SIM Card Re-Registration Starts October 31, 2023

The re-registration of SIM cards is in fact in line with the recommendations of the report of the Commission of Inquiry into Drug Trafficking of June 2018. Following these recommendations, the Information and Communication Technology (Registration of SIM Cards) Regulations SIM) 2023 aimed at controlling the sale and use of SIM cards, will be effective from Tuesday October 31, 2023.

This is what emerges from a press conference organized by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA), today at the Celicourt Building, in Port Louis.

ICTA Chairman Mr. Dick Ng Sui Wa, ICTA Head Mr. Jerome Louis, Emtel Ltd Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Kresh Goomany, Cellplus Mobile Head Customer Experience Communications Ltd, Ms. Nishi Munbodh Mohun, and the CEO of Mahanagar Telephone Mauritius Limited (MTML), Mr. Shashank Malviya, were present to provide details on the modalities put in place for the re-registration exercise.

The President of ICTA recalled that the main objective of this exercise is to ensure that each SIM card used is registered in the name of its user in order to protect subscribers against all types of fraud, theft of identity and other harms. He stressed that the re-registration of SIM cards will be done online through the websites or applications that the operators will make available to the public from October 31, 2023. For any subscriber who does not have access to the online system , re-registration can be done in person with the respective operators, he said.

As for the head of ICTA, he stressed that one of the challenges to be overcome was the number of SIM cards already in service to date and the number of black phones currently in use. He also highlighted that the authorities and operators have put in place a simple process to ensure that the re-registration exercise goes smoothly. Mr. Louis took this opportunity to indicate that a link is available on the ICTA website https://www.icta.mu/simregulation to provide a QR code for each operator's website.

For his part, the CEO of Emtel Ltd informed that the company has designed a mobile application, MoEmtel, to enable its users to carry out the re-registration exercise. The application will be available from October 31, 2023 on App Store, Play Store and Huawei AppGallery. A user can also re-register their friends and family through the mobile app. He recalled that all data will be stored with the operator and will remain secure.

The CEO of MTML, for his part, indicated that users can download a mobile application from the App Store or Play Store and follow the steps to re-register their SIM card. This exercise can also be carried out at MTML outlets across the island, he added.

The head of customer experience at Cellplus Mobile Communications Ltd, for her part, said a link will be available on the company's website or telecom app to allow users to re-register their SIM cards. A hotline, 8900, is also available to provide any additional information a customer may need, she added.

Please note that, as is currently the case and in accordance with the data protection law, all data stored by operators remains secure and under their responsibility.

Re-registration of SIM cards: faced with citizen fears and opposition, the three mobile telephone operators reassure

All customer data will be saved by their respective mobile operators, and only an order from a judge in court will allow access to it.

Assurance given by the country's three mobile telephone operators, on the eve of the start of the SIM card re-registration exercise.

According to Kresh Goomany, Chief Executive Officer of Emtel, this commitment is nothing new. He participated this afternoon in a press briefing at ICTA headquarters on this subject.

Listen to Kresh Goomany’s speech, below.