POTRAZ Pushes For Mandatory Mobile Handset Registration

The Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) is urging the government to make it mandatory for SIM card holders to register their mobile handsets.

POTRAZ’s competition and standards manager, Hasha Myambo, argued that registering mobile handsets will help improve the security of electronic transactions and reduce cyber-crimes. Said Myambo:

There is a need for appropriate policies to address the different vices that happen in cyberspace. We are lobbying for a corresponding instrument that puts in place a Central Equipment Identification Database for handsets to which operators subscribe.

This database would allow stolen or lost devices to be blocked from working on any network shortly after a report is made. Added Myambo:

The regulator is engaging ICT stakeholders, particularly other regulators, to come up with coherent national plans that integrate ICT-based development to maximise the impact of ICTs on economic growth and social development.

More: The Herald

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