The Nigerian Communications Commission has warned against the illegal use of GSM boosters by individuals across the country .

GSM boosters are devices that transmit and receive telecommunications signals and can interfere with other radio frequency equipment.

In a notice on its website , the commission said individuals desirous of using GSM boosters should note that they could only do so in conjunction with licensed network operators .

In the notice , which was signed by the agency’ s Director of Public Affairs , Ikechukwu Adinde, the commission said , “ The attention of the NCC has been drawn to the fact that GSM boosters are being illegally used by individuals in Nigeria .

“ Members of the public should note that wilful interference with any wireless telegraphy is an offence under Section 16 of the Telegraphy Act , 2004. The commission will not condone any flagrant breach on this law. ”

It said monitoring mechanisms had been put in place and anyone caught using GSM booster without obtaining approval of a duly licensed network operator would face arrest and prosecution .

The NCC said any member of the public with useful information regarding the illegal use of GSM boosters should contact the commission.

Algerians were unable to access social media accounts on Sunday as students sat national exams in the North African country where authorities are cracking down on cheating.

Social networks such as Facebook , Twitter and WhatsApp were inaccessible , an AFP journalist said , while the internet faced disruptions across the country .

The move came a day after the justice ministry announced that a teenager had been sentenced to one year in jail for having shared the results of an Arabic -language test online .

The boy was sentenced Wednesday by a court in the northeastern city of Guelma in line with a penal code amendment adopted in April that criminalised cheating during the brevet and baccalaureate examinations , usually taken at the end of secondary and high school, respectively .

After a spike in cheating during national exams in recent years , authorities in the North African country adopted legislation under which those found guilty of wrongdoing could face up to 15 years in jail .

According to the justice ministry , courts in Algeria have begun to hand down jail sentences to individuals accused of having leaked exam papers or results during the brevet earlier this month.

In 2016, authorities temporarily blocked access to social networks to prevent cheating after leaked papers forced hundreds of thousands of students to resit the baccalaureate exam .

Authorities then arrested dozens of people, including the heads of national exam centres and teachers on suspicion of leaking the final exam papers.

There was no official comment Sunday from authorities or telecom officials on the internet disruptions and the lack of access to social networks .

The baccalaureate exams, which began Sunday, are due to last until September 17.

AFP

Facebook has updated its Terms of Service to enable the removal of contents or restrict user access to avoid lawsuits or regulatory impacts .

In an announcement on Wednesday , Facebook said the update would come into effect on October 1.

Some users of Facebook ’ s app have received notifications regarding the change.

“ Effective October 1, 2020, section 3. 2 of our Terms of Service will be updated to include: ‘ We also can remove or restrict access to your content , services or information if we determine that doing so is reasonably necessary to avoid or mitigate adverse legal or regulatory impacts to Facebook ’ , ” the notification read .

This is coming amidst accusations that Facebook is not doing enough to combat hate speech , an issue that prompted an ad boycott in July .

In a press statement on Monday , it said , “ Australia is drafting a new regulation that misunderstands the dynamics of the internet and will do damage to the very news organisations the government is trying to protect . Assuming this draft code becomes law, we will reluctantly stop allowing publishers and people in Australia from sharing local and international news on Facebook and Instagram. This is not our first choice – it is our last. But it is the only way to protect against an outcome that defies logic and will hurt, not help, the long -term vibrancy of Australia ’ s news and media sector.

“ We share the Australian Government ’ s goal of supporting struggling news organisations, particularly local newspapers, and have engaged extensively with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission that has led the effort . But its solution is counterproductive to that goal. The proposed law is unprecedented in its reach and seeks to regulate every aspect of how tech companies do business with news publishers . Most perplexing, it would force Facebook to pay news organisations for content that the publishers voluntarily place on our platforms and at a price that ignores the financial value we bring publishers.

“ The ACCC presumes that Facebook benefits most in its relationship with publishers, when in fact the reverse is true. News represents a fraction of what people see in their News Feed and is not a significant source of revenue for us . Still, we recognize that news provides a vitally important role in society and democracy, which is why we offer free tools and training to help media companies reach an audience many times larger than they have previously.

“ News organisations in Australia and elsewhere choose to post news on Facebook for this precise reason, and they encourage readers to share news across social platforms to increase readership of their stories. This in turn allows them to sell more subscriptions and advertising . Over the first five months of 2020 we sent 2. 3 billion clicks from Facebook ’ s News Feedback to Australian news websites at no charge – additional traffic worth an estimated $200 million AUD to Australian publishers. ”

The President , Major General Muhammadu Buhari ( retd . ) , has approved the transfer of the National Identity Management Commission to the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.

The transfer was in an effort to ensure synergy and effective ministry supervisory mechanism was put in place to coordinate, monitor and track the progress of Federal Government ’ s digital transformation initiatives.

