SIM registration

• Now that this is over, we expect NCC to tackle the challenges
of quality of service
Finally, the much advertised grace period for the registration
of mobile telephone lines, ended on June 30. Surprisingly, the
regulatory agency, the Nigerian Communications Commission
(NCC) has disclosed that about 30 million lines will be de-
activated, because the owners of the lines failed to register
them before the expiration of the deadline.
The reasons for such a large number of un-registered lines
would vary. One, it could be that most of the operators, in an
effort to outdo the other competitors, doled out more lines
and incentives than they could sustain. Another could be the
crisis that bedevilled the registration process.
Whatever may have happened, the need for the registration is
well appreciated, particularly its usefulness in maintaining
security in the country. No doubt, communication has become
very necessary in modern human activities, unfortunately, that
includes criminality. Therefore the creation of the data base of
the owners of telephone lines would enhance the capacity of
security agencies to do their jobs. This is the practice in other
countries; more so it is germane for our country with poor
criminal records and capacity for criminal investigation. Such
measure would also help the regulator have a more accurate
number of operational lines in the country, to help it plan.
The data base of the owners of the telephone lines is also
important for commercial purposes. This will help Nigerians to
know the exact number of functional lines in the country, so as
to determine the sundry claims by the various operators to be
the number one operator. Such information will also aid
commercial decision for those who may have the need to rely
on size for advertisement or other businesses. Such data base
would also be useful for other various demographic needs.
Nigerians and foreigners would henceforth be in a position to
determine the teledensity in the country.
The exercise could, if well managed, bring efficiency to the
system. Many hitherto dormant numbers that may be causing
congestion would be completely de-activated. Moreover, with
the clear and reliable data open to the public, the unnecessary
competition over size will be less strident and service
efficiency may take over to determine the preferences of the
users. This may even be further enhanced if the possibility of
migrating to a more efficient service provider is efficiently
assured by the regulator.
All said, the NCC should be compelled to give an account of
the over six billion naira that it received under the
appropriation act for the exercise. This is because the same
NCC had asked the operators to individually register the
owners of the telephone lines. We also note that there was a
lot of rancour and confusion at the beginning of the process,
partly because of the grudge that while the NCC had received
the resources for the exercise, it had passed on the
responsibility to the operators, with threats if they should fail.
The matter is made worse by the claim by some of those ad-
hoc staff recruited to conduct the exercise that they were
short-paid.
We note that mobile telephony in Nigeria, at over 10 years,
has come of age. While the challenges have been many, there
have been reasons to celebrate. We therefore commend the
major service providers for the enormous resources they have
expended to help Nigeria make the quantum leap in
telephony. There is, however, the need for them to work
harder to improve their services. Indeed, this is what the
regulator should focus more on now that the registration is
over.