Telecom

As Stakeholders Await New Study on Health Impacts of Telecom Equipment

Published

14 years ago

September 21, 2010

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Telecommunications operators in the country are having long running battle with the National Environmental Standard and Regulatory Enforcement Agency, (Nesrea) over what it terms environmental and health hazard of transmission base stations. The agency had decommissioned two based-stations belonging to MTN Telecommunication Company for non-compliance with the Environmental Impact Assessment Act as well as its regulations on set-back of based-stations from residential areas.
The decommissioning operation, which was jointly led by the Mr. Timothy Okewo, director of administration and finance of Nesrea, and the legal adviser to the agency Barrister Bola Odugbesan, effected the shut-down of the based-station with emergency inscription placed on the two facilities.
The two stations are located at No 27, Asheik Jarma street, Jabi Abuja, and at 2, Oyo street Area 2 Garki all within the centre of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Okewo said the agency’s action was based on complaints of noise pollution, vibration of buildings, environmental degradation resulting from oil spill and effect of the radio-active waves by the residents of the area.
According to the provisions of environmental impact assessment Act, based stations are only allowed to be located 10metres away from the fence of any resident or 12meters away from the building in the case of an unfenced building.
Okeowo who lamented on the negative impact of oil-spillage from the based stations on the environment, regretted that previous complaints by Nesrea has not attracted any remarkable response from the communication firms.
"Most of the telecommunication companies are defaulters of the environmental laws which we are meant to protect" he said.
One wonders the basis of claims of health impact upon which Nesrea is decommissioning and closing down telecommunications operators’ base stations without following due process as recommended by law on such actions.
The agency recently sealed base stations belonging to three telecommunication operators in Ilorin, Kwara State again over non compliance with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and audit report by the Federal Ministry of Environment. The telecommunication companies affected are MTN, Zain, and Starcomms.
The sealed base stations are located on Police Road, GRA, Ilorin, belonging to MTN, another on Kontagora Road, opposite Taqwa College, belonging to Zain and that of Starcomms behind Tanke LEA Primary School ,Tanke area of the state, were all sealed by the agency.
Nesrea on April 9, 2010 placed a public notice to all telecommunications agencies over its decision to start the sealing of facilities of the operators over their non-compliance with the Environmental Impact Assessment requirement as entailed in the law.
Similar concerns have been expressed by some stakeholders on the impact of both the use of mobile phones and microwave equipment on health of people, although presently there is no scientific proof to these concerns.
Concerns have also been raised about the normal mobile phone, which has the antenna in the handset. In this case, the antenna is very close to the user’s head during normal use of the telephone and there is concern about the level of microwave emissions to which the brain is being exposed.

Telephones that have the antenna mounted elsewhere are of little concern, since exposure levels decrease rapidly with increasing distance from the antenna.
Reports have appeared in the media linking the use of mobile telephones with, among other things, headaches, hot spots in the brain and brain cancer.
Media reports have claimed that up to 70 percent of the microwave emissions from hand-held mobile telephones may be absorbed in the user’s head. This is not supported by the evidence, but nevertheless leads to speculation that hot spots may be created in the user’s brain, thereby raising concerns that the telephones may be a health risk. Other reports have indicated that mobile telephone users suffer localized headaches when they use their telephone. At this stage, it is difficult to evaluate the evidence supporting these reports, since they have not been published.
Against these backdrops that a new decades-long study has just been launched to investigate whether there is a link between the use of mobile phones and long-term health problems such as cancer.
The cohort study on mobile communications (COSMOS) forms part of the Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) Programme. The international study will run for 20-30 years and will follow the health of at least 250,000 participants, aged 18-69 in five European countries.
There are currently over six billion mobile phone devices in use worldwide, with over 70 million in use in the UK, which has a population of 61 million people.
Studies of short term use of mobile phones and health have been reassuring, other than well known associations with risk of motor accidents. However, there are still some uncertainties about the health effects of mobile phone use, since some diseases take many years to develop and so far few people have been using mobile phones for that period of time.
Dr. Mireille Toledano, co-Principal Investigator of the study from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, said: "For the benefit of current users and for future generations, it is important for us to carry out long-term health monitoring of a large group of mobile phone users so that we can identify if there are any possible health effects from this new and widespread technology that has become so central to our everyday lives."
Professor Paul Elliott, Principal Investigator of the study from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, said: "Scientists have been looking at the effects of mobile phones on health for several years and so far, reviews of the research have been reassuring with respect to mobile phone use and health problems in the short term. However, as mobile phones have only been in widespread use for a relatively short time, we haven’t been able to carry out long-term studies until now.
"COSMOS aims to fill in important gaps in our knowledge of mobile phones and health. By looking at large numbers of people across Europe over a long period of time, we should be able to build up a valuable picture of whether or not there is any link between mobile phone use and health problems over the long term," added Professor Elliott.
Through four major mobile phone operators, the COSMOS project team from Imperial College London is inviting 2.4 million mobile phone users in the UK to take part in the study.

