Telecommunications giant MTN Nigeria has reported the disconnection of 4.2 million lines from its network as of the February 28 deadline for linking National Identification Numbers (NIN) with mobile SIMs. The move follows the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) December 2023 directive instructing telecom operators to disconnect unlinked SIMs for NIN verification, affecting a total of 19 million lines.
In its audited financial results released on Friday, MTN disclosed that out of the 19 million lines subjected to verification since December 2023, 4.3 million have been successfully verified, while 4.2 million were disconnected for lack of NIN submission. The company clarified that the disconnected lines belonged to low-value subscribers, thereby minimising the impact on revenue.
MTN emphasised its commitment to engaging authorities to expedite the NIN verification process. Additionally, efforts have been intensified to communicate with affected customers, providing various channels for verification to minimise service disruption.
Commenting on the company’s performance in 2023, MTN Nigeria’s CEO, Karl Toriola, highlighted the sustained growth in the user base, with over 4 million subscribers added during the year, bringing the total base to 79.7 million. Data subscribers also increased by over 5 million to 44.6 million, contributing to a 44.9% growth in total data traffic.
Toriola attributed the robust commercial momentum to the company’s strategic investments in network quality and coverage. The acquisition of the 2600MHz spectrum in September 2023 played a crucial role in efficiently deploying additional capacity to the network.
Key Regulatory Directives and Impact on Subscribers
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) issued a directive in December, requiring all telecom operators, including MTN, Airtel, and Globacom, to fully bar phone lines not linked to subscribers’ national identification numbers (NINs) by February 28, 2024. Those who had submitted NINs but were not verified were also subject to full barring.
For lines with submitted but unverified NINs, the directive mandates barring on or before March 29, 2024, for five or more linked lines. For less than five linked lines, barring should occur on or before April 15, 2024. The directive emphasises the need for biometric and biodata verification before unblocking affected subscribers’ lines.
