BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY MEDIA FOR AFRICA

Kenya: High Court blocks thin SIM rollout

Kenya: High Court blocks thin SIM rollout
Christopher Tredger
By Christopher Tredger, Portals editor
19 Dec 2014

From Nairobi, local media have reported that Kenya's High Court has blocked a move by mobile operator and Equity Bank subsidiary, Finserve Africa Ltd., to roll out thin SIM technology.

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) initially made a decision to allow the roll out, but, following an urgent application by local NGO Kituo Cha Sheria, this process has been halted by the Court, according to a report by Capital FM.

The Organisation is said to have contested that the country's regulatory body, the CA, authorised the move without fully investigating the security risks to subscribers in terms of their PIN or personal identification numbers and the integration of thin SIM technology.

Kituo Cha Sheria is quoted by Capital FM as stating, "The Communication Authority hurriedly authorised the use of the thin SIM technology in spite of legitimate concerns regarding security of data on the primary SIM that shall be overlaid by the thin SIM."

Kenya's government, via its ICT Ministry and ICT Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i, has reportedly appealed to industry stakeholders to allow the CA's 1-year testing period to enable users to make up their minds about the technology.

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