According to a statement issued on Monday by the Minister of Communications ’ s spokesperson, Uwa Suleiman, the approval for the transfer was based on Buhari ’ s consideration for the critical role of NIMC towards the realisation of the objectives of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria .

Suleiman said the Buhari ’ s directive was also an illustration of his vote of confidence on the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy , Dr Isa Pantami.

The statement said , “ He has , within his first year in office , amongst others , resolved the ICT sector’ s decade -long dilemma of Right of Way charges.

“ He was also able to secure Mr President ’ s approval for the provision of security as well as designation of telecommunications infrastructure as critical national infrastructure. ”

Suleiman also attributed to the minister the regularisation of improperly registered SIM cards and deactivation of unregistered ones , deployment of over 250 digital projects across the country as well as building the capacity of over 36, 000 Nigerians.

She also noted the need for NIMC and other agencies such as the Nigerian Communications Commission, the National Information Technology Development Agency and Galaxy Backbone Limited to work closely together under the supervision of one ministry towards harnessing what had already been achieved.

The statement said , “ NIMC has so far registered around 41 million eligible enrollees for the National Identity Number. NCC , on the other hand , has details of over 191 million mobile subscribers.

“ Furthermore, NITDA has recorded huge successes in the development and implementation of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation, the country ’ s first codified data protection regulation. GBB also provides services to government agencies. ”

Suleiman said the NIN provided by NINC , considered as a social security as well as civil number, was very important for economic planning and social intervention .

Microsoft has said 800 million people will be required to learn new skills to fully execute their jobs by 2030, according to its research .

The Country Manager , Microsoft Nigeria , Akin Banuso , noted this at a roundtable hosted by the company in Lagos on Thursday.

He further stated that by 2025, digital job capacity would mean the creation of 149 million new jobs .

Banuso said COVID - 19 had dramatically accelerated the pace of digital transformation and as a result of this , digital skills were required immediately.

“ As the economy in Nigeria starts to slowly reopen for business , we anticipate the return to an economy with different needs and certainly one where a new challenge presents itself in terms of skills , ” he said .

The roundtable , which Microsoft said was developed to provide a continental answer to youth employment and skill promotion , brought together thought leaders and decision makers from the private sector, intergovernmental organisations, government agencies and academia.

The Microsoft Director of Corporate , External and Legal Affairs, MEA Emerging Markets , John Edokpolo , said with the new accelerated digital transformation, there was an anticipation of the rise of a ‘ hybrid economy’ .

He explained hybrid economy as ‘ one where employees would have an option of integrating back into the workplace , while others will choose to carry out their duties remotely’ .

“ Essentially , this environment is going to rely more increasingly on technology to skills optimisation , ” he said .

Banuso added that Microsoft was looking forward to continuing its sustained efforts in reaching and educating more customers and prospects around the tools and resources available.

A survey conducted by Alliance for Affordable Internet has found that smartphone devices are the least affordable in Africa at 62. 8 per cent of average monthly income .

In a report titled ‘ From luxury to lifeline: Reducing the cost of mobile devices to reach universal Internet access ’ , A 4AI noted that the biggest barrier to Internet access today was cost .

Nearly 2. 5 billion people live in countries where the cost of the cheapest available smartphone is a quarter or more of the average monthly income , according to the report .

The report stated that Internet was still not affordable for many around the world , which applied to data and Internet - connected devices.

Covering 70 low and middle -income countries, the report provided a global survey of mobile handset costs , looking at the retail price and its affordability in relation to income .

The survey reported that in Africa , devices were least affordable at 62. 8 per cent of average monthly income compared with 11. 7 per cent in the Americas and 16. 2 per cent in Asia Pacific excluding India .

With India included , the Asia Pacific figure is 87. 4 per cent , owing to the country’ s role as an outlier with a very large population and high costs .

The report said in Sierra Leone , the average person needed to save six months ’ salary to buy the cheapest available smartphone .

While in India, where almost 18 per cent of the global population lives, the price of the cheapest smartphone was 206 per cent of the average monthly income .

Speaking on the findings , A 4AI noted that access to the Internet was critical , not only for individuals ’ wellbeing, but also for the health of a country’ s economy.

It said with the economic disruption of COVID -19, digital growth would be even more important for national economic performance .

A 4AI said , “ Now , being used for everything from remote learning and working to contact tracing and telehealth , internet connectivity has never been more important .

“ The COVID - 19 crisis has underlined that the internet and the devices that allow people to access it are not luxuries . These devices are lifelines. ”

The initiative said governments should be setting policy accordingly to ensure as many people as possible can buy them .

It recommended that governments and and multilateral bodies reduce taxes on low- cost devices, use Universal Service & Access Funds to subsidise devices and support projects to help people spread the cost of devices .