With little more than three months left until the deadline for the SIM card registration Act is enforced, attempts by mobile operators to lobby for an extension seem futile.
Operators began lobbying for an extension to the 31 December deadline in July this year, as the realisation of losing millions of unregistered subscribers became more apparent.
According to the Regulation of Interception and Provision of Communications-Related Information Act (RICA) Amendment Bill, the networks will be obliged to capture all their customers' full names and up to three verified addresses. This information will allow law enforcement agencies to trace suspects in criminal matters.
Operators were given 12 months to register their entire subscriber base, or be forced to cut off unregistered subscribers by year-end.
However, despite attempts to provide evidence of their RICA experience, the operators have so far had no indication from either the Department of Communications or the Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding a possible extension.
ITWeb was unable to reach the portfolio committee at the DOJ for comment regarding the calls for an extension.
