Communication
Airtel set to work with African Governments on HCD
…Says youth development is key to Continents growth
LIBREVILLE – Bharti Airtel, today reiterated its commitment to further support human capital in African economies across the region through the investment of ICT development and other initiatives.
Gabon’s President Ali Bongo Ondimba opened the first New York Forum AFRICA, by calling on the international economic community and all African stakeholders to increase participation in Africa’s current growth and to discover the potential of a continent that has a wealth of talent and opportunity. He was supported in this regard by HE President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, in the presence of hundreds of Africa’s policy makers.
Speaking during this year’s New York Forum Africa, Mr. Christian de Faria, CEO, Airtel Africa said “Africa is a continent with a young population, and this population is a powerful tool for development. Yet, the youth can only actively participate in positively transforming the continent if it is well prepared. That is why relevant training for the youth and an enabling ICT infrastructure is vital for the emergence of Africa as a dynamic economic centre.”
Mr. de Faria took an active part in the third edition of the New York Forum Africa held in Libreville, centered on the theme of transforming the African continent through local processing of its vast natural resources. The Forum had a special focus on African youth, as a catalyst for the development of Africa.
“Airtel recognizes the significant potential of the youth to drive the economies where we operate. That is why we are investing in rolling out ICT training programmes in countries such as Chad where over 6,000 will benefit. We are also in the process of training another 5,000 young adults in Gabon – and we will continue doing this across Africa,” said Mr. de Faria.
A research survey of Africa’s Generation Y was also unveiled by The New York Forum Institute. As well as being presented to heads of state and participants at the forum, the survey findings will be distributed by The New York Forum Institute to the top 10 companies and universities across Africa. In addition, the findings will also be presented to the first U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC on August 5 and 6, 2014.
Mr. de Faria said the challenge now remains for players in telecoms, including governments, to find a sustainable, unified vision to support learning by creating platforms such as tech hubs, centres of excellence and driving connectivity through technologies such as 3G / 4G, wireless broadband to boost innovation.
“Advancing telecommunications has a significant role in developing knowledge economies in Africa and education is the foundation of economic growth. We realize that knowledge is inseparable from the development of human capital and by investing in high-speed and smart infrastructure networks, we are bringing our young adults closer to economic independence,” said Mr. de Faria.
Airtel also took the opportunity to showcase 4G technology for participants at the forum venue.
In a significant market projection, Mordor Intelligence predicts that the Nigerian telecom sector is set to surge to a value of $11.43 billion by 2029.
The report anticipates a steady growth trajectory with a cumulative average growth rate (CAGR) of 4.70% between 2024 and 2029, based on the current market value of $9.09 billion.
The transformation of Nigeria’s telecom landscape, fueled by government initiatives to boost internet infrastructure and broadband connectivity, coupled with rising data consumption, 5G deployments, and innovative strategies from major telecom players, is expected to drive this substantial market expansion.
The report underscores additional factors propelling the growth of Nigeria’s telecom sector, emphasizing the surge in smartphone adoption.
the report said “Increased smartphone adoption in Nigeria has fueled the development of a dynamic digital services sector. Currently, millions of Nigerians use mobile apps, including social networking sites, e-commerce, and financial services.
“These apps could leverage smartphones’ capabilities to offer speed, convenience, and efficiency, encouraging more people to invest in smartphones.
“In addition to these expansions and collaborations, the growing adoption of digital technologies and government support in aiding the same alongside the 5G technology implementation across the country is analyzed to boost the demand for telecom towers significantly.”
“In addition to these expansions and collaborations, the growing adoption of digital technologies and government support in aiding the same alongside the 5G technology implementation across the country is analyzed to boost the demand for telecom towers significantly.”
Mordor Intelligence highlights that the flourishing e-commerce and digital service platforms in Nigeria are significant drivers behind the escalating demand for dependable telecom services in the country.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has granted MTN’s request to partially disconnect Globacom (Glo) from its network owing to unsettled interconnect charges.
Reuben Muoka, the NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, disclosed this in a document named ‘Pre-Disconnection Notice’ on Monday.
The move follows Glo’s persistent failure to clear its outstanding debts despite multiple attempts to resolve the issue.
Under this partial disconnection, Globacom subscribers will solely receive calls from MTN users, while retaining access to other network services like outgoing calls to other networks and data services.
However, they won’t be able to initiate calls to MTN users during this period.
The statement read, “All subscribers are, therefore requested to take notice that the Commission has approved the Partial Disconnection of Globacom to MTN in accordance with Section 100 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003 and Paragraph 9 of the Guidelines on Procedure for Granting Approval to Disconnect Telecommunications Operators, 2012.
“At the expiration of 10 days from January 8, 2024, subscribers of Globacom will no longer be able to make calls to MTN but will be able to receive calls.
“The Partial Disconnection, however, will allow in-bound calls to the Globacom network,” it added
Nigerian telecommunication users, along with others within the country, expended a total of N3.33 trillion on various telecom services such as calls, data, SMS, and more throughout 2022, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
This information comes from the recently published ‘2022 Subscriber/Network Data Annual Report’ by the NCC, which also revealed that telecom companies generated N3.33 trillion in overall revenue for that year.
The report further highlights a noteworthy growth of active voice subscriptions, rising from 195,463,898 subscriptions in 2021 to 222,571,568 by December 2022, marking a 13.86% year-on-year increase.
Commenting on the increase, it said, “The increase in the Operators’ subscriber base was attributed to a number of reasons which includes subscriber loyalty, promos, seasonal effects, aggressive consumer acquisition drive, and competitive product offerings across all the networks.”
It noted that the growth in active subscriptions impacted positively on other derived telecom indicators such as teledensity, Internet penetration as well as broadband penetration.
Data usage also continued its surge in 2022. It increased by 46.77 per cent to 518,381.78TB as of the end of the year.
The NCC stated, “There was an increase in the volume of data consumed at the year-end December 2022 when compared with the year-end December 2021.
“The total volume of data consumed by subscribers increased to 518,381.78TB as of December 2022 from 353,118.89TB as of December 2021. This represents an increase of 46.77 per cent in data consumption within the period.”
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