Millions face switch off, fines as regulator to deregister SIM cards

A mobile subscriber using his phone. [File, Standard]

Millions of mobile subscribers face being disconnected from the telephone lines once a State deadline lapses tomorrow as it moves to enhance data accuracy.

Those in possession of unregistered SIM cards will also face fines of up to Sh300,000 or a jail term of six months, or both from tomorrow.

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) extended the SIM Card registration validation exercise by six months up to October 15.

The regulator has remained tight lipped on the possibility of a further extension amid calls for extension of the drive.

CA Director General Ezra Chiloba did not respond to numerous queries from The Standard on whether there would be an extension and the status of compliance.

This came as a section of Members of Parliament urged the regulator to postpone its planned deactivation of all unregistered SIM cards until the current drought situation is over.

CA earlier said the decision to extend the deadline arose from an assessment of telecom operators' preparedness to ensure compliance as well as the public outcry over a number of issues.

"In order to ensure that operators meet their obligation, the Authority has decided to extend the SIM card registration validation period for a further six (6) months. The new deadline for updating subscriber registration details will be October 15, 2022," said Chiloba six months ago.

Kenya's active mobile subscriptions dropped to 64.7 million as at June this year from 64.9 million recorded during the previous quarter, according to CA.

This came as mobile operators deactivated 287,214 SIM cards in the three months to June registered using wrong identification details, said the Authority.

"During the Financial Year 2021-22, the mobile telephone service sub-sector was marked by a significant regulatory intervention that involved updating the registration details of all SIM cards in the country," the CA quarterly report said.

Earlier, Chiloba said a review of the compliance levels by the operators showed that a lot still needed to be done to ensure full compliance.

"As of today, our review with the operators indicates that they still have a long way to go to achieve 100 per cent compliance," he said.

The Standard could not ascertain the status of compliance. The exercise is meant to ensure 100 per cent compliance with SIM Card Registration Regulations, which, among other things, require operators to retain a copy of identification documents of every subscriber.

"A person who commits an offence under these Regulations for which no specific penalty has been provided in the Act shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding three hundred thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both," says the law.

Some of the consumer concerns that pushed to the Authority to give additional time included how to address the needs of subscribers outside the country and in rural and remote parts of the country.

Operators including Safaricom, Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya have since provided an online portal where subscribers can self-update their SIM details and confirm their registration.

They can also update their lines from the comfort of their house and do not need to visit the telco shops or offices.

"Subsequently, any case of non-compliance with the SIM Card Registration Regulations 2015 by either the operators or subscribers will attract immediate penalties as laid out by law," Chiloba had said.

This is the third cleanup of unregistered mobile telephone lines in the country with the previous ones having been done in 2012 and 2018.