Over 10 Registered SIMs to Be Deactivated Gradually with SMS Notifications

The government has introduced a new regulation limiting the number of registered SIM cards per National Identity Card (NID) to a maximum of 10. Users with more than 10 registered SIMs will have their additional SIMs deactivated in phases, with prior SMS notifications. Users will also have the opportunity to voluntarily cancel unnecessary SIM registrations before the process begins. The entire procedure is expected to be completed by November.

In May, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) decided to reduce the number of SIMs per user, citing national security, unhealthy competition among operators, and international practices. The decision, approved by the Posts and Telecommunications Division, was finalized during BTRC’s 296th commission meeting. According to BTRC, capping SIM registrations at 10 will lead to the deactivation of 6.7 million SIMs belonging to 2.6 million users.

BTRC data indicates that the country has 67.59 million active SIM users. Of these, 80.32% have five or fewer SIMs registered, 16.23% have six to ten SIMs, and only 3.45% have 11 to 15 SIMs. BTRC initially planned to issue guidelines to mobile operators by July 15, but the timeline has been extended. BTRC Chairman Major General (Retd.) Mohammad Emdad Ul Bari told Prothom Alo that the process will be implemented carefully to avoid inconvenience to users. Starting August 1, users with more than 10 SIMs will have three months to voluntarily cancel excess SIMs. After this period, BTRC will take steps to deactivate additional SIMs, with the entire process expected to take five to six months. BTRC will first compile a list of users with more than 10 SIMs through its Central Biometric Verification Monitoring Platform vendor. Operators will then contact these users, requesting them to reduce their registered SIMs to 10 via weekly SMS notifications. Operators will also publish notices on their websites and inform users through print, electronic, and online media. Users can check the number of SIMs registered under their NID by dialing *16001#. Excess SIMs can be transferred through the “Transfer of Ownership” process. The initial deadline for this phase was October 15, but BTRC sources indicate it may be extended to October 30. After this period, users with more than 10 SIMs will have their details shared with operators, who will prioritize SIMs based on revenue generation over the past six months. The highest revenue-generating SIMs will be retained, with consideration for essential services like mobile financial services (MFS). Each operator will ensure at least one of their SIMs remains active for the user, with up to two preferred SIMs potentially prioritized. Once the list of 10 SIMs per user is finalized, operators will be instructed to deactivate the remaining SIMs. BTRC aims to complete this process by November.