Telcos Consume N9.3bn Diesel Monthly – Investigation

Telecoms companies in Nigeria currently spend an estimated N9.3 billion on diesel to run their sites across the nooks and crannies of the country, New Telegraph has learnt. According to findings, monthly diesel consumption by telecoms companies to power their telecoms sites/towers currently stand at 58.1 million litters.

Available data from the industry authorities show that there are currently about 31,000 telecoms base transceiver stations (BTS) or telecoms towers in Africa’s largest telecoms market.

The figure comprises those BTS built by the global system for mobile communications (GSM), the code division multiple access (CDMA), fixed line operators and other Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country.

In arriving at the current estimated spending on diesel by all telecoms companies in the country, IHS Towers’ current monthly expenditure was used as a benchmark for the industry. IHS, a neutral and independent telecoms infrastructure management company, currently has about 25,000 base stations across its countries of operations, with Nigeria accounting for 16,000 of the total.

According to IHS Executive Vice Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Issam, Darwish, his firm currently consumes a minimum of 30 million litres of diesel monthly to run its 16,000 sites in Nigeria.

This newspaper’s analysis thus indicates that each of the 16,000 base stations gulps an average 1,875 litres of diesel monthly. The 16,000 sites in the portfolio of IHS comprise Airtel’s and MTN’s base stations already outsourced to the firm for efficient operation.

However, industry-wide base stations stand at 31,000, according to data obtained from the Ministry of Communications. Consequently, the industry consumes an average of 58.1 million litres of diesel monthly, given that each site takes an average of 1,875 litres monthly. Meanwhile, this newspaper’s checks at some filing stations across Lagos metropolis indicate that the pump price of diesel averages N160.

Accordingly, the industry expends an estimated N9.3 billion on diesel on a monthly basis, findings have shown. Speaking on how the challenge of poor access to power is affecting telecoms companies’ operations, President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Olusola Teniola, said that the industry was facing low power generation.

He explained that the situation of power in Nigeria is not helpful to the development of telecommunications sector, as each operator has to generate its own power. “Powering generators is very costly and since the demand for telecommunications service is inelastic, the consumers usually bear the brunt,” he said.

Newtelegraph

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