Kemkomdigi says biometric SIM registration preparations in final stage

The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Kemkomdigi) has stated that preparations for implementing biometric-based SIM card registration have entered the final stage ahead of its scheduled rollout in Indonesia starting 1 July 2026. Director General of Digital Ecosystem at Kemkomdigi, Edwin Hidayat Abdullah, said the government is currently conducting a thorough review of system readiness and implementation before an official announcement is made jointly with mobile operators. “On 1 July, all mobile operators and Komdigi will announce that the process is ready. The process is in its final stage, we are reviewing everything,” Edwin said during an interview after the inauguration of DEAL 2026 in South Jakarta on Tuesday. Edwin explained that the implementation of biometric registration will initially focus on new number registrations. According to him, the government still needs to evaluate infrastructure readiness and system reliability before deciding whether a similar mechanism will be made mandatory for existing customers. “For now, the focus is on new registrations first. We need to observe over the next six months what the system reliability level is like and so on,” he said. Edwin noted that applying biometrics to all existing subscribers requires careful preparation because the number of mobile numbers already in circulation in Indonesia is very large. Therefore, the government must also consider the readiness of systems at mobile operators and the Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration (Dukcapil) to ensure the verification process runs smoothly. “There are so many numbers. It is impossible for hundreds of millions of people to flock to do verification at the same time. We must look at infrastructure readiness, and that requires a process,” he said. Kemkomdigi considers the use of biometric verification in mobile SIM registration as a way for the telecommunications industry to protect the Indonesian public from harmful criminal threats such as fraud, phishing, and identity theft. Besides protecting the public, the use of this technology also strengthens public trust in telecommunications providers. Considering the trial results, the positive public response, and the readiness of telecommunications providers, Edwin said there is no reason to delay the implementation of biometric facial registration for new mobile SIM cards any longer. Similar technology is not only applied in Indonesia; many other countries have also implemented biometric verification for mobile number registration, including Vietnam, Thailand, and South Korea.