Abstract
The telecommunications industry is one of the largest and fastest growing business industries in the world today. As a result more mobile operators are spinning off their tower infrastructures in search of growth, shareholder value and better profit margins. This brings to mind the following questions Will the growth continue? Is the value sustainable? Can profit margins be improved etc. The more telecommunications companies sell or spin off their tower holdings, restrained or stand alone tower companies are coming into view like never before. This is because towers make up the huge part of their capital investments especially in emerging markets where most of their operating costs, mobile operators are opting to share towers renting them from other tower companies rather than making ongoing financial investments in infrastructure. In the process, mobile operators are aiming to cut costs drastically and maximize profits. Towering in this sector are mostly tall structures designed to render support antennas also known as aerials for telecommunications and broadcasting. In terms of structures there are two main types namely: guyed and self-supporting structures which are among the tallest man-made structures. This paper therefore seeks to determine the role of structure on towering in the telecommunications business space in Nigeria as well as determine its overall level of effectiveness and efficiency in achieving set goals and objectives.
INTRODUCTION
Telecommunications facilities were established in 1886 in Nigeria by the colonial administration. This was mainly towards the discharge of administrative functions rather than the provision of socio-economic development of the country.
The demand for the access to mobile and technology in Nigeria is unknown, and the current infrastructure of telecoms cannot keep up with demand.
Presently the technology in communications has developed rapidly to a large extent. The communication industries have seen a very great increase in the last few years which resulted in the installation of large number of towers to increase both the coverage area and network consistency. Towers play a significant role In wireless communication network therefore, the failure of structure in a disaster is a great concern. Therefore, there is importance in considering all the possible conditions for designing of towers. The researchers in most studies have considered the wind effect on the four legged self-supporting towers alone.
LITERATURE REVIEW
BASED ON STRUCTURAL ACTION
SELF SUPPORTING TOWERS These are towers that are supported on ground or on buildings. Although these towers weigh more, they require less base area and are found to be suitable in most situations. Most of the TV, Power transmission, and flood light towers are examples of the self-supporting towers.
GUYED TOWERS They are normally in three directions. They are lighter than the self-supporting tower but also requires a large free space to organise guy wires. Guyed towers can be provided whenever large open space is available,. There are other restrictions when mounting dish antennae on these towers and large anchor blocks are required to hold the ropes.
MONOPOLE It is a single self-supporting pole, and is usually kept over the roofs of high raised buildings, when the number of antennae required or the height of tower required is less than 9m.
Benefits of telecommunications towers
1) The number of people and also the improved quality of service – 3.3 – 4 million subscribers.
2) Increases competition – with Helios Towers present in the Nigerian market, it allows for smaller, newer, and wireless operators to benefit from reduced barriers to entry.
3) The access to the other ICT technologies is expanded – the tower network supports both the mobile cellular networks and also wireless broadband and backhaul networks.
3) Saving of energy and materials – sharing tower infrastructure is beneficial. When building one tower, it reduces the quantity of construction materials needed.
CONCEPTUAL REVIEW
Based on estimation, each telecoms tower station supports 4,000-4,500 Nigerian subscribers; unavailability of service up to 30% of the time. By contrast, towers in developed countries have only 1,200-1,500 subscribers per site, providing 100% availability. There were 110 million subscribers in Nigeria in the year 2012, and the number is expected to increase to 152 million by 2016. The broadband connections are expected to rise from 1.5 million to 2.1 million by 2015. The country will need up to 14,000 base stations more in the next four years so as to maintain current levels of provision for the increase in the number of subscribers.
The solution that is most effective is a well dedicated outsourcing of the construction and management of telecoms towers, which can then be shared by a number of providers. The additional tower sites which will be constructed means that mobile operators who are existing can expand their limit, in both geography and capacity. Sharing the usage of towers reduces the expansion cost for all carriers, enabling them to provide a service to remote and economically less developed areas, where revenues and usage will be lower.
Helios develops and also supports a network of telecommunications towers, giving off space to several providers of wireless services under long-term lease agreements. It currently manages 1,185 towers. With the presence of HTN in the Nigerian market, new wireless operators which are similar can obtain entry, as they will gain easy access to leased tower facilities other than having to build their own. This may increase competition, and reduce costs for consumers.
HTN is so far, one of three tower companies that are operating in the market. HTN performance standards and service availability makes it a preferred provider by many operators in the market.
The project also includes the refinancing of existing debt to harmonise terms and to lengthen the maturity profile of HTN’s debt stock.
Visual impact – few towers will involve less trespass in the landscape, especially in rural areas.
Tower sharing in rural areas makes access to telecom services more affordable.
The sharing of Tower has not yet become a common model in sub-Saharan Africa (unlike in Asia, Europe and USA). Hence, the project is expected to have an important demonstration effect and act as a model to be duplicated elsewhere. A similar project is already being discussed by EAIF in another sub-Saharan country.
Others includes;
Concealed and Stealth Towers; are a particular brand of concealed towers. Larson Camouflage is one other manufacturer of concealed towers. These towers are sent to satisfy zoning regulations, and varies in size to accommodate their surroundings. Other types of towers are not as expensive as this due to the fact that they need additional material to create a "concealed appearance,” although at the same time, they provide a lesser capacity to tenants than other towers do. One of the interesting concealed towers, located at a church in California is listed below.
