Telecommunications operators in Nigeria may soon be required to give subscribers a minimum of 14 days’ notice before deactivating their SIM cards due to inactivity or post-paid churn, following a new proposal by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The proposal is contained in a consultation paper titled Stakeholders Consultation Process for the Telecoms Identity Risks Management Platform, dated February 26, 2026, and signed by the Commission’s Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Aminu Maida. The document was published on the NCC’s website as part of ongoing regulatory reforms.
Under the proposed amendments to the Quality-of-Service (QoS) Business Rules, operators would be mandated to notify affected subscribers ahead of any planned churn. For post-paid lines, the Commission stated that operators must send a notification through an alternative phone line or email at least 14 days before the final churn date.
A similar requirement is proposed for prepaid subscribers, who must also receive notice via an alternative line or email at least two weeks before their numbers are deactivated.
Currently, Section 2.3.1 of the QoS Business Rules permits operators to deactivate a line if it has not recorded a revenue-generating event for six months. If inactivity continues for another six months, the subscriber risks losing the number permanently, except in cases of proven network-related faults.
The new measures form part of a broader regulatory review linked to the rollout of the Telecoms Identity Risk Management System (TIRMS), a cross-sector platform aimed at reducing fraud associated with recycled, swapped, or barred mobile numbers. According to the Commission, TIRMS will provide a uniform, secure and regulatory-backed framework to safeguard the integrity and use of registered Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Numbers (MSISDNs) across Nigeria’s communications network.
In addition to the 14-day notification requirement, the NCC also proposed that telecom operators must submit details of all churned numbers to TIRMS within seven days of completing the process, enhancing oversight and accountability.
The consultation process, conducted in line with Section 58 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, will remain open for 21 days from the date of publication, with stakeholders expected to submit comments on or before March 20, 2026.
