Thaksin Orders Control Of SIM Cards

[george]

Update:

Cabinet nod for mobile IDs

BANGKOK: -- Cabinet yesterday instructed Deputy Prime Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng to ask the newly established National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to issue operational licences to mobile phone operators requiring SIM card owners to provide IDs on purchase.

As the acting Information and Communications Technology minister, Mr Chaturon also ordered TOT Corp and CAT Telecom Plc, former telecom state enterprises, to collect mobile phone user data from all operators as soon as possible.

Mr Chaturon earlier proposed that a royal decree and a Commerce Ministry regulation be imposed to include mobile phones' subscriber identity module (SIM) cards as a consumer product item needing owners to provide identification on purchase in a bid to curb mobile phone-detonated bombs in the deep South.

He said at Government House yesterday that he had ordered the Commerce Ministry to draft a royal decree and a ministerial regulation requiring the identification of SIM card owners and that the SIM card controls would begin on May 10 at the latest.

He wants identification of owners of existing cards done in three months.

Violation of the new regulation carries a jail sentence of up to ten years and a fine of up to 50,000 baht.

--Bangkok Post 2005-04-27

[Jai Dee]

He said at Government House yesterday that he had ordered the Commerce Ministry to draft a royal decree and a ministerial regulation requiring the identification of SIM card owners and that the SIM card controls would begin on May 10 at the latest.

Can this really be done?

I mean, it implies that the Cabinet can tell HRH what to say/decree.

[george]

Retailers ponder implications of proposed sim card controls

PATTAYA: -- Pattaya’s mobile phone and sim card retailers have mixed reactions to the government’s attempt to regulate the sale of sim cards. The reasoning behind the new regulation stems from recent bombs exploding in the nation’s troubled south, where the perpetrators used their mobile phones to detonate the devices.

Local retailers are divided in opinion about pending sim card regulations.

Pattaya Mail spoke to a number of businesses in Pattaya’s Tuk.com Mall about the new regulations affecting the pay-as-you-use sim cards.

Most, however, were unclear on the regulations and were divided in their opinions.

Supporting the changes, one mobile retailer said, “It’s a good idea because the government can then trace the history of the number and prevent the criminal element from carrying out attacks. It can also be beneficial for those who have their phones stolen for the card can then be traced.”

Against the changes, another retailer cited that a number of customers are under the age of 15 who do not have national ID cards. Also, a large number of foreign clientele use the system because they do not have to register for monthly service.

A shop owner outside Tuk.com added, “Sim cards are cheap and many people change their numbers frequently depending on the type of promotion. The reasoning covers many areas but if and when it becomes law, retailers will follow accordingly.”

The new regulations have been put forward to the national communications committee before going to parliament to make it law.

--Pattaya Mail 2005-04-29