The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has refuted a report by an online platform which alleged that mobile telephony subscriptions in the country grew by 3,000,000 new subscribers in the first quarter of 2021 despite the suspension on the registration of new subscribers which took effect from December 9, 2020 and was only lifted in May, 2021.
A statement by the NCC director of public affairs, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, described the report as inaccurate, stressing that the Ericsson’s mobility report cited in the story did not represent the commission’s views.
The statement reads in part, “The attention of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has been drawn to an online media report alleging that mobile telephony subscriptions in Nigeria somehow grew by 3,000,000 new subscribers in the first quarter of 2021, despite the suspension on the registration of new subscribers which took effect from December 9, 2020 and was only lifted in May, 2021.
“The Ericsson Mobility Report cited in the online publication is essentially a forecast of trends based on Ericsson’s analysis and does not refer to the NCC or any official channel as source for its data and/or projections.
“It is therefore inaccurate that Nigeria recorded 3million new lines in the 1st quarter of 2021 as stated in the media report.”
It further clarified that the NCC and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) are the only authoritative sources of authentic data on the Nigerian telecommunication’s sector, adding the commission was well aware of the critical need to make accurate and up-to-date data available to all stakeholders.
“Indeed, as a matter of corporate policy and consistent with international best practice, relevant data and statistics on the industry are transparently reported and regularly updated on the commission’s website (< https://www.ncc.gov.ng/statistics-reports/industry-overview >) for free use by interested stakeholders,” it said.
The telecom’s regulatory body encourages all stakeholders to visit its website for authentic data on the sector and to refer all doubts to its public affairs department to avoid unnecessary controversy and/or inadvertently misleading other stakeholders who may rely on such reports, even as it urged stakeholders to disregard any information on subscriber data different from those presented in the commission’s website.
