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Pre-paid mobile users required to register
Pre-paid mobile phone subscribers will have to re-register their name, address and other personal information by December 31, according to a new directive from the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC).
The decision, based on the ministry’s Circular 22, will affect about 40 million mobile phone subscribers nationwide.
Individuals will be allowed to subscribe to three phone numbers per network. If they do not re-register, their accounts will be closed and services discontinued.
The new regulation is expected to curb the expansion of the pre-paid SIM card market.
The ministry said pre-paid subscribers accounted for nearly 80 per cent of all subscribers in the country.
Many of the subscribers purchase four, five, six or even more SIM cards to take advantage of attractive promotions.
They, however, often stop using them when the SIM card runs out of money.
Tightening controls on pre-paid subscribers is believed to help phone service providers to better manage their subscribers and decrease the workload of staff as well as costs.
Additionally, industry experts said tightening controls would improve national security and curb spam and similar forms of harassment.
Many subscribers, however, have complained about the new regulation.
Recognising the problem, mobile phone service providers are trying to make it easier for people to re-register.
The director of Viettel Telecom, Hoang Son, said the company had set up 10,000 stands to re-register customers, and had sent messages to subscribers with more than three numbers.
MobiFone and VinaPhone have also fined many SIM providers for violating regulations concerning subscriber information.
They have asked their retailers not to sell SIM cards to customers suspected to be providing fake identification.
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