The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced plans to update its Telecom Identity Risk Management Policy (TIRMP). This update will enable mobile operators to recycle inactive phone lines after a 12-month period.
According to sources at the NCC, the revised policy framework is expected to be officially launched in the fourth quarter of 2025. This initiative is part of a broader strategy designed to combat fraud, improve telecom services, and protect digital identities.
The new policy aligns with the commission’s strategic vision plan, which aims not only to meet the quality-of-service expectations of telecom consumers but also to enhance their overall experience.
This encompasses all interactions within the telecommunications ecosystem, from onboarding processes like SIM registration to offboarding when customers choose to leave a network.
Under the new guidelines, a phone number will be considered inactive if it has not engaged in any revenue-generating activity—such as making or receiving calls, sending SMS messages, using charged USSD sessions, or consuming data—for a period of over 180 days.
If the number remains inactive for an additional 180 days, totaling 360 days, it will become eligible for recycling
The source said, “The QoS Regulation and Business Rules 2024 provides that after 365 days without any Revenue Generating Event carried out on a line it can be churned by the operator.
“Numbering resources, such as telephone numbers and short codes, are the backbone of modern telecommunications. They are governed globally by the International Telecommunication Union, ITU, under Recommendation E.164, which ensures efficiency, and equitable access to numbers across borders.’’
The NCC stated that numbering resources were inherently scarce because each number must conform to a fixed length and format, yielding only a finite set of valid combinations.
Information on the commission’s website states, “In Nigeria, the NCC, mandated by the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, manages and allocates these critical resources on behalf of the federal government.
“The NCC assigns number ranges to licensed operators and services (mobile, fixed, and special) in a manner that promotes fair competition, protects consumers, fosters innovation, and aligns with ITU standards and global best practices.
“The recycling of lines presents challenges, particularly when the previous owners of reassigned numbers still have those numbers linked to services they used before the numbers were recycled. It presents issues of security and integrity of phone number ownership.”