The Nigerian Communications Commission has proposed the disqualification of anyone below the age of 18 from registering and owning a Subscriber Identity Module in the country.
The plan by the regulator of the industry is contained in a draft copy of the modified Registration of Telephone Subscribers Regulations published on the NCC’s website.
In the proposed draft review of the regulations, NCC gives a new definition of a “subscriber” to mean “a person not below the age of eighteen (18) years who subscribes to Mobile Telecommunication Communications Services by purchasing a subscription medium or entering into a subscription contract with a Licensee”.
NCC has not taken a definite stand on this, as it has asked telecom stakeholders for their inputs into the proposed regulations
This is the first time the NCC would be setting an age limit on the possession of a mobile phone SIM.
NCC also said that the “Subscriber Registration Period” means the six months’ period from the effective date or such other date as the Commission may specify and any extensions thereto that may be announced by the Commission, within which existing subscribers are required to register their Subscription Mediums pursuant to these Regulations.
On the “subscriber information,” the regulator says this refers to the Biometrics and other Personal Information of a Subscriber recorded and stored by licensees or the Independent Registration Agents.
Nigeria has set October 31 as the deadline for SIM owners to link their phone lines with their National Identification Numbers. The government has said that phone lines that are not linked to owners’ identity numbers would be disconnected.
