14 May 2012


By Emma Okonji

The N6.2 billion SIM card registration project embarked upon by the Nigerian Communica-tions Commission (NCC) is failing, THISDAY can report today.


Industry sources told THISDAY at the yesterday that although the NCC insists that any subscriber who has registered with it need not register with individual networks, there is a serious problem of synchronisation and integration of the data of registered subscribers.
Because of this problem, the networks, which do not have access to NCC’s data base, are unable to pass their data to the regulator “owing to incompatible formats”.


This raises serious questions as to the homework done by NCC and the networks before the exercise commenced more than a year ago.
It was also gathered that some of the networks have lost the captured data of subscribers, leading to fresh registration.


These hitches have led to an unending registration exercise, with deadline being shifted twice. Currently, there is no known deadline again.
This is impacting negatively on the stated objective of the exercise – which is to check criminal activities perpetrated through phones.
The House of Representatives is currently probing the N6.2 billion project which was awarded controversially under the leadership of Mr. Ernest Ndukwe as Executive Vice-Chairman of the NCC.


The indefinite extension of the registration by the NCC appears to be creating confusion between the consultants hired by NCC and the telecoms operators.


Both parties are unable to check multiple registrations because of the data synchronisation hitches.


THISDAY investigation revealed that some subscribers that had earlier registered with telecoms operators, embarked on a second and third registration exercise with the same operator in different locations, without the system identifying them.


It was further revealed that the NCC consultants were compelling subscribers to register with them, irrespective of their earlier registration with the telecoms operators.

Also, the networks are compelling subscribers to register with them, even if they had already registered with the NCC.


NCC had initially announced that registering with them was enough as it covers all the licensed networks in the country.
The confusion is that both parties carrying out the registration do not have synchronised software solution that will detect multiple registration, and people have continued registering since the exercise appears endless.


Recently, some fraudsters took advantage of the endless SIM registration to buy bulk SIM cards, register them in fictitious names and were selling them on the streets as pre-registered SIM cards.


Industry executives have blamed NCC for the delay in concluding the SIM card registration, attributing some of the cases of kidnapping and threat to lives to the delay.


Commenting on the development, the NCC Head of Media and Public Relations, Mr. Reuben Muoka, said there was no delay in SIM registration.


He said the perceived delay was strategic to NCC for it to ensure that all data from all parties involved in SIM registration were uploaded to the commissions’ backend server.


According to Muoka, the commission used the first six months (March 28 to September 28, 2011) for data collection and from October 2011 till date, the commission commenced uploading of data to its server.


“In the process of uploading data, the commission uploaded 15 million registrations above the actual 95 million subscribers in the country, a situation that suggests multiple registration,” Muoka said.


He explained that the commission had been working tirelessly to conclude the exercise and that “it is currently doing verification exercise to get the exact number of registered subscribers and in the process, sieve the multiple registrations”.


Asked when the exercise would come to an end, Muoka said he was not in a position to speak on the actual date, but that the exercise would “soon come to a successful end”.


NCC had, in March last year, embarked on SIM card registration, following the delay by telecoms operators to conclude the exercise in good time, and gave itself a time frame of six months to complete the exercise.


The commission went ahead to recruit seven consultants and tasked them with the responsibility of carrying out and completing the SIM card registration in the six geopolitical zones within the timeframe.


While the NCC consultants were involved in SIM card registration, the commission allowed all telecoms operators to continue in their capacities with the SIM card registration.


The September 30, 2011 date, which NCC gave as the deadline for the completion of the exercise, was no longer feasible to it, as the commission’s consultants could not conclude the exercise at the stipulated date, a situation that compelled NCC to extend the exercise indefinitely.


A few days to the deadline, the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators (ALTON), led by its Chairman, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, called for a nine-month extension of the exercise, while the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), led by its President, Mr. Deolu Ogunbanjo, asked for 12 more months.


They said half of the total number of subscribers was yet to be registered.
Sensing the danger of closing SIM registration with half of the population of subscribers, NCC said it had extended the exercise, but did not give the timeframe for the extension.

The whole business is a toss in the wind. I still have 6 business lines that had to be tossed because the SIM registration (ahead of the deadline) has not been activated till date. Just go straight to the Telcos (Main Offices) and ensure to do it and confirm same day that it is activated)

Any particular reason why NCC is doing its own registration?


seems they are just looking for more excuse to delay the number portability exercise, 12 months, 6months, till 2018
thye will start the whole process again just like the Identification card saga

Dis Guy: Any particular reason why NCC is doing its own registration?


seems they are just looking for more excuse to delay the number portability exercise, 12 months, 6months, till 2018
thye will start the whole process again just like the Identification card saga

It just seems like a scam.

its a shame our professionals r wack!

too bad

hahaha naija
can u imagine i registered a new sim card today wid a fake details. Who kares . We dont have a true data structure

Which way Naija? May God help us!

SMH! simple sim registration funny folks

Revolva: hahaha naija
can u imagine i registered a new sim card today wid a fake details. Who kares . We dont have a true data structure

Dude...u may not have realized it...but u just confessed to a crime publicly...

