Telecom
Experts Seek Stricter Regulation against Call Masking, SIM-Boxing Fraud
Experts have called for stronger laws and stricter regulation to tackle security issues around call masking and Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)-boxing-related fraud in Nigeria, according to the Nation.
Call masking or refilling is a practice in which international calls are terminated in Nigeria as local numbers, using illegal SIM boxes loaded with several numbers.
It is a deliberate attempt by fraudsters to avoid paying the correct International Termination Rate (ITR) for international calls, paying instead the Local Termination Rate (LTR).
For example, when the number is masked as a local call, an operator pays N3.90 LTR and not N24.40 ITR.
The process allows operators to terminate inbound international telecoms traffic as local calls, so they do not have to pay ITR, which is the interconnection charge set by telecoms traffic carriers as carrier-to-carrier charges.
A SIM Box fraud is a setup where fraudsters install SIM boxes with multiple prepaid SIM cards.
A fraudster can bring calls through VOIP (through the internet) and terminate international calls through local phone numbers from a country, to make it appear as a local call, by initiating the call through a local SIM installed in the SIM box.
About three years ago, when the issue came to the limelight, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) carried out some investigations, leading to the sanctioning and suspension of some operators earlier this year.
Some of these suspensions were later lifted.
The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), the Department of State Services (DSS), and Committees of the House of Representatives and Senate have on several occasions expressed concern about the menace.
While many stakeholders believe that the menace has been nipped in the bud, it has continued to rear its ugly head to the bewilderment of experts and stakeholders.
Ikechukwu Nnamani, president/chief executive officer of Medallion Communications Limited, lamented that it is a subject matter, which NCC should address completely.
Nnamani, who is an executive member of the premier telecom body in Nigeria – the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), said almost all calls he received recently are masked.
“Sometimes, I don’t pick up calls because I do not know the number only to find out later it was an international call.
“The truth is that I don’t know why this has not been resolved, I expected it to have been solved.
“Honestly, I would not know why. One would have expected them to have sorted all these out by now,” he said.
Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, president of the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers of Nigeria (NATCOMS) said there was no need to relent in reporting the menace to the right authority.
He said it could be a plan to ensure that gain accrued to some people. “I don’t know whether call masking favours the operator or it is being done deliberately.
“It is a situation that the telecoms should deal with because it is a technical problem. I think it is some of those unlicensed operators doing all these.
“Some of these operators’ facilities are being tapped into; they need to look into their operations, so they can be taken care of.
“If they are still in the habit of doing it, proper sanctions should be meted out to any erring service provider.
“There should be heavier sanctions. They can’t be short-changing subscribers and at the same time, the government,” he said.
Mr. Ajibola Olude, executive secretary of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), believes the issue can be addressed.
“When it comes to technology, you can only address it maximally. It is not as rampant as before and it is an international issue.
“We have addressed it before and we will look at it again.
“About four years ago, when it happened, we deployed all the resources within our capacity to address it and I think it was addressed maximally.
“I have not seen any operator complaining, except now that you are raising the issue, but as far as we know, call-masking is no longer a problem.
“I am going to contact our compliance monitoring to enlighten me about what is going on, but it is no longer an issue,” he said.
Mouka Reuben, director, Public affairs, NCC, said the situation has been tackled before and he does not think it was a major issue again.
He, however, promised that the commission would look into it again to find a way out.
NCC recently put the revenue lost to call-masking and SIM-boxing activities in the country at $3 billion.
This is as telecom operators lamented during the 85th edition of the Telecom Consumer Parliament in Lagos that they were losing about N2.5 million minutes per day to these fraudulent activities.
On actions that had been taken by the commission to combat the menace, Prof Umar Danbatta, former Executive Vice-Chairman, NCC, said the NCC had tightened the SIM registration process across all networks to reduce the availability of SIM cards for SIM-boxing as well as address the security issues around the availability of pre-registered SIMs.
According to him, the action was necessary as some arrests made in Lagos two weeks ago showed that the perpetrators of SIM-boxing had over 100 SIM cards registered with fictitious names and used them to divert international calls.
Credit: The Nation
Nigeria has exactly 156,662 active fixed wired internet subscriptions as of mid-2026.
This is a tiny fraction compared to mobile GSM networks, which dominate the market with over 154 million subscribers.
The fixed wired market primarily consists of homes and offices using direct physical cables like fiber optics.
Fixed wired services use physical cables, like glass fiber or copper wire, to bring internet directly into a building.
It is like a dedicated, private water pipe for your home. It provides very fast speeds, unlimited data, and is reliable.
