NCC: Rallying Telecoms Operators, Consumers & Security Agencies for Telecom Asset Protection
By Patience Ikpeme
Telecon operators spend fortunes to either secure, replace, or fix tampered telecom assets. Between 2022 and 2023, the industry spent N14 billion to repair approximately 59,000 fiber cuts.
In 2022 alone, over N13 billion was spent by operators on fixing damages to fiber cuts and other infrastructure. Undisputed record shows telecom operators record an average of 1,100 fiber cuts every week nationwide. Over 50,000 cases of major destruction to telecom infrastructure and facilities were reported across the country in a five-year period (leading up to 2022).
These incidents significantly impact the quality of telecommunications services and national security, leading to dropped calls, failed transactions, and service disruptions.
Routinely, reports of telecom asset attacks by some unpatriotic elements of the society pop up across the media. The sector regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), engaged in a series of enlightenment and advocacy campaigns against telecoms’ vandalism in the country.
NCC Executive Vice Chairman Dr. Aminu Maida, at many fora, called attention to the damaging effects of asset tampering and its losses on the sector players. He put the annual losses of telecom asset destruction at N11 billion.
Speaking at one such occasion, the inauguration of the Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) Protection and Resilience Workshop, an initiative aimed at improving Nigeria’s communications infrastructure.
He noted with regret , that the annual losses, which could amount to over N10 billion will accrue as a result of the obstacle of rampant fiber cuts, vandalism, and equipment theft.
Maida stated this following President Bola Tinubu’s executive order designating telecom infrastructure as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII). According to Maida, the financial stress on operators, who are forced to spend billions on repairs and preventative measures against ongoing attacks, will be too much.
“In addition, the limited access to telecom facilities imposed by both private landowners and government bodies limits expansion efforts, further worsening the connectivity problems,” he added.
The CNII workshop was designed to help in safeguarding Nigeria’s telecommunications against threats that disrupt service quality and operational efficiency. The workshop was designed to help with the implementation of the Executive Order effectively.
In recent times, industry stakeholders have cried out for the recognition of telecom infrastructure as a national asset, calling on the federal government to fight the incidents of vandalism.
To reduce the high level of telecom asset attacks, NCC urges the public to report suspicious activity to help protect these critical national assets. The regulator mapped out strategies to protect sector assets and infrastructure. There are three layers of collaboration laid out by NCC in protecting telecoms’ assets and infrastructure. One of them is consumer protection; the second is security agencies’ protection and telecom firms’ protection.
In urging consumers to take responsibility for telecoms asset protection, NCC wants citizens to take an interest in the security of telecom infrastructure because safe infrastructure is a correlate of good quality of service (QoS).
Protecting telecoms infrastructure, the Commission said, will lead to improved telecoms service delivery to the populace. NCC made the call during a sensitization program on the protection of telecoms infrastructure in Okene, Kogi State, recently. I urged all stakeholders, including traditional rulers and individuals, to collectively protect telecoms infrastructure in their communities.
While addressing an audience of telecoms consumers at the event, the Director of Zonal Operations, NCC, Mrs. Amina Shehu, said concerted efforts were needed to protect telecoms infrastructure.
Shehu, who was represented by a principal manager in the Zonal Operations Directorate, Mr. Ekisola Oladisun, said if the quality of service (QoS) and quality of experience (QoE) enjoyed by the consumers were to be improved upon, consumers needed to play a role by joining hands in protecting telecoms infrastructure such as base transceiver stations (BTS) and fiber optic cables located in their vicinities.
While noting that Nigeria has, over the years, recorded tremendous growth in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) following the liberalization of the telecoms industry in 2001, Shehu, however, decried the situation where there are various challenges facing optimum protection for telecoms infrastructure, which, in turn, hinders delivery of highly improved services to the consumers by the mobile networks.
The challenges, according to her, included vandalism, theft of telecoms site equipment, harassment and intimidation of telecoms site engineers, indiscriminate shutdown of telecoms facilities by government agencies, and right of way (RoW) issues, among others.
According to Shehu, “It is important to note that the spate of vandalism of telecoms infrastructure across the country has resulted in cases of poor quality of service, which telecoms consumers complain about.”
She added that it was on the basis of these realities that the Commission has organized the workshop in order to educate consumers on the imperative of protecting telecoms infrastructure, which has become the backbone for the entire economy, stressing that “we need to collectively protect telecoms infrastructure in our communities to prevent decline in quality of service on the networks of our service providers.”
On another level, NCC is collaborating with various security agencies, including the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), and the National Institute of Security Studies (NISS), to ensure the security of telecommunications assets, which are deemed Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII).
Specifically, the Commission works with agencies like the NSCDC and the Nigeria Police Force to combat the vandalism, theft, and willful damage of physical telecom facilities such as base stations and fiber optic cables. Public awareness campaigns are also a key part of this effort, urging citizens to treat this infrastructure as a “shared national asset.
The commission steps up the campaign for asset protection beyond security agencies and citizens to include telecom operators. It urged telecom operators to invest in resilient infrastructure and enhance security measures to protect their assets against a backdrop of rising vandalism and cyber threats. This call is part of a broader strategy to safeguard the nation’s critical telecommunications infrastructure.
Dr. Aminu Maida, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the NCC, repeatedly emphasized that the security and resilience of national infrastructure are non-negotiable.
