Multimillion Rand RICA already a failure?
The Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA) kicked in properly recently, requiring the registration of all cellular SIM cards by January 2011. All cellphone subscribers, both Prepaid and Contract, will be required to show proof of identity as well as present a utility bill to show proof of residence to RICA agents in order to be registered.
The new Act is intended to assist law enforcement agencies in tracing criminals where cellphones are used to commit major crimes. The potential effectiveness and the high costs associated with the Act have however come under scrutiny.
The implementation of the Act poses numerous obstacles, including the difficulty in educating and registering rural cellular users, and is likely to cost the mobile providers tens or even hundreds of millions of Rands. Vodacom CEO Pieter Uys said that RICA will cost Vodacom between R 20-million and R 40-million in initial equipment costs, and then at least R 3 per subscriber registering which equates to well over R 100-million.
While the costs may be justified, the biggest question is whether registering mobile users will be of value in fighting crime. Uys feels that this may be five years too late. He added that it is unlikely to have the expected impact on criminal activity.
Technologies such as encrypted VoIP already make it possible to communicate securely which raises serious concerns about the impact that RICA will have on combating crimes committed using a telephone. Questions also hang over the issue of stolen or lost SIM cards and whether the local police are equipped to deal with a barrage of stolen mobile phones and lost SIM card cases.
Uys said that the millions wasted on registering all subscribers may be far better spent on keeping ahead of new communication techniques used by criminals.
With technological developments that have happened over the last few years, there could well be more effective ways to work with the telecommunications providers to combat crime, without slowing down telecommunications penetration and the economic development that stems from it.
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