Report reveals tower operators spend N175 million daily to run Base Transceiver Stations

Authors:

folarin okunola

August 25, 2015 10:45 AM

Telecom towers house base stations which Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and 4G internet service providers use to deliver services to consumers.

A telecommunication tower, also called masts, in Lagos

According to several media reports, telecommunications tower operators spend about N175 million every day on diesel used to power generators at the towers’ housing base transceiver stations (BTS) that make the use of GSM service to make and receive calls available to Nigerians.

READ: President Buhari appoints new CEO for telcoms regulatory body

A report by Nigeria CommunicationsWeek reveals that a co-located tower which houses 3 to 5 base stations generally use a 20KVA generator to supply power while a tower that houses just one base station generally use 15KVA generators.

Also, each generator gobbles about 50 litres of diesel per day since the public power system is highly erratic. The report further revealed that presently, towers use generator power on an average of 20 hours a day. This in turn means that 25,000 towers in the country that use generators consume about 1.25million liters of diesel a day.

The report also said this quantity of diesel consumed by generators at different towers cost tower operators about N175million every single day.

READ: House of Reps finally orders NCC to stop network providers from sending customers unwanted texts

In his reaction to the report, chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo, said: “In Nigeria, power is a challenge for tower operators, as cost of diesel is high; today you buy N140 per litre tomorrow you buy it for N150. These costs are not insignificant and affect the business”.

Authors:

folarin okunola