Telecom Masts in Residential Areas not Harmful -NCC

A lot of People have cried out and write to NCC about the hazardous effects of radiation of telecommunications towers erected in their areas and how it will affect them, the Nigerian Communications Commission has said that the erection of masts and base stations in residential areas do not pose any health risks to residents.
The apex regulatory agency in the telecoms sector stated that the clarification was necessary as one of the most frequently made enquiries from members of the public was on the issue of masts sited in residential areas across the country.
Writing on its Facebook page, the NCC assured Nigerians that there was no need for them to panic or resist the erection of telecoms masts in their neighbourhoods in the event that such would boost network coverage.
Radio frequency emissions from antennas used for cellular transmissions, the NCC argued, resulted in exposure levels on the ground that were thousands of times below safety limits.
Consequently, the NCC stated, there were no reasons to believe that such towers or antennas could constitute a potential health hazard to residents nearby.
According to the NCC, what the residents should endeavour to watch out for is the source of the electricity to the base station especially when it is coming from a generator.
Such generators, the NCC argued, should be positioned in such a way that fumes were not directed towards living rooms.
It further stated that residents should also ensure that the measurement from the foot of the mast to the nearest residential apartment should be a minimum of 15 metres, noting that anything less could be dangerous.
"It is safe to site telecoms masts in residential areas. Except where antennas are placed directly towards nearby residential apartments instead of being on top of masts or high on a building.
"Base stations do not pose any safety or health hazards when sited at residential areas. However, if the source of electricity to the cell is a generator, it should be positioned in such a way that fumes are not directed towards living rooms.
"There is also a standard set back measurement that all telecom masts must comply with. Besides, there is no scientific evidence to support the contention that the use of mobile phones are harmful to human beings," the NCC wrote on Facebook.
It added that since the unfounded hypothesis that the use of mobile phones was harmful for humans were peddled, no scientific evidence had so far been put forward to back up the claim.
According to the NCC, the global scientific community is of the opinion that the low-powered radio signal produced by mobile phones does not have sufficient intrinsic energy, and therefore, cannot pose a health hazard to users.
"They are very safe. Over the years, concern over claims of possible health effects due to radio frequency emissions from hand-held wireless telephones prompted various research programmes to investigate whether there is any risk to users of these devices.
"However, there is no scientific evidence yet that proves that wireless phone usage can lead to cancer or a variety of other health effects. However, studies are ongoing," the NCC added.
It also admitted that the cost of Global System of Mobile Telecommunication is still generally on the high side and pledged to do more in bringing it down.
The commission stated that although the prevention of cyber-crime was within the purview of law enforcement agencies, it promised to step up its collaboration with the relevant agencies in the fight against the menace.
It declared its readiness to extend its close monitoring of telecoms firms from voice calls and text messaging to the quality of broadband Internet services being provided to Nigerians.
"The commission has continued to license more operators. The commission has twice reduced the interconnect rate which has a direct effect on retail tariff.
"Subscribers should also ensure that they 'shop right' by choosing networks with comparative lower tariffs. It is also expected that competition will continue to bring down tariff as the case in most liberalised markets.
"With the increasing use of broadband services, the commission will expand the scheme to include parameters for monitoring quality of service on broadband," the commission wrote on its Consumer Affairs Bureau website, consumer .ncc .gov .ng.