Three radio stations in Lira district and four ambulance services recently donated by lawmakers in Lango sub region are among those affected by the recent deactivation of unregistered sim cards by communications regulator, Uganda Communications Commission.
The affected radio stations are Unity FM, Qfm and Radio Lira whose on-air numbers were all disconnected after expiry of the Friday, May 19th 2017 deadline.
Okello Ken, the managing Director Qfm says the development stifled operations of his media house forcing him to resort to a privately owned line to receive phone calls on air from callers.
Okello says they didn’t understand the requirements registration of such lines since as entities they do not have the prerequisite national Identity cards but Tax Identification Number.
Onapa Uhuru, the Executive Director of Lira’s biggest radio station, Unity FM admits that their on-air line was deactivated compelling them to fall back to an improvised option not hitherto known to his audience.
Presenters of radio Lira could be heard since yesterday morning informing listeners that their phone lines had developed a problem but a source within the media house intimated that two phone lines that were used for call-in programs were both deactivated.
The source reveals that even the newsroom hotline had been decommissioned.
Meanwhile, a driver attached to the ambulance donated by Achen Jibu Mambo, the Alebtong district woman Member of Parliament discloses that a hotline which residents seeking ambulance services had been using to reach out to them has since Friday night been taken off air.
He says the development has affected operations of the ambulance service.
Three other ambulances belonging to a lawmaker from Kole district, another in Otuke and Lira districts were also reportedly affected.
By 9:00am Monday morning at Otada House, MTN agent in Lira district, hundreds of people whose lines were deactivated flocked to complete their registration status.
MTN Uganda in a statement called on all affected companies, individuals and entities including the media houses to find out from their resident offices on how to get their SIM cards re-commissioned.
Without delving into details, the statement however adds that it would take more than the national IDs for radio stations to have their SIM cards registered