NCC moves SIM registration to May
Ernest ndukwe, Executive Vice-Chairman NCC
NCC said the postponement became necessary following the discovery that large quantities of SIM cards with instant activation features, which were already distributed by the service providers before the earlier announcement, would not have been cleared out before 1 March 2010.
Registration will now begin on May 1, instead of March 1, the NCC an Abuja-based industry regulator said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.
The law requires mobile-phone subscribers to provide details such as fingerprints and photographs of themselves.
Reuben Muoka, head of public relations for the NCC, said the Commission had directed all telecom operators to put necessary arrangements in place to ensure that all new SIM cards were registered before activation with effect from 1 May 2010, adding that the extension would also give the service providers additional time to finalize the installation of the necessary infrastructure for the registration.
MTN Nigeria and Zain Nigeria have rejected the government’s directive, demanding 18 months extension.
A similar registration process in South Africa, the continent’s biggest economy, resulted in MTN, Africa’s largest mobile operator, and Vodacom Group Ltd., recording losses in their subscriber bases. MTN said in November it hoped to meet its target of zero growth in South African customers in the year through December.
Nigeria’s deferment comes after SIM cards with so-called ready-to-use features, which had already been distributed by service providers before the March 1 deadline was announced, wouldn’t have been sold before that date, the commission said.
“The period from March 1, 2010 to May 1, 2010, will give room to the operating companies to clear the backlog of SIM cards in the market to allow for seamless registration of all new SIM cards from the new date”, it said.
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation, with more than 154 million people, according to the United Nations. The country also has the continent’s fastest-growing telecommunications market.
The number of fixed-line and mobile-phone customers increased to 67.9 million in June from 65.5 million in January, according to the commission.
MTN Nigeria is the West African nation’s biggest mobile-phone operator with about 28.8 million subscribers, and Zain, the Kuwait-based company being targeted by Bharti Airtel Ltd. in a $10.7 billion takeover bid, is the second-largest, with about 14.9 million customers
For existing SIM-card holders, “necessary processes and procedures are currently being put in place to guarantee a smooth registration exercise”, the agency said, without providing further details.
by Ikechukwu Osodo
