NBTC to extend registration of prepaid SIM cards till August 31

[Beng]

What a bunch of bovine feces!

People have known about this for a long time and the responsible people have done it before the deadline.

The irresponsible should be shut down as promised.

It is not difficult and there is no excuse for not complying on time.

This is the kind of thing that encourages the deadbeats to continue to be flakes.

Thailand is full of flakes, both Thai and expat.

Stand by your original requirement and teach the childish to grow up.

Everyone would benefit..

Well said !

[NickJ]

Most people in the USA are on phone plans and pay a monthy bill. The people running around with " Burners" or untraceabil phones are people with destoyed credit. Criminals or people who dont want there calls traced back to them for some reasons.

In Thailand, a hub for a lot of unquestionable people and activity. I would think it would be the goal of the govt here to try and regulate the phone game here as much as possible. I imagine down the line they will use this new info for all kinds of purposes. Control being the main goal.

If you think they are behind the times with there abilities to use new tech you would be very wrong. The computer crimes division here is growing and is one of the largest in the country with thousands working .The govt is seeking to have more control. It will reach its goal in the furure.

I could care less one way or the other.

[biplanebluey]

A small point I know but that's an extension of 31 days, not 30.

WOW--------- Thank you for pointing that one out

[Prbkk]

So again security takes the back seat in order to placate those who have managed to avoid the thousands of warnings that this policy was being introduced.....10,000,000 active but unregistered sims. World ranking number 1

[kiwikeith]

Thailand, the hub of extensions...

Does this mean that all the burmese inTachelek will have to register their Sim cards in Thailand?

Great extension to the spy network, your I phone is reporting your position now they (any government that wants to track it citizen)will know your name and location when you go holiday.

I have nothing to hide so dont care, but the crooks will just use stolen phones or phones that someone forgot they lost and bussines as usual for the boys.

[smotherb]

If these 16.9 million users did not register within the six months they were allocated, what makes the NBTC think they will do so by allowing another 30 days. Some prepaid cards are used for criminal activity such as drug trafficking and insurgency, so lets give them another 30 days.This country is all talk and no action.

Perhaps they think that one month with only being able to receive calls might encourage the procrastinators to register.

"This country is all talk and no action." I am not sure I understand this. Most farangs claim the Thais cannot talk, but there is plenty of action here.

[Jay1]

People are criticising them, but I thought it was always a case of if you don't register by 31st July then you can receive calls but can't make them..this is still the case.. They are now saying you have one month to register if you haven't already and if you don't register by then, then you can't receive calls either.. Seems more like a new deadline for a total cut off rather than an extension of the previous deadline.

Edited August 2, 2015 by Jay1

[NickJ]

Later on down the line. When a phone needs to be tracked down and Somchai the motorcycle taxi driver will be found to have 100 phones regged to his name......They will be able to shut them all off.......This is just stage one.

[mrbojangles]

Personally, I'm happy about the exstension. Both my wife and I have had the same sims for years and use the same ones every time we go back to Thailand. My wife and daughter went back to Thailand last month for the school holidays and the wife registered her sim a few weeks ago. However, I don't land until next week, so at least she can call me when I get there until I can get mine registered.

She did try and register mine whilst she was doing hers but the 7/11 said they couldn't because I had the sim with me.

[Shiver]

Couple of thoughts, not all serious:

If the phones can be triangulated then that surely is more useful information than a registered address at perhaps the other side of the country.

Further, triangulating nearby phones in range to reach that phone P2P could further home in on position (even if it is not GPS capable) by signal strength to each tower of each phone. You could have 100's of phones that grass without anyone knowing. User interface is just face, but the hardware has myriad unused additional functionality.

If police were asked to check registration when people are stopped for no helmet, either it would solve the registration problem in 2.45444 nanoseconds and generate revenue, or it would at least reduce road traffic accident damage of terrorists on Honda Wave 110's with flip flops and a high tech hydrogen bomb under one arm and a baby (baby boomer?) in the other, that don't want their phone inspected.

