Telcos must unlink disconnected SIMs from registration databases, per NCA instructions.

The Central SIM Register must include all SIMs that have been disconnected by Monday, April 17, 2023, in accordance with instructions given by the National Communications Authority (NCA) to telecom providers. This deadline is March 31, 2023.

The NCA's directive, which clarifies earlier orders from the 6th, 11th, and 20th April 2023, states that this should also apply to SIMs that are still blocked as per the order from the Communication Minister from 30th November 2022.

The NCA has also been instructed to receive a written report from telecom companies detailing the total number of SIMs that have been disconnected in accordance with the instruction by Tuesday, April 18, 2023.

In addition, the NCA has mandated that "by Monday, April 17, 2023, all SIMs registered after the limit of ten (10) must be removed from SIM registration databases and deactivated, with the same reflected in the Central SIM Register."

The Subscriber Identity Module Registration Regulations, 2011, Regulation 1 would be broken, the NCA has emphasized, if these instructions were not followed.