1,845 Telecommunication Cables Vandalised In December 2021-NCC

The Nigerian Communications Commission(NCC) has said that in December, 2021, outage reports for mobile operators showed that MTN experienced about 1,108 fibre cuts, GLOBACOM had 135; 9mobile, 494 and Airtel, 108.

On access issues, MTN experienced access issues about 242 times, GLOBACOM, 160; 9mobile 14 times and Airtel 182 times, in December, 2021.

The Executive Commissioner, Stakeholder Management, NCC, Mr. Adeleke Adewolu, who disclosed this at the maiden edition of the Telecoms Consumer Conversation – village square dialogue, in Ogun state recently, listed activities that impact negatively on telecoms service availability as telecoms cable vandalism (fiber cuts), illegal shutting down of base stations, battery and generator theft and illegal restriction of access to telecom facilities, among others.

Adewolu said one of the most important responsibilities of the NCC is to protect consumers’ interests.

“To do this effectively, we articulated a mandate which enables us to protect, inform and educate consumers of telecoms services wherever they may be in Nigeria. We use several mediums for this, one of the most important of which are our outreach events such as the Telecoms Consumer Parliaments, Telecoms Consumer Town Hall Meetings, Online engagement media,   and Consumer Conversations with various strategic segments of telecoms consumers such as professionals, students, markets, etc,” he explained.

He disclosed that, the commission recently reviewed these engagements and felt the need to organise a Village Square Dialogue with telecommunications subscribers and other esteemed stakeholders of the telecoms industry to enable it engage with consumers at the grassroots to resolve their challenges, and provide them with relevant information on issues affecting the seamless operations of its very dynamic industry.

The Executive Commissioner averred that telecoms services have long been recognised as the easiest and cheapest means of meeting critical socio-economic needs such as; education, financial inclusion, economic empowerment and deepening social interactions.

“The infrastructure through which these services are provided are called the ‘infrastructure of infrastructures’ because they enable the digitisation and seamless connectivity of all other socio-economic platforms.

“Without telecoms infrastructure, we cannot communicate with friends and family over long distances at the touch of a button, and we cannot conduct banking, insurance, government services, education, entertainment, etc. with ease,” he added.

To ensure that telecoms services are provided seamlessly, Adewolu said all citizens must all do what they can to tackle decisively, the theft of diesel, batteries and power generators, digging up fiber lines, sealing/locking-up of Base Transceiver Station (BTS) sites and such other illegal activities.

He, however, urged all Nigerians to see telecoms infrastructure as their own, and to protect them as communal property. “Anybody that tampers with telecoms infrastructure is tampering with your future and the future of your children – they should be resisted and reported,” he added.

In the same vein, the Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, NCC, Efosa Idehen said telecommunication is very important to all and as such Nigerians are all stakeholders and must care to ensure that infrastructures are well protected for everyone’s collective benefit