Q: The original article mentions the restrictions for calls, but doesn't mention Data. Does that mean that people using VOIP software would be unaffected, or is outgoing data restricted also. If they can make 191 calls for now, then presumably there is some filter that decides what can pass and what can't(?).

Looking on the bright side, we may have a period of time where we don't have to watch 6 people at a table in a restaurant where nobody can talk because they're addicted to their pocket pleasure device.

[chrisinth]

So again security takes the back seat in order to placate those who have managed to avoid the thousands of warnings that this policy was being introduced.....10,000,000 active but unregistered sims. World ranking number 1

Totally agree with you on that.

If the primary reason to register the sim cards is to deter maniacs from using them as triggers for remote devices, then in effect they are extending their grace period as well.

That in itself, if this is the true reason for the knee-jerk, is criminal as they are not following a preventative measure.

God forbid, but could you imagine if there was a remote detonation (by sim/mobile) within the next 30/31 days?

[barrywells]

TIT. I have been smugly reading these post. Ha ha, I went to the DTAC outlet at fortune town 4 months ago and registered mine. So no problem, right? Wrong. I noticed a DTAC number to check registration in a recent post, *151*9# . May as well check, so I dialed and received the reply "this number is not registered..". So despite going to the outlet with my passport and queuing, being assured my number was now registered by the friendly assistant, here I am 4 months later and very pleased for the months extension. Time to put the passport in the pocket and head back to DTAC. No point being the angry farang and pointing out I thought I had already registered, I'll just be the dumb farang and try to register again. At least now I know a number to check.....*151*9#

[Muirton]

Can someone please clarify for me the purpose of this registration requirement. It seems to me one stolen phone "mis-used" undoes the value of this entire exercise involving almost every Thai.

btw, I came in to Chiang Mai from the countryside to register on the last day. At True at Central on Huay Geeow Road. "System down".

[bim]

What a bunch of bovine feces!

People have known about this for a long time and the responsible people have done it before the deadline.

The irresponsible should be shut down as promised.

It is not difficult and there is no excuse for not complying on time.

This is the kind of thing that encourages the deadbeats to continue to be flakes.

Thailand is full of flakes, both Thai and expat.

Stand by your original requirement and teach the childish to grow up.

Everyone would benefit..

I've been living here for 3 years and i didnt know about it, i live in a village and dont sit infront of a computer screen too often, last time i logged on to TV was in January infact i didnt even know about the coupe for about a month after, my wife has been away working in Aus while im here to do what ever i want and it doesnt include keeping up with the news.

I dont believe you. Sorry. Firstly is this your first post on TV for 3 years? If so you lack of knowing may surfice however I too live in a village and everyone knows about everyone else. You only have to mow he lawn in the morning the rest of the village know about it by the afternoon. So your claim ignorance of this subject is a little........ well...... emmmmmm.... sorry but I dont believe you. Edited August 2, 2015 by bim

[wabothai]

How many tourists are visiting thailand in a year?

many of them buy a cheap phone with sim, like me, and dispose of it, or it is somewhere in a drawer outside Thailand.

It may very well be that the 16 mil unregistered sims are on the bottom of the ocean or in the drawers.

Extension for what?

[wabothai]

What a bunch of bovine feces!

People have known about this for a long time and the responsible people have done it before the deadline.

The irresponsible should be shut down as promised.

It is not difficult and there is no excuse for not complying on time.

This is the kind of thing that encourages the deadbeats to continue to be flakes.

Thailand is full of flakes, both Thai and expat.

Stand by your original requirement and teach the childish to grow up.

Everyone would benefit..

I've been living here for 3 years and i didnt know about it, i live in a village and dont sit infront of a computer screen too often, last time i logged on to TV was in January infact i didnt even know about the coupe for about a month after, my wife has been away working in Aus while im here to do what ever i want and it doesnt include keeping up with the news.

I dont believe you. Sorry. Firstly is this your first post on TV for 3 years? If so you lack of knowing may surfice however I too live in a village and everyone knows about everyone else. You only have to mow he lawn in the morning the rest of the village know about it by the afternoon. So your claim ignorance of this subject is a little........ well...... emmmmmm.... sorry but I dont believe you.

besides you have been a TV member since 2009, I think Bim is right.

