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ACT CEO Batyi Rejects Icasa’s Biometric SIM Registration Rules
ACT CEO Batyi Rejects Icasa’s Biometric SIM Registration Rules
South Africa’s largest telecommunications operators have rejected the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa’s (Icasa) draft regulations requiring biometric verification for all SIM cards. Nomvuyiso Batyi, CEO of the Association of Comms and Technology (ACT), stated that while the industry supports stricter registration, Icasa’s proposal ignores a two-year collaborative effort between operators and the justice department to develop a viable industry framework.
South Africa’s mobile telecommunications operators have formally rejected the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa’s (Icasa) draft regulations that would mandate biometric verification for all new and existing SIM cards. Nomvuyiso Batyi, chief executive of the Association of Comms and Technology (ACT), stated that while the industry supports tougher registration measures, Icasa’s proposal fundamentally ignores a comprehensive framework developed over two years in collaboration with the Department of Justice.
The draft amendments to Icasa’s numbering plan regulations, published for public comment last month, would require every new SIM activation, reactivation, and swap to be verified against Home Affairs records via fingerprint or facial recognition. The rules also cap subscribers at five numbers per operator and mandate that operators re-verify all existing customers within two years.
Batyi, who leads the industry body representing Vodacom, MTN, Telkom, Cell C, Rain, and Liquid Intelligent Technologies, explained that Icasa officials attended meetings where the industry’s alternative approach was presented. Consequently, the regulator’s draft came as a surprise to the operators. The ACT’s agreed framework allows for 20 SIMs per person per network, significantly higher than Icasa’s proposed limit of five. It also specifically targets informal dealers who sell pre-registered SIM cards in their own names.
The CEO highlighted that prepaid customers present the most significant challenge for implementation. She noted that traders in rural areas still register SIMs over 2G connections, complicating biometric capture. Batyi also warned that forcing every subscriber to re-verify risks repeating the failures of previous digital migration efforts and raised concerns about the costs associated with querying the Home Affairs database.
The debate is driven by rising fraud, including WhatsApp scams, stolen phones, and one-time PIN fraud. However, Batyi argued that Icasa’s approach fails to account for the logistical realities of the industry’s existing work with justice officials to amend the Registration of Interception of Communications Act (Rica).
L. Brown--BTZ
