The SIM card registration exercise was supposed to end in Mid-April this year. However, following public outcry about the registration process, and the issues surrounding the entire exercise, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) suspended the registration of SIM cards till after the elections. This time around, the deadline will elapse in October, meaning Kenyans have a couple of months to ensure that their SIM cards are properly registered.
The CA is basically enforcing the Kenya Information and Communications (Registration of SIM cards) Regulations, 2015 which requires all mobile operators to collect certain details of their subscribers during registration and update any changes made thereafter to those details.
Furthermore, all telcos have an online platform where their customers can upload details about themselves for registration. After verification, the operators will confirm the SIM cards as properly documented. Customers can also check their registration status by dialing *106# from any network to confirm their registration details.
As we have said before, this exercise is being conducted to ensure that all SIM cards are properly documented. One obvious reason for this is weeding out cards that are fraudulently registered. The lines are used for multiple fraudulent activities or crimes such as M-PESA scams and kidnappings, to mention a few. Also, there are earlier SIM cards, likely owned by folks who bought them before 2010 or thereabouts: these SIM cards are not served with full information about their owners, so the government want their holders to verify information about them.
Then there are SIM cards whose owners have since passed away. It is challenging for telcos to determine deceased customers, so they hope that the re-registration process will help them identify these SIM cards.
Failure to confirm details about your line will see it suspended from a network. According to the CA, if owners do not follow up, the lines will re-enter the market for purchase, after which, original holders will never be able to use them again.
It’s also worth noting that the penalties are heavy for both the service provider and individuals. Operators will be fined KES 300,000 per violation (each unregistered user) and if you provide information that is not true, you could be fined up to 6 months in jail.
So, have you registered your SIM card yet? Here is how to do so for Telkom, Airtel, Safaricom, and Faiba.
FAIBA
The telco has since notified its subscribers that they don’t need to re-register their SIM cards.
“Our SIM registration is fully compliant with the Communication Authority guidelines,’ read the notification being pushed on SMS and on the Faiba app.
TELKOM KENYA
- Go to this registration portal.
- Enter your Telkom Kenya number.
- Enter your ID number.
- Upload the front side of your national ID.
- Enter the backside of your national ID.
- Hit SUBMIT and that is it.
After you have hit SUBMIT, the site should notify you that the records have been captured successfully.
AIRTEL KENYA
- Go to this registration portal.
- Enter your Airtel Kenya number. You will receive an OTP that will then verify it.
- Enter your ID number.
- Upload the front side of your national ID.
- Enter the backside of your national ID.
- Hit SUBMIT and that is it.
- Go to this link.
- Enter your phone number.
- Enter the one-time password you will receive via SMS.
- Upload the front and back images of your ID.
- Complete and submit.
If the processes above are challenging, you can always visit a mobile money agent, or customer care shop for registration.
Have you registered your SIM card yet?