Participants who agree to take part in the study will complete an on-line questionnaire about their mobile phone use, health and lifestyle. The researchers will monitor participants’ mobile phone use and any health problems they might develop, e.g., cancers and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, for at least the next 20 years. They will also analyse whether any changes in the frequency of symptoms, such as headaches and sleep disorders, are related to mobile phone usage.
"Over the past decade, mobile phones have become a normal part of everyday life for the majority of people in Britain. The COSMOS study is the largest research study worldwide investigating mobile phone use and health and is a very important step towards finding out whether there are health implications of using a mobile phone over a long period of time," said Dr Toledano.
Professor Lawrie Challis from the MTHR Programme Management Committee said "We still cannot rule out the possibility that mobile phone use causes cancer. The balance of present evidence does not suggest it does but we need to be sure. The best way of doing this is through a large cohort study such as COSMOS and I am very pleased that the UK is to play an important part in this international endeavour."
The study follows on from successful pilot studies carried out between 2004 and 2008 during the first phase of the MTHR Programme.
Microwaves are but one type of electromagnetic field. One of the ways that these fields are described is by specifying their frequency. The range of frequencies that is useful for telecommunications include microwaves.
Some public concern about mobile telephones is erroneously based on media attention to the possibility of adverse effects from exposure to power-line electromagnetic fields, which have a much lower frequency than the microwaves emitted by mobile telephones. The physical properties and biological effects of these fields are very different from microwaves and it is meaningless to extrapolate the results of those studies to the subject of this Information Bulletin.
Some research has indicated that non-thermal effects resulting from low-level microwave exposure may also occur. However, the existence of these effects and their implications has not been sufficiently established to allow for them in the standard.
The World Health organization (WHO) states that "current scientific evidence that exposure to RF fields, such as those emitted by mobile phones and their base stations, is unlikely to induce or promote cancers".

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Telecom

IHS Partners LSI to Deepen STEM in Schools with Global Educators Program

Published

18 mins ago

September 28, 2024

Chike Onwuegbuchi

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Telecommunications infrastructure provider, IHS has expressed commitment to advancement of Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) through the Global Educators Program.

Global Educators Program is one-year sponsored training on STEM and space education of secondary school teachers, hosted in the United States and partially in Nigeria.

The program is sponsored by IHS Nigeria in collaboration with Limitless Space Institute (LSI).

The ten beneficiaries, selected from various regions across Nigeria, were hosted at a roundtable event in Lagos recently organized by IHS Nigeria and LSI.

The program, a ground-breaking initiative aimed at providing professional development in STEM fields tied to space exploration, seeks to inspire both educators and students while enhancing STEM learning experiences.

Speaking on behalf of IHS Nigeria, Mohamad Darwish, Chief Executive Officer commended the teachers for their commitment to advancing STEM education. He pledged IHS Nigeria’s ongoing support for initiatives that train more teachers and students in STEM and space science education.

In addition, Dapo Otunla, Chief Corporate Services Officer at IHS Nigeria, expressed his pride in the program’s success.

“For us, education and economic growth are key pillars of our sustainability program, with the mind as the foundation for all progress,” he said. “IHS has been deeply involved in educational initiatives, especially in STEM, as we are fundamentally a company of engineers. Partnering with LSI aligns perfectly with our Mission T program, which promotes STEM education.”

