How would you like a new SIM card?

Suddenly you are out of touch with everyone - and you have the costly exercise of replacing the cell phone and buying a new starter pack. Until now...

The new service, available to MTN Pay As You Go customers only, is claimed to be a first for the South African market.

"When the customer performs a SIM Swap, the lost or stolen SIM card is deactivated and the new SIM card - purchased with a MTN Starter Park - is then activated with the customer's original number," says Pieter Verkade, the company's Chief Marketing Officer.

All the customer needs to do is purchase a new Pay As You Go Starter Pack through any outlet that sells the company's products. A call to the MTN Customer Service Centre on #173 to answer three simple questions to verify the cell phone number will ensure a quick reconnection to the original number, along with whatever airtime balance, subscriptions or price plan the customer had on the original SIM card, will all still be valid. The cost to the customer is the purchase of a new Pay As You Go Starter Pack.

When calling the MTN Customer Service Centre on #173 to activate the SIM Swap, you should have the following information at hand: the original MTN number that you want to keep; your ID number; and three phone numbers you call most frequently.