NCC challenges engineers on erratic power supply

Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Eugene Juwah, has restated the security essence of the ongoing SIM Card registration across the country and the determination of the Commission to conclude the exercise within six months to assist security agencies to curb mobile phone related crimes even as he challenged Nigerian engineers to find a lasting solution to erratic power supply in the country.

Dr. Juwah stated this while receiving the leadership of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) Maitama Branch, Abuja, led by its Chairman, Engr. Paulinus Ogu, and also   announced that the Commission now has over 2,000 SIM Registration centres across the country, in addition to those of the telecom operators.

While indicating that the Commission is currently doing registration alongside telecom operators, Dr. Juwah said those who are already registered with the telecom operators need not register with the NCC registration centres. SIM registration in Nigeria will end on September 28, 2011.

“The story is that the government is intent on knowing who owns mobile phones and they have mandated us to lead this operation together with the operators so there is no duplication”, indicating that perhaps why it is easier to register with the NCC centres is because of the fact that you can register all your phones in one location as the Commission registers across all networks.

He said by the initial arrangements, the operators were to register only the new subscribers from May 1, 2010 while the Commission was to register only existing subscribers. He said with the urge by the operators, who already have the equipment, to know their subscribers, to utilize this equipment; they began to register both new and old subscribers.

He said that when NCC got ready to start registration, the Commission and the operators  met with the National Security Adviser, and it was discovered that the operators had only registered eight million out of 89 Million SIM Cards leaving a balance of 80 million.

He said it was at this stage that it was decided that the operators and the operators should begin to register existing SIM cards that are yet to be registered.

“There were about 80million SIM cards that were not registered and the government has given us six months to jointly conclude the registration of these numbers as this will enable us conclude the registration within this time frame”, he said.

“We (NCC) do not register new subscribers but if you have registered before with your operator, you don’t have to register again. It is the same data base so we are trying to cover the balance that the operators haven’t registered and we are doing this together with the operators”, he said.