State to outlaw SIM card hawkingIt will be illegal to sell SIM cards without a license from the government from next year. The guidelines, currently open for public participation, include requirements for registration agents to be licensed by the Authority before they can sell or register SIM Cards. “Telecommunications Operators and Registration Agents shall sell and register SIM cards only in formal retail outlets even during promotions, and shall ensure no hawking of SIM Cards registration services,” states the guidelines. The new policy is likely to affect tens of thousands of agents and vendors who sell and register new SIM Cards on behalf of telecommunication operators. This implies that millions of subscribers have multiple SIM Cards, some being inactive, even as telecommunication service providers still count them as active subscriptions.

Source: Standard Digital November 30, 2019 08:26 UTC