{"id":3375,"date":"2013-05-09T03:27:05","date_gmt":"2013-05-09T03:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigerian-newspapers\/ncc-slams-n53-8m-fine-on-operators-over-sim-registration\/"},"modified":"2013-05-09T03:27:05","modified_gmt":"2013-05-09T03:27:05","slug":"ncc-slams-n53-8m-fine-on-operators-over-sim-registration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/ncc-slams-n53-8m-fine-on-operators-over-sim-registration\/","title":{"rendered":"NCC slams N53.8m fine on operators over SIM registration"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Regulator of the telecoms sector, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NNC) yesterday imposed a total fine of N53.8 million on all mobile phone service providers in the country over fraud discovered in ongoing national subscriber module identity module (SIM) registration exercise.<\/p>\n

A statement endorsed by its Head, Media & Public Relations, Reuben Muoka, noted that the action of the NCC was \u201cIn furtherance of the enforcement of the provisions of the Telephone Subscribers Registration Regulations 2011,\u201d which prohibits mobile service operators from pre-registering SIM cards.<\/p>\n

According to him, the fines imposed are based on the number of fully activated new SIM cards that were either reported to the commission or purchased in compliance monitoring and enforcement exercises conducted by the Commission, and validated by the offending network. Each pre-registered SIM discovered attracts a penalty of N200,000.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, Airtel Nigeria Networks Ltd is liable to payment of a fine in the sum of N8. 6 million for the availability of 43 pre-registered SIM card during the exercise while Emerging Markets Telecommunications Service Ltd (EMTS) or Etisalat is liable to pay a fine in the sum N5million having been found guilty of pre-registering 25 SIM cards.<\/p>\n

Globacom Ltd will pay N11million for being in possession of 55 pre-registered SIM cards while market leader, MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd is to pay N29.2 million over 146 pre-registered SIM cards discovered on its network.<\/p>\n

All the service providers have been given seven days within which to pay the fine, failure of which attracts N500,000 for any additional day that the contravention persists.<\/p>\n

The NCC, in the notice of sanction to the service providers signed by the Director, Legal and Regulatory Services, Ms. Josephine Amuwa, and Director, Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement, Engr. Ubale Maska, said the fine is in exercise of its discretionary powers following prior warnings in April 2012 that mobile network service providers will be liable for breaches by their registration centres carrying out pre-registration of new SIM cards for sales, since it is the providers that activate these new SIM cards.<\/p>\n

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Posted in Nigerian Newspapers. <\/a>A DisNaija.Com<\/a> network.<\/p>\n

Source: The Nation Newspaper<\/p>\n

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