MPs remain firm on RICA cell deadline

By Paul Vecchiatto, ITWeb Cape Town correspondent

Cape Town, 31 May 2006

Members of Parliament yesterday all but slammed the door shut on the cellular network operators` pleas to extend the deadline for implementation of the law requiring they register all subscribers.

Amendments to the controversial Regulation of Interception and Provision of Communications-related Information Act (RICA) call for the original paper-based registration procedure to be changed to an electronic, or hybrid, format at the request of the operators, Vodacom, MTN and Cell C.

The registration procedures are supposed to begin on 1 July to meet the requirements of the Act that was originally passed in 2002. The network operators have 12 months from the commencement of that date to register over 30 million subscribers and face a fine of up to R100 000 per day if they do not comply.

Crime-fighting measure

The main purpose of the registration of subscribers is to help law enforcement agencies fight organised crime through the efficient tracing of cellphone ownership.

"Even though the network operators have had four years in which to do something, it seems they have done nothing," said ANC MP Lewellyn Landers.

Fatima Chohan (ANC), chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, was emphatic the requirements of the original Act be met.

"We are here not to give extensions to deadlines, or to allow the use of someone else`s database. We are here to see if the Act needs to be changed to allow for an electronic format," she said.

The network operators also pleaded that 12 months was not long enough to register all their subscribers. Vodacom said it would have to process about 90 000 people a day, while MTN said it would have to cope with about 8 000 subscribers a day and Cell C said it would have to cope with about 250 000 registrations a month. All the network operators requested a period of about 36 months to complete the registration process.

Flawed data

In its presentation, Cell C said it had set up a data capturing system that would obtain a subscriber`s cell number that is associated with the SIM card, the person`s ID number, first and last names, and relevant physical address.

However, RICA requires the cell and SIM card numbers, ID number, full names and three addresses - residential, postal and business.

Cell C, along with the other network operators, contended the requirement to have three addresses and full names would be exceedingly onerous and that the law enforcement agencies could obtain this information from other sources such as the Department of Home Affairs.

"Obviously others have more faith in Home Affairs than I do," retorted Chohan. She was referring to the long-delayed Hanis - the electronic identification system that Home Affairs is developing.

Home Affairs minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said during her department`s budget vote in the National Assembly that Hanis should be operational within 18 months.

The network operators also argued that RICA`s implementation would slow down the growth of their industry.