In a bid to increase security on its services, leading telecommunications and mobile money services provider Airtel Africa has launched a ground-breaking artificial intelligence (AI)-powered Spam Alert Service, which will be available to all its subscribers at no cost.
The service offers Airtel smartphone and feature phone customers real-time alerts for suspected spam SMS and requires no additional application downloads.
The service is in response to research from Quartz, which, as of 2019, showed that nine of the top 20 countries in the world with the highest spam rates are in Africa. The Airtel AI Spam Alert Service is designed to filter all SMS through a proprietary dual-layer protection: one layer at the network level and the other at the IT systems level, processing over 1.5 billion messages in just 2 milliseconds.
Speaking at the launch of the Airtel AI Spam Alert Service in Lagos, Airtel Nigeria Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dinesh Balsingh, said enhancing customer experience is the company’s foremost priority
“We are proud to launch Africa’s first AI-powered spam alert solution. This is a game-changer for the telecoms industry in Africa. As we move forward, we will continue to address customer challenges through proactive tech-driven solutions. We are proud to launch this innovative initiative in Nigeria, our largest market in Africa, while the other countries will launch in the coming months,” he said.
Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, who was also present at the launch, commended Airtel for its continued investment in Nigeria’s technology ecosystem and for specifically investing in a service that is geared towards enhancing online security for millions of Nigerians.
“As we expand our digital infrastructure and prioritize digital literacy, solutions like Airtel AI Spam Alert Service will enforce the importance of leveraging artificial intelligence, not only for security but also for economy empowerment,” he said.
The service will roll out from Nigeria and it will subsequently be available across other countries where Airtel Africa operates.
