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Firm Pledges Support For Nigeria’s ICT Industry

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In order to boost development in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry in Nigeria, Aviat Networks, one of the leading solution providers has concluded plans to show more commitment in the area of managed professional services to telecom companies as a way of reducing operational cost for effective telecom service delivery.

The Vice President, Aviat Networks, Africa region, Mr. Yrevor Burchell disclosed this to newsmen last week in Lagos during his visit to Nigeria.

Burchell said Aviat Networks had a lot to offer to the country in terms of the company’s ability to provide cost saving solutions in the area of managed servies to telecom operators to enable them optimise their current assets or existing infrastructure.

According to him “Nigeria is a very strategic market for Aviat Networks and the company believes that it will still remain its number one market in the African region. Our message to you is that the Aviat brand is still the number one and we intend to remain same as we have the people that are passionate about the business especially here in Nigeria”.

While expressing confidence in the Nigerian ICT market and partnership, Burchell explained that with Aviat’s new identity, the company had introduced new solutions and products which include site controller solution that would help to control power and energy management for telecom sites as well as its current efforts in the Wimax space by the acquisition of Telsima.

“We have overcome our past identity problem by not only being known as a transmission service provider only. The new brand gives us an opportunity to reposition the company for people to see us in a number of competencies that we were not previously know for. So, in the areas like management services and Wimax, Aviat hopes to capitalise on its new identity to explore and take control of such areas as we have done in other places”, he said.

Burchell revealed that Aviat Networks had been offering solutions to the existing CDMA operators in the country before the advent of the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) adding that with the two existing brands that merged (Horris Corporation MCD and Stratex Networks), the ICT sector would soon see what the company truly was.

He also stated that his visit to the country had enabled him to meet with some of the company’s customers like Bharti, MTN, Airtel among others in order to understand their directions and current market dynamics.

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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