Airtel Africa, a leading telecommunications and mobile money provider across 14 African countries, has introduced an innovative AI-powered Spam Alert Service in Nigeria.
This service, available at no extra cost to all subscribers, offers real-time alerts for suspected spam SMS messages. The service, which does not require additional app downloads, is automatically activated for Airtel customers and will roll out to other countries where Airtel operates.
According to research from Quartz, Africa is home to nine of the top 20 countries with the highest rates of spam, a growing issue as smartphone usage increases across the continent.
Many mobile users receive unsolicited messages or calls, often posing as network providers or government officials offering tempting benefits, but with the intent of stealing personal information for fraudulent purposes.
In response, Airtel Africa developed this AI-driven solution to identify suspicious SMS messages.
The system uses over 250 parameters, including the sender’s behavior and message patterns, to flag messages as “Suspected SPAM” in real time. It operates with dual-layer protection at both the network and IT systems levels, processing over 1.5 billion messages every two milliseconds.
The service also alerts users about harmful links in SMS messages by scanning them against a database of blacklisted URLs.
Dinesh Balsingh, Managing Director and CEO of Airtel Nigeria, stated at the launch, “Enhancing customer experience is our top priority, and we are excited to introduce Africa’s first AI-powered spam alert solution. This initiative is a game-changer for the telecom industry, and we will continue to provide proactive tech-driven solutions for our customers.”
The service, initially launched in Nigeria, will soon be available in other Airtel African markets.
