Telecom Operators Counts Loss in Billions Over Calls Restriction

Owing to the Federal Government calls deactivation order for over 70 million unlinked Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) lines, telecoms operators in the country have continued to count revenue loss in billions.

Recall that the Federal Government had directed telecommunications operators in the country to bar outgoing calls from all unlinked SIMs on their network, effective Monday, April 4. This is targeted at enforcing the NIN-SIM rule.

Business Remarks reported that over 125 Million SIMs have had their NINs submitted for immediate linkage, verification and authentication. Similarly, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has issued over 78 Million unique NINs till date.

Click To Read: NCC Educates Consumers on Telecoms Infrastructure Protection

Latest findings revealed that the barring has equally affected some subscribers who claimed to have verified and linked their NINs to SIMs.

All the operators have since complied with the Federal Government’s directive to eschew regulatory hammer.

Confirming this, the Association of Licensed Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has said members have complied with Federal Government’s directive, which ordered them to bar out-going calls on subscriber lines that are not in compliance with the NIN-SIM linkage policy requirement that all Subscriber Identification Modules (SIMs) must be linked with a National Identification Number (NIN).

However, using the current monthly Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) of N2, 500 for half of a month (15 days), revealed that about N43 billion may have been lost in the last two weeks by telcos due to the inability of millions of subscribers to make calls.

Multiplying the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) of telecommunication services by the total number of affected subscribers, an estimate of N43 billion in losses was arrived at, using a 15 days period.

ARPU is the total revenue divided by the number of subscribers of telecom operators per month. Nigeria’s ARPU stands at $4.14 (about N2,500).

Last year, Zamfara State, which probably had between five and six million active telecom users, is one of the states, where telcos lost about N6 billion due to two weeks communication blackout ordered by the Federal Government.

Click To Read: Over 125 Millions SIMs Link With NIN, Minister Directs Telcos to Bar Outgoing Calls on Unlinked SIM Lines

In 2021, Airtel made N397.91 billion and N287.31 billion from airtime and data, respectively; in 2020, it made N370.47 billion and N214.96 billion from airtime and data, respectively.

The operators to bear the revenue loss are MTN Nigerian which is the largest operator with 75 million subscribers, giving it a market share of about 38 per cent, other major operators include Airtel, Globacom and 9mobile.

Explaining what could warrant some linked lines being barred in a report, a senior telecoms official, who preferred anonymity, said: “It could have been as a result of incomplete registration. It could also be computer errors. It could also be that the NIN has been linked to too many SIMs. So, the last link might have been rejected. The problem could also have come from the poor backend integration from the NIMC.

“Such subscribers can go to the service outlets and get them sorted out. The fact is a blocked SIM is a revenue loss to operators and the government too. So, no operator would be happy to lose any subscriber.”

Speaking during the radio sensitisation programme, the Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau, NCC, Efosa Idehen, said “as the telecoms regulator in Nigeria, our role is to enforce compliance with the extant SIM activation and replacement procedures to avoid problems that may arise in the event of stolen, lost, damaged SIMs or the need to upgrade SIM cards,” he said.