Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has withdrawn some 41, 240,448 million lines that have been left inactive or unused by telecommunications licencees across 36 states of the country over the years following an audit conducted.

This is coming as the NCC Okayed 37 telecommunications service providers as officially operating in the telecom space in its newly published National Numbering Plan Second Quarter, 2020.

The breakdown showed that the Nigerian telecommunications industry had 33,749,000 lines withdrawn while 7, 491, 448 lines were returned by the former users with effect from June 19, 2020.

NCC had earlier issued a Draft Final Report on the Development of New Number Plan. The Withdrawn/Returned numbers were part of the Commission’s “regular audit in order to ascertain the level of utilization of numbers assigned to operators.”

The phone lines were inactive, dormant or no longer in use by the assigned telecommunication operators. Many of the telecom licencees were either no longer in operation or have had to realign their business strategy away from the initial demands for the lines.

According to data made available by the Commission on its website, the licencees who had their lines withdrawn include ABG Communications Limited (10,000) for Abuja; Akklaim Telecoms Limited for Abuja (20,000) and Kano (10,000); Allied Bond Standard Coy Ltd (10,000) for Lagos; Alpha Wireless Limited (5,000) for Warri; Bell & Bell (10,000) for Jos.

Others are: BIG Communications Ltd (10,000) Makurdi; Broadband Technologies Ltd (10,000) Lagos; Cecil-Dolton Nigeria Ltd Lagos (8,000); Chromecomm Ltd (formerly Monarch Communications Ltd) Lagos (15,000), Abuja (5,000) and Port Harcourt (5,000); Cyancomm Ltd (formerly MTS 1st Wireless Ltd) Lagos (100,000), Ibadan (10,000), Abuja (20,000), Abeokuta (5,000), Onitsha (10,000), Aba (10,000), Port Harcourt (20,000).

NCC withdrew from Digital Telecoms Nig Ltd Lagos (6,000); Disc Communications Ltd Lagos (7,000) and Port Harcourt (3,000); Electronics Comms. Inc., Lagos (70,000); Eltel Communications Lagos (5,000); EM-International Systems Ltd Lagos (10,000); Envision Global Reach Nig. Ltd, Abuja (5,000); Fybertel Comms. (Nigeria) Ltd, Lagos (10,000); GiCell Wireless Ltd, Ibadan (20,000), Ilorin (20,000), Yola (20,000), Maiduguri (20,000), Calabar (20,000); Horizons Broadcasting & Telecoms, Kano (2,000).

Also withdrawn lines came from Imperial Telecoms Ltd, Lagos, (10,000); Independent National Electoral Commission, Abuja (10,000); Integrated Mobile Services, Lagos (10,000), Abuja (10,000); Integrated Wireles Tech Nig. Ltd, Lagos (5,000); Magenta Communications Ltd Onitsha (5,000), Port Harcourt (5,000); Mobitel Limited, Lagos (10,000), Abuja (10,000), Warri (10,000) and Port Harcourt (10,000); M-Tel Communications Limited, National (27,500); Multi-Links Telecommunications Ltd, Lagos (400,000), Ibadan (60,000), Abuja (50,000), Ilorin (20,000), Oshogbo (10,000), Ile-Ife (20,000), Ijebu-Ode (15,000), Abeokuta (10,000), National 11,000,000); Multiple Services Ltd, Lagos (10,000); and NAVAO Ltd, Lagos (10,000).

Also, withdrawn were lines from Odu’a Telecoms Limited, Omar Communications Limited, Orprah Communications Ltd, Peace Global Satellite Communications Ltd, Prest Cable& Satellite TV Sys Ltd, Q-Voda Telecom, Rainbownet Ltd, Regal Telecom Ltd, Royal Strides Telecom Ltd, Sadasa Communications Ltd, Shell Petroleum Dev Coy of Nig Ltd, Sky Broadband Ventures Ltd (formerly Direct On PC), Skyview-O Nig Ltd, Syntel I.G. Wills Communications, Starcomms Plc, Startech Connections (Witel Ltd), Sunmail Telecoms,  T-Comms Nig. Ltd, TELCO Africa Ltd, Telefonics Networks (thorst) Ltd, Topcom Nig Ltd, Vitel Wireless, WAK Telecommunications Ltd, Webcom Ltd, Wideways Nig Ltd, Wireless Telecoms Ltd, Woldscope Ventures Ltd, XPT Link Ltd, Yemshba Investment Ltd, and Zoom Mobile (Reliance Telecom Ltd).

Among those returned are: Galaxy Info Tech & Telecoms Ltd, Dutse (10,000); GTS Infotel Nig Ltd, National (10,000); Megatech Engineering Ltd, Kano (10,000). Other numbering plans running into millions by Nigeria Telecommunications Ltd and Visafone Communications Ltd.

Elsewhere the NCC okayed 37 telecommunications service providers as officially operating in the telecom space in its newly published National Numbering Plan Second Quarter, 2020.

National Numbering Plan specifies the format and structure of the numbers used in identifying devices or subscribers connected to a network, which in turn can also be used for routing and call charging.

This new National Numbering Plan list contains the names of approved allottees, their Area, Area Code, Access Code, Numbering Range and Total Lines with which they are operating with.

The allottees include: 101 Communications Ltd, 21st Century Technologies Ltd, Airtel Networks Ltd, Airworld Technologies Ltd, Alpha Technologies Ltd, Big Picture Nigeria Ltd, Broadbased Communications Ltd, CallMe Nigeria Ltd, Cedarview Communications Ltd, Cyberspace Ltd, EMTS Ltd (9mobile), FNL Engineering Ltd, Globacom Ltd, GTS Info Tel Nig Ltd, Intercellular Nig Ltd, Interra Networks Ltd and iPNX Nig Ltd.

Others are: Megatech Engineering Ltd, MTN Nigeria Comm. Ltd (formerly VGC Comm), MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd, NATCOMS Dev & Investment Ltd, Reston Communications Services Ltd, Skyway Technology & Services Ltd, Smile Communications Nig Ltd, Spectranet Ltd, Swift Networks Ltd, Swift Telephone Networks Ltd, Telvida International Systems Ltd and Tizeti Network Ltd,

The rest are: TNT Global Technologies Ltd, Vezeti Services Ltd, Visafone Comm Ltd (formerly Cellcom), Visafone Comm Ltd (formerly ITN), Visafone Comm Ltd (formerly Bourdex), Visafone Communications Ltd, Vodacom Business Africa and Voix Networks Limited.