The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has expressed dissatisfaction over the delayed approval for installation of base stations and fibre deployments in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), an abysmal situation which has lingered since 2014.
The speedy approval for operators will ensure that they install base stations, deploy fibre which in the long run improves the quality of service which has been one of the major challenges facing the FCT.
“There are cases of applications for installation of base stations in Abuja that have been pending since 2014 and beyond,” Professor Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman, NCC said recently in Abuja, when he paid a courtesy visit to the Minister of FCT, Mohammed Bello.
According to the NCC, there are plethora of reasons why approvals are not granted, some of which are embedded in the issues bordering on the collocation of guidelines from the FCT.
“Some are issues bordering on right of ways for deployment of fibre, where the costs are astronomical. Some states of the federation are already making efforts to ease the deployment of infrastructure in the interest of the overall development and citizen empowerment.”
He requested the FCT Minister to find a solution in this regard as availability of infrastructure is paramount to quality of service and future growth.
The NCC boss also identified that the inability of the FCTA to approve collocation guidelines is another major challenge affecting the operators
“We request that NCC guidelines on collocation be adopted by the FCTA. Furthermore, the sites FCTA offered for collocations are not adequate and do not suit the technical specifications of the service providers.
It is advised that service providers be involved in determining collocation sites to ensure that the identified sites meet network and radio frequency standards of all stakeholders,” he added.