JAKARTA - The Ministry of Communication and Digital has set a schedule for the implementation of the registration of face recognition-based SIM cards, with voluntary registration starting on January 1, 2026.
The government will provide a six-month transition period with a hybrid scheme for mobile operators and the public, before the full implementation is planned to take effect on July 1, 2026.
The biometric registration is intended to minimize and break the chain of digital crimes that often use mobile numbers as an entry point.
"Every year there are around 300 million more scam calls, and the average Indonesian who has a mobile phone receives a scam message at least once a week. What does it mean? If we don't manage this, this is not just a problem of small fraud, but it harms the whole economy," said Director General of Digital Ecosystem Ministry of Komdigi, Edwin Hidayat Abdullah in a talk show titled "Digital Crime Threats and the Urgency of Biometric Face Recognition Mobile Customer Registration" which was held by the Association of All Indonesian Telecommunications Operators (ATSI) on Wednesday, December 17.
In the initial phase, ATSI Executive Director, Marwan O. Baasir, said that new customers will be given two options for registration mechanisms, namely using the old scheme based on NIK and family card number (NIK-NOKK) or voluntarily switching to biometric registration.
Meanwhile, old customers are not required to re-register and continue to use the current NIK-NOKK scheme.
Well, starting July 1, 2026, the government targets that all new customer registrations have been carried out fully using the biometric system, provided there are no significant obstacles during the trial period.
"If there are no problems, it's full road. It can change if there are problems. There are still problems, it turns out that there is a commotion in the community, it turns out that it still takes time. We ask the government for another extension," explained Marwan.
For the mechanism, biometric registration can be done through the official application of each mobile operator for smartphone users or through the web, especially for feature phone users who do not have a front camera.
However, to reach people in rural areas and lagging, leading, and outermost areas (3T), operators have prepared assistance services at retail outlets and customers can register directly at the outlet.
The draft Minister Regulation (RPM) related to this policy has gone through a public trial and is waiting for the Minister's signature, which is targeted to be completed by the end of the year, if possible.
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