Gambia’s Public Utilities Regulatorty Authority (PURA) has set 15 June as the deadline for the registration of all cell phone lines across the country, PANA reported Monday.
According to official sources, the telecom regulator said after the 15 June deadline all unregistered lines would be blocked.
Abdoulie Jobe, PURA’s Director General, told journalists in Banjul, the Gambian capital, that registration for SIM cards for cellphone users began in April last year but became “mandatory” in January 2012.
Under the exercise, different telecom companies in the Gambia are supposed to get their clients registered and the information/data sent to PURA which will get them verified by the country’s immigration department and electoral office.
This is the first time PURA has embarked on such an exercise and its officials said the measure is aimed at enhancing Gambia’s national security.
