383m Is Total Number Of Phone Numbers Allocation To Operators Since 2001– NCC Says
BY GLORIA USMAN, ABUJA – The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has said that the 383 million new telephone numbers it has so far allocated are the total National Numbering Plan (2021 Q1), allocated to all the telecommunications services providers since the inception of digital mobile services in the country in 2001.
The NCC which stated this while debunking a story published in a national daily which wrongly interpreted an update report on National Numbering Plan, posted by the Commission on its official website, said the figure is not new allocation if 2021 alone.
In a statement, the Commission states; “The update report was posted on the Commission’s website on Friday 19th, February, 2021, under the heading: “National Numbering Plan (2021 Q1)” was the total number of telephone numbers.
It explained that based on the update report, the story was wrongly interpreted by the media outfit as it is by no means any indication of new allocation or new activation of telephone numbers in Q1 2021.
NCC further states; “Rather, the report on the Commission’s website titled: ‘National Numbering Plan (2021 Q1)’ is a routine periodic report issued as part of the Commission’s regulatory mandate to publish and update all telephone numbers allocated to service providers for the benefit of stakeholders”.
It explained that the purpose of the National Numbering Plan in the telecommunications sector is to set up a uniform numbering scheme and the associated dialing procedures to be used in the networks to allow the subscribers and operators to set up calls.
The NCC therefore drew the attention and advised the members of the public and all stakeholders to disregard the report in the national daily and be guided accordingly.
The Commission states that it runs an Open-House system, and encouraged all media outlets and stakeholders to always feel free to contact the Commission for necessary clarification on NCC’s regulatory activities and reports published on it’s website before going to press.
