Home » SIM-NIN: Telcos lose N76bn 22 days after ban as subscribers stranded

SIM-NIN: Telcos lose N76bn 22 days after ban as subscribers stranded

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SIM-NIN: Telcos lose N76bn 22 days after ban as subscribers stranded

Telecommunication companies have lost about N75.78bn as subscribers struggle to link their National Identification Number to the Subscriber Identity Module, about 22 days after the Federal Government directed telecom companies to bar defaulting consumers from making outgoing calls.

Telescope.ng reports that the federal government had on April 4, directed telcos to restrict outgoing calls on all lines that had not linked their SIMs to NINs after the deadline for the verification exercise expired on March 31.

This led to about 72.77 million active telecom subscribers being barred from making calls on their SIMs. Voice revenue is a major source of revenue for telecom companies. In 2021, MTN made N819.74bn from voice revenue, while Airtel made N397.91bn from voice.

The Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, the industry Average Revenue Per User was N1,420 in 2020. This translates to about N1,041.33 per subscriber in 22 days.

According to the statement announcing the directive, subscribers whose lines are restricted can have them unrestricted once they link their SIMs to their NINs.

According to Punch, sources in the telecom industry have said the process has not been seamless and that it is also impacting telcos’ revenue stream.

A source in the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria was quoted to have said that the verification exercise had become a major challenge for the operators and the Nigeria Identity Management Commission.

The source reportedly said: “This ban is significantly impacting on the revenue stream of telcos. If almost half of your subscribers are cut down, that is, they cannot make calls; of course, this will impact revenue.

“From the telcos’ side, we have no challenge. The challenge is with the Nigeria Identity Management Commission, with verification.

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