Nigeria’s mobile network landscape is seeing a gradual shift towards newer technologies, with 5G subscriptions reaching 2.7 million in March 2024, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

This translates to a 1.24 per cent penetration rate.

While this represents steady growth compared to December 2023 (1.04%), 2G remains the dominant network choice, accounting for over half (56.97%) of all connections. 3G holds a 9.04% share, while 4G subscriptions have grown significantly from 25.06% in May 2023 to 32.74% in March 2024.

The high cost of 5G-compatible smartphones is a major barrier to wider adoption. Although all three major operators – MTN, Airtel, and Mafab Communications – offer 5G services in select cities, expanding coverage and affordability remain key challenges.

MTN launched the first 5G network in September 2022, followed by Airtel in June 2023. Mafab entered the market later in 2023. All three companies are aiming to expand their reach, but the high cost of 5G devices is a significant deterrent for many Nigerians.

According to Mohammed Rufai, chief technical officer, MTN, maintaining older networks (2G and 3G) alongside newer ones is necessary due to device compatibility issues.

This highlights the need for a wider range of affordable 5G-compatible phones to truly unlock the potential of this next-generation technology in Nigeria.

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

Telecommunications services provider, Globacom, has admonished Nigerian workers to reflect on more ways of contributing further to the growth of the country.

In a solidarity message on the occasion of the 2024 International Workers’ Day, the company noted that Nigerian workers were resilient in spite of the challenges they encounter in the course of discharging their duties.

The telecommunications giant further noted that the story of Nigeria cannot be adequately chronicled without acknowledging the immense contributions of workers, both in the public and private sectors.

The day is observed on May 1 yearly in recognition of the contributions of workers all over the world and to advance fairer and more sustainable future by advocating for workers’ rights.

“We salute Nigerian workers on this day and commend them for the hard work, commitment, resourcefulness and industry which are essential for the growth of the economy of any nation,” Globacom said.