At its corporate headquarters in Lagos, IHS Nigeria, a division of IHS Holding Limited (NYSE: IHS) (“IHS Towers”), one of the biggest independent owners, operators, and developers of shared communications infrastructure globally by tower count, recently hosted a high-level gathering of telecommunications industry stakeholders, including regulators and law enforcement agencies.
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The purpose of the meeting was to create a multi-stakeholder action plan for safeguarding Lagos State’s Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) assets. The stakeholders in the meeting, which was organised under the auspices of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), acknowledged the significance of communications infrastructure as the foundation of social cohesion, economic growth, and national security.
They also agreed that urgent solutions involving cooperation are required to guarantee the protection of these essential resources. Senior representatives from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), and the Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA) were among the telecommunications stakeholder groups and regulatory bodies that attended the meeting.
Representatives from InfraCos, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the security organisation responsible for safeguarding the nation’s critical national infrastructure, were also present.
Using technology for real-time monitoring and protection, bolstering security measures around telecommunications sites, and working more closely with security and regulatory agencies to mitigate these issues, the stakeholders decided to form a working group to address key industry challenges, such as theft and vandalism of telecommunications infrastructure, arbitrary base station shutdowns, fibre cuts caused by road construction, and unauthorised individuals’ denial of access.
The stakeholders emphasised the importance of public awareness campaigns to raise awareness among the public and host communities about the need to safeguard local telecommunications infrastructure, as well as the necessity of giving deterrence and prevention of such instances top priority.
Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) safety has been a major issue for all industry stakeholders, said Dapo Otunla, Senior Vice President & Chief Corporate Services Officer of IHS Nigeria. We are losing assets on a regular basis, which has a big effect on the calibre of service that subscribers receive. In order to maintain Nigeria’s digital ecosystem and satisfy regulatory requirements, these problems must be resolved.
