Safaricom

I spent 2 hours at a Safaricom store today, getting SIM cards and registering our phones for service. It's fairly important we each have Kenyan phone service so we can call and text each other, especially after today as people disperse to different operating rooms, etc.

The process was pretty painful at Safaricom. It's very similar to the DMV in the US. First, stop by the screener and get a number. Then wait. They must have had more than 50 chairs, and some were squeezing two in a chair. I probably waited 30 minutes for my number. The remainder of the time was getting the new service registered. A few years ago, all the cell companies gave away SIM cards on the street, trying to get people to buy minutes on their pre-paid service. But due to crimes being committed that involved pre-paid cell phones that couldn't be tracked to a person, laws were passed that force each line to be registered to a person with identification. So I use my passport and the IU House address for registering.

Why do this each year? Each line expires and is disconnected after 90 days of non-use. Ugh. I may try to keeps the lines alive for next year by adding 50 cents to each line every 90 days. Doing so would keep the lines active.