Broadcast Towers; it provides mounting space for FM radio, AM radio, and Television (TV) antennas. They have large antennas, which weighs from 1,000 pounds to 15 tons depending on the type of service they provide and the coverage they are supposed to deploy. Majority of the broadcast towers are guyed towers which has three or more guy wires connected to grounded anchors. Broadcast towers occupies a large amount of ground space – up to 300 acres, the reason why they are mostly found in rural areas or on mountaintops where natural elevation ensures the best ways to transmit signals.
Other Equipment
An Antenna Array ; here tenants mount antennas, which signal transmission and reception to mobile devices within a specific area. The number of antennas mainly between 3-18 is based on various factors, including the (wireless carriers); (voice or data) and volume of transmission; the technology which is being used (eg:, GSM, LTE) and also the frequency of the spectrum utilized.
The Microwave Dish; this is a large oval antenna, which is used for a specific type of transmission, and also commonly used for backhaul.
The Ground Space is known as the area that wireless carriers borrow from property owners, on which they build cell towers, cell sites and place shelters, generators and other additional equipment.
The Base Transmitter Station ; is a secluded area used to accommodate and protect communications, radio and network equipment.
The Generator is supported by gas or diesel and is being used as emergency back-up to keep cell sites in operation during power failures.
Utilities are also necessary for the operation of cell sites. Wireless carriers will run lines or cables to the site to complement their specific technology.
DISCUSSIONS
According to the CEO of Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Steve Evans. The main challenge is the uneasy balance between state government and federal government in terms of separating their desire of high tax to mobile operators because they seem to be on a face of successful business. (Corporate Guides International Ltd, 2010, p. 158)
Another challenge is the industrial rivalry and completion which is on the increase. This depletes the revenues and the shrinking value available for the investors. Though competition encourages better quality of service and innovation, it also means that profit made available to shareholders must be sent back into the business otherwise operators will keep paying huge interest on bank facilities to finance acquisition of new technology.
IHS Holding Limited (IHS), being one of the largest mobile telecommunications infrastructure providers in Africa and the Middle East and Helios Towers Nigeria Limited (HTN), the pioneer of tower infrastructure sharing in Africa announced that they have entered into an agreement that will bring about IHS acquiring HTN’s portfolio of 1,211 diversified tower sites all through Nigeria.
Mobile telecoms infrastructure industry was established in Nigeria in by HTN and IHS in 2000s and the transaction will be the first in-market reinforcement in Africa.
HTN is the number one tower operator in Nigeria and the first tower operator in Africa to be independent. It operates in 34 out of 36 states in Nigeria and the FCT, with about 1,200 towers and over 2,500 technology tenants. (Obinna Chima,2016)
In Africa, Europe and the Middle East, IHS is said to be the largest mobile telecommunications infrastructure provider which was founded in 2001. It provides services across the entire tower value chain – jointly-located on owned towers, deployment and managed services.
Today, over 23,300 towers in Nigeria and across Africa is being owned by IHS.
IMPORTANCE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS
The importance of telecommunications in the society is well accepted and understood, reflected in its general use and acceptance. Below are some of the key areas of impact:
It provides a technological foundation for communications in the society. Communication plays a pivotal role in the operations of a society—from business to government to families. Communication among people is the reason of what differentiates an organization, or society from a group of individuals. Communication, that is, Web browsing , cell phone calling, instant messaging, has become part of how we work, play, and live.
It brings about participation and growth, it also plays an important role in enabling the participation and development of people in communities and nations who have a disadvantage of geography, whether in rural areas, developed or in developing nations in the global economy.
Telecommunications provides necessary infrastructure for national security. From the recovery of natural disaster, to homeland security, to communication of vital intelligence, to continued military superiority, telecommunications plays a vital role. There are potential risks involved with reliance on overseas sources for innovation, technologies, applications, and services.
The impact of telecommunications technologies, services, and applications which have not yet been invented cannot be easily predicted. For example, in the early days of research and development into the Internet in the late 1960s, who could have foreseen the full impact of the Internet’s widespread use today?
Nigeria’s vivacious wireless industry is assured for a nourished period of network investment and growth, with a population of almost 180 million people, increase in smart phone probing and limited fixed line infrastructure,
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
Presently, technology is growing rapidly which requires adequate means of communication like mobile phones, internet, radio communication etc. So there is need for proper communication systems including radio stations and Communication towers. It will save a lot of money and resources for one to optimize the design of towers and use less resources. In olden days angle sections are used in making of strut in towers, currently tubular sections are preferred as they are more economical. The wind load that acts on the telecommunication towers will be comparatively less in enormity as it is open structure , but failure of the towers is mainly due to High Intensity Winds and Earthquakes. So high factor of safety should be given to wind loads and seismic loads
After the change in the political system of administration in 1999, Nigerian telecoms had experienced rapid growth due to deregulation and efficient independent regulator (NCC). Startup capital and overhead expenses are huge, hence, it is not all comers business environment.
In spite of the listed threats, demand for the telecoms services will keep on growing as Nigerians social networking activities through telecoms services is improving by the day; hence, the industry remains feasible for potential investors with adequate financial capability to acquire technological resources and adequate strategies to mitigate the identified threats.