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Tag: internet

  • Facebook partners 20 African NGOs for Safer Internet Day 2019

    Facebook is collaborating with over 20 African Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to ensure safer internet for the world.

    Sherry Dzinoreva, Public Policy Programmes Lead at Facebook Africa made this known on Monday in Lagos.

    Dzinoreva said that in line with Facebook’s commitment to building safer online world for all, it was supporting Safer Internet Day on Tuesday with a campaign, spanning over 15 African countries.

    The countries include Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

    Dzinoreva said that aligning with the Safer Internet Day call to action, is ‘Together for a better internet’.

    She said that Facebook was working with more than 20 non-profit organisations and government agencies, to raise awareness about internet safety and security concerns, including cyber bullying and cyber-crime.

    According to him, Facebook is supporting the Safer Internet Day by sponsoring the printing of online safety awareness booklets.

    “Facebook is facilitating training sessions and creating a family-friendly animation to help raise awareness of the Facebook Safety Centre.

    “We know that safety is a shared conversation, which is why we are excited to be working with so many stakeholders around the continent to make the Internet a better place.

    “Together, with Safer Internet Day as a platform, we can address emerging online concerns, so that people and especially children and the youth, can get the most from their Internet experience,’’ Dzinerova said in a statement.

    In Nigeria, Facebook is collaborating with Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN).

    PIN is running workshops on safer internet use as part of its LIFE (Life Skills, ICTs, Financial Readiness and Entrepreneurship) programme in Kano, Lagos and Aba.

    Facebook’s Safe Online trainers will run two-hour workshops in both PIN’s LIFE Centres and at schools in Kano and Lagos for this initiative.

    Also, the Director of Programmes, PIN, Tope Ogundipe, said working with Facebook on online safety aligned with PIN’s focus on driving digital inclusion and educating the youth about their digital rights.

    “This programme promises to equip the children who participate with skills and knowledge that will enable them to make confident use of the internet in their day-to-day lives, ‘’ Ogundipe said.

     

  • 2019: NSA speaks on alleged plans to shutdown internet during elections

    The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has dismissed the allegation by the governor of Rivers State, Mr Nyelsom Wike, that there were plans by the ONSA to rig the forthcoming general elections by shutting down the nation’s internet system.

    The NSA, Major Gen. Babagana Monguno(rtd), in a statement issued yesterday in Abuja, said there was no iota of truth in the allegation.

    He advised Nigerians to disregard the allegation entirely.

    The statement reads :”The attention of the Office of the National Security Adviser has been drawn to the allegation making the rounds in the media that the Federal Government, through the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), has directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to work with internet service providers to shut down internet access during the forthcoming elections to facilitate rigging of the 2019 elections.

    “The office wishes to advise the general public to disregard the allegation which is disinformation.

    “This office wishes to state that the internet and associated communications infrastructure are major components of the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) which the ONSA is mandated to ensure its security.

    “Accordingly, the office, in collaboration with relevant ministries, departments and agencies of government, makes continuous efforts to protect them and improve service delivery to Nigerians.

    “Furthermore, every single national security platform in the country rides on the same internet to function. Therefore ‘shutting down’ the internet is akin to shutting down national development and security.

    “The Office of the National Security Adviser remains committed to protecting the rights of the public to access Information and Communication Technology facilities. The office also remains non-partisan and committed to ensuring that Nigerians freely exercise their civic rights.”

  • 2019: Will internet services be unavailable during the elections?

    In the past, during Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB) Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), Internet services and sometimes gsm services have been observed to be jammed with the view to curb examination malpractices through telecom services.

    It has also been observed that internet services and also sometimes gsm services were occasionally unavailable during past elections in the country.

    With the 2019 general elections drawing ever closer, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has alleged that there are plans by the Federal Government through the Office of the National Security Adviser as directed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to work with internet service providers to shut down internet access during the elections.

    Governor Wike said that shutting down internet access by the NSA and INEC is aimed at facilitating the rigging of the 2019 General elections.

    He made the allegation when he received Savannah Centre Council on Peaceful and Violence Free Election in Nigeria at the Government House Port Harcourt.

    The governor said that the negative actions of the Buhari administration indicate that they will not accept defeat when they lose the forthcoming elections.

