Business
NCC Orders Restoration of SIM over Subscribers Protest
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Monday directed telecommunication companies to immediately restore all the telephone lines of subscribers that were blocked
This directive from the NCC came after thousands of customers stormed the offices of the firms in protest of their blocked SIM cards.
Subscribers whose telephone lines were blocked due to the non-linkage of their National Identification Numbers to SIM cards besieged the offices of the companies less than 24 hours after the incident.
The NCC, in a statement issued on Monday by the Director of Media and Public Affairs, Reuben Muoka, explained that the directive to restore the blocked telephone lines was in response to the widespread disruption and subscriber outrage caused by the blockages.
On Sunday, many subscribers found themselves unable to access their phone lines after failing to verify their NINs with SIMs, leading to their numbers being blocked in compliance with NIN-SIM linkage regulations.
The disconnection of the telephone lines coincided with the anticipated August 1 nationwide protests, raising concerns among citizens about a potential communication disruption.
However, the industry regulator and the telcos rebuked the insinuation, stating that the disconnection was in line with the data harmonisation exercise.
The NCC said, “The consumer is our priority; therefore, considering the challenges the blockages have caused, the commission has directed all operators to reactivate all lines that were disconnected over the weekend, because of the short time available for consumers to undertake the verification of their NINs with their SIMs”.
It clarified that the affected consumers should note that this reactivation was for a limited period to allow them to properly link their NINs to their SIMs.
The commission urged all subscribers who had not yet verified their SIMs to do so promptly to maintain access to their services.
The mandatory linkage of NINs with SIMs, initiated in December 2020, was geared towards enhancing the country’s security and ensuring an accurate SIM ownership database. Despite several deadline extensions, including the latest to July 31, 2024, many lines remain unverified.
Since December 2023, the commission has reviewed the deadline multiple times. Initially, April 15, 2024, was set as the deadline for the full barring of subscribers with four or fewer SIMs that had unverified NIN details.
This deadline was extended to July 31, 2024, to give consumers more time to ensure their submitted NIN details were properly verified. Despite these extensions, many phone lines are yet to be linked with verified NINs.
In its earnings report for the year ending December 31, 2023, MTN Nigeria disclosed that it disconnected 4.2 million lines after the February 28 deadline for linking SIMs with NINs expired.
MTN stated, “We also had approximately 4.2 million lines disconnected for which the subscribers did not submit their NIN. Several of these lines were low-value subscribers, minimising the revenue impact.”
Airtel Nigeria, the second-largest telecom operator, reported in May that 5.7 million of its subscribers had yet to link their SIMs to NINs.
In its financial report for the quarter ending March 2024, Airtel said it was working with affected customers to ensure smooth verification.