
SIM cards in Rwanda are set to be registered electronically as part of the country’s drive to prevent ICT related crimes.
The East Africa Communications Organisation (EACO) has set mid-2012 as the deadline for all countries in the region to have SIM cards registered.
The registration drive forms part of a move in the region to curb crimes committed using mobile devices.
The plan is that people buying SIM cards in the region will have to submit their identity (ID) number, which mobile operators will forward to ID agencies that will do a profile check on the consumer.
Rwanda, though, is reportedly late at starting this process, as Uganda started its registrations in March this year, while Kenya and Tanzania have about 80% of their SIM cards registered, according to The New Times newspaper.
Nevertheless, the head of the registration project at the Rwanda Utility Regulatory Authority (RURA), John Baptiste Mutabazi, told the The New Times newspaper that his organisation has come to the party, having developed applications along with telecom operators to process SIM registration.
He says his organisation has further established a secured network connection between the country’s National ID Agency (NIDA) and telecom operators such as MTN, Airtel and Tigo.
“Thursday the technical committee presented to the steering committee a project document highlighting the awareness campaign strategy, the registration process together with the registration plan for approval," he said.
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