to ensure a competitive telecom market and fast track development of the telecom and ICT industry. It also said the objective of the virtual forum was in the interest of Operator’s Interests – an enabling environment for businesses and protection of investment in the sector; and Consumers’ Interests aimed at getting them…

Determined to further its mandate of protecting the interests of consumers and support a robust telecommunications sector, Nigeria’s telecom regulator, the NCC has revised its Determination on Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) pricing published on the 23rd of July, 2019. The need for the amendment in the first place, followed a protracted dispute between Mobile Network Operators and Financial Institutions on the applicable charges for USSD services and the method of billing. The NCC said in a statement Wednesday evening and signed by its Director, Public Affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde that as a responsive and effective regulatory authority, it recognises…

Plentywaka, the technology-driven ride-hailing service, on Tuesday secured a pre-seed investment led by Emfato, Microtraction, and Niche Capital worth $300,000.  The company said in a statement that this investment will be used in continuing Plentywaka’s mission of transforming the Nigerian transportation industry with improved mapping technology and will usher in Plentywaka’s expansion to many other states including the nation’s capital. It will also go into improving customer experience by providing more accurate and precise tracking for journeys and facilitating faster and simpler payment options for all of Plentywaka services through a partnership with fintech platforms. “Plentywaka has recognized that over 70% of the people in Abuja…

As Nigeria’s regulator for the telecommunications industry, the Nigerian Communications Commission oversees the activities of all of the nation’s service providers including providers of Internet services. A key objective of the Commission is to promote the provision of modern, efficient, reliable, affordable and easily accessible communications services and the widest range thereof throughout Nigeria, including the Internet, with policies and industry codes developed to address issues peculiar to the Nigeria and International best practices reviewed and adopted where they do not conflict with existing national laws. The Interconnection of several networks linking thousands of devices – the Internet – and…