News / National
2 million Zimbabwean cellphone lines cut off
20 Apr 2011 at 09:04hrs | Views
More than two million cellphone users in Zimbabwe have had their lines disconnected.
The blitz followed new regulations brought in by the Zimbabwean government, which insists all of the country's mobile phone lines must be registered.
The authorities said the registration exercise is in order to cut down on criminal activities.
Zimbabweans use more than 8 million cellphone lines and they've had since last August to register, with a cut off date of 28 February.
Close to a million and a half Econet subscribers failed to meet the deadline and had their lines cut. Another 700,000 Telecel users lost their lines too.
Registration is not unique to Zimbabwe, but the fear is that state agents will use the information to tap into phones used by activists, journalists and members of the Movement for Democratic Change.
The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority announced last week it had compiled a register of all active mobile phone users in the country.
The blitz followed new regulations brought in by the Zimbabwean government, which insists all of the country's mobile phone lines must be registered.
The authorities said the registration exercise is in order to cut down on criminal activities.
Zimbabweans use more than 8 million cellphone lines and they've had since last August to register, with a cut off date of 28 February.
Registration is not unique to Zimbabwe, but the fear is that state agents will use the information to tap into phones used by activists, journalists and members of the Movement for Democratic Change.
The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority announced last week it had compiled a register of all active mobile phone users in the country.
Source - Byo24News
