Airtel Africa Plc, on Thursday, reported that it lost $151 million due to the harmonisation of foreign exchange rates in Nigeria. It disclosed this in its second quarter report filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited. The telecom company said, “Profit after tax was negative ($151 million), driven largely by a foreign exchange loss of $471 million recorded in finance cost …

The House of Representatives has mandated its Committee on Telecommunications (when constituted) to interface with Global System for Communication (GSM) providers to stop network providers from reselling already purchased SIM cards. The call followed the consideration of a motion moved by Hon. Boniface Sunday Emerengwa at the plenary on Tuesday. Emerengwa recalled that GSM came into Nigeria in 2001 with …

President Bola Tinubu has signed four Executive Orders one of which is the suspension of the five per cent Excise Tax on telecommunication services and the Excise Duties escalation on locally manufactured products. Among them is the The Finance Act (Effective Date Variation) Order, 2023, which defers the commencement date of the changes contained in the Act from 23rd May …

Total investments into the telecommunication sector rose to $75.6 billion as of the end of 2021, the Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, has disclosed. According to him, this comprises foreign direct investment and local investment as of 2021. He stated this at an interactive session with stakeholders in the communications media ecosystem, in …

Telecommunication firms have said they will not be forgiving the N120 billion Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) debt banks owe them. They stated that banks must pay the debt, insisting banks would be disconnected once every effort at resolution was exhausted. According to the Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, banks are yet to positively …

Globacom has announced a daily draw game, Lucky Number, to allow its active subscribers win cash prizes and airtime. In a statement, the telco said that its Lucky Number is an entertainment platform packaged to add excitement to the daily activities of its subscribers. It said the drawn game would automatically enter subscribers’ numbers to sequentially match a randomly selected …

The immediate past Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami has been conferred with an ‘Award of Excellence’ by Qausain TV. The award was presented to him by the National President of the television station, Malam Albanin Agege, in Abuja. Agege said that the former minister deserved the award for his numerous contribution to the development of the …

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Internet Service Providers (ISP) in the country to comply with regulatory frameworks emplaced by the Commission towards ensuring the security and safety of their networks for telecom consumers. The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Commission, Prof. Umar Danbatta, gave the charge at the …

Globacom has announced data roaming plans for Nigerians performing the 2023 pilgrimage in Mecca. According to the telecommunication firm, this was to allow the pilgrims the chance to communicate, capture and share moments with their loved ones back home. The firm said it had introduced unique Glo data roaming packages enabling subscribers to take advantage of its data services in …

To unlock the full potential of the fifth generation (5G network), the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged Nigerians to prioritise the privacy of the consumers’ data and maintain its ethical use always. NCC gave the charge yesterday at the 2023 Nigeria DigitalSense Forum on Internet Governance for Development (IG4D) organised by an online publication, ITRealms with a theme: ‘Data …