At a time when telecom providers are indulging in a price war on their prepaid plans and battling number portability, the federal Indian government appears to be set to crackdown on individuals linking multiple SIM cards to one identification document, specifically the unique identity number Aadhar card.
The federal Department of Telecommunications issued an order on Thursday asking state administrations to re-verify the SIM connections of subscribers who have more than nine listed on a single Aadhar Card across all states in India. In the case of both Jammu and Kashmir and the states of the Northeast, the number falls to six.
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What does the govt. order say?
A press release from the department also suggests immediate revoking of SIM cards in cases of non-verification. However, subscribers would be given an option to make a choice on the SIM they want to retain while the rest would be deactivated, says the order dated December 7.
"If during the data analytics carried out by DoT, it is found that an individual subscriber is having more than nine mobile connections (six in the case of J&K, NE and Assam LSAs) across all the TSPs (telecom service providers), all the mobile connections will be flagged for re-verification," the DoT order said.
The department further asked telecom operators to remove all mobile connections from the database that were flagged as non-verified or that are not in use according to the appropriate rules defined by the administration.
It further said the outgoing (including data services) facilities of such flagged mobile connection will be suspended within 30 days and the incoming within 45 days. The flagged number would be deactivated within 60 days if re-verification isn't done.
The department said, this activity to identify fraudulent numbers has been enforced in India since December 7. "In case of a subscriber who is on international roaming or with physical disability or hospitalisation, additional 30 days will be provided...," the order said.
However, if the number has been flagged by any law enforcement agencies or financial institution or identified as a pesky caller then the outgoing facilities will be suspended within 5 days, incoming within 10 days and complete disconnection within 15 days in case no one turns up for verification.
"These timelines shall be regularly intimated by the telecom service providers to the subscribers of flagged mobile connections via text messages and other methods.
The big SIM card challenge
The latest crackdown on the SIM verification and issuance process is a result of the recent incidence related to financial crimes and pesky and unsolicited calls from such phone numbers. Senior citizens have reported financial frauds while the youth community complained of tele-marketers using such numbers.
There have also been instances of harassment from financial institutions who use numbers associated to one individual and illegally distributed to non-verified users in the vicinity.
Since the SIM cards are stocked by multiple vendor types ranging from a mobile store to a roadside soft drinks kiosk, its regulation had become a nightmare for the telecom providers, who on many occasions do not bother verifying the address and other personal details of the person whose Aadhar card was used,
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