EXCLUSIVE: Nigerian telecoms operators plan ₦3.99trn infrastructure injection - ITREALMS

To solidify Nigeria’s digital economy, telecommunications operators under the umbrella of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) have committed to a massive two-year capital expenditure (CapEx) plan totaling ₦3.99 trillion across 2025 and 2026, reports ITREALMS.

Speaking at an address before the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), ALTON Chairman Engr. Gbenga Adebayo disclosed that following pivotal government intervention in 2025, specifically a strategic tariff adjustment that restored financial sustainability; Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and tower infrastructure companies injected roughly ₦2.13 trillion in CapEx last year alone.

NCC prides operators in world-class infrastructure build-out - ITREALMS

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The board chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Chief Idris Olorunnimbe , has expressed a sense of standardized excellence regarding the progress made by Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in the country, reports ITREALMS.

Speaking after a recent facility tour in Lagos, which took him to MTN Communications, Glo, Airtel and Open Data, he declared “Having toured this facility, I think I speak for everyone at the NCC when I say that the overwhelming feeling is pride.”

Ponzi scheme operators warned by EFCC - ITREALMS

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Here are the some Ponzi scheme operators warned by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC):

1. Wales Kingdom Capital : Operating a Ponzi scheme

2. Bethseida Group of Companies : Running an illegal investment scheme

50% telecom tariff hike: Operators followed due process, says Adebayo – ITREALMS

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The Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in the country have declared that they followed due process in achieving the 50 per cent telecoms tariff hike as approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) reports ITREALMS.

He also denied any atom of arbitrariness in the exercise which took over 12 years in coming since the last tariff upward adjustment was made in the sector.

50% tariff rise: Why NCC approved operators request - ITREALMS

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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has adduced some reasons on why it approved the 50 per cent is telecom services tariff in the country, reports ITREALMS.

NCC also said that the steps were in pursuant to its power under Section 108 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003 (NCA) to regulate and approve tariff rates and charges by telecommunications operators.

NCC approves mobile operators' disconnection of debtor banks over USSD - ITREALMS

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The reasons for the latest approval by the nation’s telecoms regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to telecommunications companies, especially the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to disconnect some nine indebted financial institutions have emerged, reports ITREALMS.

NCC had on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 issued a public notice of the approval to telcos to withdraw Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) Codes assigned by the Commission to financial institutions over unreconciled over N200 billion indebtedness.

Health insurance, major challenge for hospital operators - ITREALMS

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The Chief Medical Director (CMD), United Heart Hospital and Clinic Dr. Eugene Nwaosu, has lamented that the major challenge of running hospital in Nigeria is inability of Nigerians to enroll into health insurance to reduce out of pocket payments.

He said most Nigerians do not have health insurance, rather payment is made at the point of service as good number of those with health insurance coverage is very poor and this has affected hospital operators in the country.

AON to prosecute, punish passengers who destroy airline property - ITREALMS

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The Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), has declared that henceforth, aggrieved passengers who destroy airline property or assault airline staff, will be arrested and prosecuted, reports ITREALMS.

AON, ITREALMS gathered, is the umbrella body of all airline companies operating in Nigeria.

Pantami, CBN halt MTN, mobile operators planned N4 charge per USSD – ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

The Honourable Minister of Communications Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has ordered a halt of the proposed MTN Nigeria’s charge of N4 per 20 seconds use of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), due to commence Monday, October 21, 2019, reports ITREALMS.

Also, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) opposed plans by MTN to charge their subscribers for USSD, access to banking services from October 21.

USSD, ITREALMS gathered, is often referred to as ‘Quick Codes’ or ‘Feature codes’; is a communications protocol used by Global System for Mobile (GSM) cellular telephones to communicate with the mobile network operator's computers.
“Yello, as requested by your bank, from October 21, we will start charging you directly for USSD access to banking services. Please contact your bank for more info(rmation),’’ the message purportedly from MTN read.

But reacting to what has become a viral text message allegedly sent by the Mobile Network Operator MTN Nigeria and other Mobile Operators notifying subscribers of a four naira (N4:00) charge per 20 seconds on USSD access to banking services from the 21st of October 2019, Pantami said his office has been undated.

