If you have a prepaid SIM card and you want to keep your number, then you must get it registered with the IT Ministry by the end of today.
On October 31, the IT Ministry issued a 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 KK (Family Card) by February 28, at the very latest.
Failure to do so will result in the temporary suspension of the services available for that number, starting with the blockage of phone call and SMS capabilities and then blockage of internet services.
If you have a new SIM card, you can register by sending an SMS to 4444 containing the following:
Telkomsel: REG(Space)KTPnumber#KKnumber#
XL: Daftar#KTPnumber#KKnumber
Indosat Ooredoo, Smartfren, 3: KTPnumber#KKnumber#
If you have an old SIM card, you can register by sending an SMS to 4444 containing the following:
Telkomsel: ULANG(Space)KTPnumber#KKnumber#
XL: ULANG#KTPnumber#KKnumber
Indosat Ooredoo, Smartfren, 3: ULANG#KTPnumber#KKnumber#
There have been some complaints about a lack of notification after registration. If you’re unsure whether you’ve registered your number or not, you can check its status by doing the following:
Telkomsel: Visit https://telkomsel.com/cek-prepaid and follow the instructions
Indosat Ooredoo: Text “INFO#KTPnumber” to 4444
XL: Dial *123*4444#
3: Visit https://registrasi.tri.co.id and follow the instructions
Smartfren: Visit https://my.smartfren.com/check_nik.php and follow the instructions
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.
According to the IT Ministry, as of Monday, more than 288 million prepaid SIM numbers have been registered, which is more than the population of Indonesia (approx. 260 million).
The IT Ministry’s decree did not take into account those who do not own a KTP or KK, such as foreign tourists. However, there is no limit to the number of prepaid SIM cards that can be registered with any given KTP or KK (wink, wink).
