Subscribe

Zambia mulls SIM card registration

By Michael Malakata, ITWeb’s Zambian correspondent.
Zambia, 21 Oct 2011

The Zambia Information and Communication Technology (ZICTA), Zambia telecoms regulator has announced that it will start SIM card and mobile phone registration within the next 12 months.

ZICTA wants the phone serial numbers and the SIM card registered, a move aimed at curbing crime and phone theft. SIM card registration requires customers to produce identification documents and personal details before joining the network.

The phones that will not be registered will have to be blocked, according to ZICTA consumer affairs manager Katwamba Mwansa.

Zambia, like many other countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is experiencing phenomenal growth in the use of mobile phones but many phones are being stolen everyday and criminals are using the phones to commit crimes while other phones are sold to Zambia's neighbouring countries.

ZICTA wants to combine SIM card registration with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) driven digital migration.

Mwansa said the deadline for digital migration is 17 June 2015 but SIM card registration will be completed in the next year.

“ZICTA has scored many success including the significant reduction in mobile phone tariffs and recording over five million subscribers and the target is to reach about eight million before 2012,” said Mwansa.

In addition to blocking SIM cards and phones for those who fail to register, Mwansa said the new Electronic Communications and Transactions gives powers to ZICTA to curb cyber crime such as Internet pornography, which carries a penalty of 10 years in prison.

However, SIM card registration is not without controversy. Subscribers claim registration will work against the principle of universal access and adds to the cost of SIM cards as vendors will have to invest more in data-capturing technology.

Other customers argue SIM card registration will give the authorities the ability to monitor their citizenry where ever they may be, examining conversations, text messages and Internet activities.

ZICTA consumer acting manager Edgar Mlauzi said the Zambian government has embarked on an ambitious programme under the Universal Access Fund of constructing community communication towers in remote parts of the country to ease communication. Over 300 sharable towers are expected to be constructed by ZICTA by the end of this year.

Currently, over 80 towers have already been constructed and are functional and will be used by all three mobile service providers to expand their networks.

Television and radio stations will also be allowed to mount their transmitters to the towers for the transmission of television and radio signals to rural areas.

Share