NCC gives go ahead to MTN, 9mobile on e-SIM trial

Benjamin Babine, Abuja

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has granted MTN Nigeria and 9Mobile the permission to carry out trial on the workability of embedded Subscriber Identification Modules (e-SIM) Service in Nigeria.

The telecom regulator disclosed this on Monday in a statement saying that the trial is approved to run for a period of one year. NCC said that subject to compliance with a number of regulatory conditions, the trial will involve testing 5,000 e-SIMs.

The commission stated that the conditions include “full compliance by the two mobile network operators (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 (QoS) experience by users of e-SIMs.”

According to Executive Vice Chairman (EVC)of NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta, the primary objective of the e-SIM trial is to assess the technical performance of the e-SIM on telecoms service providers’ network towards eventual rollout, if satisfactory.

According to the EVC, the e-SIMs is a technology that will eliminate the need for physical SIM card slots on mobile devices in the near future, adding that 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.

An e-SIM is a small chip that is embedded on a mobile phone or smart devices. It is designed for convenience, flexibility and simplicity. The e-SIM makes it easier for subscribers to choose a pre-paid plan provider and switch between network operators.

The information on the e-SIM is rewritable by operators and the identification information can be updated over time.

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