Sounds like an expensive day for Carlos Slim but it's good to see the Mexican government getting more serious about the escalating crime. The problem has been that only a bit more than two-thirds of the mobile phones are registered and previous attempts to secure this data have failed. In theory, this will link every phone to an owner and help track down organized crime who are using the phones for kidnapping and other crimes. Whether it will deliver the intended results is another story.
The register was designed to help combat the use of mobiles in crimes such as kidnapping and phone extortions threatening violence unless the victim hands over some cash. But confusion and organisational disarray have marred the plan.
Despite plenty of coverage of the issue in the press in the last few weeks, many Mexicans were unaware of an obligation to submit their data before the deadline of midnight on Saturday, or they simply failed to get around to registering.
Some mobile phone owners also refused to send the required text message with their personal information on the grounds that they saw the register as an affront to their civil liberties.
