NCAA Backs Firm On eSIM To Address Air Passengers’ Connectivity Challenges

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has given a “no objection” to Univasa Nigeria Limited’s eSIM service, citing its potential to address internet connectivity challenges experienced by Nigerian air passengers travelling abroad.

The NCAA said the initiative could improve passengers’ travel experience by making it easier for them to access internet services and communicate while travelling outside the country.

The director of public affairs and consumer protection at the NCAA, Michael Achimugu said the authority’s position followed an assessment of the service and feedback from users.

Speaking at a UNIVASA-NCAA stakeholders’ engagement in Abuja on Wednesday, Achimugu said the decision was based on the need to support solutions to problems affecting passengers’ travel experience.

Achimugu said the NCAA would support Univasa because the service addresses a connectivity need among Nigerian passengers, noting that “When we identify a problem, we seek to solve those problems. To make the travel experience better for Nigerian passengers.”

He also disclosed that the minister of aviation and aerospace development, Festus Keyamo, uses the service while travelling abroad, adding that some chief executives in the aviation sector also use it.

NCAA’s special adviser to the director-general, Ifueko Abdulmalik also said the authority was interested in the initiative from the passenger-experience perspective.

She said passengers travelling into and out of Nigeria often experience connectivity difficulties, adding that access to internet services could make communication and movement easier for travellers.

The managing director and chief executive officer of Univasa, Dr Ben Adeniyi said the service was developed partly in response to the need for international travellers to remain connected when they arrive in a new country.

He said the Univasa eSIM provides connectivity in more than 150 countries and over 200 destinations, while its physical SIM, known as P-SIM, is intended for phones that do not support eSIM technology.

Adeniyi said international travellers increasingly require internet access to communicate with family and friends at home and with people at their destinations.

Also speaking, vice president of the Nigerian Society of Engineers and a partner with Universa Nigeria Limited, Dr Halimat Adediran, said the service has agreements with many networks globally.