Papua New Guinea will overhaul its SIM card registration rules to align with the country’s new National Digital ID Policy 2025, Acting Minister for Information and Communications Technology Peter Tsiamalili Jr has announced.
The minister revealed this week that he has formally directed the National ICT Authority (NICTA) to begin consultations on a revised regulation following the launch of the SevisPass digital ID and the SevisWallet app at the 2025 Digital Transformation Summit.
A draft SIM Card Registration (Amendment and Consolidation) Regulation 2026 is now being prepared, with public and industry consultations expected to begin immediately.
Under the proposed changes, all adults aged 18 and over will be required to obtain a SevisPass and link their mobile numbers through the SevisWallet app, with no new SIM cards activated without digital ID verification.
Teenagers aged 13–17 will be eligible for a SevisPass-Minor, allowing them to hold SIM cards linked to a parent or guardian’s digital ID, while children aged 12 and under will only use Dependent SIMs registered to a parent or guardian. A nationwide grace period from 1 January to 30 June 2026 will allow existing SIM card holders to complete their digital ID onboarding, after which unverified SIMs will be deactivated.
The reforms also introduce a new Digital ID Implementation Authority to run SevisPass, SevisWallet and the SevisDEx verification exchange. Telcos will integrate with SevisDEx for identity checks and will be charged fees per verification, although citizens will not pay for obtaining or linking their digital ID.
Annual customer due diligence checks will become mandatory, with non-compliant SIMs placed on restricted access before eventual deactivation. The regulation will also strengthen privacy protections by requiring operators to rely on digital ID tokens rather than storing raw biometric data, and it will ensure fair cost-sharing and consumer safeguards under NICTA oversight.
Tsiamalili said the reforms aim to clean up the SIM ecosystem, reduce fraud and cybercrime, meet anti–money laundering obligations, and expand access to banking, government and digital services. “Embedding SevisPass into SIM registration ensures every phone number in PNG is tied to a verified, sovereign Digital ID,” he said. “I look forward to NICTA’s swift action and constructive engagement from all stakeholders as we move to finalise and gazette the new regulation.”
F*** that