Otunla highlighted that IHS Nigeria, which started operations in 2001, has invested in technology innovation hubs, such as those in Alimosho, Lagos State, and Ogbomosho, Oyo State, to support education and technology advancement across Nigeria.

Also speaking at the event, Kaci Heinz, LSI’s Executive Director, disclosed that over 200 teachers from public schools across Nigeria applied for the program, with only ten ultimately selected to join an additional ten teachers from Brazil for the year-long training.

“By connecting STEM education with the captivating subject of space, we aim to inspire both educators and students while simultaneously enhancing STEM learning experiences,” explained Heinz.

“These teachers are expected to return and impart the knowledge gained to their students, nurturing a new generation of interest in STEM education.”

Beneficiaries’ Share Experiences

The ten beneficiaries, who shared their experiences at the event, expressed immense gratitude for the opportunity provided by IHS Nigeria and LSI.

Maranatha Haa, a Chemistry teacher from Federal Government College, Jos, noted, “This program has introduced me to the exciting possibilities of space science and the importance of collaboration across borders. I’m eager to share what I’ve learned with my students and fellow educators.”

Mr. Olayinka Adeoshun, from Ilupeju Junior Grammar School, Lagos, shared, “The training has exposed me to what I could never have imagined in space science. My students are now more motivated than ever in space technology education. We’ve even established a virtual knowledge exchange program with the Space Institute in Houston.”

Blessing Akila, from ECWA Secondary School, Makurdi, expressed her excitement about the program’s impact on her teaching approach. “One of the subjects we were taught was Geometric and Space, which has helped simplify mathematics for my students, many of whom previously had a phobia for the subject. I want to thank IHS and LSI for this life-changing opportunity.”

Other beneficiaries who shared their experiences included Oluwabanke Adewusi from Itire Community Senior Secondary School, Lagos; Joshua James from Greenpath Preparatory School, Abuja; Soji Megbowon from Ifesowapo Aboru Senior Secondary School, Lagos; Ngobiri Abraham from Federal Government College, Enugu; Wahab Abubakar from Sango Senior Secondary School, Ilorin; Kayode Adewale from Odu’a Comprehensive High School, Ijebu Ode; and Rashidat Ademosu from Eva Adelaja Girls Junior Secondary School, Lagos.

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Telecom

Mastercard, KaiOS Technologies Partner to Democratize Digital Payment for millions of SMEs

Published

20 mins ago

September 28, 2024

Ugo Onwuaso

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KaiOS Technologies, a leading operating system that brings the best of the internet to affordable devices, today announced a collaboration with Mastercard to integrate a range of digital payments solutions.

Beginning in Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria, Mastercard and KaiOS Technologies will deliver affordable payment acceptance devices and stimulate the growth of a more inclusive, connected global economy.

Small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) – especially in developing markets – still struggle to adopt digital payments, from the expenses linked to traditional payment acceptance terminals to technical implementation challenges.

This, in turn, makes it harder for these businesses to meaningfully participate in the digital economy and limits inclusive growth.

KaiOS Technologies and Mastercard are collaborating to help millions of SMEs globally accept digital payments using KaiOS devices.

Even the smallest businesses will be able to use their low-cost devices to accept payments safely and easily via Mastercard QR, Mobile Point-of-Sale solutions and Tap & Go contactless payments technology.

Signing up is simple. Business owners can use their KaiOS-powered phone to enroll. After entering their registered credentials and authenticating via a one-time password, SMEs can then access and use a variety of digital payment options.

“Acceptance fuels a successful digital economy, so it’s critical that we meet people where they are today and move them forward together,” said Jorn Lambert, chief product officer at Mastercard.

“Whether it’s a micro-merchant in Cote d’Ivoire to an enterprise in Indonesia, our goal is to make it as easy for merchants to accept digital payments as it is for consumers to make them.

“We’re looking forward to working closely with KaiOS Technologies to bring the best of our technology, scale, and expertise together to drive growth for emerging markets around the world.”

“At KaiOS Technologies, our mission is to connect underserved communities with the digital world.

