There will be no extension to the registration of SIM cards.
There are only two weeks left, and once the deadline hits, service providers will suspend the numbers of all unregistered subscribers.
The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) held a press conference this afternoon (Friday) at the Government Information Centre for an update.
It has been 18 months since the sim card registration process started, and to date, only 45% of subscribers across the country have registered their sim cards.
MTC, the largest service provider with over 2 million clients, has only registered 43% of their clients, while TN Mobile has registered 45%.
The Executive Director at the Information and Communication Technology Ministry, Audrin Mathe, says ample time was given for the registration, expressing reluctance on the idea of an extension.
"Just shortly after Christmas, we will receive the last update from the operators. We will be able to sit down as a ministry and then discuss the next phase. What happens depends on the number of people that are registered by then, so please go and register. Do not wait; there is still enough time. MTC is saying the online platform will be up next week. There will be a huge number of people who will register. I am hopeful that we will have upwards of 70%."
The primary reason for SIM card registration is to curb cybercrime, including bank fraud, and last week commercial banks expressed concern about a potential increase in fraud should mobile operators forge ahead and disconnect unregistered SIM cards.
To this end, Mathe says that banks are stakeholders and could have consulted the authorities ahead of time.
"They must not sit there and point fingers at other people; they have a platform, even bigger, that they can engage in and spread the message. Who wants to lose their money? Everyone wants their e-wallets and blue wallets, so if your phone does not work, you are not going to receive anything."
Both TN Mobile and MTC have indicated that they remain hopeful for an extension, but that only the line minister has the authority to do so.
The two service providers are also cognizant of the fact that the disconnection of unregistered subscribers would have a negative effect on their finances.
"Any customer that is not registered by January 1st will suffer too much of a revenue loss, even from one single customer. That is why we really want to urge all our customers to go and register," said TN Mobile CEO Stanley Shanapinda.
"Naturally, it will have an impact on revenue; we are working hard, and yes, we hope that come that day, there is some consideration for an extension," MTC's acting managing director, Patience Kanalelo, added.
Unregistered numbers will be disconnected on the 1st of January, but users will have three months to reactivate their numbers by registering them, and failure to register the disconnected number in the given period will result in the user permanently losing the number.