SIMs not in use may be deactivated permanently after one year – NCC

The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, said a subscriber’s SIM cards not put to use after one year could be deactivated with the phone line lost permanently.

This was revealed in a document by the NCC titled “Draft Quality of Service (QoS) Business Rules,” released to the public in June 2023.

The Commission said, if the line remains inactive for six months without what they called Revenue General Event (RGE), it could be deactivated and if it remains dormant for another six months, the subscriber’s line will be permanently deactivated.

The only exemption, the NCC said, is when there is network related issue that hinders the functionality of the SIM card or any other reason which the subscriber think, the SIM should not to be put to use, but which he was expected to have notified the network provider to temporarily put on hold.

The draft document explained the Revenue Generating Event (RGE) to mean any activity by one or more subscribers that results in direct or indirect revenue for one or more network operators.

Examples of RGE include making or receiving calls, sending or receiving SMS/MMS, downloading data, or making line rental payments.
The document added that subscribers have a window of SIM restoration if they can provide valid reasons for their absence, and they can apply for line parking.

In the 33-page document, NCC said: “Monies left in account on deactivation can be claimed by subscribers, once proof of ownership can be established at any given time within one year (less any fee paid by the operator for the number within the one-year of non-RGE).”

In a report sighted in The Guardian, said, there are a total of 316.6 million connected GSM lines in Nigeria, out of which 223 million are currently active, leaving a total of 94 million lines inactive since the telecommunications revolution more than two decades ago.

Some of these inactive telephone lines may have been reassigned to other individuals after a certain period of inactivity.
Furthermore, the NCC has urged telecom operators to fulfill the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) set for them to ensure that telephony services in the country operate at an optimal level.

In order to ensure compliance with the QoS Regulations of 2023 and to facilitate effective monitoring on a state-by-state basis, the NCC has categorized the various states into three priority groups.

The first 10 states (Priority 1) are: Lagos, Ogun, Abuja, Oyo, Kano, Kaduna, Rivers, Delta, Anambra and Edo.

The second set of states (Priority 2) is: Imo, Niger, Osun, Abia, Enugu, Ondo, Akwa-Ibom, Benue, Plateau, Adamawa, Katsina, Kwara, Kogi, Nasarawa and Bauchi.

The third set of states (Priority 3) is: Borno, Taraba, Cross-River, Sokoto, Kebbi, Gombe, Ekiti, Yobe, Ebonyi, Zamfara, Jigawa and Bayelsa.

The NCC has outlined specific tasks for MTN, Globacom, Airtel, and 9mobile. The operators are required to submit their Quality of Service (QoS) reports on a state-by-state basis (Reporting Areas), which will enable the NCC to evaluate and adjust its performance standards.

According to the NCC, operators are expected to meet Key Performance Indicator (KPI) targets in all Priority 1 states.
They must address any QoS issues and achieve the specified KPI targets within 28 days after receiving notification from the commission.

The NCC further explained that telcos are also required to meet KPI targets in a minimum of 10 out of the 15 Priority 2 states.
They must resolve any QoS issues and meet the specified KPI targets within 56 days after being notified by the commission.

NCC added: “Failure to meet specified KPI targets in Priority 1 or Priority 2 states for the last 90 days, prior to the KPI assessment, will result in denial of any application for any promotion to be run on the network of the operator until the KPI targets are met.”