- NCC Orders MTN, Glo, Airtel 9mobile To Bar Lines Not Linked To NIN From Today
Telecommunications company MTN Nigeria has explained that the inability of its subscribers to make calls and surf the internet for the major part of Wednesday was caused by “multiple fibre cuts”.
This is even as many Nigerians bemoaned the inability to make calls and browse the internet for several hours that the outage lasted.
MTN boasts of 87,038,768 subscribers as of December 2023, according to data by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), representing 38.79% of the total market share, the highest in the country by any licensed Mobile Network Operator (MNO).
The 87 million subscribers of the MNO experienced difficulty making and receiving calls for hours on Wednesday, fuelling rumours that the NCC had made true its threat that all telcos bar subscribers not linked to the National Identification Numbers (NIN), with February 28, 2024 as deadline.
Many subscribers were stranded with some persons visiting MTN offices nearest to them to get explanations.
However, MTN, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), attributed the situation to “multiple fibre cuts”.
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“You have been experiencing challenges connecting to the network due to a major service outage caused by multiple fibre cuts affecting voice and data services,” the post read.
“Our engineers are working hard to resolve the problem with services gradually being restored in some areas.
“We apologise for the inconvenience and ask for your patience and understanding as the team works to restore full service as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, the NCC, on Wednesday, issued a directive to telecom service providers to bar subscribers who have failed to link their phone numbers to their NIN on or before February 28, 2024.
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Aminu Maida, who gave the directive through the Director of Public Affairs, Ruben Mouka, at the 45th Kaduna International Trade Fair on Wednesday, insisted that as a matter of critical national security, telecom consumers must link their NIN to their SIM cards.
He insisted that the February 28th deadline given to telecom operators to bar subscribers who failed to link their NIN to SIM cards stands.
“To this end, the National Communication Commission has directed all telecommunication operators to bar phone lines of subscribers whose lines are not linked to their NINs on or before February 28, 2024,” he added.
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The NCC boss also disclosed that as of 2023, the telecoms industry’s contribution to the nation’s GDP stood at 13.5%.
According to Maida, NCC is committed to protecting the rights of consumers while also ensuring their satisfaction while noting that the commission has created a universally acceptable environment to access “affordable and equitable service and supports the nation’s economic growth.
“As a regulator of the telecommunications sector in the country, the Commission carries out its functions to ensure service availability, affordability, and sustainability for all categories of consumers, who are leveraging ICT/Telecoms to drive personal and business activities,” he said.
The NCC boss urged telecom firms to prioritise customer satisfaction and uphold the highest standards of service delivery, noting that the commission has implemented measures to safeguard the interest of consumers and businesses alike.
One of such measures, he said, was the NCC’s directives on May 17, 2023 that all licensed Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to commence implementation of approved Harmonised Short Codes (HSC) for providing services to Nigerian telecom consumers.
“The new initiative is enabling consumers using the over 224 million active mobile telephone lines in Nigeria to use the same codes to access services across all networks,” he added.
