Stakeholders urge awareness campaign on telecoms facilities

PARTICIPANTS at a one-day Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) forum have called on the government and telecommunications service providers in the countryto urgently step up an awareness campaign to allay the fears of the general public on the effects of BTS on health and the environment.According to experts at the BTSforum organised in Lagos at the weekend, some people see these infrastructure as just communications facilities, others consider them as a means to wealth for landowners and government, while the majority see BTS as a source of health hazard.The participants posited that the implication was that operators had difficulty getting land to use for these very important means of transmission, thereby posing a challenge to the provision of quality service.A BTS or cell site is a piece of equipment that facilitates wireless communication between user equipment (UE) and a network. UEs are devices like mobile phones (handsets), Wireless Local Loop phones, computers with wireless Internet connectivity, WiFi and WiMAX.Besides, participants at the event, which was organised by eBusiness Life Communication Limited, in collaboration with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), pointed out that there had been conflicting positions from professionals, hence the need to harmonise the thoughts and researches already conducted and come to a conclusive position on the health implication of BTS infrastructure if there was any.In the statement issued at the forum, it was observed that the fact that problems had been occurring over the past years and consumers had continued to ask questions, were indicative of the fact that it was still relevant.But it noted that health officers had not been able to give Nigerians enough assurance to indicate that they could have base stations close to their homes without health hazards and until this was done, the controversy may persist.
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