A total of 485,867 SIM cards have been disconnected following the expiry of the registration process yesterday, the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (Rura) has announced.

In a statement released this morning, the regulator said that 92.6 per cent of subscribers had been registered countrywide.

Market leaders MTN Rwanda saw 3,286,465 (or 90.1 per cent) of their clients registered, while Tigo Rwanda and Airtel Rwanda saw 1, 923,563 (or 96.4 per cent) and 900,110 (or 94.4 per cent), respectively, of their subscribers registered.

The process to register SIM cards started on February 4, 2013, with authorities saying this will help avert crimes committed by use of mobile phones.