In contrast, mobile GSM uses radio waves transmitted from tall towers to phones, acting more like a sprinkler that sprays a signal across an entire neighborhood.
Because laying physical cables across cities is expensive and hard to do, these subscriptions are very rare.
However, the market has seen recent growth, driven largely by Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) services.
The top players are: MTN FibreX with 110,564 subscribers, which is roughly 88.7 per cent of the entire market.
SWIFTNG accounts for about 13,945 connections.
The others are ipNX and 21st Century Technologies which make up the number.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it is intensifying efforts to implement Nigeria’s planned 112 national emergency number following its approval by the National Economic Council (NEC).
NCC
The commission disclosed this during a meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and an NCC delegation led by the Chairman of its Governing Board, Chief Idris Ibikunle Olorunnimbe, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Briefing the Vice President, Olorunnimbe said the NCC had already established about 35 Emergency Communications Centres (ECCs) across the country to support a unified national emergency response system.
He said the next phase of implementation would focus on closer collaboration with state governments and emergency response agencies to ensure the effective rollout of the initiative.
The development follows the recent approval by the NEC, chaired by the Vice President, for the adoption of 112 as Nigeria’s single national emergency number across all tiers of government and emergency response agencies.
The council also approved the establishment of a multi-agency implementation committee to be jointly coordinated by the Office of the Vice President and the NCC.
Olorunnimbe stressed that the success of the initiative would depend on the commitment of state governments to support and maintain emergency communications infrastructure, as well as the readiness of response agencies to promptly attend to distress calls.
“We need commitment at every level of all response agencies—from top to bottom—including the Nigeria Police Force, ambulance services across the states and, at the national level, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA),” he said.
Responding, Shettima directed the NCC to develop a comprehensive roadmap for the nationwide implementation of the single emergency number in line with international best practices.
He also urged the commission to work closely with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), citing the agency’s experience in disaster management, relief and rehabilitation.
The Vice President assured the commission of the Federal Government’s commitment to sustaining the initiative, saying funding would be mobilised through the National Economic Council and partnerships with the private sector.
He also called for greater dedication from all emergency response agencies to ensure the success of the programme.
The adoption of 112 is expected to harmonise emergency communications across Nigeria by providing a single number through which citizens can quickly access police, fire, ambulance and other emergency services.
The initiative is also expected to replace multiple emergency contact numbers currently in use and improve coordination and response during emergencies.
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that it was strengthening collaboration with state governments and industry players to develop a transparent, cost-based pricing framework for sharing telecom ducts as part of efforts to speed up broadband expansion across Nigeria.
Ayuba Shuaibu, director of Policy, Competition and Economic Analysis, NCC, disclosed this at the Stakeholders’ Forum in Abuja.
Shuaibu said the initiative was designed to build consensus among all parties.
“The primary purpose of this forum is to ensure seamless synergy between the Commission and all stakeholders,” he said.
The director said the consultation was prompted by longstanding complaints over permits, levies and other charges imposed by different levels of government.
He said bringing together state commissioners, telecom operators, tower companies and representatives of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum had helped improve understanding of the issues.
“This engagement is a work in progress. We expect more input from stakeholders before presenting the outcome to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum,” he added.
Dr Helen Adeneye, commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Kogi State. welcomed the consultation, saying Nigeria needs a harmonised policy that clearly defines the responsibilities of both the federal and state governments.
“We need a harmonised policy that allows states to collaborate better with telecom operators and creates a more business-friendly environment,” she said.
Dr Adeneye added that adopting the Dig-Once policy would establish a uniform pricing system and help resolve disputes over charges for telecom infrastructure deployment.
Chidi Ajuzie, chief executive officer, WTES Projects Limited, whose firm is conducting the consultancy study, said the proposed framework would introduce a common cost structure for duct sharing to support broadband investment and economic growth.
“The study is designed to create a uniform pricing model that will drive broadband growth, economic development and wider adoption across the country,” he said.
Ajuzie explained that the consultants had developed preliminary floor and ceiling prices to guide operators while allowing flexibility within the approved range.
He added that the recommendations remain open to industry input before the NCC finalises the framework.
The Dig-Once Policy is designed to reduce the cost and disruption of deploying broadband infrastructure by requiring fibre ducts to be installed whenever roads are constructed or rehabilitated.
The NCC is developing a cost-based pricing framework for sharing these ducts to promote fair pricing, reduce duplication of infrastructure and encourage investment.
The proposed model is expected to support the Federal Government’s broadband expansion targets while improving collaboration between telecom operators and state governments.
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