Ministry to begin prepaid registration campaign

Ministry to begin prepaid registration campaign

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The government plans to begin registering all current and new
users of prepaid cellular phone numbers in the coming weeks.

"There goes the reason for buying a prepaid number, which is
that there is no fuss. You might as well use a postpaid number
now," said Astari Dyah, a 22-year-old education consultant.

That was the most frequent reaction to the government's
announcement that it would soon begin enforcing the Ministry of
Communications and Information's ruling on prepaid cellular phone
numbers, which was issued to help fight crime by eliminating the
total anonymity of prepaid cellular phone numbers.

The ministry, in cooperation will all domestic cellular
operators, will begin registering the numbers in mid-December,
the ministry's director for post and telecommunications, Basuki
Yusuf Iskandar, said last week.

"We will likely use a manual and on-line registration system.
But the final details will be worked out during a coordination
meeting on Monday," he said.

The ministry is requiring all cellular phone operators to
identify and register their prepaid card users nationwide, in
compliance with a ruling issued on Oct. 14.

Under the ruling, it is compulsory for cellular operators to
compile the names, addresses and birth dates of all prepaid
subscribers, who will be required to provide copies of a legal
form of identification, including passport or driver's license.

The ministry has set a deadline of April next year for
cellular operators to complete the registration process.

This could prove difficult, with prepaid cellular phone cards
still sold without the purchasers being asked to provide any ID
or to fill out a registration form.

Cellular operators Telkomsel, Indosat and Excelcomindo have
said they are still studying the issue before deciding on the
most effective way to register prepaid card users.

Ventura Elisawati, corporate secretary for Excelcomindo
Pratama, the country's third largest cellular operator, said
registration might be done by requiring customers to contact a
call center to activate new numbers.

Existing prepaid subscribers would likely be contacted
directly by the call center to complete their identification,
Ventura said.

The registration is aimed at helping to fight a whole range of
crimes, from financial scams to terrorism.

The compiled data will be submitted to the Attorney General's
Office, the National Police and the communications ministry.

There are currently more than 40 million cellular phone
subscribers in the country, 90 percent of whom use prepaid
numbers.