The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)’s new SIM(Subscriber Identity Module) card registration scheme designed to make registration of all SIM cards in the country compulsory before activation effective from May 1, has yet to become operational as the telecoms operators and the subscribers have yet to show any interest in the scheme.
Many subscribers have lost count of the number of telephone lines they have used since Nigeria’s mobile telephony took off in 2001. Many of them have never done a ‘SIM swap’ or ‘Welcome Back’, a system that allows mobile phone users to keep their numbers even when they lose their phones.
In a country where a subscriber could simply buy a new SIM pack on the streets, going through the hassle of doing a ‘SIM Swap’ or ‘Welcome Back’ just does not make any economic sense – it costs more money and the red tape involved does not make things any easier either.
“What I do whenever I lose my phone is just to rush to the market and obtain another GSM line and phone,” Folake says.”I simply don’t have the time to start going to GSM operators’ offices to retrieve any lost line and I certainly can’t spare the extra cash.”
But she does not know that SIM Packs will no longer be available on Nigerian streets. Or so, the government hopes. Under a new SIM Card registration policy, the state-owned telephony regulator, the NCC hopes to compile a database of all mobile phone users in the country by ensuring that new subscriptions, starting 1 May 2010 supply key information about themselves before purchasing a phone.
NCC, in December last year, directed all telecom companies operating in the country to put all necessary arrangements in place for the smooth take off of the SIM registration scheme, which is aimed at improving security in the country. It said valid identification documents like E- Passports, corporate/company or work place identity cards that contain Pension Identification /Tax Numbers, student ID cards from recognized institutions as well drivers’ licenses issued by the Federal Road Safety Commission, (FRSC) and E-Tax cards, would be required for those seeking registration of their SIM cards. However since December when the commission announced the new scheme and pegged the deadline for registration on March 1 and later shifted it to May 1, many subscribers believed that the NCC has done virtually nothing to raise awareness on the new scheme and how it would be carried out.
“With effect from May 1, 2010, all new SIM Cards in Nigeria must be registered before activation” the NCC said in a statement earlier in March. “The NCC, in exercise of its regulatory functions as provided for by the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) 2003, wishes to inform the general public and all the relevant stakeholders that arrangements have been concluded for the commencement of registration of all SIM Card Holders in Nigeria.
“The registration process will include the capture of the photograph and biometrics of the subscriber. Proxy registration shall be restricted to the direct families of persons seeking registration. The Commission has directed all telecom operating companies to put all necessary arrangements in place for the smooth take off of the exercise.”
Chris Uba, Lagos