    He advised President Muhammadu Buhari to emulate Former President, Goodluck Jonathan who placed Nigeria above personal consideration.

    According to Wike, “The National Security Adviser has met with INEC to ensure that internet service providers shut down the internet so that foreign bodies won’t see what’s happening in the country during the elections.

    “They will jam all the frequencies and internet services to stop real-time communication during the elections.

    “This plot to rig the forthcoming elections is a recipe for violence. They will not succeed in whatever they are planning. The world will be informed about their criminal activities.

    “I don’t think this administration will willingly accept defeat. They should emulate Former President, Goodluck Jonathan who lost elections and accepted the outcome.

    “There was no litigation. He went back home and did not generate crisis”.

     

  • TNG year in review: How Nigeria achieved 2013-2018 broadband target

    Nigeria, with the aim to drive internet and broadband penetration in the country, developed a five-year strategy, known as the Federal Government National Broadband Plan 2013-2018, through a presidential committee on broadband.

    To drive internet and broadband penetration in the country, the Federal Government National Broadband Plan 2013-2018 aimed to scale up Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) broadband growth by 30 per cent in 2018.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports the country in 2018 achieved the five-year strategy broadband penetration target, with broadband penetration standing at 30.9 per cent in November, surpassing the 30 per cent target set by the presidential committee.

    As at September 2017, the country’s broadband penetration was empirically adjudged by global telecom regulator, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), as 21 per cent.

    Going forward into 2018, there were concerns in different quarters that the nation might not be able to achieve the target; however, fast forward to November and it is a different story.

    READ | Why Nigeria may not achieve 30% broadband penetration in 2018

    Mr Adeola Ogunbanjo, National President of the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) said NCC’s licensing of more infrastructure companies (InfraCos) was instrumental in achieving the 30 per cent broadband penetration target.

    The InfraCos licenced by the NCC are Raeanna Nigeria Ltd for South South, O’odua Infraco Resources Ltd for South West (excluding Lagos), Fleek Networks Ltd for North West, Brinks Integrated Solutions for North East, Main One Ltd for Lagos zone and Zinox Technologies Ltd for Southeast.

    According to the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, while announcing the broadband penetration achievement in a recent interaction with newsmen in Abuja, the commission knew it has to meet the broadband implementation plan.

    “At NCC, we knew we have to meet the broadband implementation plan to get to 30 per cent at the end of 2018 due to the work done, we now stand at 30.9 per cent equivalent of 31 per cent.

    “NCC had issued license to seven infrastructure companies to deploy the needed infrastructure to facilitate the required penetration in the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Nigeria.

    “This will enable penetration reach the served and underserved areas in the country,” Danbatta, ably represented by Mr Sunday Dare, NCC Executive Commissioner Stakeholder Management said.

    He said all information and progress on mobile, internet and data usage penetration would be sustained to provide the necessary requirements for increased investments and effective regulation of the telecom sector in Nigeria.

     

  • Year in review: How telecom subscribers browsed the Internet in 2018

    The Internet is a globally connected network system that uses Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) as one of the main Internet protocol suite.

    The TCP originates in the initial network implementation and complements the
    Internet Protocol (IP). Therefore, the entire suite is commonly referred to as TCP/IP to transmit data via various types of media.

    Internet usage is the amount of data (in bytes, kilobytes, megabytes or gigabytes) transferred between computer and the Internet in a given period of time.

    Data is transferred in two ways: from the Internet network to a computer (download) or from a computer to the Internet (upload).

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in its monthly Subscriber Data enumerates how
    Nigerians browsed the Internet in the year 2018.

    Taking a look at the data in the year under review, there is an impressive increase in the way consumers
    browsed the Internet to boost economic activities.

    A breakdown of the data shows that in the first half of the year under review (January to June 2018), many subscribers used the Internet to search for information that concern them or are interested in.

    It shows that in January, 100,234,283 subscribers browsed the Internet, while in February, Internet users rose to 100,904,668, recording an increase of 670.385 subscribers.

    The data shows that the number of users were 100,596,228 in March, as against 100,904,668 in February, a decrease of 308,440.

    The data indicates that in April, Internet users increased by 613,275 bringing the number to 101,209,503 as against 100,596,228 recorded in March.