According to the Spokesperson to the Honourable Minister of Communications, Uwa Suleiman (Mrs), the attention of the Federal Ministry of Communications has been drawn to the text message making around, allegedly sent by the Mobile Network Operator MTN Nigeria and other Mobile Operators.

She said, the office of the Honourable Minister of Communications, Dr Pantami, is unaware of this development and has hereby directed the sector regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to ensure the operator suspends such plans until the Honourable Minister is fully and properly briefed.

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), through its governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, also opposed plans by MTN to charge their subscribers for USSD access from October 21.

Briefing newsmen, CBN Governor said at the just-concluded World Bank-IMF Annual Meetings, in Washington on Sunday, denied the MTN decision insisting that the request negates the progress of the industry.

MTN had in a Short Messaging Service (SMS) to some subscribers, stated that the decision was on the request of the banks and would take effect from Monday, October 21, this year.

“Yello, as requested by your bank, from October 21, we will start charging you directly for USSD access to banking services. Please contact your bank for more info(rmation),’’ the message read.

For CBN governor, “About five, four months ago, I held a meeting with some telecom companies as well as the leading banks in Nigeria at Central Bank, Lagos. At that time, we came to a conclusion that the use of USSD is a sunk cost. What we mean by a sunk cost is that it is not an additional cost on the infrastructure of the telecom company.

“But the telecom companies disagreed with us, they said it is an additional investment on infrastructure and for that reason, they needed to impose it. I have told the banks that we will not allow this to happen. The banks are the people who give this business to the telecom companies and I leave the banks and the telecom companies to engage.

“I have told the banks that they have to move their business, move their traffic to a telecom company that is ready to provide it at the lowest possible, if not zero cost. And that is where we stand, and we must achieve it,’’ he said.
ITREALMS gathered that the transactions to be affected by the charges include intra and inter-bank money transfers, via the use of USSD, among a few others.

Chuks Egbuna/Editor

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Yuletide induced transportation hike: Neither operators fault nor key players blame?

Commentary@ITREALMS:

Recently the social media have been inundated with reports on arbitrary increase on transportation cost especially to the Eastern bound passengers among others. 

After a careful but thought provoking insights into the foregoing,  I submit as follows. 

Firstly,  the hike in transport fare over the years have no ethnic coloration nor religion affiliation. Atimes the key players have attributed it to scarcity of petroleum products during the yuletide as witnessed in the recent past. 

Secondly,  a simple Economic laws of demand states that demands and supply are the forces that determine the market price of every goods and services. High demand Lowers supply thus increasing price. High supply saturates demand and lowers price by reducing interest on such services. 

Incidentally, on my way to church today,  I parked by a road side Vulcaniser to gauge my tires,  the guy told me each of such services per tire costs #200 against  usual  #100. I asked why,  he said it is the same everywhere.  But I only patronised him because I was already late and thus the inelastic nature of my demand.

Equally, Nigeria is practicing A Mixed Economy dominated by Capitalism with little or near government absence in service industries.  While the key industry players are profit minded at all cost across service and commodity sectors,  Govt absence as close substitute or alternative providers worsen the situation. 

More so, every festive seasons across the world where capitalism is in full swing,  there is always marginal price increase in services and commodities. Nigeria Barka De Sallah and Eidel Fitri witness the high cost of Ram,  goats cows and even transportation cost to or from northern states. The same applies to Christmas,  and Easter with transportation hike and bags of rice,  chicken to say the least. 

Additionally,  the list is exhaustive. If fuel has increased in pumb price,  the rates would have doubled by half on what one may pay. 
Therefore,  the government should where urgently come in where necessary to provide close substitute or competitive alternatives.  Nigeria Airways if in Place could checkmate private airline tickets hike,  Local and state govt owned mass transits can checkmate bus owners greed based on demands And host of others. 

Finally,  proper planning remains the key.  if I am to travel within or outside the country for any vacation or yuletide induced travel,  I should plan very early.  If a lot of is spent in celebrating an annual and fixed events to the detriment of other needs,  it is then purely a profit margin to the operators over the stupidity of the  customers who have failed to plan. 
Conclusively,  yuletide induced travel and other commodity prices are both religious nor tribal but purely by forces of demand and supply. 

