| Rudolph Muller | June 27, 2011 |
If you have not RICAed your SIM by 30 June, you will face a locked SIM and de-activated service
Over the last year there have been numerous prominent campaigns to encourage consumers to ‘RICA’ their SIMs through providing operators with proof of address and identification.Registration is required in terms of the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-related Information Act to help the police to locate criminals using cellphones for illegal activities.
Recent information suggests that more than 90 percent of South Africa’s phone users have registered their SIM cards in terms of RICA, but that still means that there are millions on non-RICAed SIMs in the country.
This begs the question: what will happen to non-RICAed SIMs after the June 30 deadline?
Non-RICAed SIMs after 30 June
Virgin Mobile’s Vanda Harries explains that they will not cut off non-RICAed subscribers completely after 30 June, just suspend their ability to make and receive calls and SMSs or use data.
“They will still be able to call our call centre for help on 123 so as to assist them to RICA as soon as possible – at which time their full service will be restored on their same number,” said Harries.
“If they decline to RICA for an extended period, normal churn rules will apply and we will eventually disconnect them. We would therefore encourage customers to RICA in order to avoid the inconvenience of having their cellular service suspended,” said Harries.
Portia Maurice, Vodacom’s Chief Officer of Corporate Affairs, explained that SIMs that are not registered (RICAed) will be locked as of 1 July. “If the SIM is locked the user will not be able to make a call, send an SMS or access the internet,” said Maurice.
“It’s important that people understand that all SIMs must be registered – including those in things like computer modems and burglar alarms. This is probably our biggest area of concern,” said Maurice.
Maurice added that contract customers who haven’t registered will still remain liable to pay their contract, even if the SIM is locked.
If a SIM hasn’t been registered after six months it will be permanently deleted from Vodacom’s system and the number will be recycled.
“The good news is that the process to unlock SIMs is simple – all the customer has to do is register the SIM, but it can take 24-48 hours to reactivate the service,” Maurice pointed out.
MTN also confirmed that non-RICAed customers will be deactivated from the network on 1 July.
“Prepaid customers will still retain their numbers, and non-complying postpaid customers will still be liable for their bills as per their commercial agreement,” explained to Eddie Moyce, Customer Services Executive at MTN SA.
“Depending on the expiry date, prepaid customers airtime will still be available once they RICA. Deactivated subscribers will be reactivated if they bring along proof of residence and their ID to any MTN dealer and participating retailer. Customers must please bear in mind it might take between 2 hours and 24 hours to reconnect,” said Moyce.
Cell C explained that customers who do not RICA will be cut-off from the Cell C network after 30 June 2011. “This is in accordance with the RICA legislation,” said Cell C.
“Those who are not registered by 1 July will remain cut-off. No form of communication (incoming and outgoing calls and incoming and outgoing SMS’s) can be carried out on that SIM card until the necessary RICA registration process is followed. Should a customer attempt to make a phone call, a recorded message will play informing the customer to register their number before they can make a connection,” said Cell C.
Cell C explained that customers who have not registered their numbers by te cut-off date can still re-register their SIM cards after 1 July.
“Cell C customers can check their RICA status, by dialing *133*7422# (or *133*RICA#) or SMS “RICA” to 14579,” the company said. “Some of our stores will be open until late to accommodate customers to RICA.”
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