[daily independent] Experts in the telecommunication sector have reacted to the commencement of SIM card registration as confirmed by the spokesman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Reuben Muoka.
The registration would entails getting all personal details of mobile users in the country.
Mouka, during a telephone interview with Daily Independent, said that the much talk about SIM card registration began on Saturday, May 1 for new SIM card owners in the telecom sector.
According to him, the SIM card registration as planned by the NCC for May 1 has commenced for new subscribers but excluding the existing SIM card for now.
Acting Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Stephen Bello, last week, announced the intention of the commission to commence registration of SIM cards to which some operators have also expressed reservations about the dateline.
There have been series of arguments and counter arguments on the readiness of the commission to make the registration a success given subscriber base in the telecom sector put at over 70 million as at last year.
Speaking the President of National Association of Telecommunication Subscribers (NATCOMS), Deolu Ogunbanjo, described the process 'as an untidy one' arguing that the NCC has failed to do enough homework to enlighten and engage both the subscribers and the mobile operators about the programme.
"SIM card registration is desirable but has not followed due process. There is nothing in NCC Act 2003 that gives any legal backing to SIM card registration. A legislation and heavy enlighten is necessary first" he said.
Lanre Ajayi, the Chief Executive of Pinet Informatics Limited, said sim card registration is the interest of the country but argued that the process may not capture the best of the intention programme.
"Any reasonable government would want to identify the user of mobile SIM card for several reasons but my worry is how do we go about registering over 70 million subscribers? The process would have been easier if our national identity card scheme had succeeded and is working. Every data about every Nigerian using mobile would have been easier to get."
He said it would be cumbersome for the NCC and the mobile operators to start gathering data about each mobile user when eventually the commission decides to extend the registration to existing SIM card holders in the country.
However, the Managing Director of Key Communications Limited, an Abuja based telecom service provider, Emmanuel Jonathan, said it is high time Nigeria kicks off Sim Card registration but expressed doubt about the preparedness of NCC.
Nigeria: Telecom Experts Kick, As NCC Begins Sim Card Registration
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