Provisions on the Registration of Mobile SIM-Card Users Strengthened

The Ministry of Communication and Informatics(“Minister”)has issued Regulation No. 12 of 2016 on the Registration of Telecommunications Service Users(“2016 Regulation”).The 2016 Regulation sets out a mechanism for the mandatory registration of pre-paid and post-paid mobile Subscriber Identification Module (“SIM”) cards by users. Furthermore, the 2016 Regulation also mandates a number of additional obligations which have to be met by telecommunications service providers, and these obligations relate to re-registration, data storage and mandatory registration reporting.Prior to the issuance of the 2016 Regulation, these matters were previously addressed by Ministry Regulation No. 23/M.KOMINFO/10/2005 (“2005 Regulation”).The 2016 Regulation is of relevance to all telecommunication service users (“Users”) and telecommunications service providers (“Providers”).Pre-Paid SIM CardsAs is commonly known, all SIM cards must be registered before they can be used for telecommunications purposes. Such registration can be undertaken by Users through a process of self-registration or by visiting outlets which have been established by Providers or by their partners (“Outlets”). [1] This registration process requires that Users provide proof of identity, including: [2]