Biometric info no longer required - MTCV
A spokesperson for MTC, Erasmus Nekundi, confirmed to NMH yesterday that those who are going to register their MTC SIM cards no longer have to provide biometric information.Earlier it was reported that MTC's head of communications, Tim Ekandjo, maintained that MTC still requires customers' biometric information as part of the SIM card registration process. This even though the Communications Regulatory Authority in Namibia (Cran) instructed providers of telecommunications services to drop this requirement.
At the time, Ekandjo said that MTC will continue to require the use of its Verifi service due to an increase in incidents of cybercrime and fraud that have been noted. According to Ekandjo, the use of biometric data as part of the Verifi system would combat precisely this crime.
Cran's chief executive, Emilia Nghikembua, previously said in a statement that this directive was overturned following complaints by the public and the media regarding this requirement as part of the registration process.
By the end of September this year, MTC reported that only about 33% of its active SIM cards were registered - this despite the deadline for the registration of SIM cards creeping closer.
Cran and the providers of telecommunications services aim to have all SIM cards registered before 1 January 2024. If not, a mobile phone number will be disconnected for three months. If the SIM card is not registered within those three months, the number is cancelled and the user cannot get it back. - [email protected]