Assessing the implications of SIM card registration policy in the SADC region

SIM card registration is a process that is aimed at combating crime. While many countries have implemented SIM card registration process there are other policy issues that have not been taken care of in order to mitigate the consequences of SIM card registration. Compulsory SIM card registration may not yield any positive benefits for the SADC mobile service providers, if individuals or players are constrained by regulatory rules and policy framework that inhibits their potential to make calculated decisions that maximizes their payoffs. This paper addresses the consequences that are as a result of the SIM card registration process. There are however, net positive benefits that come with SIM card registration but narrow focus and incorrect implementation by regulators to this exercise misses the big picture; i.e., an opportunity to create a seamless telecommunication landscape that will, build and create a cohesive relationship among SADC mobile service providers and induce an economic transformation.