Tech

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 …

Abuja, July 12, 2024 – Stakeholders in the telecom industry have said the Federal Government’s plan to deploy 90,000 kilometers of fibre optic cables across the country will face several obstacles, especially from state governments, that might truncate the project.   According to them, without addressing the current issue of Right of Way charges, multiple taxation, and levies, which are under the control of state governments, the project which is to be implemented through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) would be an exercise in futility.   The stakeholders, who spoke during the …

Abuja July 9, 2024 – The federal government projects to generate N18.3 billion from digital economy sector by 2026. Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday. The press conference, organised by the House of Representatives, was on the National Digital Economy and e-Governance Bill. The minister said the bill was long overdue to properly and fully harness the potential of the sector in the country. He said: “For those who follow the growth and trajectory of our …

Abuja, July 8, 2024 – Dr. Bosun Tijani, the Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, says there is the need for Nigeria to join the global movement towards a future driven by technological advancements. The minister said this recently at a stakeholders’ workshop organised by his ministry to prepare Nigeria for the upcoming Summit of the Future at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2024. The workshop was to review the zero draft document outlining Nigeria’s stance on the Global Digital Compact (GDC) ahead of the summit. …

Lagos, June 10, 2014 – Bismarck Rewane, the Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC), has called for more new investments in the Nigeria’s telecom sector. He said investments in the sector had dropped by 47 percent in the last two years which had crippled the market efficiency. Rewane made the call in a Lagos Business School publication where he attributed the situation to Nigeria’s economic challenges, inflation, exchange rate pressures, regulatory burden, right-of-way conundrums and multiple taxation. He said the way out is to boost investments in the …