The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has issued a warning to mobile phone users that any unregistered SIM cards will be disconnected from 1 April 2018. MACRA is calling upon the general public to go to their respective phone service providers to have their numbers registered by 31 March 2018.
The industry regulator said any number that is not registered by the set date will automatically be barred from its network until registration is done. MACRA said new subscribers should register upon acquisition of their numbers with the service provider, be it the phone company, distributor, agent or dealer authorised to provide or sell generic numbers or SIM cards.
To register new Sim cards users will be required to provide their full names, gender, date of birth, residential or business address as well as identity card number.
Malawi launched a mandatory SIM identification campaign in June 2017, in order to prevent the use of mobile phones for criminal purposes. The move follows the introduction of the Communications Act No. 34 of 2016, which outlines the obligations of consumers and service providers concerning the registration of SIM cards.
MACRA has introduced mandatory SIM card registration in the country to get information of mobile users.
Edited by Fundisiwe Maseko
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