- Although the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) under the former Executive Vice Chairman, Dr. Eugene Juwah, expended about N6.1 billion to register Subscribers Identification Module (SIM) cards in the country, Mobile Network Operator (MNO), MTN has also hinted of how it has so far spent about N10 billion on the project.
- MTN currently controls 43 per cent market share and has 62.8 million subscribers in Nigeria.
- NCC had formerly in 2010, introduced SIM card registration across all networks and gave the operators six months to complete the exercise, but the operators, who had argued on the rationale of completing the exercise within the NCC’s given time frame, could not eventually meet the deadline then.
- It was that situation that actually compelled NCC to seek Federal Government’s approval of N6.1 billion to enable the commission began its own registration process. NCC began its own in March 2011 and recruited seven consultants for the entire country.
- While, it appears that the registration remains unending in the country, MTN has warned that it will take punitive measures against any of its agents found wanting either collecting money before registration or involved in any pre-registration of subscribers.
- Speaking at a capacity training for journalists in Lagos on Tuesday, where the telecommunications firm also hinted on steps taking by the operator to comply with the NCC’s directive on pre-registered SIM cards, MTN Nigeria’s Senior Manager, Regulatory Affairs, Quasim Odumbaku, who said credible subscriber data was critical to the telecommunications firm’s future, added, “this is why MTN invested over N10 billion in the project till date. We also understood that NCC spent over N6 billion to register existing subscribers.)
- Source: The Guardian
MTN Claims N10b Expenses On SIM Registration