National i.d card story prt 2

@reptyle
yeah i commited a crime,haha why do i have to be givin my background details every time i want new sim . Bullshit i gave a totally fake detail ,only my face was real haha . Make una go tell police

Revolva: hahaha naija
can u imagine i registered a new sim card today wid a fake details. Who kares . We dont have a true data structure

Dat also makes you part of naija's probs!

A good identification system would have sorted this out and you only just need to submit your identity number or link it to your sim number.

nija can never be good.

Reptyle:

Dude...u may not have realized it...but u just confessed to a crime publicly...

And again, who cares?

Well lets give them another 8years na

What i really can't understand is why is there a DEADLINE in the first place. Think about it very well, that is why they can never be satisfied. Its like saying there will be no more rats in my house when i have caught one. Is it true It should be a data collection exercise not an end to the world exercise. Which would be made perfect the more the days go by. Not saying Sept 2011 is the end of the world so you must register your sim i laugh

@begwong
you say am part of naija problem
well naija has been part of my problem ok i gonna keep givin fake detail anytime i want to get a nu sim expekt 4 my main line dat has my real identity. Go tell jonathan 4 aso rock

NCC has no business registering subscribers.

very funny no bi small, makes no sense registering SIM card in a country where people don't have registered ID to trace them.

we still have database issue, I hope the guru will come up with another database competition.

National SIM registration? The whole thing was failed from conception. It was just another scheme to embezzle money which was easily justifiable when kidnapping cases were all over the news some time ago.

This shouldn't come as a surprise. Always knew it was just another white elephant, money siphoning project.

mbulela: Also, the networks are compelling subscribers to register with them, even if they had already registered with the NCC.


NCC had initially announced that registering with them was enough as it covers all the licensed networks in the country.
The confusion is that both parties carrying out the registration do not have synchronised software solution that will detect multiple registration, and people have continued registering since the exercise appears endless.


Recently, some fraudsters took advantage of the endless SIM registration to buy bulk SIM cards, register them in fictitious names and were selling them on the streets as pre-registered SIM cards.


Industry executives have blamed NCC for the delay in concluding the SIM card registration, attributing some of the cases of kidnapping and threat to lives to the delay.


Commenting on the development, the NCC Head of Media and Public Relations, Mr. Reuben Muoka, said there was no delay in SIM registration.


He said the perceived delay was strategic to NCC for it to ensure that all data from all parties involved in SIM registration were uploaded to the commissions’ backend server.


According to Muoka, the commission used the first six months (March 28 to September 28, 2011) for data collection and from October 2011 till date, the commission commenced uploading of data to its server.


“In the process of uploading data, the commission uploaded 15 million registrations above the actual 95 million subscribers in the country, a situation that suggests multiple registration,” Muoka said.


He explained that the commission had been working tirelessly to conclude the exercise and that “it is currently doing verification exercise to get the exact number of registered subscribers and in the process, sieve the multiple registrations”.


Asked when the exercise would come to an end, Muoka said he was not in a position to speak on the actual date, but that the exercise would “soon come to a successful end”.


NCC had, in March last year, embarked on SIM card registration, following the delay by telecoms operators to conclude the exercise in good time, and gave itself a time frame of six months to complete the exercise.


The commission went ahead to recruit seven consultants and tasked them with the responsibility of carrying out and completing the SIM card registration in the six geopolitical zones within the timeframe.


While the NCC consultants were involved in SIM card registration, the commission allowed all telecoms operators to continue in their capacities with the SIM card registration.


The September 30, 2011 date, which NCC gave as the deadline for the completion of the exercise, was no longer feasible to it, as the commission’s consultants could not conclude the exercise at the stipulated date, a situation that compelled NCC to extend the exercise indefinitely.


A few days to the deadline, the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators (ALTON), led by its Chairman, Mr. Gbenga Adebayo, called for a nine-month extension of the exercise, while the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), led by its President, Mr. Deolu Ogunbanjo, asked for 12 more months.


They said half of the total number of subscribers was yet to be registered.
Sensing the danger of closing SIM registration with half of the population of subscribers, NCC said it had extended the exercise, but did not give the timeframe for the extension.

why does NCC need to carry out it's own registration if not an excuse to embezzle money? what the telcos do is more than enough to completely capture & synchronize data across all networks. NCC's project is simply fraud!!

There is no way the sim regn can end as long as people keep purchasing new sims,what they shd have done was to maintain a valid dbase of already active sims and put a deadline for registratn on those sims after which any1 not registered is temporary blocked untill regn. when these existing suscribers register they should be given a uniquesecret alphanumeric like atm pin code that represent thier digital identity this they can use to link new sims in the future without going to the network office.For entirely new sims and suscribers the sims remain inactive untill the number has an identity attached to it. its that simple.

Just another avenue to steal public funds. Just like the National ID card BS!

have you ever seen a law that been enforced in naija with out been breaking in its first week? Even if no one try to break it the one who enforce it will break it himself. Every talk of enforcing law in naija is like another comedy episode to me.

Revolva: hahaha naija
can u imagine i registered a new sim card today wid a fake details. Who kares . We dont have a true data structure

But your correct photograph is there