MTN Nigeria Deactivates 5 Million Subscribers over Improper SIM Card Registration

Telecommunications giant, MTN, has disclosed that more than five million of its subscribers in Nigeria have been disconnected from the network following a review of their registration documents, a development that has cut the company’s full-year forecast for subscriber numbers.

Spokesperson for the MTN Group, Nik Kershaw, said, “MTN, which operates in more than 20 countries across the Middle East and Africa, had 5.1 million subscribers cut off in Nigeria, its biggest market, at the end following checks on personal documents.

“The company is also facing ongoing regulatory restrictions related to its market-leading position in Africa’s most populous country.”

Kershaw, however, said that about 3.4 million of the subscribers might have been reconnected, following steps to correct the irregularities in their registration documents.

The development is as a result of the Nigerian Communications Commission’s sanction in August on telecommunications firms over improper Subscriber Identification Module registration.

However, the MTN Group spokesperson said in a statement that the company would add 14.8 million net subscribers this year, compared with a previous forecast of 16.75 million.

“The carrier’s customer base grew 0.9 per cent to 233 million in the three months through September compared with the previous quarter,” Kershaw said.