Prepaid SIM card owners in Indonesia will soon have more than pulsa (phone credit) to worry about, as the government is requiring them to officially register their identities with their mobile number.
The IT Ministry (Kominfo) recently issued a ministerial decree requiring every prepaid SIM card owner — if they haven’t already done so — to register their number with a valid KTP (national ID card) and Kartu Keluarga (Family Card) starting October 31 until February 28, 2018 at the very latest.
Failure to do so will result in the temporary suspension of the services available for that number, starting with a blockage of phone call and SMS capabilities and then blockage of internet services.
“This is not something that’s difficult to do. So please follow the correct procedures because if not, you will face the consequences,” said Kominfo’s director-general of post and information technology Ahmad M. Ramli, as quoted by Detik yesterday.
To register a new prepaid SIM card, you can text (KTP number)#(KK number)# to 4444. If you have an existing prepaid SIM card but have not registered your ID, you can text ULANG#(KTP number)#(KK number)# to the same number.
Prepaid SIM cards are available on the cheap in Indonesia and the previous lack of regulations tying numbers to people’s official government identification meant that it was easy for anyone to buy disposable SIM cards, increasing the chance that they could be misused for criminal activities.
Kominfo’s decree did not take into account those who do not own a KTP or KK, such as foreign tourists.
