After the recent directive which banned the issuing of new SIM cards, the Uganda Communications Commission’s (UCC) has come out to clarify on this ban. In a letter to the telecom companies, UCC said they were in the process of implementing the API with the National Identity Registration Authority (NIRA) to ensure verification and validation of SIM card registration information.
Below are the conditions under which telecom companies are allowed to either issue a new SIM card or Swap a SIM card for any existing or potential client.
- Production of a valid Police report
- Presentation of a letter from NIRA verifying and validating that a SIM card holder’s National Identity card is authentic
- Re-registration of the applicant for a SIM card by the telecommunications operator using biometric and photograph.
- Issuance of a fresh SIM card registration form
- Ensuring that the SIM card holder shall be using the SIM in a genuine Type Approved device.
The commission has advised the telecom operators that to abide by the set condition hence forth, although they don’t mention a time when they API implementation process will be completed to ease the new bureaucratic process.
