SIM Card Registration Underway in Solomon Islands

By William Kadi

On 1 June 2024 the Solomon Islands commenced its national plan to register all SIM cards under the Telecommunications (Subscriber Registration) Directives 2023 (Directive). This nationwide SIM registration exercise will continue until the 29th of November 2024.

The Directive establishes a National Subscriber Registry (NSR) which will be controlled and maintained by the Telecommunications Commission. Under the Directive every telecommunications service provider, or their agents, dealers or distributers are required to register SIM card subscriber’s details on the national register. From now on the following information is required to be collected when a person is applying to subscribe to a SIM card service:

• A person’s full name;

• A person’s date of birth;

• A person’s address; and

• A copy of that person’s valid identification documents.

Service providers are also required to maintain electronic records detailing the contact information of its employees, agents, dealers or distributors engaged in the business of SIM card subscription. This information must be kept for at least 5 years.

Earlier in April this year, during the launch of the SIM registration system, the Commissioner for Telecommunication Commission Solomon Islands (TCSI), Calvin Ziru, highlighted some of the key challenges including: a streamlined national identity system and the gap on cyber and technology policies and laws.

Registration of SIM cards will provide Telecommunications companies with a fair amount of information about each SIM card holder and is important for national security and cyber security measures. Due to rising threats to cyber security, service providers are also under an obligation to ensure that customer data is held securely and confidentially.

For service providers, and their agents, distributors and dealers, failure to comply with the Directive, including core requirements to register subscribers and maintain records can lead to severe penalties. For individuals, non-compliance can lead to penalties of up to 100,000 penalty units or seven year imprisonment, and for companies penalties can reach up to 2,500,000 penalty units.

The amendments did provide some level of regulation for SIM card holders; however, ongoing collaboration is expected with all stakeholders to ensure that the system is efficient, and gaps are addressed effectively.

In a world where digital connectivity is becoming an essential service, data security and information protection must also be balanced against the demands for regulating people’s access to services that connect real time across the digital world. As the digital world is rapidly changing, its important that service providers and other businesses operating in the telecommunication space are abreast of ongoing technological advances and regulatory change.

Pacific Legal Network has local and regional experts in the telecommunications and information technology space. Contact us for further information to better understand your obligations to comply with telecommunications regulations.