NBTC Announce Unregistered SIM Cards To Be Cut Off ASAPAs we all know, all prepaid SIM cards were to be registered by July 31st or be cut to incoming calls only. However, a one month grace period was given to those who hadn’t registered in time. So far so good.
Now the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission have announced that the extension has been axed following the Ratchaprasong bombing.
NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said, “Prepaid mobile users who failed to register their personal information by the July 31 deadline are now being cut off and are unable to use outbound mobile calling and data services,”
“We can confirm that all existing unregistered prepaid numbers are in our control,” he added.
After reading that you’d think a large number of users would now see their phones restricted until registered but that isn’t the case as network operators such as AIS and DTAC must give users 30 days notice before cutting off their services, as outlined in regulations governing telecom services.
What this means in the real world is unregistered SIM cards will still provide full service for the next 30 days if the guidelines are followed. Mr Takorn’s statement would have us believe it was immediate effective but it seems not.
“We are in talks with the three major mobile operators on implementing measures to terminate all existing unregistered numbers within the next month.”
That to me sounds like the one month extension period has just been cut short by 12 days.
If it was down to me I’d have simply ordered operators to cut them all off asap given the current situation.
There are 17.7 million unregistered SIM cards with only 4.7 million active and the remaining 13 million unused according to numbers shared by the NBTC.
http://www.stickboybangkok.com/news/nbtc-announce-unregistered-sim-cards-to-be-cut-off-asap/