As kidnapping pervades and gets worse by the day in Zamfara State, all GSM operators – MTN, Airtel, Globacom, 9mobile and ntel), including Fixed Wireless and Wired Network operators – have shut down telecoms sites in the state.
The action was taken in compliance with the federal government’s directive to the network providers to disconnect the state in view of “pervading security situation” in Zamfara.
According to the letter sent out by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to all telecoms operators, dated September 3, 2021 and signed by the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, the commission said the shutdown would enable relevant security agencies to carry out the required activities towards addressing the security challenges in the state.
In the letter entitled, ‘Re: Shutdown of all telecom sites in Zamfara State’, Danbatta stated that the shutdown would last from September 3 to September 17 in the first instance.
“In line with the requirement, you are hereby directed to shut down all sites in Zamfara State and any site(s) in neighbouring states that could provide telecommunications service in Zamfara State. The site shutdown is for two weeks (September 3 – 17, 2021) in the first instance. Your urgent action in this regard is required,” the commission said.
It was gathered that the state has about 248 base stations.
The NCC in its ‘2020 Subscriber/Network Data Report’, stated that there were a total of 33,832 towers belonging to mobile and fixed operators as well as collocation and infrastructure companies in 2020, while the operators had a total of 36,998 base stations.
The report noted that Jigawa, Ebonyi, Gombe, Yobe and Zamfara were the states with the least number of base stations, with Zamfara having 248 base stations. It, however, listed the top five states with the highest number of towers as Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Rivers and the Federal Capital Territory.
