NCC blames setback in telecom sector on destruction of facilities
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The advancement of Nigeria’s telecommunication services has been adversely impacted by over 50,000 reported cases of major destruction of the country’s telecom infrastructure and facilities in the past five years.
Umar Danbatta, executive vice-chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), disclosed this at the 2022 edition of the Youth Civil Society and Stakeholders Summit (YCSSS) held recently in Abuja.
Danbatta bemoaned the continuous destruction and how it has continued to affect the quality of experience (QoE) of telecom operators and customers nationwide, calling for concerted efforts by the members of the public and security agencies to stem the tide.
The NCC vice chairman, who was represented at the event by Nnena Ukoha, head, corporate communication unit, NCC, said the negative impacts of incessant vandalism of telecom equipment, evidenced in fibre cuts, theft of telecom facilities like generators at sites, vandalism of base stations, among other vices, have become a major burden on the service providers, while telecom consumers have continued to suffer unwarranted disruptions of services.
“The impact of vandalism of infrastructure is felt by all in the quality of services rendered, as it results in increasing drop calls, data and Internet connectivity disruptions, aborted and undelivered short messaging services (SMS), as well as countless failed calls,” he said.
To this end, Danbatta enjoined communities to be involved in protecting the critical infrastructure that makes these services possible, seeing as the ability to connect and communicate is fundamental to human existence, improvement in business processes, government services, education, as well as social and family networking through seamless connections.
“As a community, you are expected to report cases of vandalism of telecoms infrastructure to the nearest law enforcement agencies such as the police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and also share adequate information received from NCC with your family, friends and neighbours,” he stated.
He pointed out that members of the communities are critical stakeholders in the telecoms sector, necessitating their working with the law enforcement authorities in protecting telecom infrastructure in their various communities.