THE Federal Government has moved to settle the rift between the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Environmental Standards Regulatory Enforcement Agency (NESREA) over oversight functions in mast siting in the country. The duo had been in dispute over the control and regulations of masts and other telecommunications infrastructure in the country.According to a senior government official in the presidency, who spoke to The Guardian on the condition of anonymity at the weekend about the development, said the federal government will set up a panel of inquiry to look into the issue in an attempt to settle the dispute amicably.The source said both ministry of Environment and Communications Technology that are involved in the issue are being invited to deliberate and see how there will not be interference in their regulatory functions now and in the future.Besides, on Monday in Lagos, the Minister of communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, confirmed plans by the government to amicably resolve the issue.According to her, 'No cause for alarm. The situation is under control.'Johnson, who spoke to newsmen, said the underlining reason for the issue was that there were different regulations between NESREA and NCC on the setback for base stations. She said the ministry of Environment and Communications Technology are working together to come up with harmonised regulations for setback for base stations locations in the country. This she said will bring an end to the scuffle.'We have been meeting with them and we will still have more meetings before the week runs out and we hope that by then we would have been able to resolve this lingering crisis faster than we think.'Commenting on the issue, the EVC of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah said that base stations are not supposed to be shut down for security reasons and in case of industry disputes. Beside, he said subscribers should be able to make and receive calls at all times.Speaking on Monday in Lagos, Juwah said, 'When a base station goes down service in that area goes down and subscribers will not be able to use their phones, they could be misinformed that the problem is from the regulator, that NCC is not doing its regulatory duties.'For this reason, he explained, NCC would never shut down a base station in case of infraction on the part of the operator, but instead would go after the operating centres. He said shutting down base stations could have far-reaching implications especially if they are base station controllers (BSCs) that power a number of sites in a region and this could include a number of states.Listing multiple regulations as a major impediment to the country's dream of realising a robust broadband environment, Juwah, said government was making interventions to resolve the issue.It could be recalled that in the last two weeks the NESREA closed two base stations of MTN in Abuja without any warrant, according to the operator. The same was repeated in Akure, Ondo state where the environmental agency shut down BTS belonging to Visafone Telecommunications Company, within the location were services were disrupted.About two years ago, NCC and NESREA also clashed over the issue of who ought to police and regulate erection of telecommunications masts in the telecommunications sector.The clash prompted by the decommissioning by NESREA of a telecommunications mast belonging to Globacom for allegedly violating the country's environmental regulations. The mast was located within OAU Quarters, Maitama, Abuja.The acting Executive Vice Chairman of the commission at the time, Mr. Bashir Gwandu publicly criticised NESREA and warned that multiple regulation of the telecom sector would compound the problems of the sector, including poor QoS.The Director General of NESREA, Dr. Ngeri Benebo, who gave the directive for the seal-off of the various masts, said the companies didn't erect their BTS in compliance with the NESREA's guideline on a setback of 10 metres to the nearest building.She also said the telecommunications companies did not carry out environmental impact assessment before the erection of the mast.'We are not against any telecommunications company. Our mandate is to ensure that every base station has its Environmental Impact Assessment. Some of the telecommunication firms have put up masts without EIA even after it was agreed at a stakeholder forum that all must comply with the EIA requirement before hoisting the mast and that enforcement should commence by January 2010,' she stated.Arguably, telecommunication analysts have said that the country's present level of BTS at 20,000 is just too small to meet the growing quality of service challenges. They regretted that Nigeria with nearly one million square mile of landmass and 160 million populations could only boast of about 20,000 (all the operators combined).According to them, more BTSs are required in the country, stressing that instead of shutting down existing ones, Abuja for instance needs more base stations for services to be seamless.They opined that there will be general congestion when telecom infrastructure is shut down or damaged, stressing that if MTN, for instance is affected, customers turn to other networks and also congest the capacity.Reacting to the development, the National Association of Telecommunication Subscribers (NATCOMS) incessant closures results in telecommunications network disruption and poor quality of service to teeming Nigerian Subscribers.Speaking through its president, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, 'We believe that the actions of any responsible agency of government should not be predicated on sentiments but by facts provided by recognized bodies and experts in the field including ICNIRP, ITU, WHO among others.'The concern according to NESREA is the electromagnetic emission from base stations noted in residential areas. We have already noted that the World Health Organization (WHO) has not confirmed that this Electromagnetic emission from BTS is harmful to human beings. Moreover in many very many countries, telecoms masts / radios are installed on the rooftops of many high-rise buildings and skyscrapers.'The NCC has set guidelines for the installation of mast and towers taking into cognizance the acceptable distance of masts to the nearest adjourning property or residential buildings in line with international best practices and standards.'As such, he said NESREA's indiscriminate closure is therefore a source of concern for Nigerian Subscribers who have continued to clamour for improved quality of service in particular and an embarrassment to the Federal Government of Nigeria in general.According to him, NATCOMS is concerned about the effect of the indiscriminate closure of BTS sites on National security and social and economic activities of the teeming subscribers. With various threats of terror attacks, kidnappings, etc in the country, effective communication networks is vital in addressing issues of national security and national emergencies.'We are also at a loss with NESREA's focus solely on the telecommunications industry. There are other various environmental issues begging for attention. The PHCN high-tension wires and transformers installed in residential areas are even much more dangerous than the telecom mast in terms of electromagnetic emissions.The agency should address the industrial effluence from the manufacturing sector or even carbon emissions from the generator sets used in various offices, homes, estates and markets (shopping malls).To the General Manager, Corporate Communications, MTN Nigeria, Ms. Funmi Omogbenigun, there is a general frustration in the industry and 'I think it is time to accord telecoms infrastructure in the country, the Critical National Infrastructure status. This will guide against some unauthorized interference.
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