Technology
Pantami Lauds Airtel’s Commitment to Put Compliance over Profit
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The decision of the management of Airtel Nigeria to put compliance over profit despite being in business for the latter has excited the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Mr Isa Ali Pantami.
On Tuesday, Mr Segun Ogunsanya, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa Plc, the parent company of Airtel Nigeria, was at the office of the Minister.
He was there to introduce his successor, Mr Surendran Chemmenkotil, and to solicit the continuous support of the federal government for the company and the sector at large.
Mr Ogunsanya, who led Airtel Nigeria for over 9 years, was recently appointed the GCEO of Airtel Africa, which has operations in 14 African countries.
During the visit yesterday, Mr Ogunsanya expressed his profound appreciation to Mr Pantami for his support to him personally and Airtel Nigeria as a business.
“You have done a great deal to support our business and indeed the growth of the telecommunications industry and I pray for your continued success,” he told the Minister.
Responding, Mr Pantami said he was particularly impressed with the business model of Airtel Nigeria and praised Mr Ogunsanya for this, stating that in several interactions with himself as well as the Ministerial Committee, the Airtel Africa chief never hesitated in restating his commitment to compliance as a critical part of modern business.
According to the Minister, “much as we recognise the fact that investors are in business to make profit, it is also imperative for businesses to comply with the laws and regulations of the industry and I am delighted to say Airtel with the leadership of Mr Ogunsanya has done very well in this regard.”
However, he regretted the impact of the recent network shutdowns in parts of the north due to military operations, saying that it was a temporary measure to secure the country from banditry and insurgency.
He congratulated Mr Ogunsanya on his deserved elevation to the position of GCEO of Airtel Africa, stating that his record of consistent high performance and excellent leadership capabilities speak volumes.
Mr Pantami prayed for his success in his new position and welcomed the new CEO of the Nigerian operation to Nigeria, charging him to build on the remarkable record set by his predecessor.
The Minister also expressed his delight with the tremendous growth that the telecommunications industry has recorded with a resounding 17.5 per cent contribution to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the second half of 2021.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Artificial Intelligence (AI) company, OpenAI, on Monday announced that it closed one of the largest private funding rounds in history to boost AI research.
According to a blog post on the company’s website, OpenAI raised $40 billion in a round that values the company at $300 billion.
Japan’s SoftBank led the round, with other participants including Microsoft, Coatue, Altimeter, and Thrive, all of which are earlier backers in the outfit.
OpenAI said it plans to use the fresh capital to “push the frontiers of AI research even further” and scale its compute infrastructure, according to the blog post.
“[This new capital] enables us to push the frontiers of AI research even further, scale our compute infrastructure, and deliver increasingly powerful tools for the 500 million people who use ChatGPT every week,” OpenAI wrote in the blog post.
“We’re excited to be working in partnership with SoftBank Group — few companies understand how to scale transformative technology like they do.”
About $18 billion of the funding is expected to be used for OpenAI’s commitment to Stargate.
Recall that the joint venture between SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle was announced by President Donald Trump in January.
The initial funding will be $10 billion, followed by the remaining $30 billion by the end of 2025, the person said. But the round comes with a caveat.
SoftBank said in an updated disclosure that its total investment could be slashed to as low as $20 billion if OpenAI doesn’t restructure into a for-profit entity by December 31.
This come amid pressure on OpenAI to pull off the for-profit conversion, a plan that will need the blessing of Microsoft and the California Attorney General, and has been challenged in court by Mr Elon Musk, who was one of the co-founders of OpenAI in 2015, when it was started as a non-profit research lab.
The company’s current and unusual hybrid structure includes a capped-profit limited partnership created in 2019. The original nonprofit is the controlling shareholder and would be spun out as an independent entity if the company can restructure.
OpenAI’s venture backers have received convertible notes that would turn into equity.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Stakeholders in the telecommunications sector in Nigeria have resolved to establish a working group dedicated to addressing key industry challenges, including the vandalization and theft of infrastructure, arbitrary shutdown of base stations, fibre cuts due to road construction and the denial of access by unauthorized individuals by leveraging technology for real-time monitoring and protection, strengthening security measures around telecommunication sites and collaborating more with the security and regulatory agencies to mitigate these challenges.
This followed extensive deliberations at an event organised by IHS Nigeria, part of the IHS Holding Limited, to develop a multi-stakeholder action plan for the protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) assets in Lagos State.
The stakeholders underscored the need to prioritize deterrence and prevention of these incidents and highlighted the importance of public awareness campaigns to sensitize the host communities and public of the need to protect telecommunications infrastructure in their localities.
“The protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) has been a critical concern for all industry stakeholders.
“We are experiencing daily losses of assets, which significantly impact on the quality of service delivered to subscribers.
“Addressing these issues is paramount to sustaining Nigeria’s digital ecosystem and meeting regulatory expectations,” the Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Services Officer of HIS Nigeria, Mr Dapo Otunla, stated.
Recognizing the importance of communications infrastructure as the backbone of national security, economic growth and social cohesion, the stakeholders at the meeting convened under the umbrella of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) agreed on the urgent need for collaborative solutions to ensure the protection of these vital assets.
The meeting was attended by senior representatives from the telecommunications stakeholder groups and regulatory bodies, including the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and the Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA).
Also in attendance were representatives from the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), and InfraCos as well as the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the security agency tasked with the protection of Critical National Infrastructure across the country.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Two of the major telecommunications companies in Africa, Airtel Africa Plc and MTN Group, have entered into agreements to share network infrastructure in Uganda and Nigeria.
The idea behind this is to cost operating costs and improve network coverage for quality mobile services to millions of customers, particularly in remote areas.
However, this would be carried out in compliance with local regulatory and statutory requirements.
The initiative is part of a growing global trend toward network sharing. By collaborating, telecoms operators can explore innovative and pro-competitive solutions to improve service quality while managing costs more effectively.
The sharing of infrastructure has the potential to enable the delivery of world-class, reliable mobile services to more and more customers across Africa.
Already, MTN and Airtel Africa are exploring various opportunities in other markets, including Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda and Zambia.
Among the types of agreements considered are RAN sharing and those aimed at establishing commercial and technical agreements for fibre infrastructure sharing and, if necessary, the construction of fibre networks.
“As we compete fiercely in the market on the strength of our brand, services and our offerings we are building common infrastructure, within the permissible regulatory framework, to provide a more robust and extensive digital highway to drive digital and financial inclusion at the same time avoiding duplication of expensive infrastructure to drive operational efficiencies and benefits for our customers,” the chief executive of Airtel Africa, Mr Sunil Taldar, said.
His counterpart at MTN Group, Mr Ralph Mupita, while commenting on the development, said, “As MTN, we are driven by the vision of delivering digital solutions that drive Africa’s progress.
“We continue to see strong structural demand for digital and financial services across our markets. To meet this demand, we continue to invest in coverage and capacity to ensure high-quality connectivity for our customers.
“That said, there are opportunities within regulatory frameworks for sharing resources to drive higher efficiencies and improve returns.”
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