Providers of pre-activated SIM cards face suspension
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The Ministry of Information and Communications has announced that it will suspend network providers found distributing pre-activated SIM cards or cards registered under incorrect personal info.
The providers need to publish a list of authorized salespoints on their websites and ensure that their employees only register subscribers who submit personal details in line with the national database, the ministry’s Telecommunications Authority announced Tuesday.
The moves comes as part of a government effort to make sure that phone subscriber data matches the national database. Millions of subscribers have used pre-activated SIM cards registered under false information for years.
Some salespeople even sell thousands of SIM cards registered with the same data, and buyers continue using them without updating the info.
Pre-registered SIM cards are taken advantage of by many businesses for cold calling purpose. Last year, the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications had to request network providers suspend 882 subscribers from making spam calls and sending mass text messages to advertise their products or services.
Network providers have been ordered to send text messages to falsely registered subscribers asking them to make corrections. After 15 days, if no changes are made, the user will be locked from making calls, while still being able to receive calls.
There are 127 million phone subscribers in Vietnam, 96% of them belonging to VinaPhone, Viettel and MobiFone.
Each of these three providers has 1.1 million to 1.4 million phone subscriptions with data that needs to be corrected.
Questions & Answers
Q.What specifically will happen to network providers if they are caught distributing pre-activated SIM cards?
What specifically will happen to network providers if they are caught distributing pre-activated SIM cards?
The Ministry of Information and Communications has announced that it will suspend network providers found distributing pre-activated SIM cards or cards registered under incorrect personal information. This measure is part of a government effort to ensure subscriber data accuracy.
Q.What actions must network providers take regarding their salespoints and employee registration practices?
What actions must network providers take regarding their salespoints and employee registration practices?
Providers need to publish a list of authorized salespoints on their websites. They must also ensure that employees only register subscribers who submit personal details that are in line with the national database, as stated by the Telecommunications Authority.
Q.What is the consequence for falsely registered subscribers who do not correct their information within the given timeframe?
What is the consequence for falsely registered subscribers who do not correct their information within the given timeframe?
After 15 days, if no changes are made to falsely registered subscriber information, the user will be locked from making calls. However, they will still retain the ability to receive calls.
Q.How many phone subscriptions are currently identified as having data that requires correction across the major providers?
How many phone subscriptions are currently identified as having data that requires correction across the major providers?
VinaPhone, Viettel, and MobiFone each have between 1.1 million and 1.4 million phone subscriptions with data that needs to be corrected. These three providers account for 96% of the 127 million phone subscribers in Vietnam.
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