MTC defies Cran on biometrics directive

DEFIANT … Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC) says it will continue offering biometric verification as a condition of ser- vice to its customers. See full report below. Photo: FreePik

Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) says it will continue offering its biometric process as a condition of service to its customers as it hits 1,2 million SIM registrations.

This was said by MTC spokesperson Tim Ekandjo in a statement issued yesterday.

He was reacting to a directive issued by the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (Cran) that telecommunications operators should discontinue capturing clients’ biometric data when registering their SIM cards in the absence of a data-protection legislative framework.

The directive follows complaints from members of the public and the media regarding the practice of requesting biometric data during the SIM registration process, Cran chief executive Emilia Nghikembua said in a statement.

“MTC is thoughtful to the notice put forth by Cran and wishes to state that while we are in total unison with the considerations by Cran, MTC’s position is that the rationale behind its biometric as part of its ‘Verifi’ process is an extended and enhanced tool for customer authenticity considering increased cyber and online fraud often involving stolen identities,” Ekandjo said.

He said MTC’s ‘Verifi’ is part of the biometric data-capturing process which aims to offer additional security, which would then help tackle fraud and crime, and offer customers convenience when it comes to their MTC profiles.

“To date, a total of 1 002 032 SIM cards have been registered, and the position of MTC is that it will continue offering its biometric process as a condition of service to its customers,” Ekandjo said.

Namibia started a mandatory SIM card registration exercise in January last year. This is a national initiative mainly aimed at facilitating the investigation of crimes committed with the aid of telecommunications devices.
– email: matthew@namibian.com.na

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