The biometric face-registration trial for SIM cards is gaining momentum, with Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs reporting more than 1.4 million uses during the four-month pilot. The figure suggests that face-based registration is beginning to find acceptance as the government prepares for wider use, especially for new customers.
The ministry is treating the trial as an important test before any broader rollout. Its goal is to make sure the system can handle large-scale use without disrupting the daily registration process that continues to serve millions of mobile users.
Why the trial started with new customers
Director General of Digital Ecosystem at the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs, Edwin Hidayat Abdullah, said the biometric policy began as a voluntary scheme. The initial focus remains on new registrations because current rules still center on that segment.
That staged approach also reflects the size of Indonesia’s SIM card market. The ministry says there are about 295 million active numbers in the country, and roughly 97 percent of them are prepaid users.
The registration flow remains simple
The process still begins in the usual way, with users buying a SIM card and then opening the operator’s app or platform. They then enter their phone number, national identity number, and OTP code before taking a face photo.
The facial image is encrypted before being sent to Dukcapil for identity matching. Operators do not store biometric data and only receive a match status, either successful or unsuccessful.
The ministry says the system was designed so population data remains inside Dukcapil’s system. That means operators do not have direct access to biometric data or the identity data stored there.
Fast processing and rising adoption
During trials in several regions, including Jakarta, Central Java, East Java, West Java, West Sumatra, Aceh, Kalimantan, and Yogyakarta, most registrations were completed in under one minute. The ministry also said the biometric matching technology used in the trial has an accuracy rate of around 96 percent.
Early testing did face some technical issues, but the ministry says performance is now much more stable than it was at the start. That improvement appears to be helping user participation continue to rise.
The ministry estimates that new customer registrations are currently running at around 300,000 per day. On that basis, the cautious trial phase is seen as necessary before the policy is applied more broadly.
More expansion expected
So far, the face-biometric pilot has reached around 1.4 million registrations. The ministry expects that number could soon climb to about 1.6 million or 1.7 million as participation grows and implementation expands at mobile operator outlets.
For existing customers, face biometrics remain voluntary. The government says full implementation for new customers will follow the registration mechanism that is currently being prepared, making the ongoing trial a key step in ensuring the service can handle heavy demand.
Source: www.medcom.id