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Operators lose business over extended SIM card ban

By on April 25, 2014

The ban on sales of SIM cards imposed on MTN, Airtel and Globacom by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has become a great source of worry to the operators who are currently losing huge sum of money owing to the sanction.

Some of the affected operators who spoke to THISDAY said they were worried because the ban appeared endless, as it has exceeded the one month period initially announced by the telecoms regulator.

NCC had in February this year, imposed a combined fine of N647,500,000 million on three service providers, Airtel, Globacom and MTN for failing to meet the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), for service quality in the month of January 2014.

The three operators were also barred from selling SIM cards with effect from 1st till 31st of March 2014, and they were also barred from all promotions on their networks until they improve on the failed KPIs for which they were sanctioned.

The details of the sanction showed that Airtel Network, and MTN Nigeria Communications, were fined N185 million each, while Globacom was fined N277,500.

Although the operators had since paid the fine as mandated by NCC, the ban has not been lifted almost a month after the expiration.

Analysts are worried that the ban on sale of SIM card would retard telecoms growth and at the same time deprive millions of potential subscribers from getting telecoms connectivity, which they said, had become a necessity to every Nigerian.

Speaking on the perceived danger over the ban on SIM cards, Corporate Services Executive at MTN, Mr. Wale Goodluck said the ban of sale of SIM card was inimical not only to telecoms operations in the country, but also to would- be telecoms subscribers that would be denied access of registering with their network of choice.

When contacted on phone to advance reasons for the continued ban on SIM cards, Director, Public Affairs at NCC, Mr. Tony Ojobo, told THISDAY he would communicate the true position on the ban, after he must have been briefed by the compliance department of the NCC, but as at press time, he was unable to get across to THISDAY.

The operators are worried that the continued ban would cost the telecoms industry a fortune.

Telecoms lawyer,  Jiti Ogunye, who had initially frowned to the fine and ban, told THISDAY that the unending ban on sales of SIM card was not in the best interest of the industry. He therefore called on NCC to consider quick reversal of the ban in order to maintain the achievements already recorded in the telecoms industry in the past 13 years of GSM operations in the country.

Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, told THISDAY that imposing fine would not in any way solve the issue of poor service quality, but would rather worsen it. He called on NCC to revisit the issue of the ban and make amends.

Announcing the ban in February, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah, said the commission would carry out an audit of the three companies on March 1, 2014 and also on March 31st, 2014, to ensure that no sale of new SIM cards took place in any of the three networks within the period.

Although industry watchers had hailed NCC on the ban, they are also worried about the continued extension.

 

 

[This Day]