NCC vs NESREC, who will win the Base Station War?

The National Environmental Standards Regulatory and Enforcement Agency (NESREA) sealed a base station belonging to one of the top telcos a few weeks back for not adhering to its 10-metre setback to property rule. Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) responded by unsealing the station, while NESREA went back and re-sealed the station.

Chief executives of both NESREA and NCC, Mrs. Ngeri Benebo and Dr Eugene Juwah respectively, were in attendance in ameeting to resolve the issue.

However, a news source reported that NCC at the meeting insisted that it had the right to set regulations for the telecom industry and that its five-metre setback prescribed more than eight years ago, met with internationally acceptable safety and health standards. NESREA countered this and stood its grounds that its 10-metre setback, prescribed about two years ago, must be complied with.

The source added that NCC cited security implications and quality of service issues resulting from the closure of live base stations whose installations it had approved after compliance with its five-metre setback. Further, the source disclosed that the meeting agreed that base stations to be built in the future must comply with NESREA’s 10-metre setback prescription, until NCC and NESREA regulations are harmonised and the impact of this prescription experienced along the way.