On March 14, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released several new recommendations for replacing SIM cards that have been misplaced, damaged, or stolen. The regulations take effect on July 1.
According to the recommendations, mobile phone users will now have to wait for a predetermined amount of time before being able to transfer network providers. The regulator claims that the purpose of this action is to prevent people from switching telecom carriers and replacing their SIM cards fraudulently.
New TRAI Guidelines
Users who want to transfer network providers will now need to wait seven days after replacing their lost, stolen, or damaged SIM cards, according to a TRAI circular. The Ninth Amendment to the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) Regulations, which was first proposed in 2009, is now in force. The MNP rules have already undergone eight amendments.
Notably, consumers in India can move between telecom service providers while keeping their distinct mobile numbers according to MNP legislation. TRAI claims that the purpose of the new regulations is to stop unfair swapping or replacing SIM cards fraudulently.
“Acquiring a new SIM card in place of a lost or non-working SIM card by the existing subscriber” is the definition of SIM swap according to TRAI. If a SIM card is misplaced, stolen, or destroyed, the regulator permits users of mobile phones to get a new one.
The laws state that telecom companies are not allowed to offer consumers a unique porting code (UPC) for the first seven days after the SIM is switched or replaced. A new set of requirements for rejecting the UPC issuance has been implemented in response to this.
Mobile service providers need to make sure the following things are in place before issuing a UNP:
- The mobile number has been ported earlier. If so, a period of 90 days has not elapsed since the last date of porting.
- Another porting request from the same mobile number is in process.
- A UPC has already been issued to the mobile number and hasn’t expired.
According to TRAI, if any of the above-listed requirements hold, the network operator will not be permitted to create a UPC and will instead be required to notify the customer by SMS of the reason.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) made an offer, which led to the finalization of the draft of these regulations, as per TRAI. A thorough review and stakeholder meetings were conducted before the modification was made public.
