Relief as NCC orders telcos to unblock SIMs

On Sunday, Nike Benson woke up unable to make or receive phone calls. Her network provider had blocked her line of 10 years.

“I had to go to their office after church. Yet, it’s not yet rectified. I can only call and receive messages on WhatsApp using Wi-Fi,” Nike Benson told Business Day on Sunday. “The name on the SIM is Hellen Ajibade, but I don’t know the person. I have been using the number for over 20 years.”

Nike is among many Nigerians who woke up to blocked lines over the weekend. “My calls are not going through,” one subscriber at the MTN store in Lagos said.

Over the weekend, telecommunication firms began to bar lines not linked with National Identification Numbers (NINs). This followed months of deadline extensions which started in December 2020. At the end of 2023, the regulator asked telcos to disconnect lines that had not been successfully linked with NINs across three phases.

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Since February 2024, telcos have been implementing a phased disconnection of lines. This disconnection has affected at least 50 million lines. The phased disconnection is meant to end on July 31, 2024.

However, telcos, especially MTN, have begun to bar phone lines not linked with their NINs days before NCC’s deadline – to the outrage of many subscribers.

This move has now been reversed after the NCC ordered telcos to unblock every subscriber impacted by telcos’ earlier move. The commission, in a statement signed by Reuben Muoka, director of public affairs of NCC, said, “The consumer is our priority, therefore, considering the challenges the blockages have caused, the commission has directed all operators to reactivate all lines that were disconnected over the weekend in view of the short time available for consumers to undertake the verification of their NINs with their SIMs.

“Reactivated consumers are to note that this is for a limited period to allow them to properly link their NIN to their SIM.”

The regulator noted that subscribers were barred because they had not verified their NINs with their SIMs. It highlighted that many phone lines were yet to be linked with verified NINs despite constantly reviewing its deadline.

On Monday, the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), the umbrella body for all telcos, stated that customers whose lines were blocked were those with mismatch between their records on both databases (i.e., SIM and NIN).

It dispelled rumours that the ongoing barring exercise was linked to the planned national protest.

“There’s absolutely no connection between the two. The NIN/SIM link registration deadline has earlier been set for 31st July 2024,” ALTON said.

As of March 2024, Nigeria had 219.01 million connected lines, 81.79 million of which are on MTN. On Monday, some of these subscribers were left frustrated as they stormed telco stores nationwide. The MTN store at Bode Thomas in Lagos had a long queue that spilled to the sidewalks and beyond the street curb.

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MTN’s store at Allen Avenue, Lagos, was jam-packed. At the time of BusinessDay’s visit (8:30 a.m.), customers at the MTN store at Berger, Lagos, threatened to break into the store because they were not being attended to. There are also unconfirmed reports that a MTN store in FESTAC was vandalised.

Telcos have since released a guideline for subscribers on how to unblock their lines, and a visit to some of the stores revealed a vast reduction in subscribers, an indication that lines have been restored.

Despite these signs of relief, the NCC did not clarify if this new grace period will extend beyond its initial deadline of July 31, 2024.

“Members of the public who have yet to verify their SIMs are encouraged to do so as soon as possible to maintain access to their lines,” NCC said.

An excited Abuja-based Musa Aliu said he was relieved by the NCC order, stating that he will ensure he is properly linked by Wednesday.