Tech

Abuja, Aug. 22, 2024 – The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed all telecommunications companies (telcos) to block stolen Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards within five minutes of receiving a report of their theft. The NCC said any subsequent usage of the stolen SIM should not incur charges for the consumer from the time the report is made. NCC gave the directive its recent publication, ‘Quality of Service Business Rules,’ released in August 2024. The NCC also introduced new standards to enhance customer service delivery in the telecommunications sector. These …

Abuja, Aug. 5, 2024 – The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a directive to telecommunications operators to simplify their tariff plans, bundles, and promotional activities. This move aims to provide clear, easy-to-understand, and accurate information about the cost of voice, short messaging service (SMS) and data services to subscribers. The directive, titled “Guidance on the Simplification of Tariffs in the Nigerian Communications Sector,” was issued on July 29, 2024. It mandates Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to publish a comprehensive table showing the features of their tariff plans and bundle …

Abuja, July 30, 2024 – The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has ordered immediate reactivation of SIMs that were barred during the NIN-SIM verification exercise. The NCC announced the reactivation of all SIMs that were disconnected over the weekend in view of the short time available for consumers to undertake the verification of their NINs with their SIMs  It, however, said the reactivation of the affected SIMs would be for a limited period to allow them to be properly linked to NIN. NCC said it observed that many subscribers/consumers were unable …

Abuja, July 25, 2024 – A new report of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has ranked Nigeria very high at 71 per cent in comparative legal, policy and governance frameworks towards G5, advance state of readiness for digital transformation known as G5 with Germany, Finland and Singapore leading the global chart. In the report conducted by the ITU, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and unveiled by Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani in Abuja on …

Abuja, July 19, 2024 – The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) says it has imposed $220 million fine against Meta Platforms Incorporated over discriminatory practices against Nigerian data and consumers.   Dr. Adamu Abdullahi, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of FCCPC disclosed this in a statement on Friday’ He said the penalty followed a joint investigation by the Commission, and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) into Meta platforms’ conduct, privacy policies, the operation thereof, and practices between May 2021 and December 2023, and over this period of 38 …

Washington, July 19, 2024 – A worldwide tech outage crippled industries from travel to finance on Friday before services started coming back online after hours of disruption, highlighting the risks of a global shift towards digital, interconnected technologies. A software update by global cybersecurity firm, CrowdStrike, appeared to have triggered systems problems that grounded flights, forced some broadcasters off air and left customers without access to services such as healthcare or banking. U.S. President Joe Biden had been briefed on outage, a White House official said. CrowStrike CEO, George Kurtz, said on social media …

Abuja, July 19, 2024 – The West African Telecommunications Regulatory Assembly (WATRA) says the digital economy in West Africa is contributing $30 billion annually to the regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Aliyu Aboki, the Executive Secretary of WATRA, this at a virtual media session with the theme: “Driving Digital Transformation Prosperity Through Collaborative Regulations: The WATRA Agenda,” He said that the west African telecommunications sector was integral to the Africa market, adding that the market was valued at $63.17 billion in 2024 with over 400 million mobile subscribers. “Mobile internet …