How biometric authentication is creating safer, seamless digital experiences 

How biometric authentication is creating safer, seamless digital experiences 

Consumer adoption of remote biometric authentication soars


In a connected world, necessary safety measures like biometric authentication don’t need to be implemented at the expense of a seamless digital experience, says Gur Geva, Co-Founder and CEO at iiDENTIFii – leader in remote biometric authentication and automated onboarding.

As more products and services move online, the way customers experience those services is more important than ever. At the same time, liveness detection is now a non-negotiable given the realities of identity theft and fraud. Liveness is the guarantee that the individual attempting to authenticate is a real person, not a mask, a bot or a deepfake. The good news, according to Geva, is that balancing customer experience with frictionless onboarding is now entirely possible.

Instances where advanced technology becomes difficult for users to engage with are all too common. When it comes to digital identity authentication, there are clear differences in quality between various technologies in terms of accurately and efficiently verifying digital identity. The frequency and depth of authentication depends on the needs of an organisation, which can be met with different degrees of biometric authentication such as standard facial biometric mapping and liveness or richer solutions depending on the level of security required.

As demand for fast and seamless authentication solutions rapidly increase, organisations like major banks are starting to scale back brick-and-mortar premises in favour of redirecting resources online. Digital onboarding and biometric authentication is now becoming standard practice within leading financial institutions, where security and compliance are critical for both the consumer and the institution.

As more customer onboarding, commerce, and other activities take place exclusively online, remote authentication and verification are simply part of doing business. Digital transformation means organisations are changing into platform businesses. To do this successfully, they need technology that can integrate into their systems and assures customers of a safe, smooth experience.

Digital identity and digital authentication technologies are continuously improving, and their eventual ubiquity is all but guaranteed. Ensuring useability in terms of speed and ease of use is the key differentiator, especially in an environment where the customer, and their experience, is of utmost importance.

Going forward, it will be crucial for organisations with risk and compliance obligations to have rigorous and proven authentication technologies in place. Businesses starting from scratch will need to move quickly to deploy the right systems. This is where choosing the right partner is vital – the technology has to work, and it has to work flawlessly. Many providers claim to do biometric authentication, the reality is few can deliver a truly efficient and effective solution.

Encouragingly, South Africa’s digital onboarding processes are much more sophisticated than many other countries, including several developed nations. This is evident when legislation like the Protection of Personal Information Act is created, in part, to play catch up with technology so proper governance structures are in place to protect both the customer and the institution.

South Africa’s relative familiarity with biometric authentication also means organisations that are quick to adopt it, will get ahead. Those that opt to wait and see, will risk losing their competitive edge, as well as possibly making themselves obsolete. If you are not building a strong digital presence and supporting efficient, safe products and services, then you will certainly be left behind in a market where digital adoption and demand is growing exponentially.

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NCC to Sustain the Drive for Digital Economy Transformation – Danbatta

NCC to Sustain the Drive for Digital Economy Transformation – Danbatta

The Executive Vice  Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, has emphasised the commitment of the Commission to continually drive initiatives that accelerate deployment of digital infrastructure, in order to enhance economic transformation of Nigeria.

Danbatta reiterated the commitment of the Commission while speaking at the NCC Day, at the recently-concluded 43rd Kaduna International Trade Fair, organised by the Kaduna Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (KADCCIMA).

Speaking on the overarching theme of the event “Strategising Nigerian Economy for Global Competitiveness,” in the context of the regulatory activities of the Commission, the EVC, who was represented by a Senior Manager at the Commission, Attah Ogbadu, said the NCC has been at the heart of providing the digital impetus for transforming the businesses and sustaining socio-economic activities in Nigeria.

Danbatta stated that due to the COVID-19-induced economic downturn and continued volatility, many countries are exploring policies to stimulate growth and create new jobs. “Information Communications Technology (ICT) is one of the fastest-growing industries because it triggers the creation of millions of jobs and therefore an enabler of innovation and socio-economic development”, Danbatta stated.

The EVC also asserted that while COVID-19 pandemic came with its attendant challenges, the Commission has continued to work assiduously with various stakeholders to see how more businesses can embrace digital platforms for delivering their services to the consumers.

PROF. DANBATTA, THE NCC EVC

He explained that aside accelerating digital infrastructure, NCC is also paying attention to ensuring a level-playing ground for operators to promote investment and ghe delivery of innovative services to individual consumers, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and big business owners by ensuring enhanced consumer quality of experience.

