Over 60 million active SIM cards have been verified as the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) reminds SIM mobile phone services subscribers with unverified cards to comply before end of this month.
There has been a positive response from the recent appeal by the TCRA on mobile phone services subscribers to verify the status of the registration of their SIM cards.
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The regulator has announced that unverified SIM cards will be blocked after January 31, 2023.
According to TCRA Director General, Dr Jabiri Bakari, the exercise aims at protecting innocent consumers against online crimes such as fraudulent activities and theft.
Updating the public over the exercise, TCRA Manager for Telecom and Internet Management, Engineer Sadath Kalolo said so far 60,076,000 active SIM cards have been verified, with only 2,061,000 equivalent to 4.3 per cent remaining.
The ongoing verification is carried out jointly with mobile network operators. Penalties for non-registration of SIM cards are stated in the Electronic and Postal Communications (SIM card registration) Regulation.
Subscribers can verify the status of the registration of their SIM cards and be updated on those registered against their national identification numbers by pressing *106# on their mobile phones.
SIM cards are registered by matching subscribers fingerprints with those in the National Identification Authority (NIDA) database.
Pressing *106# on a subscribers mobile phone activates a menu in which number 3 enables one to verify the SIM cards registered against their national identification numbers issued by NIDA. Subscribers who discover any anomalies in their registration are urged to take up matters with the respective mobile service provider.
TCRA has identified several reasons for non-compliance with SIM card registration procedures, including criminal intentions.
In early November 2022 TCRA blacklisted and deactivated 52,087 international mobile equipment identities (IMEIs), including those involved in theft and fraudulent activities through mobile phone networks.
An IMEI is a unique code used to identify an individual mobile telephone in Global Systems for Mobile (GSM) communication networks.
