IPNEWS: In the 11 January edition of Frontpage Africa online, the newspaper reported that a customer, seeking to register his SIM at our Broad Street, Monrovia location was not able to update his SIM Card because he presented a passport and not National ID card.  The article also reported that Lonestar Cell MTN staff accept $5 USD fees for customers to obtain National ID. We would like to set the record straight.

In November 2020, as reported by Frontpage Africa in its article entitled,  “Liberia: LTA, NIR, Lonestar MTN, Orange Liberia Launch New SIM/ RUIM Card Registration  System,” the Liberia Telecommunication Authority, the National Identification Registry (NIR) and both MNOs signed a Memorandum of Understanding requiring everyone who has a SIM Card at any GSM to have a National Identification Card.

To comply with this agreement and to provide convenience to customer experience, Lonestar Cell MTN has stationed National Identification Registry and Immigration agents in our service centers so customers can register for a National ID card.   The NIR agents collect the $5 fee for the National ID Card, not Lonestar Cell MTN Staff.

Lonestar Cell MTN regrets any inconvenience this has caused the Press Union of Liberia Secretary General during his visit to our Service Center.   He has been invited on January 12, 2022, at 9am to Lonestar Cell MTN HQ to rectify update/register/ his SIM Card challenges.

Lonestar Cell MTN also regrets that Frontpage Africa would report on a story without checking the facts and giving all sides an opportunity to comment.