*Nwankwor Chukwudi, chukwudinwankwor@gmail.com

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Exclusive: Telecom operators, NCC, tighten regulations on bulks, fraudulent SMS

Exclusive @ITREALMS:

Telecommunications operators in the country have taken a key step in ensuring fraudulent Short Messaging Services (SMS) are curtailed, ITRealms can exclusively reports.

Investigations by ITRealms showed that telecommunications operators, under the aegis of Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) alongside the regulator of the industry, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently reached this conclusion.

According to our sources, the operators have suspended the delivery of messages with only phone number as its “Sender identity.”

Industry observers opined that with this, the unsolicited bulk messages by fraudulent persons will be reduced to the minimum as they may not want to use their identity.

In addition, this will aid the NCC’s rules on unsolicited calls and SMS, especially with its Do-Not-Disturb (DND) service and dedicated the short code “2442” to enable telecom consumers take an informed and independent decision on what messages they may wish to receive from network providers.

ITRealms recalls that Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) prides itself as the industry body for all telecommunications companies and those providing subsidiary services to telecommunications service providers in Nigeria.

NCC on the other hand, is the independent regulatory authority for the telecommunications industry in Nigeria, created under Decree number 75 by the Federal Military Government of Nigeria on 24 November 1992.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Nokia addresses rising security threats to network operators

ITREALMS:

Finland-based Nokia is addressing rising security threats to telecom networks by launching its Security Risk Index (SRI) assessment service and Managed Security Service (MSS), reports ITRealms.

Together, ITRealms gathered, both the SRI and MSS form a unique, holistic approach to targeting security challenges across mobile, Internet Protocol (IP) and fixed networks in the digital transformation era, when new services and virtualized systems also introduce new vulnerabilities.

In addition to addressing their own security needs, ITRealms reports that operators could white label Managed Security Services to enterprises under their own brand, which offers revenue potential in the fast-growing enterprise security market and optimizes time to market.

Growing regulatory pressure and increasingly complex networks carrying sensitive data from Internet of Things (IoT), personal devices, and social and business applications have heightened the importance of data security for operators. Nokia is taking a unique, integrated approach that starts from assessing operators' security risks across various security domains, benchmarking against industry peers, and providing a 360-degree gap analysis and suggestions for performance improvements. This is the essence of the Security Risk Index.

After the assessment, a managed service, powered by Nokia NetGuard software, will complete the holistic security approach. Nokia experts design the network security infrastructure, information management and monitoring systems to ensure that critical information assets are adequately protected against known and unknown threats, and that the operator meets applicable security compliance standards and regulations.

Having secured their own networks, operators can go on to offer the Managed Security Services, or selected elements of it, to their enterprise customers. In partnership with Nokia, operators can easily implement a security portfolio to open a new revenue source and increase customer loyalty.

Patrick Donegan, principal analyst, HardenStance, said: "Telecom operators need strategic security partners that have a deep understanding of the unique aspects of their network environment and the threats that they and their customers face. Nokia's Security Risk Index and Managed Security Service propositions are an important contribution to addressing those challenges."

Friedrich Trawoeger, head of Managed Services at Nokia, said: "Operators must be prepared for a security breach. A dynamic, managed security proposition is needed to eliminate possible threats, so we are taking a comprehensive approach to security from assessing risks to managing and maintaining our customers' security infrastructure. This is the best approach to defend against attacks. In addition, the resale white label model will allow our customers to monetize the security opportunity."

Nokia's security services also utilize Nokia NetGuard, a complete portfolio of robust, end-to-end software solutions that detect, prevent and mitigate cyberattacks by securing traditional and cloud-based network architectures and protecting end-users and IoT devices.

Nokia's Managed Security Service and Security Risk Index provide a comprehensive backbone for telecom security. It is important to encompass all areas of security, including the assessment and protection of cross-technology networks operating in multi-vendor environments, as modern networks can be more easily exploited and carry higher risks.

Nonye Dom/GEE

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5G: What operators must deliver to telecom consumers - Experts

ITREALMS:

The Senior Analyst at Analysys Mason, Mr Roberto Kompany, has given insight into what every Fifth-Generation (5G) network should deliver to every telecommunications consumer, reports ITRealms.