[toooa]

Problem - Reaction - Solution... the best way to bring in control...whether it's really necessary or not....I wonder if there is any correlation between the ills of trafficking and insurgency and government policy / involvement by any chance???.... what a wonderful world we live in to be sure. And I have enjoyed, as always, the usual simpletonian comments from the "we're all in this together" tie me up and spank me cheer squad. Tootles...

[sumrit]

What amazes me is that i get daily spam from my phone provider, all in Thai, but not one message in English (or any other language) informing of the need to register my SIM...communication at its best from the communication company!

How do you know it's spam if it's in Thai? Does that mean you're possibly ignoring important messages because you're not reading them or don't understand what they say?

Personally, when I get a text in Thai I simply copy and paste it into Google Translate to see what it says. It's not always perfect English but it is understandable. That's how I found out about the registration requirements. Doesn't everybody do that?

We're living in Thailand, the sim providers are Thai companies who have no idea whatsoever who has bought the unregistered sim but by far the overwhelming majority of people living here are Thai nationals who speak and read Thai.

Why would you expect the phone companies to send text messages in English (or any other language)?

Of course, once you've registered your sim you can request text messages sent from your sim provider to be sent in English, if that's your preferred language of course.

Edited August 2, 2015 by sumrit

[cumgranosalum]

Lots of countries require ID/registering BEFORE getting your SIM to work....only Thailand decides to do this retro-actively AND after registering SIMs before..........

I wonder where they get this figure of 81% - seems that it has come through very quickly........... but it still leaves millions without a phone...I'm sure the phonew companies are delighted...especially having to take all those c/s queries arising out of this as well as the lost business.

[lagarto]

if this would it be a prolonged Extension to any of all the wrongdoing we do with the Immigration rules and regulations, everyone of us would be praising the government for the understanding. sometimes Thaines can work in our favor.

[lvr181]

Are 191 emergency numbers used for criminal activity? The mind boggles at the deep thinking that goes into some "announcements". Lets punish criminals AND those needing the use of the emergency numbers, equally. TITS.

Unregistered phones can still call 191, they just can't make ordinary calls

Oh, I read "After the expiration of the extended period on August 31st, they could neither receive or make calls , even the 191 emergency numbers, he said".

[sumrit]

Personally, I'm happy about the exstension. Both my wife and I have had the same sims for years and use the same ones every time we go back to Thailand. My wife and daughter went back to Thailand last month for the school holidays and the wife registered her sim a few weeks ago. However, I don't land until next week, so at least she can call me when I get there until I can get mine registered.

She did try and register mine whilst she was doing hers but the 7/11 said they couldn't because I had the sim with me.

People like yourself mrbo, who live outside Thailand but keep your sim active, are the ones who might lose out because they don't know about the registration or can't get the sim back here to register.

There are a lot of people who live outside Thailand but need to keep their Thai sim active to enable them to use some internet banking services with their Thai banks. For them, having their sim blocked/discontinued could cause more serious problems.

Edited August 2, 2015 by sumrit

[Notowork]

I have one question,.. how do they know just how many phones are still unregistered ?

[SEEDGER]

My question to the Thai Government who you going to share this information with?

Who suggestd to you that you track all pre paid phones?

Are you really dumb enogh to think that someone who is going to commit a crime will register their phone in their name?

I come from country that tried this bull shit it was struck down by the courts!

[trigpoint]

555 I just stumbled across this now, I had no idea about it and i imagine many Thais living out in villages have no idea aswell,

Can someone here tell me what i need to do to register, can it be done at a 7/11? do i need to go into the city to a AIS kiosk?

Thanks, Deeks

I did mine at 7/11 with passport. AIS

[Guest]

So again security takes the back seat in order to placate those who have managed to avoid the thousands of warnings that this policy was being introduced.....10,000,000 active but unregistered sims. World ranking number 1

Totally agree with you on that.

