2.7m SA cellphone users face return to ‘stone age’
The Department of Communications (DOC) together with the executives of all the country’s cellphone operators say the deadline for registering all SIM and data cards in use will not be extended.
The deadline for South Africans to register their numbers with government is midnight June 30.
All SIM cards, including those used for cellular phones or data, that are not RICA-ed by the end of June will be cut off from their networks as at July 1 – there are 2.7m such SIM cards.
The Deputy Minister of Communications Obed Bapaela said that the collaborative effort between government and the mobile operators has meant over 95% of South Africans have their SIM cards RICA-ed. A far better number than Mexico had when its deadline closed. By its deadline Mexico saw just under 66% of Mexicans Rica-ing by the end of their deadline.
Bapela was quick to allude to the fact that had government joined forces with the operators a lot earlier- then the number of RICA-ed subscribers could’ve been higher.
Government began working with the operators in March.
“Since the department started encouraging the public to RICA in March, we have seen 4.3m people responding to the call,” said Bapela.
RICA, first introduced in 2008 has seen the mobile operators spending “hundreds of millions of rands” through various campaigns to ensure that subscribers have their SIM cards registered. Acting MD of Vodacom, Vuyani Jarana said, “we have done enough, from our call centre agents calling subscribers to remind them about the deadline to sending SMSes – there has been enough publicity around the issue of RICA-ring SIM cards”. Cell C CEO Lars Riechelt agrees with Jarana, “We’ve given our subscribers a number of incentives to register their SIM cards, from games to free airtime. We are happy with the progress that we have made so far.”
Off all the mobile operators Telkom’s mobile offering 8-ta is the only one to have all of its subscribers registered, as the RICA legislature was already in place when the company was launched. Cell C is leading the pack with the highest number of prepaid RICA-ed subscribers at 99%. Vodacom is a close second at 98.4% and MTN at 98 %. MTN has 96 % of its prepaid subscriber base registered, Vodacom 93.6% and Cell C 92%.
Getting customers rica’ed was not without its fair share of problems – Bapela said that MTN had problems with subscribers believing that the deadline was a farce and that it was going to be extended. Cell C had trouble in educating its subscribers on the reasons for RICA-ing and the documentation required to complete the process, such as ID documents and proof of residence. Vodacom also faced the same challenges as Cell C. An additional issue for Vodacom was the large number of underage SIM card owners who couldn’t RICA, by virtue of not having the required documentation. Bapela encouraged all parents to register their children’s SIM cards on their behalf.
Check if you’re RICA-ed.
SIM cardholders who are uncertain if they have been RICA’ed can check their status by dialing or SMSing the following numbers form their cellphones. MTN users can call *131*3#, Vodacom subscribers can dial *31050# and Cell C can call *133*7422# or SMS 14579.
Vodacom, MTN and Cell C stores will extend their operating hours to accommodate the last minute rush to RICA.
“South Africans must know that come the 30th of June, they will be disconnected,” said Bapela. He added that “failure to comply with the deadline will result in SIMs being disconnected. Those who have not registered will not be able to make or receive calls and will not be able to send SMSes or use data.”
Enough said!
Source: Moneyweb
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