Author: Akin Naphtal

Nigerian online forum, Nairaland, has resumed operations after it was taken down on Monday by Cloudflare, its hosting provider, following reports of abuse. Founder of Nairaland, Seun Osewa, confirmed the platform’s return in a statement, but added that Nairaland was only operating temporarily, and that additional downtime might occur. “We had to transfer Nairaland to a temporary host in order to bring it back to you. A very time-consuming process. We are not fully back, even though most features of the site are working. We still have a long way to go. Additional downtime is likely; don’t let it alarm…

Multinational ride-hailing service, Uber Technologies, has announced an increase in the minimum wage for drivers in France as part of a broader agreement between ride-hailing companies and driver representatives in the country. Aiming to improve the income and working conditions for drivers, Uber will increase the minimum income per trip for drivers from €7.65 to €9 ($9.85). Drivers will now have a guaranteed income of €30 per hour, and will also receive €1 per kilometre travelled. The changes in hourly income guarantee and minimum wage per kilometre will be implemented by May 2024, while the increased revenue per trip will…

South Korean tech giant, Samsung Electronics is set to invest approximately 40 billion yen ($280 million) over the next five years in a research facility dedicated to advanced chip packaging in Japan. The announcement was made by the city of Yokohama, where the facility will be established, providing Samsung with the opportunity to collaborate closely with Japanese companies specialising in chipmaking equipment and materials. Samsung’s chip business head, Kyung Kye-hyun, has noted that the Japanese facility would not only strengthen Samsung’s position in the chip market but also facilitate partnerships with Yokohama-based companies specializing in chip packaging. The facility will…

Apple has increased its focus on the production of its Vision Pro mixed-reality headset, aiming for a launch as early as February 2024, according to sources familiar who spoke to Bloomberg on the matter. Full-speed production of the new headset has been underway at facilities in China for several weeks, with the goal of having customer-bound units ready by the end of January. The retail debut is anticipated to follow in February. The Vision Pro, priced at $3,499, was initially unveiled in June, and its availability in the U.S. was expected by early 2024. Apple has sent emails to software…

The European Union (EU) has announced PayPal’s decision to revise its terms and conditions to align fully with EU consumer protection regulations, after a constructive dialogue between PayPal, the European Commission, and national consumer protection authorities. The EU previously expressed concerns that PayPal’s existing terms and conditions were not only challenging for consumers to comprehend, but were also deemed unfair. In response, PayPal has committed to making significant amendments to enhance transparency and understanding for its users. As part of these changes, PayPal users will receive notifications detailing the modifications through a policy update scheduled for February. The revised terms…

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed telecommunications operators to implement full blockage of all subscriber’s identification module (SIM) cards not linked to national identification numbers (NINs) by February 28, 2024. According to the instructions, the operators, including MTN, Airtel, Globacom, 9mobile, among others have been lettered to carry out the exercise as directed. Recall, the telecoms operators have 220 million subscriptions, of which MTN has 85 million; Glo, 61 million; Airtel, 60 million and 9mobile, 13 million. The mandatory NIN-SIM Linkage exercise began in December 2020 as directed by the Federal Government. The telecoms operators have already lost over…

ZTE Corporation has announced launching its integrated end-to-end telecom energy solution at the TowerXchange Asia 2023, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. With the continuous development of global 5G construction, the number of 5G sites is increasing remarkably. This has led to a steady rise in investment in the telecom energy systems supporting the sites. Simultaneously, as operators strive to achieve goals for carbon neutrality, the trend of layering of telecom networks and energy networks is becoming apparent. Operators are now pursuing the transformation of light assets to enhance network operation efficiency and reduce costs, resulting in a continuous increase in…

Nigeria’s seventh-most-visited website, Nairaland, is facing a blackout after Cloudflare, an American content delivery company, took its server offline on Monday, 18th December, following an abuse report filed a week ago. Nairaland’s founder, Seun Osewa, has confirmed the shutdown, though the specific nature of the reported abuse remains unclear. Osewa initially announced on Monday that Nairaland’s website was undergoing “unscheduled maintenance” by Cloudflare. However, on Tuesday, he clarified that the server was down due to an oversight on his part regarding an abuse report filed on 14th December. Osewa removed the offensive content after the takedown. Cloudflare, known for providing…

Elon Musk’s satellite internet service provider (ISP), Starlink, has officially launched in Eswatini, making the Southern African country the eighth and tenth overall market in Africa to be issued Starlink connection. The announcement for the launch, which occurred on Monday, 18th December, follows Starlink’s successful navigation of regulatory and technical requirements, receiving its operating license in June 2023. Starlink utilises low earth orbit satellites to deliver broadband internet services to both urban and remote areas, offering capabilities for streaming, online gaming, and video calls. Eswatini has a population of just over 1.2 million, with over 710,000 of them being internet…

Pension and savings fintech Cushon has announced the appointment of Ellen Louw, a former executive at American Express and Reach PLC, as its chief financial officer (CFO). Louw has over 20 years of experience in the financial sector. Louw worked for over 10 years at American Express, most recently as the vice president for global consumer decision support. Louw’s last role was at the UK publishing giant Reach, where she held the role of commercial finance director. The Cushon finance chief also worked as the head of commercial finance and corporate development at WorldRemit. Speaking on her appointment Ellen Louw…