ADDIS ABABA: The Communications Commission of Kenya has announced that all SIM card regulations will be in place by the end of this year. It follows the move to register all mobile phones in the country, which also saw almost one million counterfeit phones turned off as a result of the new policy. CCK Director General Francis Wangusi said that “about 80 percent of subscribers have registered their SIM cards so far." Wangusi added that the “finance bill passed the law that requires all mobile phones to register their SIM cards but the regulations will be required to implement the legislation. “To avoid crime and hate speech through mobile phones, the government will put in place regulations to ensure that all users are identified," Wangusi said. The CCK boss continued that the SIM card law “will ensure that no-one uses the mobile phone to create tensions during the general elections in March 2013." The announcement by the CCK comes after Kenya's four telecom operators began switching off over 1.5 million counterfeit phones on their networks on September, the regulator said. The CCK has said that it will work closely with the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) to ensure that e-waste from counterfeits phones are “disposed of without damaging the environment."
