The compulsory nationwide SIM card registration exercise, which started in Nigeria on 28 March, ended on Wednesday this week, with many mobile phone subscribers still struggling to register their SIM cards.
Statistics from the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) show that the country had more than 86 million active mobile lines, as at November 2010.
Demola Aladekomo, MD of Charms, one of the consultants engaged by the NCC for the SIM registration process, said less than 70% of subscribers have so far been registered.
“From our side as direct NCC agents, I think the best that any one of us could have done is close to 70% of the capacity that NCC is expecting us to do. Our understanding is that the telecommunications companies would have registered between 50% and 60% by September 28. If the companies have done 50%, and we, the agents, have done close to 70%, that means, on average, we have only 50% of subscribers registered,” said Aladekomo.
Already, stakeholders in the telecommunications industry have called for the extension of the deadline, stressing that the September cut-off was impractical.
Gbenga Adebayo, chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, said the September deadline was not feasible, as it would cut off over 40 million active mobile phone users.
Adebayo urged the NCC to extend the deadline to enable these users to register their SIMs.
In Gombe state, in northeastern Nigeria, a group known as the Association of Mobile Phone Users has also appealed to the NCC to extend the deadline, as most members were unable to register their SIMs within the six-month grace period.
Reacting to the numerous complaints following the passing of the deadline, the NCC urged Nigerians who have not completed the registration process to still do so, saying: “While the Commission commends all telephone subscribers who were able to register their lines within the six-month schedule for the registration, a new window of opportunity is now open for those who have not yet registered their SIM cards to do so within the limited period of the harmonisation exercise.
“This limited period provides the last chance for all users of existing SIM cards to register, as all unregistered SIM cards will be promptly disconnected without further notice at the conclusion of the harmonisation exercise.
“The Commission is fully aware of the clamour by many interested stakeholders, and stakeholder organisations, for an extension of the period for the registration of existing SIM cards. However, the Commission believes that the six-month period provided for the registration exercise gave ample time for all phone users in the country to register their SIM cards with either their service providers, or the NCC-appointed registration consultants.
“It is in deference to the clamour by the stakeholders that the Commission has provided this opportunity for all those who have not registered on account of logistic challenges, to do so without any further delay while the harmonisation is ongoing.
“Within the limited period of the harmonisation exercise, service providers will be directed not to disconnect any subscriber on account of the registration until the Commission announces the completion of the process, after which those who remain unregistered will be disconnected,” the NCC said in a statement, issued in Abuja.
Reuben Muoka, the NCC's head of media and public relations, told ITWeb that the limited period given to unregistered subscribers to register their SIMs has no timeframe.
“There is no timeframe, but it will come to an end as soon as we complete the harmonisation exercise,” Muoka said.
“Given the vast geographical spread of the country, and the logistics involved in the registration exercise over the past six months, there is a need for proper harmonisation of the data in line with the specifications issued by the Commission.
“The harmonisation process will involve the collation, reconciliation, cleaning, and consolidation of the captured data into a central data infrastructure for efficient management of Nigeria's subscriber database,” he added.
Telecommunications operators in Nigeria started the efforts to register all mobile phone users in Nigeria in 2010, but the NCC took over the process to assist the operators in March 2011 with a budgetary allocation of N6.1 billion from the federation account.
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