Operators Cry as Lagos Demands N3m Ground Rent

The Lagos state government has increased ground rent paid by telecommunications operators that have base stations (BTSs) in the state from N40, 000 to N3 million per BTS  and operators said this is hurting their business.

Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (Alton) said that the increase has made worst the difficult operating environment operators are facing occasioned by series of attacks on their base stations by Boko Haram; closure of sites by government agencies in many states of the country;  and flood disaster that rendered many of their sites inaccessible.

Adebayo said that operators have offered to pay the state government N80,000 amounting to 100 percent increase and that the state government has refused.

Details of the new rent show that new masts attract N3 million with an annual 15 per cent renewal fee while existing masts attract N1 million.

Adebayo also decried the incessant closure of operators’ base stations by government agencies by states of on account of non-payment of business permit, ground rent and environmental rent.

He noted that some operators have been dragged to court in Oyo and Osun states by The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency ( Nesrea) over environmental rents.

Adebayo reaffirmed the resolve by the Association to introduce discriminatory tariffs based on tax regimes and operating environments in different states if the situation is not addressed.

He said that subscribers in states that were hostile to service providers through tax administration would pay more for telecoms services.

“What we are going to do this to adjust the meter so that people making calls from such states pay more than what others are paying,” he said.

Adebayo condemned indiscriminate closure of telecom sites and said that operators had decided not to reopen any site closed down by state governments without a court order.

“We are not going to beg them, we are not going to negotiate with them if they decide to close down a site because the operators refuse to pay them,” he added.

Adebayo said there were laws guiding the telecommunications industry regarding the closure of sites.

He said before a site could be closed by a government, there must be a court order to the effect and a notification to the subscribers that such a disruption of service would happen.

The Alton boss called on Federal Government to classify telecommunication facilities as national security infrastructure.