26 June 2019

A typical tower

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has started to tear down over 7,000 telecom masts belonging to Globacom which exceed restrictions on maximum height.

It went ahead after the company failed to remove the masts despite multiple warnings. The NCAA noted that it had issued an ultimatum in May followed by multiple reminders, but the 30-day deadline had passed.

Every operator with structures in violation of the regulations have been notified and offered the chance to remove them, on the understanding that the authority would act if the companies did not. A number of financial services firms are also set to see their infrastructure destroyed, with a total of 8805 structures deemed to “endanger the safety of air navigation” by “virtue of height or position”.

The NCAA stated that companies were instructed to comply with the regulation either by lowering the height of their towers or obtaining an Aviation Height Clearance Certificate, and noted that “while some of the providers and operators have since commenced regularisation of their masts, others have failed to do same.”