“So, as a regulator, we also ensure we constantly inform you, the consumers, on how to be protected to prevent cases of online fraud and otherwise ensure you do not fall victims to cybercrimes while using the internet, legitimately”, Danbatta stated to underscore NCC’s commitment to consumer protection.

Also speaking at the NCC Day forum, The President of KADCCIMA, Suleiman Aliyu, who was represented by an official of the Chamber, Farouk Sulaiman, commended NCC for its regular and impactful attendance and participation at the trade fair. He also placed on record NCC’s commitment to improving network coverage and consumer-centric initiatives, which are increasingly impacting job creation, the emergence of new services and industries, workforce transformation, and business innovation.

On the theme of the event, Aliyu said the theme was chosen to complement the efforts of the government in promoting economic growth. Aliyu asserted that the critical impact of the communications sector on the nation’s economic output is evident in its contribution to the Fross Domestic Product (GDP).

According to Aliyu, “the competitiveness of Nigeria would depend on our ability to leverage new technologies in light of the rapid growth of the number of active mobile subscriptions, internet subscribers, and broadband penetration, indices of telecom sector’s mark as one of the fastest-growing sectors in the country.”

Meanwhile, majority of telecom consumers, who attended the trade fair, also visited the NCC Day event and the NCC corner of the Exhibition Group of the KADCCIMA. There, officials of NCC’s Consumer Affairs Bureau educated the enthusiastic consumers on the various consumer-centric initiatives instituted by the Commission to inform, educate and protect consumers.

The telecom consumers also seized the opportunity of the platform provided by NCC at the Fair, to make complaints and to resolve their service-related challenges at the NCC Stand of the Exhibition, which also housed representatives of telecoms operators who responded to the concerns of the consumers.

Ethnos IT Solutions Brings World-Class Cyber Security Solutions to The Nigerian Corporates

Ethnos IT Solutions Brings World-Class Cyber Security Solutions to The Nigerian Corporates

In an increasingly digital world, businesses today are having greater online presence, this has necessitated   the need to invest in robust cyber security architecture. This investment has been noted to scale up business agility and also deepen the business continuity of firms. The investment in cyber security isn’t a project only designed for big corporate players. Cyber Security solutions are for all sorts of business ranging from the small business to the guy working from home and doing his online shop to the online market place. Every type of business today needs cyber security framework embedded their business plan or operational expenditure.

Ethnos IT solution, an indigenous cyber security IT solution provider, with over a decade in providing robust cyber security solutions has brought to the forefront various layers of security architecture for all tiers of organizations. The company has made seeking for reliable experts in the cybersecurity ecosystem seamless and easy for the Nigerian business managers.

Having known this, another challenge that most business owners or chief technology officers do is that they assume that cyber security is all about buying an antivirus and dumping it in the platform or sever. Cybersecurity transcends above this narrative. Depending on the platform or business model, this cyber security can involve vulnerability testing, ethical hacking, penetration testing and all what not. In a perilous world like ours today criminals are constantly inventing, researching and deploying the best methods t breach your platforms, the role of cyber security solution providers like Ethnos IT is to ensure that organizations are one step ahead of these criminals.

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Speaking on the role of experts in cybersecurity ecosystem, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the indigenous firm, Mr Peter Ejiofor said “Ethnos provides solutions and professional services in the field of Information Security, Risk Management, Cyber Security and Compliance Management. “

He added “We advise and support companies and organizations that want to align their ICT environment with ‘Best Practices’ for Enterprise Security. We stand for assurance of security when it comes to cost-effective measures and solutions to reduce the risks, to get more in control and also to preserve the trust in doing business. The many years of experience of our professionals in IT Governance and Information Security guarantee an optimal implementation and customer satisfaction. We work with reputable and innovative suppliers. “

“Today, technology is looking at artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, metaverse, digital transformation, holography and many others. We have grown with these new technologies and also improved in our capacity and skillset to support our customers as they consume these technologies. We have grown our market base, personnel, in terms of global technical engagements we have grown also. That is the journey.”

On the expertise of Ethnos IT as a cyber security solution provider, Peter said ““Currently, we have a wealth of experience and we have changed our thinking and vision as a company. What we do now is to solve real problems for organizations and we are not limited in our thinking. We are not limited in any area of cyber security. We are no longer at this stage delivering products but solving problems. We evaluate customers to determine their needs, some we train them and improve their cyber hygiene culture, some we deploy technologies to control their touchpoints others we support on their regulatory journeys. So, we look at businesses and implement threat management and we have platforms that we can plugin your environment and help you control and detect threats from internet exposure to data base.”

