The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria have warned of communication blackout across Nigeria if nothing changes.
According to the President, ALTON, Mr Gbenga Adebayo, it has become unsafe for telcos to physically manage their infrastructure in many parts of the nation.
And this might lead to pressure on the few network channels that are available, causing network disruptions across the nation.
“We are deeply concerned about the insecurity in the nation. If the environment is not safe, we can’t provide seamless services.
“This is because while networks operate wireless loops, the support is done by people. There are many instances where people cannot access sites, for example, to supply diesel. If something goes wrong on a site, it is reported electronically. But we need to go and visit it physically.
“Presently, we can’t visit those sites. It is happening now that there are parts of the country, where it is not in the city and town, we can’t provide any service. So, if there are outages happening in some places at 6pm, irrespective of where it is, we consider the risk of sending people and waiting until 12 hours after.
“There are some areas we cannot even access, during the day or night. These are areas affected by insurgency and terrorism. Who wants to travel by road to Kaduna from Abuja? Or to Kano, or Zamfara, or Yobe.
“There is an understanding that it is the duty of the government to keep everyone safe and secured, but when you have people dying from actions of terrorism, it is bad luck. So, it is impossible to send staff to sites in certain areas.”
He commended security agencies, and urged the government to avoid incidents of communication blackouts.
“Where services are available, people can communicate, if services are not available it affects the lives and safety of people,” he said.