Due to new NCC regulation, umbrella and kiosk SIM registrations are about to become a thing of the past

·
March 3, 2017
·
2 min read

MTN Group Chairman, Phuthuma Nhleko, speaking at the company's annual shareholders' conference for 2016, has announced that all MTN sim registrations "must take place in brick and mortar structures", this is in compliance with a directive by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC).

According to NCC's head of Enforcement Unit, Salisu Abdu, the commission had issued this directive to all telecom operators since November 2016 to stop their representatives from registering SIM cards in the open, under umbrellas and kiosks. This directive was intended to be effected as from February 1, 2017.

SIM registration should only be done in a controlled environment- a permanent building with logos and structures of the operators in place with identities of the agents doing the registration -- Salisu Abdu

The reason for this initiative is mainly for security reasons.

Advertisement

We came up with this so we will be able to trace where SIM cards are registered to stem the tide of rising crimes, especially kidnapping and militancy -- Salisu Abdu

Why MTN  is taking the NCC directive seriously

Defiance of rules and regulation of the NCC has always attracted a punishment of sorts (fines).

Yesterday, 2nd of March, 2017, at the annual shareholders conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, MTN  announced a loss of $200 million, confirming that 2016 was the most challenging year so far in the company’s years of operation. The reason for this loss is due mainly to the fine MTN was subjected to in 2016.

In 2016, MTN had a lot of unfavourable disputes with the NCC -- fines, court settlements, out of court settlements, compliance to pay fine and many more battles.

Furthermore, in March 2016, MTN revealed in their quarterly update, that in a bid to comply with NCC's directives against pre-registered lines, they had to cut off 4.5 million subscribers. This cost the company its position as Africa's most valued telecommunication company. Not only did they lose their spot at number, cutting off 4.5 million subscribers also affected their growth and revenue.

Be the smartest in the room

Join 30,000 subscribers who receive Techpoint Digest, a fun week-daily 5-minute roundup of happenings in African and global tech, directly in your inbox, hours before everyone else.
Digest Subscription

Give it a try, you can unsubscribe anytime. Privacy Policy.

And according to NCC's head of Enforcement Unit, Salisu Abdu, ₦5 million is the penalty for any telecoms operator that does not follow this directive. Therefore MTN will certainly not take this directive with levity.

Writer at Techpoint.ng
Writer at Techpoint.ng
Subscribe To Techpoint Digest
Join thousands of subscribers to receive our fun week-daily 5-minute roundup of happenings in African and global tech, directly in your inbox, hours before everyone else.
This is A daily 5-minute roundup of happenings in African and global tech, sent directly to your email inbox, between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m (WAT) every week day! 
Digest Subscription

Give it a try, you can unsubscribe anytime. Privacy Policy.

Writer at Techpoint.ng

Other Stories

43b, Emina Cres, Allen, Ikeja.

 Techpremier Media Limited. All rights reserved
magnifier