“By bringing Mastercard’s secure payment technology to affordable internet phones running KaiOS, we’re unlocking new opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs, allowing them to participate in modern commerce more fully.

“This innovation brings down the barriers and enables an affordable consumer device to become a powerful business tool,” said Sebastien Codeville, chief executive officer of KaiOS Technologies.

This announcement strengthens the alliance between Mastercard and KaiOS Technologies as the operating system continues to grow.

Today, KaiOS Technologies works with major carriers, mobile network operators, and mobile phone manufacturers in emerging regions, with plans to expand to include acquiring banks, payment facilitators, fintechs and more.

Previously, KaiOS Technologies joined Mastercard’s award-winning startup engagement program, Start Path, to embed a range of payment solutions to foster digital inclusion.

As part of this extended collaboration, Mastercard and KaiOS Technologies will focus on African markets first, collaborating with partners like Touch and Pay Technologies (TAP) and Wizzit to extend access to in-market merchants.

Hear from our partners:

“At TAP, we are always looking for innovative solutions that enhance the accessibility and convenience of financial services for underserved populations.

“Our partnership with KaiOS and Mastercard is a game-changer for our existing and new customers, particularly in emerging markets,” said Olamide Afolabi, chief executive officer of TAP.

“By integrating KaiOS into our platform, we’re enabling millions of users with feature phones to access seamless digital payment solutions and financial services that were previously out of reach.

“This partnership is a vital step in furthering our mission to drive financial inclusion and empower communities through technology.”

“Wizzit is excited to join forces with KaiOS and Mastercard to expand secure payment acceptance solutions across Africa and beyond,” said Dirk Bruynse, chief operating officer of Wizzit.

“This partnership will enable us to scale our switching capabilities and deliver innovative payment solutions that cater to the evolving needs of businesses of all sizes.

“We are confident that this collaboration will set new benchmarks for efficiency and drive greater financial inclusion.”

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Telecom

Japa: Over 2,500 Telecom Professionals left Nigeria in 2022 – NCC

Published

1 day ago

September 27, 2024

Comms Week

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Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has decried the alarming rate of talent migration from Nigeria’s telecommunications sector and called for immediate action to prevent further loss of skilled professionals.

Japa: Over 2,500 Telecom Professionals left Nigeria in 2022 – NCC

The NCC disclosed that over 500 software engineers and more than 2,000 trained telecom professionals fled the country in 2022 alone, posing a significant threat to the industry’s future.

Aminu Maida, executive vice chairman/CEO, NCC, who sated this while speaking at the fifth edition of the Telecom Sector Sustainability Forum, TSSF 5.0, themed “Mitigating the Effects of Talent Exodus and its Impact on the Growth of Nigeria’s Telecommunications Industry,” urged telecom companies to adopt flexible work policies, improve remuneration packages, and foster a culture of innovation.

Maida stressed the importance of creating an environment that values and nurtures talent, saying it is crucial to retaining skilled professionals and ensuring the sector’s continued growth.

Represented by Tunji Jimoh, Lagos zonal controller, NCC, Maida warned that the global demand for tech talent has driven many of Nigeria’s brightest minds to seek more lucrative opportunities abroad.

This trend, if left unchecked, could create a skills gap that threatens the sustainability of the nation’s telecom sector.

Maida, referencing a report by the Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), highlighted the exodus of telecom professionals as a major setback, adding that the loss of such talent directly impacts innovation and development in the industry.

To address this challenge, he called on telecom companies to offer more attractive working conditions.

“Remote work options, continuous learning opportunities, and collaborative spaces that encourage creativity will make the local telecom sector more appealing to professionals who might otherwise seek opportunities abroad,” he said.

He further urged telecom companies to partner with educational institutions to create programs tailored to industry needs, stressing that the partnership would help address the talent gap and build a pipeline of young professionals eager to contribute to the telecom sector.

He also underscored NCC’s role in mitigating talent migration through initiatives aimed at promoting indigenous content and improving the infrastructure necessary for digital growth.

“The Commission is actively participating in the 3 Million Technical Talent, 3MTT, a programme initiated by the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, which aims to train three million Nigerians in digital and technical skills by 2027,” he said.

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