The 2017 sim registration exercise was a mandatory process that saw UCC impose tough rules on telecom operators to switch off any unregistered sim cards– or so we thought. The recent wave of murders, most of which have been attributed to use of unregistered SIM cards has left the authorities puzzled and investigations point to the fact that there are still loop holes in the entire process. Following the recent UCC public notice where the authorities banned sale of airtime and SIM cards by unauthorized agents. This week, MTN Uganda has come out to issue fresh guidelines so as to protect all subscribers and adhere to the new policy.
According to MTN’s a new guideline document, the company has revoked all SIM card sales at all unauthorized shops and street vendors. The telecom regulator UCC has plans to implement the new directive by April 2nd. MTN’s approach seems directed at protecting all subscribers against any future mobile money scams at the moment.
Given the rate at which many unsuspecting victims have been tricked into sending money to the wrong numbers including government officials who tasted the new age of fraud tricks the hard way. Other telecom operators in Uganda will soon have similar announcements since UCC’s notice was general and a must implement.
When SIM card registration resumes
MTN Uganda’s ban is more of a temporary measure as the company awaits database integration with NIRA. This means, no one can register any new MTN SIM card at the moment as the firm plans on introducing biometric card readers at all service centers to scan and validate national ID data in real time. We wait for other networks to follow suit.
The MTN SIM card registration exercise is expected to be back as soon as UCC and NIRA agree to share data with telecom operators.
We only hope that this will translate to police registering less mobile related crimes after the implementation of the new SIM card registration criteria in the near future.
