Author: ITPulse

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta has highlighted some of the initiatives that the Commission is deploying to protect and empower consumers of telecom services. Some of such mechanisms, according to Danbatta are the declaration of 2017 as the Year of the Consumer, the introduction of the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) 2442 Short Code, the introduction of the NCC toll-free Number 622; the stringent provisions of Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) Registration Guidelines, issuance of direction on forceful subscription and data roll-over. The former University lecturer, who highlighted these initiatives in an interaction with senior editors…

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in partnership with Japan and Saudi Arabia, has launched Connect2Recover, which will reinforce affordable and reliable connectivity in beneficiary countries as they adjust to the “new normal”, occasioned by Covid-19. The essence of the Connect2R​ecover​ is to help countries recover from COVID-19 by expanding access to affordable and reliable connectivity, especially in selected countries in Africa which are some of the least well connected and likely to be hit hard by the pandemic in socio-economic terms. “ITU and the wider international community is transitioning from aiding countries with their immediate response to COVID-19 to helping…

The duo of Djembe Consultants and AfriLabs have sealed a partnership to develop a report ‘Building a Resilient Innovative Africa’ on the future of African innovation amidst a backdrop of the global pandemic. The Report will cover trends and opportunities in technology and enterprise, the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the framing of a regional policy discussion around African innovation – crucial dialogues in the quest towards realizing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the region-wide socio-economic objectives set out in the African Union Agenda 2063 in the post-COVID economy. The three report themes are Scaling…

Nigeria’s premier financial institution, FirstBank has graduated twelve successful candidates in the third edition of its Senior Management Development Programme (SMDP). The graduation ceremony, which was held virtually, via the Zoom video conferencing platform two days ago, is a FirstBank’s intensive modular program for a select group of senior managers to principal managers who are proven leaders in their respective functions and have been identified as central to the Bank’s succession plan. “I am delighted with the performance of the third set of the Senior Management Development Program (SMDP) graduands. The set’s performance and response to the various pieces of…

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in line with its functions and objectives under the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, has alerted the general public to the increasing incidents of fraud across various platforms, especially on social media networks. The alert is coming as of its mandate to promote and protect the interests of telecom consumers in the country. “We advise telecom consumers using any social media platform to be alert and wary of the wiles of fraudsters and other unscrupulous persons, in order not to fall victim to their antics,’’ it warned. According to NCC, the latest scams sometimes take…

Despite the reduced consumer spending on electronic devices, a new report by GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company has predicted that the addition of advanced features such as social distancing warning alarm, body temperature monitoring, oxygen saturation (SpO2) monitoring and handwashing timer is bound to drive smartwatch adoption. The report noted that the Covid-19 outbreak will lead to a Y-o-Y 9 percent decline in smartwatches shipment, resulting in a 10 percent revenue dip in 2020. “The smartwatch segment is expected to be impacted by COVID-19 to some degree. However, factors like new entrants, selective M&As, smart COVID-19 features’ support,…

The Chief Executive Officer of London based Heficed, Vincentas Grinius has identified top 3 Information Technology priorities that will continue to gain traction post-Covid-19 that is presently ravaging the world. The Covid-19 pandemic has altered the list of priorities in the IT sector, as companies had to facilitate the sudden shift to the digital space. But Vincentas Grinius, CEO at Heficed, which provides full-range services for IP lease, monetization, and management services shared what areas are most likely to remain at the center of attention once the crisis has dialed down. When the pandemic first struck, many ventures realized that…

The world is run by numbers. With numbers, we measure, rank and position. In many parts of the world, numbers decide elections, determine the distribution of economic resources and serve as a yardstick for measuring progress. Understanding numbers, therefore, is an important way to appreciate issues.    Today, there is a number for nearly everything. The most impressive ones are those that show trends.    The World Bank is big on numbers. The numbers from its research influence policies in countless countries and organisations. It estimates that almost 10 percent of the world’s population, or 734 million people, are poor.…

A new report by Partech Africa Team has revealed that the Venture Capital funding raised by tech startups on the continent totaled US$ 2.02 billion, representing 74 percent year-on-year growth when compared to US$ 1.163 Billion in 2018. In the report titled ‘2019 Africa Tech Venture Capital Report’, the totaled US$ 2.02 billion was recorded in 250 deals with an average tech deal of $8.08 million in the year. According to Partech, there is massive densification of early-stage with 206 transactions (+57% YoY) in Seed & Series A investments totaling US$ 620 Million (+116% YoY), a confirmation that there is…

In a bid to improve broadband penetration in Nigeria and vigorously pursue the Digital Economy agenda, the Nigerian government is targeting an additional 120,000 kilometers of fibre cables in the next four years. This will an improvement from the 54,725 kilometers of fibre cables presently laid across the country through the efforts of some private companies in the sector. The government spoke through the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, while reeling out NCC’s regulatory priority areas for the next five years during an interactive session with senior media chiefs from the mainstream and…