Fifth generation computing devices, based on artificial intelligence, are still in development, though there are some applications, such as voice recognition, that are being used today. The use of parallel processing and superconductors is helping to make artificial intelligence a reality.

Speaking recently on the Ericsson 5G and aligned support service, Kompany said that reduction in latency is expected to improve throughput.

In addition, ITRealms gathered he said, that operators wishing to offer services on 5G must ensure better security, reliability and regulatory compliance as these are all critical capabilities that operators must deliver for 5G use cases.

This is in addition to augmented reality assisted factory and autonomous driving vehicles.

“A distributed cloud capability that enables cloud computing, storage and networking to be placed flexibly in central, regional and edge locations and which can be managed seamlessly, end-to-end, is an important component of a 5G platform,” he said.

The Senior Analyst, Global Telecom Technology & Software at GlobalData, Ed Gubbins, said that the combination of Ericsson’s new products and 5G support for radios already deployed in the field will give operators access to a very broad and flexible 5G portfolio.

“They will be able to move quickly into enhanced mobile broadband and address the new opportunities with industrial applications,” Gubbins said.

ITRealms recalls that Ericsson added a new category of radio products for cities, which it calls Street Macro – a new layer between macro and micro. These radios will be on building facades with a smaller footprint but the necessary strength to secure network efficiency and coverage.  

Nonye Dom/GEE

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Ericsson achieves 5G platform for operators

ITREALMS:

World leader in communications technology and services with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden,m Ericsson, has finalized 5G-readiness for operators by enhancing its 5G Platform with new solutions for the radio and core network, reports ITRealms.

The company also launched 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) commercial software, based on the recently approved first 3GPP 5G New Radio (NR) standard. It also introduces a new category of radio products called Street Macro – a new site type that addresses the need of operators to grow in cities with limited available radio locations.

ITRealms reports that to capture growth opportunities presented by new 5G use cases, Ericsson expands its 5G Core System offering with new capabilities to support 5G NR and also enhances its Distributed Cloud solution.  

Ericsson introduced its 5G Platform in February 2017 with additions made in September the same year. It comprises the 5G core, radio, and transport portfolios together with OSS/BSS, network services and security.

Fredrik Jejdling, Executive Vice President and Head of Business Area Networks at Ericsson, says: “Operators who want to be early with 5G now have the essential pieces for launching 5G networks already this year. With our expanded platform, they will get more efficient networks as well as opportunities to create new revenues from emerging consumer and industrial use cases.”

Giovanni Ferigo, CTO, TIM, says: “Ericsson is an important enabler of our 5G in-field innovation activities that span several cities in Italy. Together, last December – marking an Italian record - we activated a 5G NR cell in the mmW frequencies in the city of Torino, reaching speeds above 20Gbps. We are looking forward to testing Ericsson’s new solutions that will contribute to address the wide variety of use cases we are working on.”

5G software – enabling first-movers to launch 5G

ITRealms equally gathered that available in the fourth quarter of 2018, Ericsson’s 5G radio network software provides multi-band support for global deployment. It will allow operators to use new frequency spectrum as it becomes available.

The 5G radio network software announced today complements Ericsson’s already launched baseband and 5G radios. Operators can simply activate their 5G networks and take the first steps with commercial 5G capabilities and new applications leveraging advanced mobile broadband services.

This will cater efficiently for growing data traffic and enable access to multimedia content, such as 4K/8K video streaming and virtual reality/augmented reality. According to Ericsson’s new economic study of enhanced mobile broadband, evolution to 5G will enable 10 times lower cost per gigabyte than current 4G.

The radio offering is complemented with 5G Core commercial software optimized for 5G throughput, network capacity and scalability. Ericsson's Packet Core and Unified Data Management solutions will deliver enhancements throughout 2018 to efficiently support 5G services. These solutions can be further upgraded with new functionalities as the 3GPP 5G standard evolves. 

Chuks Egbune/GEE 

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NCC bars mobile operators from VASA, unveils framework

ITREALMS:

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has given ‘I am ready’ sound to license the Value Added Service Aggregator (VASA) in the country, but barred Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), among others, from the exercise, reports ITRealms.

