Noticing its strategic role in modern life and its phenomenal growth rate, telecommunication services must be credible.
That means the telecommunication system has to be able to guarantee that the validity of the callers or senders of messages, or whatever their names, can be validated. With the number of active mobile cards reaching 360 million (Kompas, 7/6/2017) -- more than the entire population -- Indonesia is one of the most active countries using mobile communication. The figure also means that on average one Indonesian citizen holds more than one number, while there are others who do not have any.
With this mobile service, citizens are able to enjoy a lot of conveniences, which are helpful for various businesses, starting from bureaucracy, business, profession, up to social activities. In the online era, mobile phones with the support of various applications have been inseparable from life.
However, behind all the ease and conveniences, there appears to be disturbances and inconveniences. These may include threats, allegations, slander, hoaxes and scams.
Through technological advances, the numbers can be traced. However, by using unregistered prepaid cards, perpetrators are not easily brought to justice. This cannot be ignored. The government has been aware of the effects of the use of unregistered numbers and seven years ago it announced the importance of registering prepaid numbers. However, as its enforcement was not serious, the results were not concrete.
This time, through Communication and Information Minister Regulation No. 14/2017, the government will act seriously. The registration deadline for prepaid numbers has been set, either for new SIM cards and re-registration of the old ones. The numbers of new SIM cards will only be activated if they have been activated on October 31, 2017 and meet the existing requirements. For the old numbers, the re-registration deadline is Feb. 28, 2018. In this new regulation, the SIM numbers will be supported by the population and civil registration numbers.
Communication and Information Minister Rudiantara said on Monday that the regulation is aimed at getting valid data of customers. We hope that it’s implemented with clear procedures so that the users of prepaid numbers intending to re-register are not confused.
We hope the new policy can be upheld consistently so that in the future we can communicate comfortably and safely. With the registered prepaid numbers, there will no longer be people who claim to be from telecommunication operators who will give bonuses or rewards, asking for credit and so on.