The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has issued a final warning to individuals holding between six and 100 SIM cards to confirm their identities at mobile operators’ service centers by July 13. Failure to comply will result in the suspension of the ability to make outgoing calls or send text messages. As of June 30, out of the 3,981,251 SIM cards affected by this directive, only 1,635,407 have had their identities verified, leaving over 2.3 million still requiring verification.
NBTC Acting Secretary-General Trairat Viriyasirikul said under the new regulations, those possessing more than five SIM cards were required to register their identities either through service centers or a designated mobile app. The rules identify two specific groups: those holding between six and 100 SIM cards and those with over 100 SIM cards. The latter group had a deadline of February 14 to comply with the verification process.
SIM card holders who fail to meet the verification deadlines will have their services suspended, and they will have a 30-day grace period to validate their identities. If they fail to do so within this period, their SIM cards will be permanently deactivated. The stringent approach primarily targets the second group, perceived as more likely to use SIM cards for fraudulent purposes. As of the February deadline, over 1 million SIM cards from this group were suspended due to non-compliance. (NNT)