Ethnos provides solutions and professional services in the field of Information Security, Risk Management, Cyber Security and Compliance Management. We advise and support companies and organizations that want to align their ICT environment with ‘Best Practices’ for Enterprise Security. We stand for assurance of security when it comes to cost-effective measures and solutions to reduce the risks, to get more in control and also to preserve the trust in doing business. The many years of experience of our professionals in IT Governance and Information Security guarantee an optimal implementation and customer satisfaction. We work with reputable and innovative suppliers. We are ready to fulfil your specific requirements for working securely, either in or outside the cloud.

Ethnos focuses on providing Security, Governance and Business Improvement to organizations of all sizes.

Ethnos have partnered with worldclass brands such as; Webroot, Trustwave, Checkmarx, One Identity, AlgoSec, Thales, SentinelOne, Checkpoint, Beyond Security, Acunetix, RSA-EMC, Security Innovations, Ipswitch, PaloAlto Networks, PECB, Forcepoint, DataSunrise, Digital Guardian, Gemalto, Gigamon, Logrhythm, Kaspersky and more.

“In delivering our solutions, we strive to first understand the specific security requirements of our clients, assess their risks and unique security and compliance needs and identify the gaps between current and desired security postures. We then utilize highly experienced and extensively trained information security professionals to deliver custom solutions optimized for cost, efficiency and performance. If required, we assist to manage your compliance against regulatory standards and certifications while continuously work with you to ensure our solutions fully delivers ROI”, Peter Ejiofor concluded.

Anthony Emeka Nwosu

“We advise and support companies and organizations that want to align their ICT environment with ‘Best Practices’ for Enterprise Security. We stand for assurance of security when it comes to cost-effective measures and solutions to reduce the risks, to get more in control and also to preserve the trust in doing business. The many years of experience of our professionals in IT Governance and Information Security guarantee an optimal implementation and customer satisfaction. We work with reputable and innovative suppliers. “

HOW ZETA WEB NIGERIA IS CHANGING THE ICT ECOSYSTEM WITH INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

HOW ZETA WEB NIGERIA IS CHANGING THE ICT ECOSYSTEM WITH INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

Zeta Web Nigeria Limited, an indigenous information and communication technology (ICT) with emphasis in broadband and internet solution, call center solution and a host of other innovative ICT solution. ZetaWeb has been described as a company set-up to bridge the gap between Quality Solutions and Services as well as Business Success. the company has been described by industry watchers and stakeholders as one of the innovative indigenous ICT firms in the country offering world-class solutions.

Zeta-Web Nigeria Limited (ZNL) is an ICT company with significant expertise focused on value creation for all our customers through the provision of world class, full-service resource system with expanded technological capabilities – to meet our clients’ total communication requirements.

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Speaking to the media on one of the flagship solutions known as Z Force, Chris Obasi, Managing Director, Zeta–Web Nigeria Limited, concisely outlined the importance of Z-Force to the current workplace. “Our Z-Force service is unique in its design as it came out at a point when users are seeking internet services with both speed and data that they can use while working remotely, void of the frequent intermittencies and the high-cost associated with such requests, ¨ he stated.

With bouquet of solution in their kitty, ZetaWeb Limited as evolved to a complete ICT firm where the organization has made itself a one stop area for all ICT needs for corporate and individual clients. The ZetaWeb has a team of Web Experts that do undertake all online and offline services that ensure clients benefit from having an online presence. The ZETA-WEB CONTACT CENTER deploy sustainable and unmatched Contact Centre Solution at clients’ business facilities to provide them with the right technical support. While the ZETA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS is meant to Design, implement and operate high-end enterprise networks, data centre technologies and applications for various tier of customers.

The company’s INTERNET SERVICES are based on various technologies such as VSAT (Ka, Ku, C band) services, Wireless Technology, Fibre, FiberSat and Corporate Networks. While their ICT CONSULTING AND OUTSOURCING includes Business Automation, Service Level Agreements, Project Management, Mobile Application Development.  They also offer IT SECURITY solutions and these are E-Council Cyber crime Security Solutions & Training, SOC, End-point protection, DAM, Next-Gen Firewall, Data Loss Prevention, Network Access Control, Web Application Firewall, Mobile Device Management.

