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African telecom policy coordination

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2026-07-26 18:56 UTC → 2026-07-28 10:18 UTC · added removed

In late July 2026 senior ICT ministers and telecom regulators gathered in Abuja for two linked sessions. Ministers underscored the surge in smartphone‑based internet use – a Kaspersky survey showed 60 % of respondents in Africa, the Middle East and Turkey now rely on phones for personal and corporate data – and warned that security habits lag behind. They put forward a three‑step response of regular backups, strong encryption and user education, and used the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum in Geneva to push inclusive AI governance, financing mechanisms and gender‑sensitive policies, including feminist principles for AI. Regulators, led by Nigeria’s NCC chief Dr Aminu Maida, called for a unified African position ahead of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (PP‑26) in Doha. Priorities highlighted were spectrum harmonisation, AI oversight and cybersecurity, together with a joint push to invest in terrestrial and satellite infrastructure, especially in border regions, to narrow the digital divide. Later in the week, Nigerian officials, including Vice‑President Kashim Shettima and NCC CEO Maida, Maida amplified the unity call, urging coordinated action on broadband, cloud computing, satellite communications and the development of African‑language large‑language models through the new APLAS network built on the N‑ATLAS initiative. The series At the Seventh Ordinary Session of meetings the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) in Abuja, Shettima, alongside Minister Bosun Tijani, reaffirmed a continent‑wide drive the need for coordinated continent‑wide cooperation on telecom policy, shared experience AI, cloud and collaborative investment to create satellite infrastructure, and urged a resilient collective stance on global digital ecosystem ahead of regulations. The conference launched the upcoming ITU conference. ATLAS Network, expanding N‑ATLAS to train large‑language models in African languages. An accompanying high‑level visit to Benin’s Glo‑Djigbé Industrial Zone highlighted bilateral economic and security ties.

Versions

  1. 2026-07-28 10:18 UTC African telecom policy coordination
  2. 2026-07-26 18:56 UTC African telecom policy coordination

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