Nigeria: SIM Card Registration To End Soon - NCC

     

      The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Subscribers Identification Module (SIM) Card registration will end soon.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah, said shortly after the official flag-off of Mobile Number Portability (MNP) Scheme in Lagos that very soon, any unregistered telephone lines will be barred from accessing telecoms services in Nigeria.
According to him, MNP has been identified as one of such services that could further deepen the competition in the telecommunications market.
Juwah noted that with the launch of MNP, telecoms consumers will no longer need to acquire new numbers in other to move from one network service provider to another.
For MNP service to be accessed, the subscriber who is a donor will have to fill a form and send SMS PORT to 3232 which is universal to all network operators, and then receive option notifying him/her of porting approval or denial, the Chief Operating Officer, Interconnect Clearing House, Uche Onwudiwe, said.
He explained that the subscribers will then receive a confirmation message from interconnect clearing house affirming porting success, all which will be processed within 48 hours.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, the scheme is a quality drive initiative and operators survival instinct which will lessen the regulatory burden of the NCC.
He said: "The NCC can now focus on other areas of regulations that will make investment in the telecoms sector to thrive."
The Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria, Brett Ghosen, noted that MNP is another revolution in the history of Nigeria telecoms sector which shows that the sector is driven by innovations to give customers choice.
     Also, Etisalat representative, Mrs. Ndidi Okpaleke said the scheme gives power of choice to consumers, and "it will drive product innovation and good quality of services."
She noted that all stakeholders have a role to play in achieving the success MNP has recorded in countries where the scheme is currently in use.
Meanwhile, the Chief Operating Officer of Globacomm, Muhammad Jameel represented by Olayinka Olafimihan described the initiative as 'a game changer' in the Nigerian telecommunications sector.
According to him, Glo is ready to change its strategy in the MNP regime to ensure that the Telco becomes a preferred network for telecoms consumers.