The previous decree on the methods of identifying subscribers to electronic communications services in Burkina Faso was adopted in December 2018. The government considers that its implementation did not lead to the expected results.
The Burkinabe government has decided to modify the procedures for identifying subscribers to electronic communications services in Burkina Faso. The measure was adopted by the Council of Ministers on Wednesday October 18 in Ouagadougou. It aims in particular to fight against insecurity in the country.
The new measure limits identification documents and documents when subscribing to electronic communications services, reduces the number of SIM cards per subscriber and per operator from five to two and requires operators to ensure the sale of SIM cards in their agencies or at approved points of sale… The government gives operators and their customers three months to comply with these directives.
Through this initiative, the Burkinabe government wants to strengthen the regulatory framework concerning the identification of subscribers and suppliers of electronic communications services in a context marked in particular by the security crisis and the resurgence of cases of “misappropriation of electronic communications services ” . A first decree had already been adopted in December 2018, but its implementation did not lead to the expected results.
“ The adoption of this decree will allow better supervision of access to SIM cards, reliability of the data of users of electronic communications services with a view to effectively combating their use for illicit purposes,” we can read in the minutes of the Council of Ministers.
As a reminder, Burkina Faso has 25.5 million active SIM cards according to the national mobile telephony market observatory published by the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Posts (ARCEP) for the second half of 2022.