Also barred from participation in the forthcoming license regime include the Value Added Service (VAS) Content providers, (using Short Code), and VAS Special Numbering Service Licensees.

These, NCC declared, “are NOT eligible to apply for the VAS Aggregator license.”

This is coming as the Commission has unveiled its VASA license framework.

Director, Public Affairs, NCC, Tony Ojobo, confirmed to ITRealms that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has developed a Value Added Service (VAS) Aggregator License Framework.

NCC also beckons on interested members of the public and corporate organizations to accordingly send their applications to the Commission's Headquarters in Abuja.

According to him, applicants should note that “Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Value Added Service (VAS) Content (using Short Code) and VAS (Special Numbering Service) Licensees “are NOT eligible to apply for the VAS Aggregator license.”

In addition, he said, content developers are to register with the Commission to enable integration into the Value Added Service (VAS) value chain made up of: Content Developer ⇒ Content Service Provider ⇒ VAS Aggregator ⇒ Mobile Network Operator.

Further, he said, applicants must download the Individual License Application Form from the Commission website, fill and return in triplicate.

Upon submission you are required to pay ₦1,000.00 for the form and 5 per cent of the licence fee of ₦10,000,000.00 being ₦500,000.00 as a non-refundable administrative charges.

Ojobo urged applicants to reach out to NCC website for the VAS Aggregator License Framework for guidance.

NCC emphasized that submission of application by prospective VAS Aggregator Licensees must be within two (2) weeks from the date of this publication, dated December 4, 2017, stressing that all applications submitted after the deadline will not be entertained.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Broadband forum 2017: Operators hail next-generation technologies

ITREALMS:

The next-generation fiber technologies such as NG-PON2 has been identified as a paradigm shift in the access space and a more certain path towards long-term success, reports ITRealms.

According to the Director, Technology at Verizon, Vincent O’Byrne, this would be explored by the Broadband Forum’s Access Summit, which features operators and manufacturers, as well as industry insight from Light Reading, IHS and the Fiber Broadband Association.

Taking place at Broadband World Forum, at the Messe Berlin, on Tuesday, October 24, the agenda features O’Byrne who will explain how the fiber access space is constantly evolving, with emerging PON technology providing solutions to some of the issues around cost and reliability.

“Technologies such as NG-PON2 present exciting new opportunities for vendors, such as delivering residential and business services on multiple wavelengths over the same fiber,” said O’Byrne. “Not only does NG-PON2 parse business and residential customer traffic to isolate and resolve potential problems in the network, it can also scale to achieve speeds of 40 Gbps and above.”

Delegates attending the summit will hear how some of the Broadband Forum’s current projects relate to this need, with its NG-PON2 Council working to accelerate adoption of the technology.

Additional topics that will be covered include Gfast, the gigabit society, Access 4.0, Fiber to the Distribution Point and the role virtualization has to play in the next generation of networks.

Bernd Hesse, Chair of the Broadband Access Summit Event and Senior Director Technology Development at Calix, said: “We will be exploring NG-PON2 in depth and the use cases that underpin the decisions to deploy them. I look forward to the debate, hearing from the experts in the industry and welcoming the community to these new Forum events.”

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Consequences of unregistered SIM cards await operators says NCC

ITRealms:

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has insisted that there are consequences for any telecommunications operator in the country harbouring unregistered Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards, reports ITRealms.

NCC revealed this via its Director Public Affairs (DPA), Mr. Tony Ojobo, who spoke at the Special Independence Edition of the annual Conference of Directors and Heads of Public Relations organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) at the Sheraton Hotel Lagos with the theme: Trackable Identity and Integrity in Business and National Reputation.

Dwelling on ‘Trackable Identity and the ease of doing business in Nigeria’ Mr. Ojobo noted the long-standing position of the Commission on tolerance of unregistered SIM cards by telecom service providers on their networks.

Ojobo also warned those buying  pre-registered SIM cards from persons and businesses that had done multiple SIM Cards registration in order to resell later, stressing that the burden of this practice lies with the Mobile Network Operators (MNO) who are expected to deactivate SIM cards that do not carry verifiable identities, “because operators are under obligations to have the identities of all callers on their respective networks.”

