You’d think that registering your cellphone number in Namibia meant it was yours for life. That’s what I believed—until I found out the hard truth.
MTC, our biggest mobile operator, has a policy: if you don’t top up for six months, your number gets deactivated and recycled. Just like that, your “forever” number is gone. Want it back? You’ll have to apply for a new one—and there’s no guarantee you’ll get your old digits.
The whole point of registering SIM cards was to help with things like tracing people—whether for criminal investigations or even to reunite them with unclaimed money. But if the number is recycled every time someone goes half a year without topping up, that tracing system is already broken.
It’s a reminder that in Namibia, “registration” doesn’t mean permanent ownership—it just means your number is on file… until it isn’t.
See video:
Registered for Life? Not in Namibia!
