Nigeria’s leading telecom operator, MTN Nigeria, has experienced a decline in its active subscriber base following the implementation of directives mandating the linkage of SIM cards with National Identification Numbers (NIN).
According to recent industry data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), MTN’s total active subscriptions, which stood at 87 million in December 2023, dropped to 79.7 million in January.
Recall that in December 2023, NCC issued a directive to telecommunications operators (MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile, among others) to implement full network barring on all phone lines for which the subscribers have not submitted their national identification numbers (NINs) by February 28, 2024.
MTN disclosed that it disconnected 4.2 million lines in compliance with the NCC’s directive on NIN-SIM linkage.
Since December 2023, when the NCC issued the directive requiring full barring of subscriber lines not linked to NIN, MTN has verified a total of 19 million lines.
Out of these, 4.3 million have been verified, and 4.2 million have been disconnected as of February 28, 2024.
In contrast, Airtel and Globacom reported marginal gains in their subscription databases for the month, despite the ongoing disconnection exercise.
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