    The NCC said that the number of subscribers who browsed the Internet in May stood at 103,152,726, while in April, it recorded 101,209,503, an increase of 1,943,223.

    It noted that in June, the number of subscribers who used the Internet decreased by 347,604 from the 103,152,726 recorded in May to stand at 102,805,152.

    Internet Subscribers Data in the second half of 2018 from July to November on the NCC website also shows tremendous growth in subscribers as the number of people browsing the internet increased marginally.

    The data indicated that the number of Internet users in July was 103,671,778, compared with 104,628,342 recorded in
    August, an increase of 956,564.

    The data also showed that Internet users increased to 105,980,062 in September from the 104,628,342 in August,
    showing an increase of 1,351,720.

    The data revealed that Internet users for October also increased to 107,106,975, compared with 105,980,062 in September, recording an increase of 1, 126,913.

    The data also showed that overall Internet users increased to 108,457.051 in November from the 107,106,975 it recorded in October, showing an increase of 1,350,076 new subscribers during the month.

     

  • Internet users in Nigeria hit 108.5m in Nov. — NCC

    Internet users in Nigeria increased marginally to 108.5 million in
    November, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said.

    The NCC made this known on Friday in its Monthly Internet Subscribers Data for December posted on its website.

    According to the data, Airtel, MTN and Globacom gained more internet subscribers during the month under review, while 9mobile remained on the same figure as in October.

    The data also showed that overall internet users increased to 108,457.051 October from the 107,106,975 in August,
    showing an increase of 1,350,076 new subscribers.

    The breakdown revealed that MTN gained more with 707,023 new internet users in November, increasing its
    subscription to 41,678,804 as against October.

    It said that Airtel gained 438,560 new users, increasing its subscription in November to 28,958,253 compared
    to 28,519,693 in October.

    Globacom gained 204,493 new internet users, increasing its subscription in October to 27,761,281 from 27, 556,788
    recorded in October.

    It further showed that 9mobile recorded 10,058,713 internet users in October, same as in November.

     

  • Internet access: Nigeria’s 774 LGAs to get fibre connectivity

    All the 774 local government areas in Nigeria will be provided fibre connectivity in order to increase broadband penetration in the country, President Muhammadu Buhari has said.

    TheNewsGuru (TNG) reports President Buhari made this known in his 2019 budget speech at a joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday, confirming the position of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on the matter.

    He said that in 4 years all the 774 LGAs in the country would have been provided with fibre connectivity.

    “Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind in the digital age. To create jobs for our young people, we will build a digital economy around the technology and creative sectors.

    “In partnership with the states and the private sector, we are working on a project to increase broadband penetration across all geopolitical zones of the country, such that over the next four years, all the 774 LGAs will be provided with fibre connectivity,” he said.

    The NCC had issued license to seven infrastructure companies to deploy the needed infrastructure to facilitate the required penetration in the 774 LGAs in the country.

    The InfraCos licenced by the NCC are Raeanna Nigeria Ltd for South South, O’odua Infraco Resources Ltd for South West (excluding Lagos), Fleek Networks Ltd for North West, Brinks Integrated Solutions for North East, Main One Ltd for Lagos zone and Zinox Technologies Ltd for Southeast.

     

  • Macron, tech giants launch ‘Paris call’ to fix internet ills

    Macron, tech giants launch ‘Paris call’ to fix internet ills

    France and U.S. technology giants, including Microsoft, on Monday urged world governments and companies to sign up to a new initiative to regulate the internet and fight threats such as cyber attacks, online censorship and hate speech.

    With the launch of a declaration entitled the ‘Paris call for trust and security in cyberspace’, French President Emmanuel Macron is hoping to revive efforts to regulate cyberspace after the last round of UN negotiations failed in 2017.

    In the document, which is supported by many European countries but, crucially, not China or Russia, the signatories urge governments to beef up protections against cyber meddling in elections.

    They are also to prevent the theft of trade secrets.

    The Paris call was initially pushed for by tech companies but was redrafted by French officials to include work done by U.N. experts in recent years.

    “The internet is a space currently managed by a technical community of private players.

