NCC Asks Telcos to Adhere to Base Station Installation Guidelines
Comms Week
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has urged the Mobile Network Operator (MNOs) and their Site Built Contractors (SBCs) to adhere strictly to the guidelines and technical specifications approved by the Commission when building telecoms towers.
Yomi Arowosafe, controller, NCC Zonal Office Ibadan, gave this charge during a meeting recently held by the Zonal Office with the MNOs and the SBCs as part of the Commission's strategic collaborative engagement with the MNOs, Collocation and Infrastructure Sharing Licensees, and the SBCs.
The meeting followed several complains received by the Zonal Office mostly from the South West States regarding the erection of base stations in various communities.
Some telecom subscribers had expressed fears during radio programmes sponsored by the Ibadan Zonal Office where they called on the Commission to enforce compliance to proper erections of base stations by the operators to avoid hazards as the rainy season begins.
Addressing the MNOs and the SBCs at the meeting, Arowosafe said the meeting was conveyed 'to discuss community relations issues, cases of poor maintenance of base stations, probability of windstorms accompanied by heavy downpour which can spell doom for poorly maintained towers as well as the need for a proactive monitoring of cell towers especially in densely populated areas".
According to Arowosafe, the resolutions reached at the meeting are as follows:
– Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and Site Built Contractors (SBCs) must adhere to the standard of the Guidelines on Technical Specifications for the Installation of Telecommunications Masts and Towers (2009) when constructing a site.
All SBCs must be licensed by NCC before they can be contracted to carry out any telecommunications business.
Collocation and Infrastructure Sharing Licensees and Site Built Contractors (SBCs) must obtain all the necessary approvals and permits prior to erection of Base Transceiver Stations (BTS).
MNOs, Collocation and Infrastructure Sharing companies are encouraged to partake in communal activities within their host communities.
MNOs should synergize more with their SBCs and Field Support Engineers pre and post-erection of Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) in order to address all issues sufficiently and effectively.
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Management of MTN Nigeria has directed staffs to stay away from its headquarters in Lagos today in case the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and some other youth-based groups make good their threats to picket the telecom giant over xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.
MTN Nigeria is a subsidiary of MTN Group South Africa, which came under threat along with other companies with South African connections over the continuous attacks and killings of Nigerians in South Africa.
According to TheCable, MTN Nigeria received a letter from NANS and other of the planned picketing.
"Right now, I am talking to you from my house. They told us to stay at home because they are scared that the picketing might turn violent.
"The last time that the NLC guys came, some staff sustained injuries and they want to avoid that at the moment.
"We might still go but they want to monitor the situation first."
TheCable understands that the associations are displeased with the killings of Nigerians in South Africa, thus they made plans to protest at South African businesses.
There have been recorded cases of Nigerians losing their lives in xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
The latest record of a Nigerian who lost their life in South Africa is Elizabeth Ndubisi-Chukwu, deputy director-general of Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), who was killed in her hotel room.
At 12pm, the company dispatched buses to pick up staff so normal activities could resume.
The GSMA has announced that it has signed a thirty-eight million-pound partnership with the UK's Department for International Development (DFID).
The 'Partnership for Inclusion, Innovation and Scale' will provide funding for the GSMA's Mobile for Development work on digital inclusion, digital identity, energy, water, sanitation and the reduction of the mobile gender gap. It will also include two new areas of focus: disability and climate.
"This landmark partnership with DFID reinforces the joint power and potential of the private and public sectors working together and ensures that we will continue our crucial role of stimulating digital innovation to deliver both sustainable business and large-scale socio-economic impact for the underserved," said Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA.
"This project reinforces our commitment to supporting the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and using the power of technology to reduce global inequalities."
The partnership will unearth critical insights on the needs of the underserved and identify and invest in mobile-enabled innovations and business models which can drive inclusion at scale. New technologies and business models, such as mobile money and pay-as-you-go (PAYG) solar energy, have been crucial to delivering socio-economic impact to the underserved.
DFID, one of the world's first donors to embrace digital technologies, has been at the forefront of these innovations.
The GSMA's Mobile for Development programme is experienced in bringing digital innovations to scale, by engaging the private sector, especially mobile operators and digital innovators.
The new partnership builds on the GSMA's long-standing relationship with DFID. Since 2013, over 20 million lives across 39 countries have been impacted, of which over 70% have been women. The link-up has already impacted all 17 SDGs, in particular SDG 5 which focuses on Gender Equality, SDG 10 which focuses on Reduced Inequalities and SDG 7 which looks at Affordable and Clean Energy.
The GSMA's Mobile for Development programme was established to drive innovation in digital technology to reduce inequalities in the world. In particular, the programme aims to deliver sustainable business and large-scale socio-economic impact for the underserved.
The programme sits at the intersection of the mobile ecosystem and the development sector and provides unique research and insights, and in-market expertise that unites the mobile industry, tech innovators, governments and the development community.
Yolanda Cuba joins MTN as Group Chief Digital and Fintech Officer
MTN Group has announced appointment of Yolanda Cuba as Group Chief Digital and Fintech Officer.
Yolanda will join the MTN Group Executive Committee reporting to the Group CEO Rob Shuter.
In this role Yolanda will lead the Group's strategic expansion of its financial services and digital solutions efforts and transformation into a digital operator.
Yolanda brings extensive telecommunications and leadership experience to MTN Group.
She joins MTN Group from Vodacom, where she served as Chief Officer of Strategy and M&A.
She was previously the CEO of Vodafone Ghana for a three-year period, a role that saw her named Telecom CEO of the Year in 2018.
"This role gives me the opportunity to drive digital innovation and financial inclusion across the Group's vast footprint.
"I'm really looking forward to the new challenge and being part of the MTN leadership team", said Yolanda.
Rob Shuter said, "We are very pleased to bring an executive of Yolanda's calibre into MTN Group.
"Yolanda is a highly qualified and experienced executive, with a unique combination of operational telecommunications experience as well as finance, financial services and digital skills.
"I am confident that Yolanda's leadership will place us in good stead as we intensify our efforts to build a digital ecosystem and scale our fintech offering across our markets".
Under Yolanda's leadership, MTN will continue to progressively grow the fintech and digital opportunities in Africa as we see these areas as major drivers of our BRIGHT growth strategy. Yolanda's start date will be communicated in due course.