Africa’s biggest mobile network
MTN has shed millions of subscribers in Nigeria amid a SIM registration
fine saga in that country.
MTN, in a quarterly update for
the period ended March 31, said that it had disconnected 4.5 million Nigerian
subscribers in February in a bid to comply with the country’s
regulators. This means that MTN's Nigeria subscriber base now stands at 57
million.
“In order to mitigate any future
regulatory challenges, the group took an exceptionally conservative stance by
disconnecting all subscribers who could possibly be deemed to be non-compliant.
This has had a significant unfavourable impact on total subscriber growth and
revenue in Q1, 2016. Nonetheless, we believe this resolve to address compliance
matters decisively, has put the Group on a solid footing as regards the
subscriber registration process and regulatory matters in general," said MTN
Group executive chairman, Phuthuma Nhleko.