SIM cards to be registered electronically

Rwanda Utility Regulatory Authority (RURA) has agreed with all concerned parties to fastrack the long awaited registration of mobile phone Subscriber Identification Module, (SIM) card, officials announced Thursday. The exercise was meant to start two years ago but it was delayed due to wide consultations with stakeholders on the best way to get the job done.The head of the registration project at RURA, John Baptiste Mutabazi, said they have two committees that will run various functions.“Thursday the technical committee presented to the steering committee a project document highlighting the awareness campaign strategy, the registration process together with the registration plan for approval,” Mutabazi told The Sunday Times in an exclusive interview.The two committees were established in April this year. The technical committee is composed of representatives from the National ID Agency (NIDA), RURA, and mobile phone operators in the Rwandan market; MTN-Rwanda, Tigo and Airtel. The team was tasked to handle all technical issues related to SIM registration and prepare an implementation plan.SIM Card holders will require the electronic registration and authentication of identification through the NIDA database. David Kezio Musoke, the Head of Public Relations at MTN Rwanda, said they were ready to implement the registration as a standard norm. Already other operators and the regulators in the region are involved with SIM registration and requires someone seeking a mobile phone line to submit to the operator his or her identification details.“RURA has already communicated that this exercise to register all SIM card holders within the country will address several issues. As telecom operators, we are therefore obliged to implement the policy,” Musoke said.MTN, the oldest operator on the Rwandan market recently announced that their subscriber base had hit 3 million of the 4.7 mobile phone subscribers in the country.Each operator will register their clients who will only require an ID number which the operator will forward to the ID agency that will check for the details from their data base.Each country has a different approach on how the exercise is carried out. Some just use forms, but Rwanda opted for the online registration because they want to make use of the database created during the acquisition of electronic national IDs, a facility that is also being used to get driving licences.Some of the subscribers who The Sunday Times asked how they perceive the registration of SIM cards expressed various views.Jane Kayima, a resident of Kigali, said if the registration will help curb crime, then the move is a good one. “If the government and operators are trying to protect the users, then I am ready to register my SIM card,” she said.However, James Mugabe, also a resident of Kigali, is concerned that this kind of registration might lead to infringing on people’s privacy.“It will be a good idea if they are doing it for security purpose, but they need to protect the users’ privacy and confidentiality, especially on information.”Mutabazi says they have developed applications by telecom operators to process SIM registration, recruit and train agents for the exercise, including establishing secured Network Connection between NIDA and telecom Operators.“Agents for registration shall be recruited and paid by telecom operators, awareness campaigns will be under RURA. Connection set up between NIDA and telecom operators is under the responsibility of NIDA and the operators and the whole project will be coordinated by RURA.” Under the East Africa Communications Organization (EACO), EAC member states had set mid 2012 as the deadline to have all existing SIM cards registered. There are fears that as technology becomes a necessity in every day’s transactions in mobile money, banking and utility bills payment, exposure to ICT based crimes are on the rise. Cell phones and their SIM cards are not just a means of communication; it has also become a tool to perpetrate crime.Rwanda and Burundi are the only countries in the region that have not yet started the exercise. Uganda started the registration in March this year. In Kenya and Tanzania about 80 percent of the SIM cards have already been registered.