📱9mobile rebrands to T2

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📱9mobile rebrands to T2
🪢 Minister Bosun Tijani Unveils Project Bridge Blueprint for 90,000km Fiber Network Rollout
📱 Vodacom successfully conducts South Africa’s first native 5G voice call
🩺 Salient Advisory marks five years driving $20M+ in catalytic healthtech funding across Africa
🤖 OpenAI launches GPT-5

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📱TELECOMS

9mobile rebrands to T2

Nigeria’s fourth-largest telecom operator, 9mobile, has rebranded to T2, marking a bold repositioning for innovation, resilience, and customer-focused transformation. Unveiled at a Lagos event themed Tech Meets Tenacity, CEO Obafemi Banigbe described T2 as a “total evolution” aligned with a four-phase recovery roadmap—Stabilisation, Modernisation, Transformation, and Growth—initiated after its 2023 acquisition by Lighthouse Telecoms, led by Thomas Etuh.

Key reforms include a revitalised board, new leadership, and an infrastructure-sharing agreement with MTN Nigeria, boosting network reach and resilience. Once serving over 22 million subscribers, the company’s user base declined to 2.44 million by June 2025. The new T2 identity, featuring orange branding, aims to restore growth through pillars of Speed, Smart Living, Digital Lifestyle, and Trust.

Endorsed by Minister of Communications Dr. Bosun Tijani and Lagos State officials, the phased rollout will introduce enhanced services and customer experiences. T2’s ambition is to lead as a digital lifestyle enabler, blending connectivity, culture, and technology, and reclaim its place as a major force in Nigeria’s telecom industry.………continue reading

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🪢 INFRASTRUCTURE

Minister Bosun Tijani Unveils Project Bridge Blueprint for 90,000km Fiber Network Rollout

The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has unveiled the blueprint for Project BRIDGE, a $2 billion national initiative to deploy 90,000 km of fibre-optic cable across Nigeria. Aimed at boosting high-speed, resilient, and equitable broadband connectivity, the project will expand Nigeria’s fibre network from 35,000 km to 125,000 km, making it the third-largest in Africa.

Goals include achieving 70% internet penetration by 2025, 80% coverage for underserved areas by 2027, connecting over 200,000 institutions, and creating 170,000 direct and indirect jobs. Funding will come equally from sovereign loans and private investments, with support from partners like the World Bank, AfDB, and Kuwait Fund.

Challenges include high Right-of-Way fees and costly rural deployment, but projected benefits include a 1.5% GDP per capita boost and improved digital literacy. Expected to roll out over five years, Project BRIDGE could transform Nigeria’s digital infrastructure and drive economic growth.......…continue reading

📱TELECOMS

Vodacom successfully conducts South Africa’s first native 5G voice call

Vodacom has achieved a telecommunications milestone by successfully conducting South Africa’s first native 5G voice call, known as Voice over New Radio (VoNR), on a test network. While no launch date was given, the technology could soon be integrated into its live consumer network.

VoNR represents an upgrade from Voice over LTE (VoLTE), allowing voice calls to run entirely on 5G infrastructure rather than reverting to 4G/LTE. Benefits include faster call setup times, ultra-high-definition audio, reduced background noise, lower latency, improved battery life, and support for advanced voice codecs.

The test used a single packet core with cloud orchestration, cloud-native applications, and major network upgrades to enable seamless voice services across different access technologies.

Consumer adoption will require compatible devices, which include many newer Apple and Samsung models. Vodacom says the trial underscores its readiness to deliver high-quality, uninterrupted voice services over next-generation 5G networks......…continue reading

🩺 HEALTHTECH

Salient Advisory marks five years driving $20M+ in catalytic healthtech funding across Africa

Salient Advisory is celebrating five years of advancing African healthtech through strategic partnerships, market intelligence, and initiatives that have channelled over $20 million in catalytic funding to startups improving access to medicines and healthcare. Since 2020, Salient has supported innovators like Figorr, Zuri Health, Chefaa, and MYDAWA; partnered with governments such as Nigeria’s Presidential Value Chain Initiative and Lagos State; and collaborated with industry leaders and global health institutions, including MSD, Cencora, and the Gates Foundation.

Its Investing in Innovation program, launched in 2022, provided 38% of all African healthtech grant funding in 2023, helping startups validate models, scale sustainably, and attract long-term investors. Over five years, Salient has tracked 1,000+ innovators, produced 26 industry reports, supported 15 governments, and facilitated 630+ high-impact meetings. Looking ahead, it aims to deepen advisory work, expand market access events, and promote African-led solutions to build equitable, resilient health systems through sustained funding and collaboration......…continue reading

🤖 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

OpenAI launches GPT-5

OpenAI has launched GPT-5, its most advanced generative AI model, powering ChatGPT for over 700 million global users. Positioned as a “true expert” with PhD-level knowledge, GPT-5 introduces “software on demand” capabilities, enabling instant, fully functional software creation from text prompts—a method dubbed “vibe coding.” It excels in coding, science, writing, healthcare, and finance, with innovations like test-time compute, which dynamically allocates more processing power to complex queries.

The release comes amid record AI investments, with major tech companies set to spend nearly $400 billion this fiscal year. While consumer adoption is strong, enterprise spending lags, raising sustainability concerns.

OpenAI overcame challenges including limited high-quality training data and hardware risks during months-long training runs. CEO Sam Altman stressed the need for global AI infrastructure. Reports suggest the company may allow staff to sell shares at a $500 billion valuation, reflecting strong investor confidence despite a competitive, high-stakes AI market......…continue reading

 OTHER STORIES

• Sahel Capital provides $590K financing to Rasad Nigeria to strengthen cocoa and cashew operations……..continue reading

• South African investment firm Kogae Rainbow Investment Holdings has acquired a 65% equity stake in Boomgate……..continue reading

• What Are VPNs and Will They Undermine Online Safety Rules in Nigeria?……..continue reading

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