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The ZetaWeb SOFTWARE DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION is al about Bespoke Software & Digital Business Solutions – Document Management with workflow process solutions, Process Mining, Travel Management Solutions, Sales Automation Process Solutions.

Zeta-Web Nigeria Ltd (ZNL) is an ICT firm with vast experience in innovating, designing and deploying IT technology solutions in Nigeria and across Africa.  According to Muyiwa Esomojumi – Manager Marketing and Corporate Communications of Zeta-Web Ltd, she said “We are well positioned to significantly contribute to the realization of Nigeria’s vision of becoming a regional ICT hub.”

“On our platform clients are assured that slow browsing, intermittency, service degration are eliminated because all our internet services come with a redundant link that allows us to switch clients seamlessly. We lead the market from our customers’ perspective, by providing a balance between Reliable, Fast & Efficient Internet connections with Value-added services on a cost effective platform.”

ANTHONY NWOSU

With bouquet of solution in their kitty, ZetaWeb Limited as evolved to a complete ICT firm where the organization has made itself a one stop area for all ICT needs for corporate and individual clients. The ZetaWeb has a team of Web Experts that do undertake all online and offline services that ensure clients benefit from having an online presence. The ZETA-WEB CONTACT CENTER deploy sustainable and unmatched Contact Centre Solution at clients’ business facilities to provide them with the right technical support. While the ZETA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS is meant to Design, implement and operate high-end enterprise networks, data centre technologies and applications for various tier of customers.

Participants Acknowledge Policy, Regulatory Impact on Digital Connectivity

Participants Acknowledge Policy, Regulatory Impact on Digital Connectivity

…Pivot future of work, business growth, content development on digital connectivity

As the weeklong 2022 edition of AfricaNXT opened today at the Landmark Event Centre, Lagos, discussants at panel sessions and other participants have acknowledged the positive impact of Federal Government’s policy and regulatory efforts, through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in fostering increased connectivity.

Thre was a groundswell of opinion that improved connectivity has enhanced individual and corporate activities that are bolstering socio-economic development in Nigeria.

The discussants particularly identified the critical role which digital connectivity is playing and will continue to play in shaping the future of work and the development of commercial activities in the country.

At a panel discussion, titled: “Bridging the African Digital Economy Gap,” discussants examined, in great depth and perspectives, how digital economy gap can be addressed in Nigeria and across Africa towards supporting business owners to sustainably grow global brands emerging from the African continent.

Also, at a panel discussion on “Future of Work: Exploring Pathways to Careers in the Digital Age”, panelists emphasised the transformational role digital connectivity is playing in bringing about efficient work environment, virtual collaboration at the work place, mobile work as well as remote work, thus replacing the hitherto brick and mortar business model, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Formerly known as Social Media Week Lagos, now rebranded AfricaNXT, the conference and festival is
one of the largest technology events in Africa, with a gathering of business owners, innovators, technology enthusiasts and regulators, to discuss and network on how Africa can take its befitting place in the emerging global digital economy.

Already, the NCC delegation has arrived the venue of the event in high spirit ready to participate in the various panel sessions ahead of the main NCC panel session on Fifth Generation Deployment scheduled to take place on Thursday, March 3, 2022.

The panel session to be constituted by senior staff of NCC, on various regulatory aspects of 5G being driven by the NCC to deepen digital connectivity, will be a forum to educate hundreds of participants expected at the NCC panel session.

There are indications of enthusiasm about the NCC discourse and participants seem ready to use the opportunity to deepen their understanding of the new technology.

Over the years, NCC has put in place an effective regulatory regime that has continued to make the country witness increase in its Internet penetration and usage of digital media.

As at December 2021, active mobile Internet subscriptions reached over 141 million; active mobile (voice) subscriptions stood at 195.4 million, broadband penetration has reached 40.88 per cent while digital economy access gaps identified by the Commission are being drastically reduced to ensure saturated Internet connectivity across the country.

Besides, the Commission has facilitated deployment of emerging  technologies from the a First Generation (1G), to 2G, 3G and 4G-LTE, and is vigorously driving deployment of 5G network in the country with the recent auction of 3.5 gigahertz (Ghz) spectrum licences to operators that will deploy 5G technology in the country.

Also, NCC is driving effective implementation of the National Digital Economy Policy & Strategy (NDEPS), 2020-2030, and the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025 to actualize the laudable targets of deepening broadband penetration, reducing cost of broadband services, and improving digital literacy and skills. These, participants reckoned, have transformed businesses with multiplier effect on Nigeria’s GDP in which the telecom sector contributes more than 12 percent.

