The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has recently given approval for a unified Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) for all mobile network operators in the country. This means that telecommunications operators now have the responsibility to execute this new development. The implementation of the unified USSD codes started on May 18, 2023.
The unified USSD service will become the only way to recharge and check mobile networks in the country. The commission informed all concerned parties in March about the need to migrate and fully implement the unified USSD codes by May 17, 2023. After this date, the only way for customers to recharge airtime or check balance on all mobile networks in the country will be through the harmonized shortcodes (HSC) for all mobile networks being implemented.
This new development implies that as an MTN subscriber, the regular MTN codes *555# and *556# will not be used for recharging anymore. The same applies to Glo, Airtel, 9mobile, and all other network providers that have adopted this new service from NCC. On the other hand, a network provider that fails to migrate will not be able to serve its customers anymore. It also means that all mobile network services will use the same customer care number, the same codes for checking data balance and credit recharge.
Here is a list of the unified USSD codes for all mobile networks in Nigeria:
- Call Centre: 300
- Borrow Services: *303#
- Stop Service: *305#
- Check Balance: *310#
- Credit Recharge: *311#
- Data Plan: *312#
- Data Plan Balance: *323#
- Share Services: *321#
It is worth mentioning that the commission will not change some codes and their functions. These codes are: DND: 2442, Porting services: 3232, NIN Verification, and NIN-SIM Linkage: *996#.
