Telecom services risk disruption in flooded areas –Experts

People living in recently flooded and adjoining areas in the nation may begin to experience telecommunication service disruption, experts have said.

Services such as the ability to make calls would become poorer over large areas as base stations in affected areas were shut down.

Increased flooding in states such as Anambra, Katsina, Nasarawa, Rivers, Bayelsa, Kogi, and Jigawa had led to the displacement of thousands of individuals.

Since the beginning of 2022, over 300 people had died as a result of floods, according to the National Emergency Management Agency. The floods had led to the destruction of homes, farms, and the disruption of movements along flooded axis.

According to experts in the telecoms industry, these areas would experience communication disruptions which might affect other activities due to the role of communication services in people’s daily lives. Although service shutdowns were not expected, disruptions in many places would happen.

The Head, Operations, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria, Gbolahan Awonuga, said, “There is nothing we can do about service disruptions during flooding. When the services come down, we would need to wait for the flood to subside.

“There won’t be a communication shutdown, but the quality of service will be impacted in these areas. This is because, in the areas that are affected, services will be bad. People will still be able to access telecom services, but they will not be good.

“There will be a lot of call dropping and it will persist until the floods are over. Also, some of the infrastructures will not work because they are in the flood. If anything gets spoilt, we won’t be able to fix it.”

An industry expert in one of the major telcos added, “The flooding will affect telecoms services. You can see what the flooding has been doing. The livewire of connectivity is the base station. If it closes or gets washed away, service will shut down there.

“If flooding affects a base station, it shuts down and cuts the area off. It would be impossible to fuel the generators and they would go down. So yes, these areas will witness service disruptions.”

Heavy rains and poor preparation had been blamed for recent flooding incidents across the nation. The rains were not showing signs of abating, making it too early to paint the extent of telecom service disruption in these areas, experts said.