Earlier, at the first business session hosted by The Guardian newspaper, held after the opening plenary, discussants and participants visualised how African stories will be told in the next 10 years. There is a convergence of opinions that great developments in Africa could propel emergence of great brands that can shape the nature of content as well as their narrations to the benefit of Africa.

Furthermore, the extant NDEPS, the NNBP and the New Policy on 5G networks for Digital Nigeria, are expected to combine to shape the nature of and significance of content generation, processing and dissemination in Africa.

NCC to Strengthen AOL Administration

NCC to Strengthen AOL Administration

…Set to deploy Revenue Assurance Solutions

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is unwavering in its commitment to deploy a Revenue Assurance Solution (RAS) in the telecommunication sector to ensure a more robust Annual Operating Levy (AOL) administration in the telecom industry.

This subject matter was the focus of an industry stakeholder consultative engagement organized by the Commission at its Head Office in Abuja on Friday, February 25, 2022, which is in congruence with the NCC’s renowned commitment to inclusive participation and consultative stakeholder engagement as part of its regulatory practice.

The RAS application is designed to ensure a linkage with licensed telecommunications operators’ systems and will have the capability of capturing and reporting in near real-time, billing activities by the operators for the purposes, amongst others, of computing and assuring with minimal margin of error, the accruable AOL to NCC from the licensees. When deployed, the NCC RAS will bring significant solutions to the industry’s challenges, including a more effective and enhanced monitoring and regulation of the licensed telecommunications operators.

Speaking at the event, which was well attended by representatives of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Licensees of the Value Added Service chain, officials of the Commission and other industry stakeholders, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said AOL remains the bedrock of an efficient and effective telecommunications regulatory environment.

Danbatta said the event was organized to sensitize industry stakeholders through a conversation on the Commission’s plan to deploy RAS that will instill greater transparency and increased accuracy in the administration of AOL in the sector, as stipulated by the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003.

According to the EVC, since the NCA 2003 came into force and pursuant to Section 72 of the Act, various efforts have been made by the Commission towards achieving an effective AOL administration, including the development of AOL Regulations 2014, which is being reviewed.

He said the Commission believes that the deployment of appropriate RAS would enhance monitoring and regulatory activities around AOL administration and confer higher levels of integrity and fidelity on the AOL figures obtainable in the industry.

In a contextual recall, Danbatta stated that the need to deploy the most appropriate Revenue Assurance Systems in the Nigerian telecommunications industry began since 2015 when Commission published an invitation to bid for the services, in which 3R Company Nigeria Limited emerged the preferred bidder. The EVC informed that during the bid process, the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), indicated a ‘no objection’ to the process.

“However, it was reasoned thereafter, that due to the scope of the project, the solution would be more appropriately procured under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement. This led to the invitation of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to guide the process, as mandated by its regulations. Following this, the Commission set up a Project Delivery Team (PDT), which worked with a consortium of legal advisers, financial modelers and PPP experts under the guidance of ICRC, and took the appropriate steps required under the ICRC Regulations 2005,” he said.
He said part of the process included a proper due diligence of the preferred partner, which received a clean bill of health from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) while the Commission also subjected the software and hardware components of the proposed RAS to the certification of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

The EVC stated further that the Commission recorded a major feat in December 17, 2021, as the transaction received the Certificate of Compliance from the ICRC in line with the Provisions of the ICRC Act 2005. “Thus, the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) graciously presented the NCC RAS project to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) Meeting on January 26, 2022, where the final approval was given for the implementation of the solution,” he said.

Underscoring the EVC’s position, the Head, Special Duties, Reuben Muoka, stated that the industry has been waiting for the RAS from the Commission. He also signaled that this current regulatory intervention will bring about a multiplier effect on the economy, local content and several other sectors in the Nigerian economy.

Speaking in the same vein, Deputy Director, Technical Standards and Network Integrity, NCC, Edoyemi Ogoh, stated that the approval of the RAS project by the FEC is a major success in finding a transparent process for an independent assessment, validation and completeness of the Annual Operating Levy (AOL).  

Ogoh said the solution has the capability to limit the loss of revenue due to faulty billings, inaccurate or incomplete data and information from service providers, redundantly provided services and frauds. “It will enable the resolution of inconsistencies in billings for services provided by licensed service providers to their subscribers as well as AOL bills from NCC to service providers, resulting in optimum efficiency and accuracy. The RAS would enable the Commission to validate the information, records and data that are supplied to the Commission by the licensees,” Ogoh emphasised.

