Telcos compelled to notify subscribers before recycling mobile numbers under new rules

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 7- Telecommunications companies will be required to notify subscribers before deactivating inactive SIM cards and recycling their mobile numbers under new safeguards introduced by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).

The new rules require mobile operators to use all available contacts provided by subscribers during registration to reach customers whose numbers have remained inactive for more than three months.

The notification process will run for three months before a number becomes eligible for deactivation and eventual reassignment to another subscriber.

Appearing before the National Assembly Public Petitions Committee on Tuesday, CA Director-General David Mugonyi said the measures were intended to protect subscribers from losing numbers that are increasingly linked to mobile money accounts, financial services, online platforms and other digital services.

Mugonyi said the Procedures and Technical Safeguards for Deactivation and Recycling of Inactive Mobile Numbers, 2026 require all mobile service providers to exhaust available contact details in their databases before deactivating a number.

The safeguards also require operators to issue a generic public notice for numbers that have remained inactive for more than six months and are due for deactivation and recycling.

The public notice will include a USSD facility through which subscribers can check whether their numbers are among those earmarked for deactivation.

“The notice includes a USSD means for all members of the public to check the status of their numbers in case they are among those affected, in cases where they may not be sure,” Mr Mugonyi told the committee.

The new framework follows concerns over the manner in which inactive mobile numbers have previously been deactivated and reassigned.

The committee was considering a petition by Thomas Kerongo, who alleged that Safaricom had been deactivating SIM cards after six months of inactivity and subsequently reallocating the numbers without giving affected customers adequate notice.

The CA said the new safeguards were developed after a March 2026 High Court ruling that directed the Government, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, to establish measures against arbitrary deactivation and reassignment of inactive mobile numbers.

The authority had earlier subjected the proposed safeguards to public consultation before finalising the framework.

Protection for travellers, patients and prisoners

The rules provide for subscribers who may be unable to use their numbers for extended periods because of circumstances beyond their control.

Subscribers, or people legally authorised to act on their behalf, can request that numbers be whitelisted where they are expected to remain inactive for more than six months.

The provision covers people who are seriously ill, incarcerated, travelling for extended periods or otherwise unable to access their phones.

For prisoners, the Commissioner-General of Prisons can notify mobile service providers and request that numbers belonging to inmates serving sentences of more than six months be protected from recycling.

The CA said similar protections can apply to people in remand and those who are incapacitated, provided the authorised person presents the required evidence.

What happens when a subscriber dies?

The committee also questioned how the notification process would work when the registered owner of a number has died.

Kuria East MP Marwa Kitayama asked who would receive the notice in such circumstances.

“There have been incidences where people die. You say you give notices of deactivation. So in such an incidence, who do you notify?” he asked.

Mugonyi said subscribers must provide comprehensive and accurate information during SIM registration, including alternative contacts that could be used to reach authorised persons or family members.

He, however, acknowledged that some subscribers and registration agents fail to provide all the required information.

“When it comes to SIM registration, we have very elaborate regulations and the Act also in place to guide that. So when registering for a SIM card, you are asked several questions by the person registering,” he said.

“But because of the resistant nature of some of us, people evade certain critical questions.”

Mugonyi added that some registration agents also failed to insist on alternative contacts, email addresses and other information that could help operators reach relatives or authorised persons.

“The people selling also contribute to the challenge. Because of their rush to make money, they do not insist on getting these important details like alternative contact numbers, email address or any other source of contact in case of death. So it is our own nature that sometimes works against us, but we have the structures in place,” he said.

Data protection

The safeguards further require operators to delink and securely archive data associated with a number when attempts to reach the subscriber fail.

This is intended to ensure that personal information, services and data linked to the previous owner are not passed on to the person who eventually receives the recycled number.

The CA’s intervention comes as mobile numbers increasingly serve functions beyond ordinary communication, including authentication for financial services, mobile money and online accounts.

The Authority has said it will monitor implementation of the safeguards and review them in response to technological, legal and regulatory developments and consumer concerns.

Mugonyi also disclosed that the regulator is considering proposals to have SIM card registration conducted directly by mobile network operators rather than through agents, in a bid to improve the integrity and accuracy of subscriber information.