How does the idea of 43 new telcos in addition to MTN, Airtel, Glo and 9Mobile sound? It sounds interesting to me and it might be happening in Nigeria in a few months.

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Here’s the gist: The Nigerian Communications Commission has awarded mobile virtual network (MVNO) licenses to 43 firms and they will start operations in a couple of months.

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What are MVNOs? MVNOs are telcos but without the infrastructure. According Ernest Akinlola, MVNO expert and Managing Director at Bboxx, what these firms do is piggyback off existing MNOs like MTN and Airtel.

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See it as a baker who uses someone else’s bakery to bake their bread.

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So what does this mean for Nigeria? Well, Bolu had a very interesting conversation about this with Akinlola who shared some very insights.

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One is price of data and voice services could drop a lot cause there’s about to be fierce competition in the telco space. There’ll also be a lot of economic value in terms of employment and job opportunities.

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However, Akinlola also pointed out that there could be problems when it comes to MVNOs realising their potentials in Nigeria if some things aren’t put in place.

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And trust me, he knows his stuff. He has worked with some of the biggest MVNOs and MNOs in the world from T-Mobile, to Lyca Mobile, Lebara, and even 9Mobile. 

​ If you’re curious about what the MVNO future will look like in Nigeria, read this.

Aided by artificial intelligence, cyber attacks targeting Kenyans have risen five times year-on-year.

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According to the Communications Authority of Kenya, 971,440,345 attacks were directed at Internet and cloud service providers, state agencies and academic institutions in Q1 2024. 187,757,659 attacks were detected during the same period in 2023.

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The CA adds that artificial intelligence is being used to create deep fakes, increase the  personalisation of phishing mails, and automate cyberattacks. These attackers are also using AI to neutralise AI-powered security systems.

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Artificial Intelligence is perhaps the hottest trend in technology as businesses explore ways it could improve their operations. While it holds great promises, concerns have been expressed over its potential misuse by bad actors and this episode in Kenya is just one example.

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In a column for the World Economic Forum, Aleksandr Yampolskiy, CEO of SecurityScorecard warned that artificial intelligence could give bad actors the upper hand in 2024. 

​ “It may take the form of sophisticated phishing campaigns, a barrage of deepfakes and hackers gaining access to detailed information about their targets while also getting around endpoint security defences,” he said. 

Postal and courier services without licences in Kenya have been put on notice by the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA).

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Recently appointed CA Director General, David Mugonyi, revealed this in a circular released on Tuesday, April 23.

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Interestingly, these illegal couriers are “authorised public service vehicles and eCommerce players”

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Now here’s the thing, the CA issued Guidelines for Postal and Courier Services in 2015 and by virtue of Section 49 of the Kenya Information and Communications Act, 1998, anyone contravening licencing regulations could face fines of up to KSh300,000, imprisonment for a maximum of one year, or both.

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This isn’t the first time the government has cracked down on illegal courier services.

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In 2017, the CA closed down 13 such operators during a nationwide clampdown on illegal postal and courier services.

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Here’s a fun fact for you: Only the Postal Corporation of Kenya (government-owned) can operate internationally and locally as it is the lone Public Postal Operator. There are 261 licenced international postal and courier services and 54 local.

​ You can use this as an ice breaker at your next hangout. You’re welcome.