MICROSOFT AFRICA DEVELOPMENT CENTER (ADC) CONNECTS DEVELOPERS THROUGH ITS USER GROUP SERIES, AZURE DEVELOPERS CONNECT

MICROSOFT AFRICA DEVELOPMENT CENTER (ADC) CONNECTS DEVELOPERS THROUGH ITS USER GROUP SERIES, AZURE DEVELOPERS CONNECT

Microsoft Africa Development Center, the premier engineering center for Microsoft is organizing a free virtual event as part of its ADC’s user group series themed Azure Developers Connect for Developers and Software Engineers in Africa scheduled to hold on the 24th of February, 2022.

The event which would be held virtually is targeted at Azure user groups & communities, developers, engineers, working professionals; Tech communities in West Africa and Kenya in a bid to expose them to the many capabilities of Azure for building next-gen apps and driving global transformation as a developer or software engineer in Africa.

Microsoft Azure is Microsoft’s public cloud computing platform that provides a wide range of cloud services such as computing, analytics, networking, and storage. Microsoft Azure helps developers and software engineers to develop new applications or even upscale existing applications with its various cloud services. The public cloud computing platform is flexible and open which makes it globally recognized to developers and software engineers due to reliability.

Developers and software engineers would enjoy practical sessions with Top Azure experts, as well as get insights into existing cloud features, they never knew were in existence. Speakers at the event will include Scott Hunter (VP DIR Program Management, Azure Applications, Microsoft) Matt Soucoup (Senior Cloud Advocate, Microsoft) Donald Okafor (Principal Software Engineering lead, Microsoft ADC) Kehinde Ladipo (Software engineer, Microsoft ADC) and other Microsoft ADC software Engineers. The event would also serve as a great way for developers and software engineers to network with other Azure professionals in the field.

Developers and Software Engineers in Africa can book their seat by registering with the link https://aka.ms/AzureDevelopersConnect to get an in-depth knowledge about exploring the Microsoft Azure Platform and its existing features whilst they prepare to build next-gen apps that would drive global transformations.

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Microsoft Africa Development Center (ADC) represents Microsoft’s first-ever engineering offices in Africa, with locations in Nairobi, Kenya and Lagos, Nigeria. These centers were created by Microsoft to serve as a base for African industry leaders to create local solutions with global scalability as well as provide employment opportunities and further enhance technological innovations in the continent of Africa.

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. For more information, news and insights from Microsoft, please visit Microsoft’s news center at http://news.microsoft.com and or Middle East & Africa News Center (microsoft.com)

MTN Communications Nigeria Plc and Mafab Communications Limited, have made their full payment of $273.6 million each for the 5G Spectrum license

MTN Communications Nigeria Plc and Mafab Communications Limited, have made their full payment of $273.6 million each for the 5G Spectrum license

Provisional winners of the 3.5 Gigahertz (GHz) spectrum licence, MTN Communications Nigeria Plc and Mafab Communications Limited, have made their full payment of $273.6 million each for the 5G Spectrum license to the Nigerian Communications Commission.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, officially confirmed the payment status today, February 24, 2022, just as the deadline set for the two winners of the spectrum auction elapsed.

As part of the auction process emplaced by the Commission in the Information Memorandum (IM), three companies, namely MTN Nigeria, Mafab Communications Ltd and Airtel Networks Ltd submitted bids with an initial bid deposit (IBD) of $19.74 million, representing 10 per cent of the Reserve Price of the 3.5GHz Spectrum by the close of the Bid submission date of November 29, 2021.

Following the successful auction on December 13, 2021 and the emergence of MTN and Mafab as winners, they were required to pay the balance of the bid amount of $253.86 million on or before February 24, 2022.

However, aside the $273.6 million payment, MTN paid additional $15.9 million, being the bidding sum it offered at the assignment state of the spectrum auction, making it clinch its preferred Lot 1 (3500-3600 Megahertz-MHz) in the 3.5Ghz spectrum; while, Mafab Communications, which bided lower at the assignment stage, consequentially settled with Lot 2 (3700-3800Mhz) at no extra cost.

Confirming the payments by the two licensees, Danbatta said: “I wish to officially announce that NCC has received and confirmed payments from MTN and Mafab for their acquisition of 1 slot of 100Mhz each in the 3.5Ghz spectrum auction, which was successfully conducted by the Commission on December 13, 2021. They both met the deadline of February 24, 2022 as set by the Commission”.

