TDS Desk:

The government has made a new regulation that allows a maximum of 10 registered SIM cards under one National Identity Card.

Users who currently have more than 10 registered SIMs will have their additional SIMs gradually deactivated.

However, before this deactivation process begins, users will be given the opportunity to cancel the registration of any unnecessary SIMs on their own. The entire process is expected to be completed by November.

In May, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) decided to limit the number of SIMs per user.

Considering national security, unhealthy competition among operators, and international practices, it was decided to cap the number of SIMs registered under one NID at 10.

The posts and telecommunications ministry has approved BTRC’s decision regarding SIM card limitations. The entire process of reducing the number of SIMs per user was presented at the 296th commission meeting of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).

According to the commission, if the maximum SIM registration is capped at 10 per NID, around 6.7 million SIMs belonging to 2.6 million users will be deactivated.

As per BTRC data, the total number of actual registered SIM users in the country stands at 67,592,745. Among them, 80.32 per cent have five or fewer SIMs, while 16.23 per cent have between six and ten. Only 3.45 per cent of users have between 11 and 15 SIMs.

Initially, BTRC had planned to issue the directive to mobile operators by 15 July, but the timeline has been pushed back.

BTRC Chairman Major General (retd) Md Emdad Ul Bari told journalist that the process needs to be carried out carefully to avoid causing inconvenience to the public.

From 1 August, a three-month window will be given to users to voluntarily cancel any SIMs beyond the 10-SIM limit. After that, BTRC will take further steps to deactivate excess SIMs based on various considerations. The entire process is expected to take five to six months.

Users who have more than 10 SIMs registered under their names will first be identified. This task will be handled by the vendor company operating the Central Biometric Verification Monitoring Platform (CBVMP) under BTRC.

The list of registered SIM numbers for these users will then be shared with the respective mobile operators.

Operators will contact these users, requesting them to reduce their SIM count to 10. Each user will receive at least one SMS per week reminding them to reduce the number of registered SIMs.

Operators will also issue public notices and update their websites accordingly. BTRC will run awareness campaigns in print, electronic, and online media as well.

The list of users with more than 10 registered SIMs will be published on the operators’ websites, accompanied by official notifications.

Users can dial *16001# to check how many SIMs are registered under their NID and see the associated numbers. If they find any excess SIMs, they can use the “transfer of ownership” option.

Initially, it was stated that this phase would be completed by 15 October. However, BTRC sources now indicate the deadline may be extended to 30 October.

After this period, a list of users still holding more than 10 SIMs will be prepared by the vendor company and sent to the respective operators. Each operator will then prepare a separate list for each of these users.

In preparing the list of which SIMs to retain, revenue generation will be a key factor. The SIM with the highest revenue in the last six months will be prioritised, while those generating the least revenue will be placed last.

The user’s most active and frequently used SIMs will be retained first. If any SIMs are linked to essential services like Mobile Financial Services (MFS), that will also be taken into account.

Based on these operator-provided lists, BTRC’s vendor will finalise which 10 SIMs each user is allowed to retain. If a user has SIMs from multiple operators, at least one SIM from each operator will be included in the final 10.

The selected SIM for each operator must be the one generating the highest revenue. If needed, operators may recommend two preferred SIMs for priority consideration.

Once the list of 10 SIMs per user is finalised, the remaining SIMs will be marked for deregistration, and operators will proceed to deactivate them. BTRC aims to complete this entire process by November.