NCC raises alarm on increasing threat to communication services

    Written by Adeyemi Adepetun

THE Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has raised an alarm over the increasing threat to communication services in the country, especially from the sealing of Base Transceiver Stations (BTS).

    According to the Director of Public Affairs at NCC, Dr. Tony Ojobo, the attention of the commission has been drawn to the continuous, willful and illegal obstruction of sending and delivering communication services arising from the sealing of telecoms BTS across the country, by various persons including organisations, communities, individuals, public office holders, Federal, State and Local Governments agencies among others.

    Statistically, the country’s BTS is estimated to be around 30,000 and has been said to be grossly inadequate to meet the need of over 130 million active mobile telephone subscribers in the country.

    Interestingly, indications also emerged at the weekend that the National Assembly may pass into law the telecoms Critical National Infrastructure bill. The bill, when passed is expected to make it a criminal offence for any body to inflict any arm on telecoms infrastructure in the country.

    A member of the House Committee of Communications, who doesn’t want his name in print told The Guardian recently that both arm of the National Assembly are working seriously to ensure that the bill is passed “if not before the end of this year, hopefully before the end of this administration.

    According to him, the NASS is waiting for some inputs from the telecoms regulator, NCC and some stakeholders in the country.

    Indeed, the Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah also confirmed this development in Lagos, when he told stakeholders that the NASS has called for passage into law the CNI bill to protect telecoms infrastructure.

     “The CNI bill is to be passed into law before the end of the year or at

most before the end of the tenure of the present administration. The NASS has called for more inputs, especially from the regulator. It is going to be a private member bill. I believe that the passage to law of the bill will prevent some illegal access to some of the industry infrastructures”, Juwah stressed.

     As such, Ojobo described the continued destruction of telecoms infrastructure as not only degrading quality of telecoms service, but constitutes a serious threat to national security.

    “The commission, as part of its mandate of ensuring the protection and safety of telecommunications infrastructure, draws the attention of the general public to the express provisions of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provision) Act CAP. C39 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, which makes it an offence to willfully and unlawfully damage telecommunication works; or otherwise prevent or obstruct the sending or delivering of a communication by means of telecommunication”, he stated.

   In an advertorial on Friday, Ojobo said the commission advises the general public among others that it is a criminal offence to willfully and unlawfully prevent or disrupt the sending or delivering of communications by means telecommunications; upon the expiration of seven days from the date of publication of the notice, any person who has done or will any act obstructs or prevents or disrupts the sending or delivering of communications by sealing of base station or any other act should cease and desist from the said act in the interest of national security, failing which the matter will be referred to the appropriate law enforcement agencies for prosecution.

      He also said that the commission shall henceforth report any act which obstructs or prevents or disrupts the sending or delivering of communications to the appropriate law enforcement agencies for prosecutions of person(s) including organisations, communities, individuals, public officers, Federal, State and Local Government agencies among others.

    Ojobo however, said notwithstanding all these, “the commission further directs that consistent with the provisions of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003, owners of Base Tranceiver Stations must seek for, obtain and pay legally approved fees for the issuance of permits by authorized persons.”

    Recalled that in 2013 and early this year telecoms operators including MTN Nigeria; Visafone Communications; Airtel among others reported that their BTS were sealed illegally by both the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and some State government agencies, which subsequently affected telecommunications services.

    Meanwhile, an operator, MainOne has joined government agencies, maritime bodies and other stakeholders with responsibilities in seabed use to clamour for the protection of submarine cables and other critical IT infrastructure.

   MainOne made this clamour also at the weekend at the 2nd Cable Protection and Awareness workshop in Lagos.

   The workshop, which sought to promote awareness of the strategic, economic and social benefits of submarine cables, especially to all stakeholders involved in seabed use, reiterated the significance of cables as critical information infrastructures whose availability, reliability and resilience are essential to the functioning of a modern economy, security, and other essential social values systems.

   As convener of the yearly workshop, MainOne hosted submarine cable companies, oil and gas companies, cable maintenance bodies, and regulatory agencies tasked with maritime safety and protection, and environment responsibilities, such as the Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, and the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research, among others.

   Speaking at the event, MainOne’s Regulatory Manager, Oluwakemi Adeyanju explained that the yearly Cable Protection Workshop ties into the global protection initiative organized by the International Cable Protection Committee to sensitize stakeholders on the critical role of cable protection.

   “We need to provide a collaborative, industry-wide framework for the protection of this critical infrastructure, and jointly tackle challenges QoS issues arising from infrastructure deficiencies. This workshop thus provides us an avenue to build ecosystems that assist enterprises in their stride for growth, and expediting the speed of broadband penetration across Nigeria and the West African sub-region”, she noted.

Culled from http://ngrguardiannews.com