As of 1 July 2009, all new SIM cards (starter packs) purchased in South Africa need to be registered and the identity of the owner verified before they can be activated. All 40+ million SIM cards purchased prior to this date will have the next 18 months to comply. The Regulation of Interception of Communication Act (RICA) is an attempt to curb the use of mobile phones in criminal activities.

What this means for organisations who have staff with SIM cards (prepaid or contract) and whether or not they use Mobile Researcher, is that these SIMs will need to be registered. Each organisation essentially has two options:

  1. Request each fieldworker to complete the registration process. They will need to provide their ID book and proof of residence.
  2. Nominate a representative who will register the SIM cards on behalf of the organisation.

Option 2 is the preferred option if the SIMs are owned by the organisation and, should the fieldworker leave the project or organisation, the SIM card will be reissued to another staff member. If option 1 is used in this case, the transfer of ownership would need to be recorded and the RICA process repeated for the new “owner”.

The actual RICA process itself is carried out by the relevant network operator by so-called “RICA officers”. These are generally any of the dealers, service centres or retailers where you would normally purchase SIM cards and/or airtime.

Should you procure handsets and/or SIM cards from us, we will be able to assist you in the RICA process.

Process for MTN prepaid SIMs

MTN allow you to pre-record the details of all the SIMs you wish to register, as well as either the fieldworker’s details (if selecting option 1 above) or the organisation representative’s details (option 2). You can also bulk upload all the mobile numbers you wish to register.

Once the necessary information has been submitted within 7 days, the fieldworker or representative will need to take their ID and proof of residential address to any MTN Dealer or Service Centre.

Process for Vodacom prepaid SIMs

Vodacom customers will need to register at Vodacom’s regional Walk-In Customer Care Centres and selected Vodashops, 4 U stores and other Vodacom outlets.