    “But it’s not governed. So now that half of humanity is online, we need to find new ways to organise the internet,’’ an official from Macron’s office said.

    “Otherwise, the internet as we know it today — free, open and secure — will be damaged by the new threats’’

    By launching the initiative a day after a weekend of commemorations marking the 100th anniversary of World War One, Macron hopes to promote his push for stronger global cooperation in the face of rising nationalism.

    In another sign of the Trump administration’s reluctance to join international initiatives it sees as a bid to encroach on U.S. sovereignty, French officials said Washington might not become a signatory, though talks are continuing.

    However, they said large U.S. tech companies including Facebook and Alphabet’s Google would sign up.

    “The American ecosystem is very involved.

    “It doesn’t mean that in the end, the U.S. federal government won’t join us.

    “Talks are continuing, but the U.S. will be involved under other forms,’’ another French official said.

     

  • We’ll provide Internet for all 774 LGAs by 2023 – FG

    The Federal Government on Thursday promised to make internet connectivity available in all of the 774 local government areas in Nigeria in the next four years.

    The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Uduma Udo Udoma, revealed this during the 42nd Annual Conference of Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators of Nigeria (ICSAN) in Lagos State.

    According to Udoma, works are ongoing to increase broadband penetration in all geopolitical zones of the country.

    “Government has set up an Industrial Policy & Competitiveness Advisory Council (Industrial Council), with extensive private sector membership, as a vehicle for partnering with the private sector on the industrialization drive,” Udoma said.

    “One of the projects supported by the Industrial Council, is a project to increase broadband penetration across all geopolitical zones of the country.

    “This project is intended to ensure that within the next four years every single one of the 774 LGAs in the country will be provided with fibre connectivity.”

    Speaking on Agriculture, Udoma said “through the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, over N120.6 billion has been disbursed as concessionary loans to more than 800,000 farmers”.

    This, he said, is for the cultivation of 12 different commodities including rice, wheat, cotton, soya beans, cassava, and groundnuts.

    “To date, 11 Fertilizer Blending Plants with the capacity to produce 2.1 million metric tonnes have been revitalized,” he said.

    Speaking further, Udoma stated that the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) will bring about diversification in key sectors of the Nigerian economy,

    “There is no doubt that we are making good progress in our efforts to revive and diversify the economy. However, is the economy sufficiently diversified? My answer is not yet,” he added.

    “Whilst the oil and gas sector constitutes less than 10% of our GDP, it still represents too large a percentage of our foreign exchange earnings.

    “We need to grow our non-oil exports to overtake oil in terms of our foreign exchange earnings as countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia have achieved.

    “This will take some time. However, there is no doubt in my mind that we are on the right track.

    “If we consistently and faithfully continue with the implementation of the ERGP we will become an economic production powerhouse. We will be able to feed ourselves and have extra for export,” said the minister.

  • President Xi calls for global cooperation to create ‘fairer’ internet

    President Xi calls for global cooperation to create ‘fairer’ internet

    President Xi Jinping of China on Wednesday called for greater global cooperation to develop the internet and make it more “fair and equitable”, as Beijing seeks to bolster its global role in shaping the web.

    The speech was read out on Xi’s behalf at China’s main internet conference in the northern city of Wuzhen, a tightly-controlled event organized by the cyber ministry that oversees the domestic internet and censors online content.

    “There is an urgent need for us to speed up the internet economy and work for governance that is more fair and equitable,” Xi said.

    Technology and the internet are key battlegrounds in a trade war between China and the United States, with a spotlight on U.S. complaints about intellectual property theft and China’s ambitions to become a global leader in cutting edge tech.

    China and Xi have pushed for a bigger role in global internet governance and called on nations to respect Beijing’s “cyber sovereignty”, an idea that countries should be free to control and censor their internet infrastructure as they see fit.

    Foreign websites such as Alphabet’s Google and Facebook are blocked in China, where authorities also tightly control online content and censor or punish those who post material seen as opposed to “core socialist values”.

    Xi’s comments also come as China’s technology and internet firms have taken a hit from rising uncertainty linked to the trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, and also greater involvement of the Chinese state in online industries.

    Baidu Inc and Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd both recently revised down their full-year sales forecasts, citing economic uncertainty.