By Yusuf Boluwatife
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has introduced a new regulation restricting anyone below 18 years from owning Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards.
The newly proposed regulation is part of a modified Telephone subscriber regulations published on the commission’s website. It places SIM card ownership in the same bracket as requirements for purchasing alcohol, enrolling for BVN and even voting.
According to report by FIJ, this was contained in a draft signed by Prof Umar Garba Danbatta, the commission’s Executive Vice Chairman.
“Subscriber means a person not below the age of 18 years who subscribes to communications services by purchasing a subscription medium or entering into a subscription contract with a licensee,” the statement reads.
The commission further said the proposed regulations were made in accordance with the powers conferred upon the commission by section 70 of the Nigerian Communications Act, 2003.
In accordance with Section 57 of the Act, the NCC conducted a public inquiry on the registration of telephone subscribers regulations, alongside the draft SIM replacement guidelines and the draft spectrum trading guidelines at its head office in Abuja on Tuesday.
The draft policy clarified that the regulations is applied to all persons subscribing to communications in Nigeria and subscribers of foreign licences who are roaming on the network of a licensee in Nigeria.
