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MTN Loses 7.3 Million Subscriptions Over NIN-SIM Linkage

MTN Speaks On Alleged Killing Of Its Employees In Imo

South African multinational corporation and mobile telecommunications provider, MTN, reportedly experienced a significant decline of 7.3 million active subscriptions in January 2024.

Recent industry data indicated that this drop occurred as a result of complying with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)’s directive to deactivate SIM cards that were not linked with National Identification Numbers (NINs).

Naija News recalls that in December 2023, the NCC instructed all telecommunication operators, including MTN, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile, to implement a full network barring on phone lines without submitted NINs by February 28, 2024.

Subscribers who provided their NINs but were not validated were threatened with complete deactivation.

For unverified NINs with five or more connected lines, the NCC threatened deactivation would take place by March 29, 2024. Similarly, lines with fewer than five connections to an unverified NIN would be deactivated by April 15, 2024.

MTN’s active subscriptions dropped from 87 million in December 2023 to 79.7 million in January, resulting in a loss of approximately 7.3 million subscriptions, as per the most recent NCC data.

In line with the NCC’s directive regarding NIN-SIM linking, MTN announced that it has deactivated 4.2 million connections.

The company stated that it has verified a total of 19 million lines since the NCC implemented a regulation in December 2023 mandating the disconnection of subscriber lines not linked to their NIN.

By February 28, 2024, Naija News understands that 4.3 million lines had been verified, while 4.2 million had been disconnected.

9mobile also experienced a decrease in subscriptions in January this year, with a decline of 135,788 to 13.7 million subscribers.

Despite the ongoing disconnection process, Airtel and Globacom observed slight growth in their monthly subscriber bases. Airtel welcomed 767,887 new customers, increasing from 61.8 million in December of the previous year to 62.6 million in January.

The number of subscribers in Globacom’s database increased by 321,869, reaching a total of 61.9 million in December. This indicates a growth in subscriptions.

However, Nigeria’s overall number of active mobile service subscriptions decreased by over six million in January 2024, totalling 218 million compared to 224.4 million in December 2023.

As a result of this decline in active connections, the country’s teledensity, which measures the number of active telephone connections per 100 inhabitants in a given area, also decreased.

In January 2024, the teledensity stood at 100.75, down from 103.66 per cent recorded in December of the previous year.

The post MTN Loses 7.3 Million Subscriptions Over NIN-SIM Linkage appeared first on Naija News.

Two Super Eagles Players Leave Camp Ahead Of Clash With Mali

An injury crisis has hit the camp of the Super Eagles of Nigeria ahead of their international friendly game against Mali at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26.

Naija News has earlier reported Fulham defender, Calvin Bassey sustained an injury ahead of the Super Eagles of Nigeria’s friendly game against their West African rivals, the Black Stars of Ghana.

The former Ajax defender didn’t train a day before the game on March 22 but made the substitutes roaster for the game. In his absence, Nigeria beat Ghana 2-1.

Calvin Bassey’s injury has forced him to return to England on Sunday, March 24, for further medical examination and treatment.

Aside from him, Frank Onyeka has been ruled out of the international friendly game against Mali at the Grand Stade de Marrakech on Tuesday.

Unlike Bassey who sustained his injury during training, Naija news gathered that Onyeka sustained his injury during the Super Eagles’ 2-1 win over Ghana on Friday.

Though the nature of Onyeka’s injury has not been disclosed just like in the case of Bassey, the severity of the injury can’t permit him to feature for Nigeria against Mali.

Hence, the Brentford midfielder has returned to the United Kingdom for further examination and further treatment as the Premier League entered the last phase of the 2023-2024 season.

With this development, Super Eagles interim coach, Finidi George who has promised to make some changes in the team that will face Mali, is left with no choice but to shake up his starting lineup against the Malian team on Tuesday.

The post Two Super Eagles Players Leave Camp Ahead Of Clash With Mali appeared first on Naija News.