For Ojobo, trackable identity is the ability to identify an individual operating or transacting business in the cyberspace, noting that within Nigerian environment, “some identity objects are bereft of digital object identifiers, thus posing serious challenge to identifying someone transacting business in the cyberspace.”

He explained that the SIM cards registration policy was instituted by the Federal Government as a strategic response to the challenges of identity tracking, especially in the context of kidnappings, terrorism and other forms of criminality in the society globally.

Other measures of identity tracking in Nigeria, he said, include the establishment of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) through the NIMC Act 2007 and other extant policies and programmes such as the issuance of International travel passports, Bank Verification Number (BVN), Driver's license, Voter's card, the activities of the National Population Commission and the SIM Cards registration programme supervised by the NCC.

Every SIM card, he said, is a subscription on a network and NCC has over 130 million records being verified, and all of that will be transferred later to NIMC as the nation's main custodian of identity management in Nigeria.

“We all need to be able to identify those we are dealing with especially in the cyberspace to reduce mistrust and fraud as well as to improve the integrity of transactions. The total experience of these practices will also help in the fight against economic and financial crimes,” he declared, maintaining that increase in the level of ICT interface and reduction in the instances of human, physical interface could reduce financial corruption.

Chuks Egbune/GEE

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Nokia sets operators on ultra-5G path

ITRealms:

Finland-based Nokia has extended its comprehensive portfolio of ultra-broadband product and technology solutions to give operators new flexibility to meet consumer demand and enhance mobile network performance as they evolve towards Fifth Generation (5G) networks reports ITRealms.

As mobile broadband traffic continues to grow, operators want to enhance network performance where they see the greatest demand - with first deployments traditionally in busy city centers. More capacity, higher speeds and varying network latency are needed to meet the needs of individuals, businesses and IoT, as well as to ensure a smooth transition to 5G. As such, Nokia has defined a sustainable network evolution path that will allow operators to leverage existing investments and maximize assets such as spectrum, to implement higher performance where and when it is needed in the network.

To do this, Nokia is adding to the Nokia AirScale Remote Radio Head portfolio, enabling operators to increase peak performance and cell capacity while reducing space requirements at cell sites via new dual- and single-band FDD-LTE and TD-LTE radios. These leverage carrier aggregation techniques, 4x4 MIMO and 8x4 Beamforming, while addressing demand for higher output power, extending frequency band support and simplifying network rollouts.

To augment heterogeneous network deployments and boost coverage and capacity in the busiest hotspots - especially in dense urban environments - operators will need to deploy the next wave of small cells. The Nokia Ultra Dense self-organizing network features on Flexi Zone small cells will simplify these deployments, solving issues caused by reducing the distance between new and existing small cells and ensuring continuous optimization even as further densification occurs. Nokia has extended the self-organizing network features on its Femtocell portfolio to ensure smoother integration and higher performance in heterogeneous networks as traffic is offloaded from the macro network.

New features on the industry-first Nokia Flexi Zone Citizen Band Radio Service small cells, supporting Spectrum Access Server and Citizen Broadband Radio Service Device Proxy connectivity, will offer operators new options for boosting coverage and capacity, particularly inside buildings. CBRS Flexi Zone small cells can be used to deploy neutral host capabilities, allowing operators to lease capacity to other providers inside malls, hotels and office blocks, where space is at a premium. In compliance with FCC requirements, small cells will be able to efficiently communicate with the Spectrum Access Server to ensure the network uses only available shared CBRS* spectrum.

To provide backhaul flexibility for ultra-dense heterogeneous city networks - where microwave transport is used to link small cells to fiber access points - Nokia Wavence microwave now supports Carrier SDN. Operators will benefit from new intelligence and automation, including rapid power-up of virtual network functions and adaptable parameters to support changes on the radio access network, such as when people move from work to home.

Anchoring this multi-technology access is the Nokia Cloud Packet Core. Its cloud-native capabilities and operations deliver the performance to support increasing capacity, massive scalability required for densification, and deployment flexibility necessary to deliver low latency, in order to realize the economics of delivering diverse and demanding services and applications.

Nokia continues to help operators plan and optimize their path to 5G using its 5G Acceleration Services and is now expanding the portfolio to include the operator 'anyhaul' end-to-end transport network. Nokia will work with operators to assess the readiness of the network and design and implement their 5G strategies and services.

