/ 29 June 2011

Disconnection blues loom for tardy cellphone users

The 5% of South Africans who have not registered their SIM and data cards must do so before midnight on Thursday.

The 5% of South Africans who have not registered their SIM and data cards must do so before midnight on Thursday, Communications Deputy Minister Obed Bapela said on Wednesday.

The Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (Rica), requires the registration of all SIM cards in use.

“The progress is that 95% have Rica’d overall … that’s 37-million SIM and data cards done,” he said at a briefing in Midrand.

He said the cellphones of 2.7-million people would be disconnected from the cellphone network unless they had registered with their service providers by midnight on Thursday.

All 8ta customers had already been Rica’d.

Most Vodacom shops would stay open until 10pm on Thursday to complete the process. Cell C and MTN shops would remain open until midnight.

Bapela said there were queues at shops on Wednesday and a last-minute rush was expected. – Sapa