There Are 150 Million Active Telephone Lines In Nigeria – NCC

BEVERLY HILLS, March 22, (THEWILL) – Active telephone lines in the country have increased from less than 500,000 lines in 1999 to 150 million presently, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has disclosed.

The Executive Vice Chairman of the commission, Prof. Umar Dambatta made this known in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, at a one-day retreat on sensitisation of law enforcement agencies on telecommunications.

He said that the increase in telephone users in the country had brought about employment in several sectors of the economy.

Dambatta said: “From less than half a million lines on the eve of our democratic revival, today, active connected telephone lines are about 150 million. This has come with a concomitant increase in tele-density.

“Expectedly, these  phenomenal   changes have also caused direct and   indirect rise in employment generation across sectors of the economy.

“As  we all  can  confirm, developments in other sectors of the economy have been shaped positively and measurably by the patent realities in the telecommunications.”

The NCC chief executive officer also lamented the rise in theft of telecommunication facilities in the country, urging stakeholders to join in putting a halt to same.

His words, “Above and beyond cyber criminality, we have witnessed a very painful rise in the tempo of outright theft of telecommunication equipment as well as vandalism of telecommunication installations, facilities and infrastructure.

“We  have  also seen proliferation in the sale and usage of pre-registered Subscribers Identification Module, SIM, cards, all of which constitute nasty   infractions of the Nigerian   Communications Act 2003, and other extant regulations governing the telecommunications sector accordingly.”