Communication
IBM Develops $2.5bn Super Computer for Kenya
HOUSTON TX- – Kenya’s e-Commerce ecosystem is set to see greater efficiencies as IBM has launched what it has dubbed the ‘most powerful and secure system ever built.’ The z13 mainframe is an impressive demonstration of human ingenuity, technological advancement, and the monumental cost in terms of time and money – five years and a whopping $2.5 billion.
Constructed with the burgeoning Kenyan mobile economy in mind, this super computer is the first system able to process 2.5 billion transactions per day. To say that this is extraordinary is an understatement considering that Kenya’s total transactions in the whole of 2014 amounted to 825 million raking in Sh2 trillion ($21.9 billion), a mere 33 percent of what the new super computer can do in a day.
“In addition to real-time encryption, the mainframe delivers analytics to help meet the expectations of consumers for speed and safety for trillions of transactions in the mobile economy,” said IBM in a statement at the launch of the system, the development of which involved 60 clients and included 500 patents including cryptographic encryption technologies.
Customers have become notoriously demanding as they see more and more of the potentials embedded in recent technological advancements. The expectation now is that mobile applications be super-fast and seamless, and this is without regard or appreciation to the back end processes that drive their requests. It is trends like these that justify the investments and efforts that go into producing technological wonders like the z13. Experts believe mobile transactions will continue to leapfrog, possibly hitting the 40 trillion transactions per day mark by 2025.
“Every time a consumer makes a purchase or hits refresh on a smart phone, it can create a cascade of events on the back end of the computing environment. The z13 is designed to handle billions of transactions for the mobile economy. Only the IBM mainframe can put the power of the world’s most secure datacenters in the palm of your hand,” said Tom Rosamilia, senior vice president, IBM Systems.
According to IBM, the z13 features the world’s fastest microprocessor which is 2 times faster than the most common server processors and contains 300 percent more memory storage. As a result, the z13 transaction engine is able to analyze transactions in real time and prevent fraud as it is occurring, thus alerting and allowing financial institutions to halt the transaction before the deed is done.
The z13 leverages the cloud architecture which has become something of a legend because of its ability to scale and reliably handle multiple workloads in a secure fashion. In a scale-out model, it is capable of running up to 8,000 virtual servers – more than 50 virtual servers per core, helping to lower software, energy and facilities costs.
Such super computers will soon be in high demand as the rest of Africa is sure to pick up on the digital race.
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.”
Suleija Jailbreak: Over 100 Inmates Still Unaccounted For – NCoS
Osun Logo Competition Closes, Panel of Judges Named
Chevron Staff On Place Of Public Relations In Crisis Management
Abuja American School Refunds $760k For Yahaya Bello’s Children – EFCC
JUST IN: Veteran Yoruba Actor Ogunjimi Is Dead
Entrenching Trust In Medical Laboratories Through Service Quality, ISO 15189 Accreditation
Sahara’s Tonye Cole resigns from GPHCDA
Niger Delta Avengers: President Buhari Reads riot Act …considers the carrot and stick option
Adeosun: We are investing in infrastructure to grow the private sector
Oando opens ultra-modern petrol station in Lagos
Shell launches Nigeria campaign on energy efficiency
