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A Federal court in Nigeria has nullified the “sale” of 9Mobile (nee Etisalat Nigeria). Nothing unusual here as I never really believed that 9Mobile was sold when litigants were running over one another with court-bullets as injunctions. That someone saw those injunctions, and yet released money, was a sign of total misunderstanding of the highly active court system in Nigeria. There is fraternity in the legal system in Nigeria: judges respect prior injunctions fanatically. That is why some governors are still being tried for cases that started in 2007, and at the current pace, the cases will finish when paper filing will be illegal in Nigeria!

The Federal High Court in Abuja has, in an April 1, 2019 ruling, set aside the sale of a major telecommunication firm, Etisalat International Nigeria Limited, now 9Mobile, to Teleology Nigeria Limited.

An enrolled order made by Justice Binta Nyako was sighted on Thursday.

The judge held that the steps taken in relation to the exchange of ownership of the company were in violation of subsisting court orders that parties to the pending suit should maintain status quo.

The court had by the orders restrained parties to the suit, involving investors and other shareholders in the company, from destroying the “res,” the subject matter in dispute in the suit.

I had asked if they indeed sold 9Mobile?

No nation has any competitive #4 mobile carrier: two strong leading operators are typical. But in some cases, you can have a forceful #3. But anything beyond #3 is forgettable. Nigeria will not change that until we have billionaires who can buy English ball clubs just to tell their friends: “My boys will play tomorrow, come over to my booth”.

Yes, Teleology Holdings which received approval to take over the operations of 9mobile as the preferred bidder has pulled out of the deal.  The Founder of Teleology Holdings Limited, Mr. Adrian Wood, the pioneer CEO of MTN Nigeria, released a statement, noting: “We now must stand down from further work on the 9mobile project.

My prediction remains that Glo will pick 9Mobile directly or indirectly. Indirectly means someone buys it and uploads into Glo.

UPDATE – 9Mobile has responded

From Premium Times.

The court’s ruling implies that actions concerning the company, including the processes taken by the National Communications Commission to resolve the dispute by selling over the company; are null and of no effect, since parties had been ordered to maintain status-quo from April 25, 2018.

In a reaction, however, the management of EMTS on Thursday denied the nullification by the FHC.

According to the company; the court only decided on the issue of locus standi. The statement was signed by the company’s legal adviser, Ore Orilade.

EMTS however noted that it would appeal the ruling.

“The Management of Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services Ltd. (trading as 9mobile) is aware of the news publication being circulated on online news platforms that the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has nullified the sale of EMTS to Teleology Nigeria Limited. EMTS hereby states that these news reports are incorrect, misleading, mischievous and a total falsehood.

“The Federal High Court, Abuja did not nullify the sale of EMTS; the court on 1st April 2019 made an order for parties to maintain status quo as at April 25, 2018. As at the said date, EMTS (9mobile) was not a party to the suit before the court. The action before Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court is not about the sale of EMTS (9mobile) but rather, the transfer of the license even without locus standi.

“EMTS (9mobile) has however appealed the order and also sought an injunction pending appeal at the Court of Appeal,” the statement said

By Nnamdi Odumody

Qualcomm will showcase the capacity of 5G chipsets and antennas with a live 5G network, and a range of industrial IOT (IIOT) applications, at this week’s Hannover Messe, an industrial technology trade show in Hannover, Germany. It partnered with Bosch, Festo, Goething, IFAK, Siemens, Weidmueller and Zeiss to highlight various use cases for its 5G technology in IIOT solutions.

Qualcomm is showcasing 5G’s strongest industrial applications and has selected the most enterprise-ready applications of the technology to exhibit at Hannover. Some of the partnerships highlight how its technology is well suited for data transmission for robotics in large manufacturing plants because 5G offers increased bandwidth and data transmission rates as well as lower latency. An example of this is Goetting which will use Qualcomm’s 5G technologies to help teleoperate an autonomously guided vehicle, with low latency, which is important for high precision driving in tight factory settings.

With Qualcomm’s live demonstration of 5G technology, industry leaders will know that the technology is ready for large scale IIOT integration, the company hopes. Dedicated showcases of 5G enabled IIOT products and its potential applications will be a great selling point for larger enterprises. In crowded exhibition halls, fast upload and downloads of data. could convince decision makers of 5G’s high speed by making them visible beyond data points.

Apart from Qualcomm, US network provider Sprint has launched a 5G experience centre at its headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas which will help enterprise clients visualize the technology and its potential applications. With 5G, users can experience increased bandwidth and data transmission rates up to 10 times faster than 4G LTE and 5G networks will support up to 10 times more devices than 4G networks at connection node.

It is important for Nigerian telecommunication services providers like MTN, Globacom, 9 Mobile and Airtel to invest in 5G technology as countries like China, United States, South Korea with SK Telecom and Samsung collaborating to launch a nationwide rollout of the technology, are already deploying it to augment capabilities in critical sectors to enhance productivity and economic growth. Globally, 60 percent of IOT providers have plans to incorporate 5G technology into their products or services by 2023. This means that Nigeria needs to ensure we invest in this critical technology and have a clear 5G future, despite the paralysis experienced, in the 4G LTE era.