Telecoms operators may get N5m fine over masts

Lagos Urban Furniture Regulatory Unit (UFRU) General Manager,  Mr. Joe Igbokwe, who disclosed this in Lagos said the idea is to help the state monitor and supervise all existing and new masts in the state. He said: “the state government is worried by the discrepancies in the figures of masts submitted by some of the […]

Lagos Urban Furniture Regulatory Unit (UFRU) General Manager,  Mr. Joe Igbokwe, who disclosed this in Lagos said the idea is to help the state monitor and supervise all existing and new masts in the state.
He said: “the state government is worried by the discrepancies in the figures of masts submitted by some of the operators, and the refusal of other operators to submit any list.”
He called on operators to be honest in submitting the list of their operated telecoms masts in Lagos without further delay.
Igbokwe who also frowned at the recent collapse of a hollow type communications mast belonging to Access Bank, located in its Idimu branch in Lagos, said UFRU would begin decommissioning of all hollow type masts and towers in the state, after  April 30th.
He explained that banks, insurance companies, government agencies, oil companies, ICT companies, hotels, schools, and other small users of communications masts have ignored the state government’s ultimatum to replace old and dangerous hollow type masts with galvanized steel masts.
Recounting the dangers of hollow type masts, Igbokwe said many people have lost their lives and property worth millions of naira to collapsed masts in the state, insisting that all users of communications masts must replace them with galvanised steel masts.
He said listed some of the telecoms operators that were yet to submit their lists to UFRU to include  Globacom, MTN, Airtel, Etisalat, 21st Century, IHS, Helios Towers, among others, were yet to submit the list of the current number of telecoms masts they are operating in the state.