Connect with us

Business

Firm Set To Roll Out Wholesale Broadband Services

Published

on

The Director of Bitflux Communications Ltd., Mr Biodun Omoniyi, has said that the company would rollout its wholesale wireless broadband access services in October.
Omoniyi said this during the Internet Service Providers’ Association of Nigeria’s (ISPAN) meeting with Bitflux Communications Ltd in Lapos, on Wednesday.
The Tide source  reports that Bitflux became a licensed wholesale wireless access broadband service provider after winning the 2.3GHz spectrum licence in February.
Omoniyi said that the rollout would take place simultaneously in Abuja, Lagos and Port-Harcourt.
According to him, in the second year of the first rollout, the company will also launch its services in four additional states.
“NCC actually wanted us to cover the country in five years, but we are determined to roll out across the 36 states of the country before the deadline,’’ he said.
Omoniyi said that the company was already working with some vendors and infrastructure providers such as Ericsson, Alcartel, and Huawei, on whose platforms the services would ride on.
He noted that Bitflux was licensed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in order to provide services to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and not the end users.
“Bitflux is not going to provide services to end users, Bitflux is not going to go to offices to provide services, but will offer wholesale wireless access to ISPs; so, we are ready to do business with them.
“NCC is going to supervise the business strategy of Bitflux to ensure it benefits, the retail ISPs,’’ the director said.
He said that Bitflux was not a threat to the ISPs, but was licensed to enhance their businesses in accordance with the National Broadband Plan of the Federal Government.
According to him, the essence of the 2.3GHz licence which Bitflux won is to bring down the cost of high speed Internet and increase broadband penetration.
He said that the company would offer innovative 4G (4Generation) broadband services on a state-of-the-art world-class Long Term Evolution (LTE) network.
Omoniyi said that Bitflux was focused on helping telecoms service providers to grow and dynamically provide a modernised and efficient broadband ecosystem that would redefine lifestyle.
He said that the vision of the company was to innovatively advance the frontiers of broadband experience.
The Chairman of the Policy Working Group of ISPAN, Mr Biyi Oladipo, assured Bitflux of the association’s support to increase broadband penetration in the country.
Oladipo said that the association would continue to sensitise its members to the need to partner with various stakeholders in the Internet ecosystem.

Continue Reading

Business

Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

Published

on

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.

 

Continue Reading

Business

NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

Published

on

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.
Continue Reading

Business

FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

Published

on

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.
Continue Reading

Trending