Centre bans pre-activated SIM card sale in border areas

After bringing cell sites near the border under greater scrutiny, the Government has tightened the verification procedures for the issue of mobile phone connections.

In a directive to mobile phone companies, the Government has banned the sale of pre-activated SIM (subscriber identification module) cards. It has also asked mobile companies to verify their entire customer base on a "priority" basis by March 31, 2007.

A minimum penalty of Rs. 1,000 will be levied for each phone operating without verification. The companies have been asked to initiate the verification process of all existing subscribers by calling up each one of them and asking for details. "There shall not be any connection working after March 31, 2007 in the licensee's network without having unverified subscriber information," the directive said. The move comes after several meetings on the issue between representatives of the Communications Ministry, security forces and intelligence agencies in the wake of three soldiers in Jammu and Kashmir being arrested for facilitating the sale of SIM cards to alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba operatives.

In another case in Haryana, a private mobile company was alleged to have issued 60 connections in the name of one person based on a common identification document.