The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has instructed mobile network operators to deny service to millions of phone subscribers who have not registered their SIM cards following the lapse last week of the deadline for registration.
CA says telcos have 60 days to ensure all their mobile subscribers have registered their SIM cards and instructed them to roll out tough measures, including deactivation of lines to enforce compliance.
It said the services to be affected by deactivation include voice, SMS, data and mobile banking services.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the 60 days is not an extension but a period for the mobile operators to take certain actions including denial of service to prompt further compliance. These steps include graduated denial of service to SIM card holders not duly registered and eventual deactivation,” said CA.
The communications regulator in April extended the deadline for SIM card registration by six months to allow millions of users to comply with the directive that is aimed at weeding out fraudsters and other criminals from subscriber databases held by the telcos.
The deadline lapsed on Saturday, however, millions of subscribers had yet to register their lines.
“All the mobile operators were, by the midnight of October 15, 2022 expected to ensure that all subscribers had updated their SIM card registration details in line with the law. Taking into account the improved level of performance so far, operators are directed to take additional steps to ensure 100 per cent compliance in the next 60 days,” said CA in a statement on Monday.
The authority said 93 per cent of Safaricom’s 42.53 million subscribers had registered their SIM cards ahead of the deadline, marking it out as having the best compliance rate among the three major mobile operators.
Consequently, Airtel Kenya, which has some 17.04 million subscribers, achieved a compliance rate of 81.2 per cent.
“Any mobile operator found non-compliant shall be liable to regulatory measures including a penalty of up to 0.5 per cent of their annual gross turnover,” said CA.
The regulator said that SIM card registration is key to protecting consumers of telecommunication services and enhancing confidence in the use of ICTs, which are now at the centre of the country’s digital transformation agenda.
While speaking in Naivasha on Monday during a cybersecurity workshop, CA Director-General Ezra Chiloba said over 264,000 mobile phone users were deregistered between February and June for failing to list their SIM cards.
He added that the agency is verifying whether the number had reached 500,000, citing reports in some quarters.
Read also; CA Clarifies of SIM Cards Verification.
