Vandalism has of the mobile base stations been quite rampant in Nigeria making the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), their regulator, express its concern with the problem and is looking into making the situation better.
This is not the first time this issue has been raised by the mobile networks, who have been complaining about being fined so many times due to poor quality services yet, they claim, that the problem has been brought about by the problems of the lack of security in their base stations which have been stolen and damaged.
The NCC’s Chairman, Engineer Peter Igoh has called on the state governors to pass legislation that would classify and protect telecommunication equipment as critical infrastructure.
However, for now there are claims that the police treat base station damage, which is mostly to get at the diesel used to power them, as a secondary crime.
“Sometimes, ignorance plays a part as many may not appreciate the need for massive infrastructure for telecom service,” said the Chairman.