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Alert! NCC cautions operators, subscribers on WannaCry virus

ITRealms:

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has alerted the licensed operators and subscribers in the country of the recent outbreak of a Ransomware virus also known as “WannaCry” across the world, reports ITRealms.

This alert, NCC officials told ITRealms was in fulfilment of its statutory mandate to assure the security and integrity of the national telecommunications network in the country.

The Ransomware, ITRealms gathered, is capable of infecting and encrypting all files on a system or any smart device until an amount is paid for a decryption key, or other means of retrieval which may lead to data loss are used to recover the system as an alternative.

This situation, NCC said, demands that proactive measures be taken by all players in the telecommunication eco-system to forestall the hazards of critical data loss, financial losses and ultimately network/business disruption. ITRealms also reports that the NCC in a public service notice, therefore advisd that the following protective measures be taken, amongst others to obtain software patch released by Microsoft in March 2017 to fix the Ransomware Virus; to plan scheduled penetration tests on the networks and systems to ensure protection and availability at all times.

And for subscribers who use their smartphones as substitutes to computers for internet access, NCC said, they should protect themselves and their devices by “Not opening e-mail attachments/links from unknown sources; Not clicking pop-ups and applets on unknown websites; and installing effective antivirus software for their mobile devices.”

Furthermore, the NCC said it has taken proactive measures in fulfilling its statutory mandate including advising Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to initiate regular assessment and audit of their cybersecurity readiness.

“All operators should continue to ensure that their backup/ disaster recovery strategies are in place and up to date,” NCC stated.

In addition, the Commission noted it has further advised all operators to ensure continued deployment of effective firewalls, login passwords and antivirus management regime.

The Commission also stated, its working towards creating a link with the Cybersecurity Alert System on its website so that current information on global cyber threats/incidents could be immediately communicated to stakeholders.

NCC emphasized that the Commission will continue to provide more cybersecurity training for its staff.  

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Iskratel counsels operators: Ignore cable upgrades, focus on fiber

ITRealms:

Cable operators in need of upgrades of their networks have been advised to look beyond latest cable upgrades and deploy fiber sooner rather than later to remain competitive, according to Iskratel’s latest executive white paper, reports ITRealms.

Giving this council at the Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) conference in France, the Iskratel through its Chief Architect, Simon Cimzar said, there is an increasing number of considerations that operators must make when looking to upgrade their existing networks 

Speaking on “GPON vs. DOCSIS 3.1 in Six Simple Points” Cimzar, insisted the customer should always be number one, which might mean that cable operators who don’t deploy fiber might be left behind.

“In the current market, cable operators are faced with an increasing number of competitors offering fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband services through gigabit-capable Passive Optical Networks (GPON. By using the DOSCIS 3.0 standard today, operators can theoretically offer gigabit services in the downstream, but find themselves limited by the upstream throughput it provides,” he said.

Equally, Cimza ssiad, this leaves operators with the quandary of whether to remain with the standard coax network and upgrade to the newer DOCSIS 3.1 standard, or make the leap and become FTTH operators themselves, just as he acknowledged that operators must perform a balancing act when choosing between the two options, a decision which the white paper further explores.

“The main question operators must ask themselves is whether the service disruptions of the move make changing from the coax network to a fiber-based solution unfeasible,” said Cimzar, stressing, there are many facets to this decision, but the business motivation is clear. Fiber deployments come at a lower Total Cost of Ownership and provide a better return on the initial investment than DOCSIS 3.1, which can be migrated to at the same cost but requires further, continued investment.

“Another important factor to bear in mind is the potential for symmetrical upload and download speeds that GPON offers – something which isn’t possible with cable,” he said, insisting that once the operators take into account the higher ongoing maintenance costs, smaller range of services offered and disruptive migration to DOSCIS 3.1, it becomes clear that GPON provides an option that makes sense for businesses and end-users alike.

 “Customers’ perception is simple: fiber is the future,” he added. “Cable operators are at a crucial juncture when it comes to network evolution and those who try to move forward without fiber may find themselves being left behind,” he submitted.

Remmy Nweke/ED, Ops

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