“Arising from this and on behalf of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, the Board and Management of the NCC, I wish to congratulate the MTN and Mafab for this feat, as we look forward to accomplishing other deployment timelines in the 5G deployment roadmap, as articulated in the National Policy on 5G Networks for Nigeria’s Digital Economy”, Danbatta stated.

For meeting the payment deadline, Danbatta has commended the two companies for their commitment to 5G deployment drive through their private investments, which he said, was a demonstration of the licensees’ belief in the sound regulatory environment in the Nigerian telecommunications sector.

Danbatta also expressed appreciation to the Federal Government for its support and commitment to the deployment of 5G technology in Nigeria which, he said, will bring substantial network improvements, including higher connection speed, mobility and capacity, as well as low-latency capabilities to communications services in Nigeria.

The Commission published a Public Notice on its decision to award two lots of 100MHz Time Division Duplex (TDD) available in the 3.5 GHz band through an auction process, to support the delivery of ubiquitous broadband services for the deployment of 5G technology in Nigeria.

Subsequently, an Information Memorandum (IM) was issued on November 10, 2021, in which Bid Applications for the available spectrum lots were invited. By the deadline for receipt of applications on November 29, 2021, the Commission received applications from three licensed telecommunications companies, namely: Airtel Networks Limited, Mafab Communications Limited, and MTN Communications Nigeria Plc.

The Auction held successfully on Monday, December 13, 2021 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja with the three bidders competing for the available two lots in which the Commission adopted the Ascending Clock Auction format that ended after Round 11, and proceeded to the Assignment Stage.

In the auction, MTN and Mafab emerged provisional licence winners and arising from this, the winning bid price for the auction was put at $273.6 million for each lot of 100 MHz TDD. The Provisional licence winners were then directed to pay the Winning Bid Price less the Intention-to-Bid Deposit, by February 24, 2022.

Industry stakeholders and observers have commended the Commission for the auction process, described as efficient, fair, well-organised and transparent; as well as designed to deliver the ideal outcome which saw the strongest bidders emerge as winners, raising a substantial amount for the Federal Government and setting the stage for the next phase in Nigeria’s 5G roadmap.

NCC Committed to Tackling Telecom Infrastructure Deficit – Danbatta

NCC Committed to Tackling Telecom Infrastructure Deficit – Danbatta

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is irrevocably committed to the implementation of various regulatory initiatives and programmes, in collaboration with all stakeholders in the telecom ecosystem, towards bridging identified gaps and shortages in critical telecom infrastructure in the country. The overarching objective is to fulfil Commission’s mandate and support extant and emergent policies and strategies of the Federal Government focused on providing ubiquitous, accessible and affordable broadband services in Nigeria.

The Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (EVC/CEO) of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, stated this during an in-house interview which took place at the Commission’s Head Office in Abuja recently. The EVC emphasized the centrality of infrastructure to telecom service provisioning by asserting that availability of broadband in sufficiency was non-negotiable and irreducible in the nation’s strategy towards delivering pervasive telecom services.

Danbatta also put the efforts of Government in context towards addressing infrastructure gaps, and commended both state and non-state actors for the vision, diligence and continued dedication to the implementation of the Nigerian National Broadband Plan (NNBP) 2020-2025, an initiative of the Federal Government, being driven by NCC and conceived to address infrastructure gaps in the telecom and ICT sector. The EVC said he was gratified that the new plan particularly took into consideration, the identified gaps and challenges in its precursor, the National Broadband Plan 2013-2018, which implementation the NCC was equally central to.

According to Danbatta, one of the identified gaps to robust connectivity was the fact that inadequate infrastructure remained a bane to achieving desired broadband penetration to boost access to services that will enhance economic growth and development. He emphasised that the Commission recognises the importance of infrastructure expansion and this explains its unequivocal commitment and desire to see the licensed Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) work speedily and with precision to cascade fibre to the hinterland, in order to enhance robust telecom service provision. He said the InfraCo licensees, expectedly, also prioritize stipulated licensing conditions to ensure expected milestones set by the Commission are achieved.

The EVC stated that Commission’s target for licensing the infraCos was to ensure the deployment of fibre infrastructure needed for pervasive broadband penetration across the 774 local government areas (LGAs). This, he said, will ensure access to telecoms services in the hinterlands of the country, and by so doing address the challenges of access confronting the unserved and underserved areas of the country.