If the primary reason to register the sim cards is to deter maniacs from using them as triggers for remote devices, then in effect they are extending their grace period as well.

That in itself, if this is the true reason for the knee-jerk, is criminal as they are not following a preventative measure.

God forbid, but could you imagine if there was a remote detonation (by sim/mobile) within the next 30/31 days?

Do you both honestly beleive that the primary reason that SIM cards are registered is a connection to the use of mobile phones as remote detonators?

So, two paranoid people with Chicken Little Syndrome have created their own tempest in a teapot and are singing to each-other.

I can not even begin to fathom how the world must seem to you. I would guess .. dark and scary.

You probably think I am writing you to have a go about this.

On the contrary, I am writing to invite you to stop and smell the roses, pause from this insanity and free yourself from irrational fear and senseless anger.

No one ever looked up from their deathbed and said, "I should have posted more on Thai Visa about imaginary threats and policies in a country I am a guest in" .. about something as trivial as going to 7-11 with your SIM and Passport (Or better yet, a photocopy of your passport.)

In short, have a nice day. Life is too short to live in fear of imaginary monsters that live under your bed. Now get out there and have some fun !!!

Edited August 3, 2015 by Guest

[martin81]

Is it just me or did they not do this years ago - set a deadline and then it was all forgotten about. I'm surprised so many people did register this time, as the boy who cried wolf can concur.

Yes I already registered my oldest SIM card several years ago. But when I asked at a DTAC shop a few months ago they told me it was not registered. So had to do it again.

[Basil B]

Simple answer ever time anyone goes to make an out going call they get a message to say the phone is unregistered and it will be cut off...

Also send an automated text every day to remind unregistered users, tell them if they fail to register their phones by the end of the month they will have to pay a 500B surcharge to register and keep their numbers.

[Jim walker]

Even when I am back home in the UK I get Thai messages all the time in Thai on my Thai sim probably just telling me about my PPI or have I had an accident recently that was not my fault.

[bassep]

This thread, like almost all here on TV, are so dam funny. I cant tell which to laugh at more the, "just get it done" boot licker types, or the, "Thailand sucks" piss and moan crowd.

As for knowing or not about this, I can assure you that it is entirely possible to have not heard ONE WORD about this entire SIM registration BS. I have been here for almost 7 years, live in a condo that is not out in the boondocks, with many falangs, and NOT ONE person has said ANYTHING about this. The only reason I found out was that an Aus friend of mine went to buy a new SIM tonight and was told he could not because he did not have a THAI ID. Obviously an ill-informed 7-11 clerk did not know the new law either.

As for reading a Thai SMS, that too is laughable as 99.99999% of all Thai messages sent to your phone are total crap spam. So if you waste your time translating all of them you place way too much importance on junk mail. I would imagine that kind of person reads all of the spam email they receive also. I for one can tell spam email at a glance and it is deleted faster than you can bang your favorite Nana bar girl. I obviously do the same with spam SMS's.

If you think that this has anything to do with security then you are incredibly gullible or one of the, "I believe everything the government says" crowd. This will not change the security situation one bit. As was pointed out in an earlier post (find it yourself) they have registered SIM in the South since 2006, no change in security at all.

Most drugs (except for the alcohol and cigs) are imported/dealt, by the military. This will not change with registering phone SIMs. It is almost a certainty that the reason the Thai government is doing this is because of international (read: USA) pressure in order to get more money (read: extortion),

To the ONE person that posted useful info about the DTAC number to check registration, Thank You.

All that said, I do have a few questions: Does anyone know a number to check with AIS on the registration status of their SIM. ANd do you have to show actual passport or will a DL or maybe copy of passport do? As my phone is working perfectly normal in all aspects but have never done any (as far as I know) registration of my sim. I have been to AIS in the past (several years ago) and given them my info, but for different reasons. Maybe that got it registered, No sure. Hence the desire to check.

Those of you wanting to correct my assumptions or call me a liar for not being informed, or somehow deducing that I am "irresponsible" for not knowing of this please save your breath. I don't care about your opinions, just as I am sure you do not care about mine.