An Examination of Legal Regulation and Environmental Impacts of Telecommunications Installations in Nigeria

Abstract

For telecommunications services to be effective and meet minimum global standards in a given economy, telecommunications installations need to be technically specified and regulated. This is to ensure efficient control and management of the environment where the installations are being made. The environmental impact of the installations therefore cannot be over-emphasised. This paper examined the legal regulation of telecommunications installations, especially masts and towers. It also considered the environmental impacts of telecommunication installations. It also considered the roles of concerned regulatory authorities vis-a-vis their regulatory functions in the provisions of effective telecommunications services through telecommunications installations and provision of healthy environment.It has been found that despite the statutory regulation of telecommunications on one hand and the environment on the other hand, there appears to be statutory overlaps in the functions of regulatory authorities. This has resulted in a face-off among the relevant authorities. The issue is whether the provision of telecommunications services must be given priority to the detriment of a healthy environment. The paper recommended that there should be periodic review of relevant regulations and guidelines on telecommunications installations for effective telecommunications service delivery without unnecessarily tampering with the health of the citizenry.

Keywords: telecommunications intallations, environment, service provider