The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged the Mobile Network Operator (MNOs) and their Site Built Contractors (SBCs) to adhere strictly to the guidelines and technical specifications approved by the Commission when building telecoms towers.
Yomi Arowosafe, Controller, NCC Zonal Office Ibadan, gave this charge during a meeting recently held by the Zonal Office with the MNOs and the SBCs as part of the Commission’s strategic collaborative engagement with the MNOs, Collocation and Infrastructure Sharing Licensees, and the SBCs.
The meeting followed several complains received by the Zonal Office mostly from the South West States regarding the erection of base stations in various communities.
Some telecom subscribers had expressed fears during radio programmes sponsored by the Ibadan Zonal Office where they called on the Commission to enforce compliance to proper erections of base stations by the operators to avoid hazards as the rainy season begins.
Addressing the MNOs and the SBCs at the meeting, Arowosafe said the meeting was conveyed ‘to discuss community relations issues, cases of poor maintenance of base stations, probability of windstorms accompanied by heavy downpour which can spell doom for poorly maintained towers as well as the need for a proactive monitoring of cell towers especially in densely populated areas”.
According to Arowosafe, the resolutions reached at the meeting are as follows:
- Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Site Built Contractors (SBCs) must adhere to the standard of the Guidelines on Technical Specifications for the Installation of Telecommunications Masts and Towers (2009) when constructing a site.
- All SBCs must be licensed by NCC before they can be contracted to carry out any telecommunications business.
- Collocation and Infrastructure Sharing Licensees and Site Built Contractors (SBCs) must obtain all the necessary approvals and permits prior to erection of Base Transceiver Stations (BTS).
- MNOs, Collocation and Infrastructure Sharing companies are encouraged to partake in communal activities within their host communities.
- MNOs should synergize more with their SBCs and Field Support Engineers pre and post-erection of Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) in order to address all issues sufficiently and effectively.
