The trio of MTN, Globacom and Airtel have been fined the sum of N78.5 million by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for infringing on the rules guiding the process of replacing SIMs for customers.
9mobile was also found guilty of the same infraction, but was exempted from paying a fine. The operator was issued a ‘strong warning’ by the commission, instead, as it recorded the lowest number of breaches.
NCC said it discovered the infractions in its SIM replacement audit conducted in the fourth quarter of 2020.
“All the four mobile network operators, MTN, Airtel, Globacom and 9Mobile (EMTS), were found to be in absolute breach of the SIM Replacement Guidelines at the last SIM replacement audit exercise conducted by the commission. A notice of sanction was consequently issued to the respective MNOs to show cause why appropriate sanctions should not be imposed for the violation,” NCC stated in its enforcement report.
The telecoms regulator also stated that each of the telecoms operators was sanctioned according to the number of infractions recorded against its network.
Globacom recorded the highest infractions (37) and was ordered to pay the sum of N39.2 million.
Airtel was fined N3.2 million for 13 infractions recorded on its network, while MTN, was fined N36 million in respect of 24 infractions.
According to the SIM Replacement Guidelines issued by the regulator, “a SIM can be replaced if it is faulty, damaged, stolen, lost, obsolete (but eligible for replacement or an upgrade), and any other reasonable legitimate reason or condition necessitating a SIM replacement provided that an operator may refuse a SIM Replacement request where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the replacement ought not to be carried out and the Commission is notified within 24 hours of such a decision.”
Parts of the requirements for SIM replacement as stipulated in the guidelines include that “the SIM must have been registered in accordance with the registration of telephone subscribers regulations issued by the commission; the subscriber requesting for the replacement must provide the following: information about the three most frequently called numbers from that SIM, which must be verified by the network service provider. The frequently called numbers must have been dialled at least five times over 30 days.
