Outcry as telcos bar lines days to SIM-NIN deadline

• Airtel projects $4m loss as engagements with customers continue
• Adegboruwa: Telcos trying to restrict Internet, frustrate protest 

Ahead of the July 31, 2024, extended deadline handed to telecoms operators by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for the completion of the NIN-SIM linkage, millions of subscribers yesterday woke up to have their telephone lines barred.

As of April, the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) claimed that over 40 million telephone lines had been barred following the directive from the NCC. While NCC had insisted that it wouldn’t back down on the directive, it, however, gave the telecoms operators till July 31 to complete the entire process.

At the end of the first quarter, MTN informed that it had disconnected 4.2 million lines from its network as of February 28 this year. The company said the lines disconnected were those for which the subscribers did not submit their National Identification Number (NIN).

According to the company, since December 2023 when NCC issued an industry-wide directive requiring full barring of subscriber lines not linked to their NIN, it had subjected a total of 19 million lines to verification. Out of these, it said 4.3 million have been verified and 4.2 million disconnected as of February 28, 2024.

Recall that in December 2023, NCC directed all telecommunications operators to undertake full network barring of all SIMs that have failed to submit their NIN on or before February 28. Also, customers that have submitted their NINs, but remain unverified were to be barred on April 15. This deadline was, however, shifted to July 31. Further, guidelines were issued whereby no customer can have more than four active SIMs and all such excess SIMs must be barred.

Airtel Africa said it could lose up to $4 million in monthly revenue due to the ongoing verification of customers’ NINs in Nigeria. The firm said it has not been able to verify the NIN of about 4.9 million customers as the extended deadline of July 31 nears.

Airtel Africa disclosed this in its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2024. The company, however, said it would continue to engage with the affected customers to get their NINs verified.

Giving more insights on its operation in Nigeria, Airtel Africa CEO, Sunil Taldar, said Airtel Nigeria has been complying with the regulatory directive to block all SIMs not linked with the owners’ NINs.

He said the telco had barred all customers without NINs as well as customers with more than four active SIMs which had a very negligible impact on its revenue. He added that 8.7 million customers have already been verified since the directive was issued in December 2023.

However, human rights activist, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, has alleged sabotage by telecommunications firms in Nigeria, saying the action of telcos is to limit the reach of their customers to restrict access and thus frustrate the August 1, 2024 #EndBadGovernance protests. He urged NCC to look into this and come to the rescue of affected subscribers.

“From all indications, it would seem that the underlying target of the telecom companies is to limit the reach of their customers to restrict access and thus frustrate the protests. The contract between a telecom company and its subscribers is sacrosanct and should not be tampered with arbitrarily.

“Sufficient information and opportunity should be given for subscribers to remedy any alleged breach or error. So many telephone users deploy their numbers for their businesses and other lawful engagements, not to talk to those who may have medical and health-related emergencies.”