I've Defended telecoms a lot of times because I used to do presentations at EIA Panel reviews before members of the Town Planning, NCC, FMEnv, MoH, Community members and (whatever stakeholders decided to show up that day) in a bid to get EIA permits to erect masts

#Thread

The only region I disnt go to was PH. But I did North, Lagos, South West, East.
The only people we used to have on our side was the NCC. The had the best experts professors among panelists. And when we came under severe verbal attacks from overzealous activists, they rose...

..to our defence.

One funny thing that usually happened those days was that the people who antagonize you during the review will meet you during teak breaks and lunch to tell you that they have a land in Abule Egba and wont mind you installing a mast there.

I've also had to face off against the "rich" and "educated" nigerians including judges and senior citizens in high profile estates like VGC who antagonize the presence of a mast in their estate while complaining about poor network and telling you they have a land in sangotedo

I've had people report your project to the Town Planning authorities or the FMEnv, complaining that it poses a health risk meanwhile their main reason is that you chose their neighbors land and not theirs.

Same people have 3 phones, 1 iPad, and smart TV in their homes

And they expect to have enough signal to power them all.

One of my easy strategy to explain it to them in the layest term is to ask them to Google the "electromagnetic spectrum" and pull up an image like this

Once I explain the ionizing and non ionizing Ray's to them and show them that even the radiowave (which is what their tv and radio at home use) is weaker than the visible light wave, my job is half way done.

Then they go to aesthetics. "The presence of a lattice tower ....

...in the estate defaced bla bla bla"

We had to deploy a palm tree disguise tower in VGC to address that. One is among that pine plantation near the play ground That project had to take longer because we didn't have one on ground.

Then there are the once we call water stanchions (disguised like water tank stands with no water tank on them).

The three main concerns are usually:

-collapse
-environmental polution: aesthetics, soil from used oil, spillage and diesel spillage and noise from generator sounds
And
-radiation

Once we've addressed radiation and anesthetics, we address noise pollution with "sound proof" generators and routine maintenance or replacements, and proper waste management for used engine oils and good site janitorial routine.

These things slip through because for obvious reasons there are a so many masts around us.

A mast provides only one thing, height for the antennae and microwaves. Then our ridiculous power issues are why each site needs a power generating set.

So where possible we deploy alternative power solutions like solar and battery banks to power the sites at night when everyone sleeps and reduce diesel consumption.
Where public power is available we dont hesitate to connect.

Also the FMEnv has noise levels for every area

They and the NCC agree on setbacks to buildings, hospitals, schools, water bodies, play areas etc.
Once there is a complaint they come check if any of these standards have been flouted. And they check for all your permits and approval.

Now there are peculiar sites and cases especially in highly built up areas where theres hardly space to meet all set back requirements. In such cases you apply for special waivers.

Then theres the NCAA too that must give you aviation height clearance to ensure there's...

...no mast on a flight path or too close to the airports.

The last of them is collapse but that's where a combination of structural engineers from both the tower manufacturers and construction companies do their homework in calculating and designing the tower foundation

...for every soil type and the lattice structure installation.

A lot of milestone inspection go into the construction of a mast. At least 3 of them. To ensure that specifications are followed and theres a documentation for each. Because if anything happens, all of that...

...will come under scrutiny as everyone will be looking for where to shift responsibility to.

Whew!!! I didn't think I'll come this far. But the mast around your neighborhood is relatively safe. And ill still.reserve my comments on the 5G till I can categorically defend it.