SIM card registration deadline expires tomorrow

The deadline for the deactivation of all unregistered SIM cards in the country is tomorrow, Saturday 15th September 2012.

The exercise, whose deadline was earlier set for 15th June 2012, was extended by the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) for another three months to 15th September 2012.

The SIM card registration project, which started on 15 January 2012, is being coordinated by PURA, which has made it mandatory to register all SIM cards.

“The objective of the extension is to enable each and every GSM subscriber to register their SIM cards,” PURA said then in a press release issued to the media.

It warned that anyone who failed to register his or her SIM card by the new date (15th September 2012) will have his or her line “completely blocked.”

The SIM card registration exercise, which stemmed from an executive order and geared towards “safeguarding the general public’s welfare and security,” has generated mixed reactions among members of the general public.

While many say the move could not have come at a better time than now, taking into consideration crimes committed, especially those caused through mobile phone calls, others have expressed doubts as to the confidentiality of the information collected during the registration process.