NCC slams N120.4m fine on mobile network operators

FOR failing to fully comply with the directive to deactivate pre-registered and defective Subscribers Identification Module (SIM) cards from their various networks, Mobile Network Operators (MNO), the quartet of MTN Nigeria, Globacom, Airtel and Etisalat have been slammed with a fine of N120. 4 million by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

Most hit is MTN, which currently enjoys 43 per cent market share and over 62 million subscribers. The telecommunications firm has been asked to pay N102.2 million as fine. It is followed by Globacom, which was fined N7.4 million. Etisalat is to pay N7 million and Airtel got the least fine of N3.8 million.

The fines were contained in letters addressed specifically to the operators, dated August 26 and 28 respectively and were signed on behalf of NCC Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Umar Danbatta, by both Head, Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement, Efosa Idehen and Head, Legal and Regulatory Services, Yetunde Akinloye.

In the letters, NCC said the monitoring exercise revealed that the operators were still harbouring pre-registered and defective SIMs on their networks.

In the letter addressed to MTN, titled: “Re: Monitoring of Status Compliance with Stakeholders Resolution of August 4, 2015 on Deactivation of Incomplete and Improperly Registered SIM Cards-Notice of Sanction”, NCC claimed that in continuation of its monitoring exercise it placed voice calls to 402 MTN subscribers from among the list of numbers submitted to the telecommunications for deactivation.

“The numbers called are those whose registration were incomplete or invalid as regards facila capture and the responses from those affected MTN subscribers was that MTN has neither through text messages nor any other means invited them to come forward to validate and update their registration,” NCC stated.