The Ministry of Information and Communications has released initial results about its inspection of three mobile operators’ management of pre-paid subscribers, which was carried out in April 2010.

VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) has released initial results about its inspection of three mobile operators’ management of pre-paid subscribers, which was carried out in April 2010.

Half a million mobile phone subscribers lose their numbers

Rules controlling pre-paid mobile service subscribers approved

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During the inspection, the ministry examined 26,093 bureaus and 143,020 agents of three minor cell phone networks - Gtel, S-Fone and EVN Telecom. Inspectors collected 1.1 billion dong (US$58,000) of fines and 4980 SIM cards which were already registered, though they had not been sold yet.

All three operators committed many violations in controlling pre-paid subscribers. Popular errors included subscribers registering their name with only one character, using fake ID numbers, subscribers of less than 14-years-old, or one subscriber registering over three SIM cards. Notably, over 18,000 users of Gtel’s Beeline network registered themselves as more than 100-years-old.

In a meeting with mobile operators last week, the MoIC intimated that it would take strong measures to address the management of pre-paid subscribers. One of the measures will be banning the trade of registered SIM cards.

After Gtel, S-Fone and EVN Telecom, MoIC will make similar inspections at MobiFone and VinaPhone.

According to the latest regulations on managing pre-paid mobile subscribers, to use pre-paid mobile service, people who start using or re-registering for mobile services must declare some personal information, such as name and identity card or passport number, depending on whether they are Vietnamese. For people of less than 14-years-old who don’t have an identity card or passport, certain guarantees are needed. Foreigners must have passports and declare their nationality.

This regulation was implemented in three phases. The preparation phase closed on December 31, 2007. This was the period of time for service providers to set up the network of agents and bureaus serving the registration of pre-paid subscribers, informing their subscribers about the registration, etc. In the second phase, from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2009, service providers had to put pre-paid subscribers under control. January 1, 2010 to March 31, 2010 was the final date for all pre-paid subscribers to register, otherwise they were to be rejected from the network after March 31, 2010.

PV