Danbatta also placed on record Commission’s desire for inclusiveness as seminal to erecting sustainable telecom architecture. This, according to him is critical in ensuring the achievement of Federal Government’s target on digital access and financial inclusion.

One visible area of beneficial financial service riding on telecom infrastructure is the provision of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) for financial transactions across various financial institutions’ platforms. This feat, Danbatta asserted, has brought ease to financial transactions, even as he recalled that NCC is providing support for e-payment initiatives and policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), including the e-Naira project, which is the digital currency issued and regulated by the apex bank.

“So, the Commission is committed to ensuring inclusiveness by ensuring the provision of affordable and pervasive accessibility to the Internet as emphasised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations (UN). We are aware that until commensurate infrastructure is deployed in the country, the country may not hit the required target necessary for the desired economic development,” the EVC added.

Additionally, Danbatta stated that the Commission has recorded remarkable progression with respect to contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is besides facilitating investment, enhancing Quality of Service (QoS) to enhance consumer quality of experience and stakeholder satisfaction in line with the expectations of the Strategic Management Plan 2020-2024. He assured that Commission will heightened efforts in all areas of the Plan as streamlined in new Strategic Vision Implementation Plan (SVIP) 2021-2025, including facilitating strategic collaboration and partnering through which it has forged quantifiable strategic alliances with its ever-expanding array of stakeholders.

Concerning NCC’s pioneering strides in the deployment of Fifth Generation (5G) network in Sub-Saharan Africa, Danbatta explained that the rollout of 5G network in Nigeria will require more infrastructure for the service to reach all parts of the country. He called for concerted efforts and unwavering commitment of all stakeholders for the nation to achieve steady, timely and accurate deployment of 5G services because of its benefits to individuals, businesses and the growth of the country.

How to protect your Instagram account from phishing and scams

How to protect your Instagram account from phishing and scams

Account safety and helping our community keep their accounts secure is extremely important to us at Instagram. We have a number of tools in place to help people keep their Instagram accounts safe against phishing attacks and suspicious activity – and we’re always working to improve and update these security features to ensure that we remain a safe and welcoming community.

From Security Checkup to reporting tools, we’ve rounded up five key steps for everyone to help keep their account secure:

  • Security Checkup: a new feature to help people keep their Instagram accounts secure. Security Checkup will guide people, whose accounts may have been hacked, through the steps needed to secure them. This includes checking login activity, reviewing profile information, confirming the accounts that share login information and updating account recovery contact information such as phone number or email.
  • Enable two-factor authentication: We strongly recommend setting up two-factor authentication, which is a security feature that helps protect your Instagram account and your password. Having two-factor authentication means you’ll receive a notification or be asked to enter a special login code when someone tries logging into your account from a device we don’t recognize. Head to Security in your Settings and set this up in just a few taps, either using your phone number, or an authenticator app like Duo Mobile or Google Authentication. 
  • Enable Login Request: When you set up two-factor authentication on Instagram, you’ll receive an alert whenever someone tries to log in to your account from a device or web browser we don’t recognize. These alerts will tell you which device tried logging in and where it’s located. You can approve or deny the request immediately from your already logged in devices. You can also view the list of devices that have recently logged into your Instagram account at any time under “Settings,” “Security,” “Login Activity.” If you don’t recognize a recent login, you can log out of that location or device and let us know that the login wasn’t you.
  • Update your phone number and email: Make sure that the email and phone numbers associated with your device are up to date. That way if something happens to your account, we can reach you. These steps let you recover your account even if your info has been changed by a hacker. 
  • Instagram will never send you a DM: Over the past few months, we’ve seen a rise in malicious accounts DMing people to try and access sensitive information like account passwords. They may tell you that your account is at risk of being banned, that you are violating our policies around intellectual property, or that your photos are being shared elsewhere. These messages are often scams and violate our policies. When we discover these kinds of scams, we take action against them, but we also encourage you to report the content and block the account. Remember: Instagram will never send you a DM. If Instagram ever wants to reach you about your account, we will do so via the ‘Emails from Instagram’ tab in your settings, which is the only place you will find direct and authentic communication from us on the app. 
  • Report content and accounts you find questionable: While we are always improving our technology to combat new trends and techniques that hackers and spammy accounts may use, you can also report individual pieces of content to us by tapping the three dots above a post, holding on a message, or by visiting an account and reporting directly from the profile. 

For more information about our safety tools, visit our Help Center here.