MTC  customers are required to provide biometric data, as a condition of sale for all its services.

Those failing to provide fingerprints and photographs will not complete their SIM card registration process and their services will be discontinued at the start of next year.

Research Associate at the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR), Fredricko Links last week published a report in which he questioned the information from its users.

Links in his article pointed out that the legal framework only requires basic information for SIM registration, such as ID copy and information relating to the subscriber's residential address.

He states that there is no legislation in the country that deals, in-depth or appropriately with biometric data, even though Namibia is looking to be compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union.

But Chief HR and Corporate Affairs officer at MTC, Tim Ekandjo says there is nothing sinister about the requirement of collecting biometric data.

The sole purpose he says is to safeguard the user and to put a stop to cybercrime.

"During the course of business MTC has been defrauded by customers presenting false identification documents, with the VERIFI tool such occurrences can be avoided. MTC has seen an 80% decrease in fraudulent activities since the introduction of sim registration, as customers can no longer purchase SIM cards without having the same registered."

Protection of customer personal information is not a compromise says Ekandjo.

"The information obtained via VERIFI will not be shared with any other operator or institution without the express consent of the customers as per the draft Namibian Data Protection Bill, AU Convention and the GDPR."

The mandatory registration of Sim Cards commenced on the 1st of January and will end on 31 December 2023.

So far MTC says 900 000 sim cards have been registered.