NCC flags off sim card registration today

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will flag off nationwide Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card registration today.

It has also served a two week’s ultimatum to telecom service providers to decongest their networks and improve on their services or face stiff sanctions.

Statistics from the Commission put existing sim cards at more than 89 million.

Though mobile phone operators have been able to register about 12 million subscribers, the gap is expected to be covered within the six month duration after which no unregistered card will be used.

NCC Head of Public Affairs, Mr. Reuben Muoka, said subscribers can register more than one sim card at the same registration spot has also disclosed that number portability will commence in May by the time SIM card registration reaches an appreciable level.

He said registration centers would be deployed across the country though they may not be available on all designated spots at the initial stage.

On quality of service, the Commission noted that service providers deliberately congest some of their base stations after a test carried out by the NCC.

The Commission has set up a task force that would enforce compliance and sanction.

The regulatory body has also expressed concerns over tariff reduction that consumers have not felt despite the recent reduction in interconnect rate.

The Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Commission, Dr. Eugene Juwah, who is expected to flag-off the registration in Abuja this morninggave the warning on Thursday in Abuja when the Director General of the Consumer Protection Council, Mrs. Ify Umenyi visited him in his office.

Source : The Nation