Rising from their stakeholders’ meeting at the weekend in Lagos, which centred on the protection of telecommunications infrastructure in the country, operators have set up an Industry Working Group to oversee the protection of the facilities.

The stakeholders at the meeting included regulators and law enforcement agencies. It was hosted by IHS Nigeria at its corporate headquarters in Lagos.

The meeting was in response to the rising cases of fibre cuts, equipment theft, and vandalism of telecoms infrastructure.

Already, operators have disclosed that they suffered 2,500 fibre cuts in Lagos in 2024, which caused them an estimated N5 billion ($6.25 million) in losses.

According to findings by The Guardian checks that in Nigeria, there are 40, 000 telecoms towers carrying about 144, 000 transceiver stations. These towers are managed largely on behalf of the telcos by towercos, including IHS, Pan African Towers, and American Tower Company, among others. A larger percentage of the infrastructure belonged to MTN and Airtel as pioneer telcos in the country.

Recognising the importance of communications infrastructure as the backbone of national security, economic growth and social cohesion, the stakeholders at the meeting, convened under the umbrella of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), agreed on the urgent need for collaborative solutions to ensure the protection of the assets.

The statement issued at the end of the meeting noted that the working group was dedicated to addressing key industry challenges, including vandalism and theft of telecommunications infrastructure, arbitrary shutdown of base stations, fibre cuts due to road construction and the denial of access by unauthorised individuals.

The group is leveraging technology for real-time monitoring and protection, strengthening security measures around telecommunication sites.

They are also expected to work in collaboration with security and regulatory agencies to mitigate the challenges.

At the meeting, stakeholders highlighted the importance of public awareness campaigns to sensitise the host communities and public to the need to protect telecommunications infrastructure in their localities.

While commending the decision of the telecoms stakeholders in setting up the working group, Senior Vice President & Chief Corporate Services Officer of IHS Nigeria, Dapo Otunla, said: “The protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) has been a critical concern for all industry stakeholders.

“We are experiencing daily losses of assets, which significantly impact the quality of service delivered to subscribers.

“Addressing these issues is paramount to sustaining Nigeria’s digital ecosystem and meeting regulatory expectations.”

The moves by the telecom operators could be seen as moves to drive the implementation of the government’s CNII policy by themselves.