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By Stephen Adeleye.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has appealed to communities to help protect telecoms infrastructure in their domain to ensure the delivery of quality and effective service.
Mrs Helen Obi, Head of Zonal Operations, NCC, made the call at the Sensitization Workshop on the Protection of Telecom Infrastructure organized by the Commission on Wednesday in Lokoja.
According to Obi, the workshop is to enlighten the public and other stakeholders on the need to protect telecom infrastructure within their communities, and to also present a platform for cooperation among them.
She added that it would also help the stakeholders to reach an understanding towards putting into proper perspective the concern most often expressed by the public about telecom infrastructure.
“It is instructive to note that the advent of GSM has re-engineered our economy and social wellbeing, but these facilities have been target of vandalism, theft and hostility from some host communities.
“It is therefore imperative for the public to regard telecom facilities as “collectively owned infrastructure” essential for the provision of efficient and acceptable quality service and ought to be keenly protected.
“It is worth emphasizing that over the past 15 years, we have experienced tremendous growth in this sector and a significant contribution to the Nigeria’s GDP.
“With the Commission’s pervasive drive to achieve 30% Broadband penetration by end of 2018 in line with the set target by Government, increase in deployment of robust critical telecoms infrastructure is imperative.
“I sincerely appreciate everyone for attending this session. It is indeed a clear demonstration of our collective commitment to ensuring that the Nigerian telecoms industry continues to grow and blossom,” Obi said.
Obi further urged the people to disregard the rising public concerns regarding alleged likely negative health effects of EMF radiation emanating from telecom infrastructure, saying the iron mast that itself does not emit radiation.
In his remarks, Kogi Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, commended the NCC for the workshop describing it as a loudable effort in the right direction, saying the State Government was willing to support them to achieve their goals.
Represented by his Senior Special Assistant on Information and Communication Technology, Mr Ismaila Umar, the governor restated his commitment to collaborating with relevant stakeholders to ensure protection of network infrastructure in the state.
Bello, however urged the telecom operators to enure that they carry out their corporate social responsibilities by empowering the people of the communities and providing social amenities in the area.
Dr Bello Lawal, Department of Technical Standards and Network Integrity, NCC, in his paper presentation on “The Protection of Telecoms Infrastructure”, said the spate of vabdalisation of telecoms infrastructure across the country had resulted in slowing the pace of growth of services
According to Lawal, Nigeria need about 80,000 base transceiver stations (BTS) to be able to provide optimum services to the growing telecoms consumers, but currently has about 50,000 BTS spread across the country.
“On deployment of fibre cable for broadband access, the country currently has about 38,000 kilometers of fibre cable with a pending requirement of 120,000 kilometers to have good broadband access,” he said.
He reiterated that the protection of telecoms infrastructure should not only be NCC’s responsibility or Security Agencies, but the responsibility of all patriotic citizens.
One of the participants, Mr Ibrahim Nuhu, urged the telecoms operators to carry the community along in the security architecture of those infrastructure, saying they should be involved.
“As community, we must get value for giving the telecoms operator a peaceful atmosphere to operate and run their businesses. We must be empowered,” Nuhu said.
NAN reports that the Lokoja LGA Administrator, traditional rulers, the Maigari of Lokoja, religious leaders, community leaders, youths and market women, were all represented at the workshop.
(NAN)
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