Last Chance

Eugene Juwah, NCC Chairman

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) tactically extends the SIM registration exercise as Nigerians call for a six month extension
By Oji Odu
With about 50 per cent success in the Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) registration exercise which ended on September 28, 2011, Nigerians and telecommunication operators have called on the federal government to extend the deadline by between six to eight months to allow more SIMs to be registered.
Chairman of the telecommunications operators under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbenga Adebayo revealed that only about 50 per cent of the over 90 million subscribers in the country were registered at the end of the exercise.
Adebayo said that this extension is necessary to prevent the panic and insecurity this may likely cause if the remaining 50 per cent subscribers are not allowed to register their SIM’.
“Attempting to disconnect such large number of subscribers will create last minute rush and will consequently cripple the operators, thereby causing a major systemic crisis.
“Accordingly, ALTON makes this call for an extension in the interest of public safety, national security, social cohesion and overall well-being of Nigerian subscribers, Adebayo said.
The extension call by ALTON, is hinged on the various hiccups encountered in the exercise. An advertorial by the group calling for a extension which was signed by Adebayo and Kazeem Ladepo, ALTON’s Executive Secretary, highlighted “the challenges to include but not limited to general logistics challenges like the ability of the SIM Registration agents to access certain parts of the country, especially the hinterland and the rural areas, the conduct of 2011 general elections in most parts of the country, the post election violence, torrential rainfall and resultant flooding in various parts of the country, the general lull in activities resulting from Christian Lent and Muslim Ramadan during which a period of fasting and religious reflection was observed by millions of Nigerians.”
Other challenges include the rising spate of bomb blasts across the country, the ongoing violent and threat to lives and property in certain parts of the country.
Besides the challenges, the six months in which the exercise lasted has been faulted because it was not enough to achieve a remarkable success as experienced in some countries of the world. For instance, the ALTON boss cited countries like Malaysia with a total population of 27.5 million which took two years to conclude it’s SIM registration exercise, while South Africa with about 50 million population took 18 months.
“Other countries like Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Algeria and Ghana had their registration exercises extended. Yet, most of these countries have significantly lower population sizes and smaller land mass than Nigeria, “ he said.
The Source’s findings reveal that the SIM registration exercise led to a drop in the purchase of SIM cards, a development that did not go down well with telecommunications operators right from inception.
The latest subscriber data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) shows a decline in the nations subscriber base from 90.9 million to 90.5 million at the end of July, 2011. This figure includes GSM, CDMA, and Wired/Wireless lines. The reduction is adduced to NCC’s threat to sanction any operator who sells pre-registered SIM cards as they were directed to put the lines on “receive only” mode until after the registration exercise.
However, the operators devised another means of feathering their nests with the registration exercise. Some of them like Etisalat, MTN and Globacom floated SIM registration promos which not only encourage subscribers to register both their old and new SIMs.
Etisalat Nigeria had in June, 2011 launched the first SIM registration promo tagged 9ja Free Credit Promo whereby registered subscribers will be rewarded with 30 per cent of total airtime recharges of up to N10,000. In July, Globacom launched its own promo with registration offer of N20,000 worth of airtime and trips to Manchester or Dubai. In September, 2011, MTN launched a one billion naira reward scheme to commemorate its 10th year anniversary in Nigeria, tying it with the ongoing SIM registration.
According to Kola Oyeyemi MTN’s General Manager, Consumer Marketing: “The reward package will allow 10 people to win N10 million at each draw for 10 days. Another 900 people will win N100,000 each and there will be N10 million worth of instant cash prizes too.”
Airtel is not left out as it has been sending SMS’s to its subscribers urging them to register their SIM cards and win gifts. But with the clause, “ignore if you have already registered.”
These promos, The Source learnt, were not only aimed at beating the NCC directive of no further sales of pre-registered SIMs, but encouraging subscribers to participate in the exercise.
Another problem of the exercise was that of funding. On Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at the inauguration of the Senate Committee on Communications, Senate President, David Mark questioned the rationale behind the N6.1 billion funding by the federal government.
“Well, I know that SIM registration is going on, but what baffles me is why government should budget for a service provider to register where they make money from. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Why is government putting money in the budget on the service providers to register people? The service providers must go about and register those who have bought SIM cards from them without recourse to government purse,” Mark.
The Senate President urged the committee to seriously look into this and the various requirements which he considered unnecessary like thumbprinting.
He added: “I think an ordinary photograph should be enough because the essence is for you to be able to trace somebody who has used his phone for business that is otherwise other than a legal one.
“Asking people to thumb print is highly uncalled for, even in the advanced communities, nobody is being asked to thumbprint just because he wants to buy an ordinary SIM card.”
Meanwhile, the NCC may have tactically extended the period of registration bearing in mind the hiccups experienced in the six months exercise where many did not register their SIMs.
In a statement, issued by the NCC’s Head, Media and Public Relations, Reuben Muoka , he said that the commission has started the collation and harmonisation of all existing SIM cards from across the country. This will offer those who have not registered their SIM’s the opportunity to do so.
Muoka; “While the commission commends all telephone subscribers who were able to register their lines within the six months 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.
“… All unregistered SIM cards will be promptly disconnected without further notice at the conclusion of the harmonisation exercise.”
However, industry sources say that the ability of the registration of SIM cards to assist security agencies and the National Identity Management Commission in mitigating the current security challenges perpetrated through the use of mobile phones depends on the effective co-operation between the Judiciary and the service providers.