By, PETER NOSAKHARE, Kaduna
Telecommunication companies have lost about 75.78 billion Naira as subscribers struggle to link their National Identification Number (NIN) to the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), about 22 days after the Federal Government directed telecom companies to bar defaulting consumers from making outgoing calls.
On April 4, the Federal Government 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.
As a result, about 72.77 million active telecom subscribers were barred from making calls on their SIMs. Voice revenue is a major source of revenue for telecom companies. In 2021, MTN made 819.74billion naira from voice revenue, while Airtel made 397.91billion naira from voice calls.
According to the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, the industry Average Revenue Per User (SRPU), was 1,420 Naira in 2020. This translates to about 1,041.33 Naira per subscriber in 22 days.
The statement announcing the directive said subscribers whose lines are restricted can have them unrestricted once they link their SIMs to their NINs.
Meanwhile, 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 said the verification exercise had become a major challenge for the operators and the Nigeria Identity Management Commission
