Unregistered mobile lines to be cut

they failed to register by the February 28 deadline.
Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority director general Engineer Charles Sibanda said millions of subscribers had ignored the appeal to register their lines.
Eng Sibanda said there would be a massive disconnection once they are through with the data capturing of the information of registered subscribers. Some subscribers, Eng Sibanda said, had already been disconnected.
He was giving oral evidence before a Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Media and Information Technology chaired by Nketa House of Assembly member, Mr Seiso Moyo (MDC-T).
“A total number of 9,1 million sim cards have been registered, while 300 000 still await approval after they filled in forms. There are 3,1 million subscribers who never bothered to register and they are going to be disconnected,” said Eng Sibanda.
Norton Member of the House of Assembly Mr Edward Musumbu (MDC-T) asked whether there was no better option to ensure compliance rather than disconnection.
“I think we have exhausted all methods. We tried persuasion, some of the citizens just took it as a joke,” he said
The committee asked whether there was any value realised from disconnection.
“The major issue is that of security reasons. Operators on their side would enjoy to have unregistered lines because it increases income, because if you register there will be a drop in their business. The issue now is between the regulatory authority and the operator who is hosting an unregistered subscriber,” he said.
The Potraz boss said the country’s three mobile phone operators – Econet, Telecel and Net One had been given up to March 15 to conclude data capture for subscribers who had registered.
Eng Sibanda said the registration details provided by the subscribers would be cross referenced with the Registrar General’s Office to address potential fraud cases.
“We will have to check with the RG’s Office because some people might have used dead people’s identity cards to register. As it is now, any person who gets disconnected (for failing to register) cannot complain,” he said.
He said it was Potraz’s desi-re to have advanced technological services like digital on all operators including broadcasting services, which he said, ought to migrate from analogue to digital.
“The trend now under broadcasting is to go digital and there will be excess spectrum and that is that we call digital dividend,” he said.
He said it was Potraz”s responsibility to issue broadcasting spectrum frequencies to the Broadcasting Authority of Zim for allocation to companies such as Transmedia. He said while spectrum was on high demand they have not yet received complaints of shortfalls from BAZ. – Herald Reporter-New Ziana.