Preamble:
DESPITE the almost two years given for the registration
of Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards by telecommunications regulator
in Nigeria, some subscribers where still caught napping at the expiration of
the exercise on Sunday, June 30, 2013..
In spite of the fact that some subscribers are city
residents, majority of them were affected by the deactivation based on the
direction of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the Mobile
Network Operators (MNOs) to deactivate defaulting SIMs by the end of the
deadline.
NCC demands MNOs’ summaries
Few days later following the deadline, NCC reportedly
ordered mobile operators to submit a comprehensive list of all fully
deactivated SIM cards on their networks as at June 30, 2013, which was in line
with the regulator’s directive issued in April this year.
A press statement signed by the Director of Compliance Monitoring and
Enforcement, Mr. U.A.S. Maska, on behalf of Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of
NCC, requested MTN, Glo, Etisalat and Airtel to forward to the Commission, a
summary of the registered and active lines on its network as at June 30, 2013.
This directive, according to Maska is consistent with
Section 15 (2) of the NCC’s Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulations
2011, stressing that all unregistered SIM cards must be disallowed full access
to the network including the ability to make and receive calls, to send and
receive Short Messaging Service (SMS) and other range of services usually
provided on the various networks.
Maska also said that this summary must reach NCC before
the close of work on Friday, July 5, 2013, even as the operators must adhere
again to Regulation 13 (4) of the NCC’s Registration of Telephone Subscribers
Registration 2011, “To forward on a weekly basis thereafter, details of the
registrations of the Biometric information and other personal information of
new lines registered to the Commission for entry thereafter into the Central Database.”
Compliant Operators:
This came as most of the operators confirmed they
actually deactivated subscribers on their networks.
Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Stephen
Evans, for instance, confirmed to DigitalSENSE Business News
that Etisalat complied fully with NCC deadline of disconnecting all
unregistered SIM cards by midnight on June 30, 2013. “We made strenuous efforts
to reach all remaining subscribers who had not registered or with whom there
was a problem in terms of the registration information recorded, this included
multiple phone calls and text messages,” he said.
Evans pointed out that rooms should be made for any
mistake in the process whereby a subscribers had been disconnected wrongly they
should go to an Etisalat Experience Centre to reregister and reconnect to the
Etisalat network.
In the same vein, Corporate Services Executive, MTN
Nigeria, Mr. Wale Goodluck, confirmed MTN had deactivated unregistered
subscribers as directed by NCC, adding, “We therefore wish to inform affected
subscribers that they can reconnect their lines by visiting the nearest MTN
Service Centre, Connect Store or SIM registration points. We have set up
registration points in several places for this purpose,” Goodluck said.
Between ALTON and NATCOMS: A Plea for extension:
But as the NCC demands from mobile operators was about to
die down at the first week of July, some industry stakeholder-based
organizations cried out, especially the duo of the Association of Licensed
Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) and National Telecommunications
Subscribers (NATCOMS), and urged NCC to extend the SIM cards registration
deadline.
Though both organizations asked separately for three
months extension and possibly for the last time, DigitalSENSE Business News
gathered that their reasons vary. While ALTON attributed its request on the
security situation in the country and the general logistic problem, NATCOMS
alleged that inappropriate data collection by some agents gave rise to its
request.
ALTON in a letter dated Friday, June 28, 2013 signed by
the duo of its chairman, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo and Executive Secretary, Mr.
Kazeem Ladipo, addressed to EVC of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, noted “It has been
very difficult for the subscribers, registration agents and our members –
Operators; to meet the 30th June 2013 deadline.”
A copy of the letter sighted DigitalSENSE Business News,
ALTON warned of the eluding danger of mass disconnection of un-registered
subscribers as notified by NCC before now. Insisting, “We would like to draw
your attention that although the SIM Card Registration has been ongoing for
sometimes but subscribers have embraced this exercise more in the past few
weeks leading to the 30th June 2013 deadline.”
Appeal for three months apart
ALTON argued that though it appreciated NCC efforts on
this process and the attendant public awareness campaign over the past few
weeks, hence the group believes the exercise would be more successful if an
extension of time is considered. “We hereby request for a three (3) months
extension to the SIM Card Registration exercise in order for its overall
success,” ALTON submitted.
