Measures to Prevent Abuse
The Ministry has been working closely with the IDA and the mobile service providers to work out practical regulatory controls that will be implemented. The Ministry and IDA has taken into consideration various factors, including the need to facilitate investigations by law enforcement agencies, usage by the public, and business considerations of mobile service providers.
Compulsory Recording of Customer Details and Re-registration by Existing Customers
Mobile service providers, such as the Singapore Telecom Mobile Pte Ltd, StarHub Mobile Pte Ltd and MobileOne Ltd, will be required to ensure compliance in recording the personal details of all customers who buy prepaid SIM cards. This will be included as part of the Facilities-Based Operator license condition imposed by IDA. The three mobile service providers will be required to electronically record customer personal details. The new electronic system will replace their existing manual recording of customer personal details.
These changes replace the existing practice by the mobile service providers of manually recording customer personal details. Over the years and due to an exponential expansion in the prepaid SIM card market, the practice of recording customers' details has eroded. For example, some retailers had recorded names like 'Super Man', while other retailers simply record their own names as having purchased the prepaid SIM card.
To ensure that customer particulars are accurately recorded, all existing prepaid SIM card users are required to re-register at retail outlets which sell prepaid SIM cards sold by their respective mobile service providers. Users can continue to use their prepaid SIM cards if they re-register their particulars with their mobile operators during the six-month re-registration period. It is only if they do not re-register during the specified period that their prepaid SIM cards will be deactivated.
The Mobile Sim Card Registration Requirements will be any of the following:
The Ministry has been working closely with the IDA and the mobile service providers to work out practical regulatory controls that will be implemented. The Ministry and IDA has taken into consideration various factors, including the need to facilitate investigations by law enforcement agencies, usage by the public, and business considerations of mobile service providers.
Compulsory Recording of Customer Details and Re-registration by Existing Customers
Mobile service providers, such as the Singapore Telecom Mobile Pte Ltd, StarHub Mobile Pte Ltd and MobileOne Ltd, will be required to ensure compliance in recording the personal details of all customers who buy prepaid SIM cards. This will be included as part of the Facilities-Based Operator license condition imposed by IDA. The three mobile service providers will be required to electronically record customer personal details. The new electronic system will replace their existing manual recording of customer personal details.
These changes replace the existing practice by the mobile service providers of manually recording customer personal details. Over the years and due to an exponential expansion in the prepaid SIM card market, the practice of recording customers' details has eroded. For example, some retailers had recorded names like 'Super Man', while other retailers simply record their own names as having purchased the prepaid SIM card.
To ensure that customer particulars are accurately recorded, all existing prepaid SIM card users are required to re-register at retail outlets which sell prepaid SIM cards sold by their respective mobile service providers. Users can continue to use their prepaid SIM cards if they re-register their particulars with their mobile operators during the six-month re-registration period. It is only if they do not re-register during the specified period that their prepaid SIM cards will be deactivated.
The Mobile Sim Card Registration Requirements will be any of the following:
- Singaporeans: Pink identity cards
- Singapore Permanent Residents: Blue identity cards
- National Servicemen: SAF11 B, SPF11 B and SCDF11 B2
- Foreign Workers: Work Permit Identification Cards (issued from 3 May 1999)
- Foreign Visitors: Passports
New Additional Requirements:
- Minimum age requirement - Customers must be at least 15 years old before being eligible to purchase a prepaid SIM card.
- Maximum number of cards purchased - In addition, each customer is limited to a maximum of 10 prepaid SIM cards. This is regardless of the mobile service provider from which the customer purchases the prepaid SIM card. For instance, a customer can subscribe to a maximum of 10 prepaid SIM cards from only one mobile service provider, or a combination of the 3 mobile service providers. The cap of 10 is based on market trends which show that the majority of prepaid SIM card subscribers register for up to 5 prepaid SIM cards. The new terminal devices are able to verify if customers have exceeded the maximum number of prepaid SIM cards they are eligible to purchase.
Post a Comment