Insecurity which manifests in wanton theft and vandalization of telecommunications equipment is costing service providers in the country several millions every month.
Findings show that at least three generating sets, a number of air conditioners, batteries and generator parts are stolen every day as armed robbers break into the shelter at base stations at will.
Theft and vandalization of the equipment result in the base stations being cut off from the network meaning that subscribers within the affected base station will be experiencing poor service because the microwave equipment that transmits calls from subscriber’s phone within the base station to the nearest switching centre for completion will cease to work as a result of outage.
It would be recalled that service providers have since resorted to the use of generators to power their operations as a result of unreliable state of public power supply.
Highest hit by the activities of vandals are Global System of Mobile communications (GSM) operators: MTN, Globacom, Zain and Etisalat.
This situation has been giving operators and managed services providers who now manage some base stations for service providers’ serious concerns.
Mr. Wale Goodluck, corporate service executive, MTN, said that the company spends some N100 million a month on security guards and police that provide security on their equipment.
Other service providers including internet service providers are also affected by the activities of the vandals and are believed to spend money on security.
The presence of security guards has not deterred thieves from carrying out their nefarious activities as they have had to kill security guards at base stations in a bid to steal.
Vandalisation is an act before now was synonymous with the oil and gas sector of the country’s economy, where petroleum pipe lines are vandalized with the aim of siphoning petroleum products from the pipes.
 The growth of telecommunications in the country as witnessed in the spread of coverage by global system for mobile (GSM) communications saw this ‘bad word’ extending its tentacle to the sector that has been adjudged the fastest in terms of growth in Africa. It started as activities of areas boys who depended for settlement from telecom operators before they could site their base stations in their areas and has today, grown to menacing propotions.
Some two years ago, Nigeria witnessed it worst quality of service issue in GSM service delivery that led to Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) slamming blanket ban on MTN and Zain from running promo and directed that they pay compensation to their subscribers; the operators argued that they were not responsible for the poor quality of service attributing it to vandalization and theft of their equipment.
This argument was not acceptable; maybe NCC and National Assembly saw it as an afterthought as such issue was not raised before the hammer fell on them. But, today, the matter that was relegated to the background has turned out to be a subject for discussion by the industry stakeholders.
Prof. Dora Akunyili, minister of Information and Communications, few weeks ago held stakeholders’ forum where she mandated NCC under the leadership Dr. Bashir Gwandu, acting executive vice chairman of the commission to address problems that are affecting operators in delivering quality service and reducing tariff.
To this end, NCC hosted operators to a forum in Lagos on ways to move the industry forward. At the parley, the issue of vandalization, theft and multiple taxes were identified as major challenges operators face in their effort to deliver quality service as well as reduce tariff.
NCC and telecommunications operators also resolved to address problems associated with delivering of broadband internet services such as citing internet hot spots at airports, spectrum harmonization and national fibre optic initiatives.
NCC also decries high charges by state governments in granting operators right of way to deploy fibre optic infrastructure which is inimical to the growth and development of telecom in the country. The commission however, called for streamlining of ‘right of way’ approval cost.
Dr. Gwandu noted that none availability of transmission infrastructure is partly responsible for high cost of rendering service in the industry especially for small operators, and therefore reiterated the determination of the commission to identify bad spots on existing national fibre optic rings which are vandalized with the view of resolving them.
Impact on operators
According to Mr. Karl Toriola, chief technical officer, MTN, said that vandalizaion of about 500 sites and sabotage of MTN’s transmission infrastructure led to significant downtime last year. These figures may have doubled going by increase activities of these vandals and thieves.
Toriola noted that repeated and multiple cuts to its fibre optic network disrupt service, defeat redundancy and self healing architecture of fibre rings as damage to one microwave tower will often affect several others in line of sight causing widespread transmission outrages. “Increasing community agitation and militancy across the six geographical zones with greatest incidence in Lagos, Niger-Delta, South-East also affected our services,” he said. According to him, about 50 sites were rendered inaccessible per day on account of community issues. He added that increasing robbery and banditry hamper the ability to provide reactive maintenance within preferred best practice response times. Zain on the other hand lost 500 generators last year which has doubled as at last month. Although Globacom and Etisalat have not disclosed the number of its generators and other equipments lost to vandalism and theft, it is believed that it could still be in the same range with its competitors as they are not operating in a different environment. However, these thieves overpower security guards guiding these base stations with sophisticated weapon to carry out their unscrupulous act.
Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered that there are a total of 20,000 base stations as at the end last year. GSM operators are using generating sets because of the unreliable nature of Nigeria’s public power supply.
Options
Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, chairman, Association of Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (Alton) suggested that the Federal Government should present a bill to the National Assembly, to advance a law that will stipulate stiffer penalties of up to 10 years imprisonment for apprehended vandals of base stations and other infrastructure like optic fibre cables.
According to Adebayo, Alton was actually at the forefront of the plans to sponsor the bill at the National Assembly, even as he expressed optimism that having been a problem that affects all, the bill would not have much problem being passed into law.
He cited the scenario of the 80s when it was a serious offence punishable by a long stretch of prison sentence, to vandalize Nitel property and wondered why the same protection is not extended to today’s telecom operators who are largely private firms.
He said his association has over time, articulated and packaged submissions to the Federal Government by writing to relevant agencies, ministries and related authorities over what they have been going through in the hands of vandals and thieves who steal and damage facilities, and the need to be given some kind of protection to enable them focus on delivering better quality of service to the subscribers.
“We cannot fold our arms and watch things continue the way they are going,” he said.
Adebayo cautioned that with the astronomical growth of telecome subscribers on the networks, government should at least provide those basic things to help the operators in providing quality and seamless services or risk having the networks collapse with inestimable drastic effects on the economy of the country.
Franchising option should be also looked into by operators to address this menace especially in rural areas, just as Zain’s Rural Acquisition Initiative (RAI). Zain’s RAI is targeted at low income consumers in most rural and poorest parts of Nigeria. Franchises selected for the programme are the drivers of the programme as local entrepreneurs and in turn recruit representatives from their locality to sell services and protect local base in their area. They are given necessary technical, marketing, sales and financial support by Zain to help grow their business.
Fola Odufuwa, founder of eShekels limited, a pioneer ICT researcher in sub-Saharan Africa, said franchising has ability to speedily start a new business based on a proven template. It also ensures expansion of operations more rapidly.
According to him, Nigerian entrepreneurs do not really need subsidies but a level playing field, access to capital and fair access to existing networks, adequate profit sharing structure and legal protection for their investments.
In the context of telecoms, it means that the service provider transfers to the small enterprenuer, the whole process including technical expertise, training systems, marketing, management methods and relevant information on provision of telecoms services to rural areas for an agreed fee or proportion of profit on the business.
Industry analysts say franchising can to an extent, assist in cubing theft and vandalization of telecomm equipment. For instance, if operators franchise their base stations, products and distribution outlets in a community to an indigene of such community, chances are that such franchise will provide adequate security for those equipments knowing fully well that he or she has stakes in the business and if anything happens to the equipment, he stands to lose money. Moreso, his people will see such equipment as belonging to a local not the major network operator and then be more willing to protect them.
The telecom franchise programme initiative is designed to involve rural residents in base station management and distribution programme, creating jobs, wealth, and improved products and services availability in the process.