NCC Approves 5,000 e-SIM Trial For MTN, 9mobile
Nigerian telecom giants, MTN Nigeria and 9Mobile, have received approval to carry out trial on the feasibility of embedded Subscriber Identification Modules Service in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission has said.
The telcos regulator disclosed this on Monday in a statement seen by THE WHISTLER.
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An e-SIM is a small chip that is embedded on a mobile phone or smart devices as the SIM is designed for convenience, flexibility and simplicity.
NCC said the trial, will run for a period of one year, with up to 5,000 e-SIMs by the two networks.
However, rhe Commission said the approval was subject to compliance with a number of regulatory conditions.
The NCC said, “These conditions include full compliance by the MNOs with the Registration of Telecoms Subscribers Regulations 2011; the Mobile Number Portability Regulations and Business Rules 2015; Guidelines on SIM Replacement 2017; and non-degradation of the Quality of Service experience by users of e-SIMs.”
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The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, said the objective of the e-SIM trial is to assess the technical performance of the e-SIM on telecoms service providers’ network.
He noted that approval will be “granted the networks towards eventual rollout, if satisfactory.”
He said the e-SIM would make it easier for subscribers to choose a pre-paid plan provider and switch between network operators.
“The information on the e-SIM is re-writable by operators and the identification information can be updated over time,” he added.
Danbatta said the e-SIMs technology would eliminate any need for physical SIM card slots on mobile devices in the near future.
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He added, “The trial is in line with the Commission’s forward-looking regulatory approach to ensure Nigeria’s telecoms ecosystem is in tandem with global best practices.”