The NATCOMS President, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, told DigitalSENSE Business News
that during the SIM Registration exercise, some umbrella SIM registration
agents were not collecting the full details needed due to the rush by agents to
register as many subscribers as possible, because they are paid based on
volumes.
Also, the consumer group alleged that agents were asking
subscribers to pay N100 before registration, which discouraged a large number
of subscribers. NATCOMS argued these were in addition to claims by some agents
that they were of a particular network operator, thereby refusing to register
other operators’ SIM cards in order to shore up the number of SIM Cards they
register daily.
Further, NATCOMS alleged that some of the agents copy
their daily registered list of subscribers to their colleagues so as to ‘help’
them without considering the implication which is double registration which
could lead to total deletion of such registration entirely. According to
NATCOMS, based on the foregoing submissions, a lot of subscribers will be
locked out due to no fault of theirs as they think they have registered their
SIM Cards.
“Against the backdrop of the above and in order to ensure
that every subscriber is given fair consideration, we are appealing to the
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to give Nigerian subscribers a 3-Month
one-way final warning extension on SIM Cards registration, to enable them to
receive calls only,” Ogunbanjo appealed to NCC.
Though DigitalSENSE Business News
recalls
that NCC had introduced SIM registration programme on March, 2011 and was to
end in September same year when both ALTON and NATCOMS went on their knees for
it to be extended by 21 months. This was granted which also expired on June 30,
2013.
Appeal granted:
Obviously in what most industry stakeholders described as
‘appeal granted’ the two associations succeeded in persuading NCC and got a
90-day grace for any make up to be made.
This disposition by NCC has been largely described as a
showcase of the Commission’s large heart for the industry and particularly the
telecom consumers, as it gave yet another window for whatever corrections to be
made, errors either by omission or commission and announced that affected
telecom consumers could actually reclaim their SIM cards within this period of
90 days.
Just like in 2011, NCC opened a 90-day window until
September 18, 2013 for any shortcomings to be corrected, according to the
Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, asserting that as long as such
persons are not registered, they cannot be reconnected after 90 days,
especially if there are no activities on the SIMs, the operator can then
recover the numbers. Just as he assured, “If the subscribers register their
disconnected SIMs, they will be reconnected.”
Take
advantage of this new window, says NATCOMS
This came as NATCOMS urged subscribers affected by the
deactivation process to take advantage of this new window by ensuring that
their SIM is working, therefore registered with their relevant network
operators.
NATCOMS president, Chief Ogunbanjo told DigitalSENSE
Business News, that their appeals by both NATCOMS and ALTON to NCC and Ministry
of Communication Technology paved the way to the latest ground of NCC on SIM
card reconnection. Noting that on Saturday, July 6, 2013, he was on NTA Network
Live Interview with Tony Ojobo of NCC when he, Ojobo, revealed that a new SIM
Card registration window for subscribers has been opened for those affected by
deactivation of their SIM cards.
So, the NCC latest window, he said, is now the only
opportunity for disconnected subscribers in Nigeria to have their SIM Cards
registered and re-activated. Maintaining that subscribers whose’ SIM Cards were
hitherto deactivated, are advised to go to the nearest Customer Care Centre of
their network operators for registration and subsequent re-activation.
Affirming that even Mobile operators are encouraging
disconnected subscribers to come and register their SIM Cards and get between
N5,000 and N10,000 as re-activation bonus for on-net calls.
Large heart of NCC under Juwah:
Critically looking at what transpired during the SIM card
registration exercise, which is now going to be 24 months in all, it goes to
show the large heart of NCC under the leadership of Dr. Juwah and it will not
be surprising when industry recognition begins to shower on NCC and its
management, especially from the Nigerian media, because it’s clear NCC is living
up to its expectation, mostly as seeing telecom consumers as the ‘king’ and
king indeed.
And with what we have seen from 2011 when this exercise
began, there is no doubt that NCC is a listening organization, which is key in
leadership compensation for its citizens who have stood behind the Commission
as well as growing democracy.
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