It is common to have multiple SIM cards for people in today’s age. Almost every smartphone comes with dual-SIM slots, and having multiple such smartphones allows users to carry several numbers for different purposes. However, there’s a certain limit to how many SIM cards a person can have under his/her name. According to an order from the Central Government, people who carry more than nine SIM cards will be flagged for re-verification of all numbers, and all of their SIM cards except up to nine will be discontinued. Indian users can now only keep up to nine SIM cards in their name.
DoT to Reverify and Discontinue Additional SIM cards
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has been asked to re-verify all the SIM cards of users who carry more than nine SIM cards. According to a Livemint report, the telecom department then gives users the option to keep the nine numbers they want to and discontinue the rest. For people living in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and northeast, only six SIMs will be reverified. The DoT has asked the telecom service providers (TSPs) to suspend all the flagged mobile connections within 30 days. The incoming service to the flagged numbers will also discontinue after 45 days. This move is to ensure that fraudulent call activities reduce in India. If the subscriber doesn’t turn up for the verification of the numbers, the flagged numbers will be completely discontinued within 60 days to be counted from December 7, 2021. For subscribers, who are in international roaming or have physical disabilities, an additional period of 30 days will be provided before the number is deactivated. Note that if the concerned number is also flagged by the law enforcement agencies or any financial institution, then the outgoing facilities will be suspended within five days and the incoming facility will be discontinued within ten days, and the number will be deactivated within 15 days if the subscriber doesn’t turn up for verification.
