Airtel Africa launches AI-powered spam alert service for subscribers

• Airtel Africa launched an Artificial Intelligence-powered spam alert service for subscribers
• The innovative solution classifies suspicious SMS messages as “suspected SPAM”
• Airtel Africa said the service is part of efforts to continuously enhance customer experience through innovative tech-driven solutions

Airtel Africa, telecommunications and mobile money services provider, has launched an Artificial Intelligence-powered spam alert service, which will be available to all its subscribers at no cost.

The service, which offers Airtel smartphone and feature phone customers real-time alerts for suspected spam SMS messages, does not require additional application downloads and is automatically activated for all Airtel customers.

The spam alert service was launched by Airtel Africa in Lagos, Nigeria, saying the service begins from Nigeria and will subsequently roll out across other countries where Airtel Africa operates.

 At the launch, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Dinesh Balsingh, said the service is part of efforts by the company to continuously enhance customer experience through innovative tech-driven solutions.

“Enhancing customer experience is our foremost priority, and we are proud to launch Africa’s first AI-powered spam alert solution.

“This is a game changer for the telecoms industry in Africa and 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,” Balsingh said.

How Airtel’s spam alert service works

To mitigate the spate of spam messages sent to subscribers, Airtel Africa’s innovative AI-powered solution classifies suspicious SMS messages as “suspected SPAM.”

Without reading specific SMS messages, the AI analyses in real time over 250 parameters, including the sender’s usage patterns such as SMS frequency and geographical spread of targets.

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 two milliseconds.

In addition, the software alerts customers to malicious web links received via SMS.

Airtel said it maintains a centralised database of blacklisted Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) for this purpose, and by scanning every SMS in real-time, the AI system can warn users against accidentally clicking on suspicious links.

FG commends Airtel’s spam alert service

At the launch of the service, Minister for Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, commended Airtel for its continued investment in Nigeria’s technology ecosystem.

Tijani lauded the initiative, which is geared towards enhancing online security for millions of Nigerians.

“As we expand our digital infrastructure and prioritise 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.

In his remarks, the Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr Aminu Maida, said the service is crucial to the entire sector as it offers security to users.

Maida said, “The Airtel Spam Alert Service is of obvious benefit to the entire sector.

“Security is one of the major challenges to subscribers and such an innovative service from Airtel helps us tackle this issue while boosting consumer confidence.”

Prevalence of spam messages in Africa

As of 2019, nine of the top 20 countries in the world with the highest spam rates are in Africa, according to research from Quartz.

Following the growing penetration of smartphones in Africa, spam messages have become widespread, targeting a growing demographic of unsuspecting individuals.

Many mobile users often receive unsolicited SMS or calls claiming to be from their network provider or government and offering irresistible benefits.

These spam messages and calls often ask users to click on links and provide personal information to claim the benefits.

This action allows the scammer to gain access to users’ security information, which can then be used to commit fraud.

Airtel Nigeria partners with Google to integrate YouTube into smart router

Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that Airtel Nigeria partnered with Google to integrate YouTube into Airtel Smart Router, allowing YouTube to work on all television sets across the country, whether they are smart or older analogue models.

The partnership, signed at Airtel’s Lagos headquarters, was disclosed by the telco in a statement on Monday, December 9.