Author: Akin Naphtal

The Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communication (GIFEC) has begun training over 450 visually impaired individuals from across 13 regions in Ghana in a three-week training program on basic computer usage. Dubbed “Introduction to Computer Basics for the Visually Impaired (ICBVI),” the initiative aims to equip beneficiaries with digital skills for personal, social, and economic development. The project commenced in November 2023 with trainers being trained. It is implemented in collaboration with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and Cisco, with funding from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and GIFEC. During a recent visit to assess the progress of…

Telecommunications giant MTN Ghana has announced that it has successfully restored its internet network capacity, after damage to subsea fibre optic cables caused disruptions that impacted Ghana’s internet services from Thursday, 14th March 2024. In a statement issued on Sunday, 24th March, MTN confirmed the use of alternative cables to support their customers during the ongoing repair efforts. “We are happy to inform you that MTN has restored normal internet network capacity to provide improved data services. We appreciate your patience during the recent service interruption,” the statement said. Despite the restoration, MTN emphasized that repair works on the undersea…

MTN Group has reported its operating performance for the year 2023, declaring a total dividend of 330 cents per share despite factors such as inflation in multiple markets and currency devaluation, especially of the Nigerian Naira, proving to be a challenge. The company witnessed sustained high demand for data and fintech services throughout the year. Active data subscribers increased by over 9%, reaching 150 million, while active Mobile Money users grew by 5% to 72.5 million. This contributed to a total subscriber base of 295 million across the group’s markets. Data traffic on MTN’s networks surged by more than a…

Apple CEO, Tim Cook says the Apple Vision augmented reality (AR) headset is set to hit the mainland Chinese market later this year. Cook revealed this while addressing questions from the media during the China Development Forum, which lauched on Sunday 24th March in Beijing. In addition to revealing the imminent release of the Apple Vision Pro in China, Cook spoke on Apple’s commitment to increasing research and development investment within the country, which would also help strengthen its foothold there. He noted that the Chinese market could be very beneficial for Apple’s future endeavours. The Apple Vision Pro launched…

Spain’s High Court has issued an order suspending the operations of messaging app, Telegram, within the country, after media houses including Atresmedia, EGEDA, Mediaset, and Telefonica complained about Telegram users uploading unauthorised content. Effective from Monday, 25th March onwards, Telegram will undergo temporary suspension in Spain will undergo temporary suspension. Spanish Judge Santiago Pedraz sanctioned the halt to Telegram’s services as investigations into the media claims continue. Mobile phone providers have also been tasked with enforcing the blockade of Telegram’s services, as per a source from the court. According to data from the company, Telegram boasted over 700 million monthly…

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu says his administration is investing in digital technology to sustain small businesses, expand opportunities across sectors, and propel Nigeria to become the lodestar of information and communications technology in Africa. Speaking when he received a delegation from Meta Platforms Incorporated, led by former UK Deputy Prime Minister and Meta’s President of Global Affairs, Sir Nick Clegg, at the State House in Abuja on Thursday, the President said Nigeria couldn’t afford to be left behind in this age of technological advancements. In light of this, his administration is opening up channels of opportunities in information and communications…

Ghana is considering granting SpaceX’s Starlink approval to provide internet connectivity within the country, according to the Minister of Communications and Digitalisation Ursula Owusu Ekuful, during a recent parliamentary meeting. This reconsideration comes after the National Communication Authority’s (NCA) warning on 7th December 2023, which prevented the sale and operation of Starlink devices due to the provider’s failure to obtain necessary licenses and approvals. However, in light of a recent internet outage affecting many African countries, including Ghana, the government is reevaluating its stance. The outage, caused by damages to subsea cables, impacted mobile network operators, internet service providers, and…

Meta’s Instagram has resumed service for most users after an outage on Thursday, 21st March, which lasted over three hours, and left thousands of users unable to access the popular photo-sharing platform. According to data from Downdetector.com, the number of reported outages has decreased to from 5,000 to around 400, with the majority of complaints centred around login issues on the app. This recent outage follows a similar incident in early March that affected both Instagram and Facebook, also owned by Meta Platforms. During that outage, which lasted over two hours, more than 550,000 reports of disruptions were registered for…

Apple has found itself in a legal battle against the US Department of Justice which, alongside 15 states, filed a lawsuit on Thursday, accusing the tech giant of exploiting its dominance in the smartphone market to inflate prices and weaken competition. The lawsuit contends that Apple’s business model, which has historically revolved around charging users a premium for its products while tightly controlling how the devices can be used, has given the company an unfair advantage. The Justice Department aims to challenge this model by pushing for greater user choice in how apps interact with Apple’s hardware. Attorney General Merrick…

Kenya’s Interior Minister, Kithure Kindiki, has announced the country’s demand for TikTok to obey local privacy and user verification laws, citing concerns over the platform’s role in spreading propaganda, perpetrating fraud, and distributing inappropriate content. According to Kindiki, TikTok, along with other social media platforms, has come under scrutiny from regulators worldwide to ensure its users are protected from harmful content and criminal activities enabled through these platforms. “The government, through the office of the Data Protection Commissioner, has contacted TikTok and raised concerns relating to its processing activities,” Kindiki stated during a parliamentary committee session on Thursday, 21st March.…