BREAKING NEWS, Business
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THE Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has allayed the fear that the emission from the telecommunication equipment can cause cancer and other health hazard.
Umar Garba Danbatta, vice chairman and chief executive, NCC, at the regional workshop on electromagnetic fields, EMF, held in Calabar, said the commission had noticed a steady increase in public concerns regarding the possible negative health effects of the EMF radiation emanating from telecommunications equipment, and therefore, called on members of the public that scientific investigation had declared the emission as non-iodizing.
Buttressing his argument, Danbatta said: “EMF from a variety of sources have always been present in our environment and according to Who Health Organisation, WHO, “scientific studies to date provide no indication that environmental exposures to RF fields such as from Base stations, increases the risk of cancer or any other disease.”
According to him, the negative public inclination about the subject has, in some cases, led to agitation against the deployment of needed infrastructure to the detriment of quality of service delivery in the country. He it was part of the response to the growing concerns and commitment to public safety, that the NCC organised the regional workshop to enlighten the public.
Danbatta noted that the telecommunication sector had made some significant growth in past 15 years with a tele-density of 110 percent and a GDP contribution of 8.5 percent to Nigeria’s economy as at November 2015.
“This feat would not have been achieved without the active collaboration of all relevant stakeholders and the healthy enabling environment provided by government. However, much as we aim to sustain this growth and as the industry continues to evolve, we are faced with various challenges that have hampered development in the sector in terms of infrastructure deployment,” he said.
The next evolution of the communications policy in Nigeria, he said, would be on penetration of broadband which would require massive deployments of critical infrastructure to help the sector to achieve the set target by government in 2018.
“Unfortunately, a significant section of the un-informed public and in some cases other tiers and agencies of government often pose the most vehement opposition to the installation of critical telecommunications equipment because of the perceived adverse health effect of the EMF emissions from such sources to humans,” Danbatta said.
Consequently, the NCC boss urged all stakeholders to take issues affecting telecommunication infrastructure and health concerns more seriously, especially in four crucial areas.
First, he said the industry would need to deploy at least 50,000 more Base Transceiver Stations, BTSs, in addition to the current 38,000 already installed as at the end of second quarter of 2015. He said the critical network component would be vital for the delivery of better Quality of Service, QoS, to the more than 150 million active mobile subscribers recorded in the country as at November, 2015.
Second, he said there was for other responsible agencies and tiers of government to expedite requisite approvals and processes needed for infrastructure deployment and site build.
Besides, he said the media would need to be further educated and “discouraged from the citation of unconfirmed and non-peer reviewed scientific studies and articles that tend to misinform the public, thereby creating uncertainty and confusion regarding EMF exposure and health.”
Above, he emphasisied the need for the protection of critical telecommunication infrastructure by security agencies and the general public.
On the part of the NCC, Danbatta said the commission would insist on strict adherence “to guidelines and regulations issued by it to govern all aspects of telecommunications services, including the installation of masts/towers and radio frequency exposure limits.”
The NCC boss assured participants in the two-day event there were array of experts in various relevant fields to deliberate, brainstorm and exchange ideas for the benefit of all stakeholders on current scientific findings on the important topic of the EMF exposure and health.
“We hope that the Workshop will provide a platform for policy makers, regulators, legislators, operators, mobile equipment manufacturers/vendors, consumer groups and other stakeholders to raise the level of understanding and awareness on this issue,” Danbatta said.
— Mar 14, 2016 @ 01:00 GMT
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