Telecoms Resume SIM Card Sales After 2-week Halt

Following a two-week interruption to a stand-still, telecommunications operators have restored SIM-related services.

On Sunday, MTN Nigeria and Airtel shared the news on their social media accounts.

The carriers blamed the early service delays on problems gaining access to the authentication platform run by the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).

With more than 90 million customers, MTN Nigeria is the biggest telecom provider in the nation. The company reported that service restoration was underway. While efforts are still on to fully restore new SIM registrations and other SIM-related activities, the telecom company announced Monday that it had resumed SIM switch services for the majority of its customers in a post on its official X handle.

“We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused by the recent service disruptions that affected all SIM-related services,” says MTN, with the post on their X account handle.

“SIM swaps have now started up again.

“We appreciate their assistance in the transition to a new platform for NIN verification services for the telecom sector, and we can confirm that NIMC services are fully operational.”

“For quick assistance, please visit the closest MTN service centre if you’re having any delays with SIM swaps.”

In a similar vein, the country’s second-biggest operator, Airtel Nigeria, also acknowledged that services were progressively getting back to normal. Airtel apologized for previous statements that implied otherwise and stated in an update on their X page that the NIMC portal is now operational.

“The NIMC portal is operational. We apologize for previous communications that implied otherwise,” says Airtel, with the post on their X account handle.

“We apologize for the wait and are working to resolve the matter. After it is resolved, we will notify our customers. We are grateful for your patience and cherish our collaboration with NIMC.

The announcement of the disruption was made more than two weeks prior to this development.

The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) declared on July 2 that SIM-related services will be temporarily unavailable on all Nigerian mobile networks.

In a statement co-signed by the association’s publicity secretary, Damian Udeh, and ALTON chairman Gbenga Adebayo, the disruption was attributed to a directive from the NIMC that requires mobile network operators (MNOs) to switch to a new identity verification platform.

“The NIMC portal is operational. We apologize for previous communications that implied differently. We apologize for the wait and are working to resolve the problem. After it is resolved, we will notify our customers. We are grateful for your patience and our collaboration with NIMC,” the operator stated.

He said that unexpected technical issues have affected service availability across the country as a result of the migration process, which directly affects real-time identity verification needed for SIM registration, SIM replacement, mobile number portability (MNP), and other associated services.

The telecom providers’ switch to NINAuth, NIMC’s new digital identity verification platform, was the cause of the disruption, which began earlier this month. In order to improve data security and give citizens direct control over how their personal information is used for identity verification, the system was put into place.

The NINAuth platform compels citizens to authorize each verification request, as opposed to the former procedure where organizations may verify identities in the background. The goal of the shift, according to NIMC, was to match international standards and improve data protection.

Telecom operators complained that the portal was unreliable or inaccessible, which resulted in the suspension of SIM swaps, number porting, and new SIM registrations, even though NIMC maintained that the platform was operating as intended.

Unexpected technical difficulties arose during the switch to the new platform, according to the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria. Real-time NIN verification for SIM registration, replacement, and network migration was impacted by these issues.

“Unexpected technical difficulties have surfaced, impacting real-time NIN verification for SIM registration, replacement, and porting, following a recent directive from the National Identity Management Commission mandating Mobile Network Operators to transit to a new identity verification platform,” ALTON stated in a previous joint statement signed by its Chairman, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, and Publicity Secretary, Barrister Damian Udeh.

Major operators, such as MTN and Airtel, had not registered new SIMs for more than three weeks, according to checks conducted by The PUNCH at telecom service centres in Lagos. Depending on the system’s availability, SIM swaps for damaged or lost lines were done sporadically. Services for number porting were totally shut down.

In order to improve Nigeria’s biometric identity infrastructure, the NIMC and IDEMIA Smart Identity extended their long-standing collaboration in April.

A business called IDEMIA, which specializes in biometric and cryptographic technologies, offers solutions that help people create a single, reliable identity. According to the company, one million 1:1 and 1:N identity verification searches would be processed every day by the updated system.