The Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) has deactivated over 124,000 SIM cards in efforts to curb illegally registered cards in the country.
This is according to the latest report by the authority as of the end of March this year.
The quarterly report covering the three months to March shows the number of active SIM cards declined is 124,689 to standing at 64.9 million down from 65.1 million subscriptions in the preceding quarter.
‘‘The decline in SIM subscriptions is partly attributed to the ongoing SIM registration exercise during which several SIM cards have been deactivated,’’ notes the report in part.
This move is meant to curb the misuse of SIM cards for criminal purposes where subscribers flag off SIM cards illegally registered in their names, which have been effectively deactivated by the operators.
The Authority requires mobile operators to ensure they have updated registration details of their subscribers, in line with the SIM Card Registration Regulations 2015.
The exercise was meant to ensure 100 percent compliance with the SIM Card Registration Regulations, which, among other things, require operators to retain a copy of the identification documents of every subscriber.
The deadline for subscribers to update their registration details is 15th October 2022.
At the same time, the mobile penetration has dropped by 2.5 percentage points to 131.4 percent, due to the revision of the country’s population figures from 48.7 million to 49.4 million according to the Economic Survey 2022.
The report shows that 60.1 million mobile phone devices were connected to mobile networks as of 31st March 2022, out of which 26.5 million were smartphones while 33.6 million were feature phones. Subsequently pushing their penetration rates now stand at 54.6 percent and 69.2 percent respectively computed as a percentage of the total population.
Mobile money subscriptions grew to 36.4 million from 35.2 million in the previous quarter, as a result of greater diversification of value proportions by service providers.
Mobile money now plays a critical role in deepening financial inclusion for the underserved and most vulnerable groups, particularly women. The period saw KSh. 1.2 trillion deposited in mobile wallets with KSh.1.3 trillion used in payment of goods and services. At the same time, KSh.13 million was transacted as payment for government services.
During the same period, the number of data/Internet subscriptions stood at 46.5 million up from 46.3 million in the preceding quarter while total broadband subscriptions stood at 30.2 million.
The number of 3G and 4G mobile broadband subscriptions stood at 12.7 million and 16.7 million respectively.
In the broadcasting sector, the number of FM radio stations now stands at 228 while free-to-air TV stations stand at 151.
The number of dot.ke domain names stands at 97, 439 with .co.ke sub-domain accounting for 89.6 percent of the market share.
The cyber landscape saw the number of threats detected drop by 38.6 percent to stand at 37 million, down from 66.7 million recorded in the previous quarter. A total of 54, 643 advisories were issued during this period.
The report shows that there is enhanced expansion and upgrading of network infrastructure to meet the increasing demand for mobile and data services, which has seen projects being rolled out to expand rural towers, 4G, 5G, and fiber infrastructure rollout and as the electioneering period nears.
“As we approach the electioneering period, the industry is expected to experience increased activity considering that ICTs will be a major facilitator of the General Elections,’’ notes the report.
