Rica's revenge: unregistered cellphone customers cut off

Just under a million Vodacom customers were disconnected on Friday after failing to meet the Rica deadline, the service provider said.

“Some of those people would have come in this morning [Friday] to register,” said spokesperson Richard Boorman.

He said there were no penalties for late registration and therefore no need to panic. South Africans were given until midnight on Thursday to Rica their sim and data cards to avoid being disconnected.

“If you take your relevant documentation to a Rica station or Vodacom-approved outlet, you can get back on the network.”

The provider said it had over 170 000 Rica agents across the country available to assist cut-off customers.

However, reactivation may take up to 24-hours.

Contract customers who had not registered and had their sims locked would still be liable for their contractual payments.

8ta had registered all of its customers by Wednesday, while MTN and Cell C were still busy collating figures.

MTN spokesperson Bridget Bhengu said they were pleased with the progress so far.

“By Friday morning, MTN was still collating and reconciling the number of customers who have been cut off, but initial indications are that the numbers are not significant.”

She said customers who registered after the deadline might have to wait a short while before they are reconnected.—Sapa