Dubai: Mobile phone subscribers, who have received an SMS from etisalat and du asking them to re-register their SIM cards, will lose their connections if they don’t do so by April 16.
Etisalat has cut off 1.3 million lines and will continue to disconnect users who ignore the notification.
However, the lines will be connected automatically once the owner of the SIM card submits the necessary documents and completes registration.
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has advised mobile subscribers to abide by the regulation and update their personal details through etisalat and du.
TRA launched its ‘My Number, My Identity’ campaign in June last year in collaboration with the two telecom operators to stamp out mobile phone fraud and tighten security. This involved asking mobile subscribers to re-register their SIM cards. The process was sought to be completed in 18 months in six batches.
The increase in civil and criminal cases due to misuse of mobile phones pushed the TRA to tighten regulations, Majid Al Mesmar, Deputy Director-General of TRA, told Gulf News.
A new batch of the re-registration process will begin on April 16 and those who received the SMS and failed to update their personal details with either etisalat or du will lose their mobile connection, he added.
Etisalat has 105 registration points across the UAE, while du has 46. There are more than 13 million mobile phone users in the UAE.
Du is also warning mobile subscribers that the third batch to re-register the SIM cards will end in a week’s time.
By the end of the year, all mobile phones in the UAE should be registered. After that, registered owners of the SIMs will have to bear any consequences for the misuse of the SIM cards issued in their names.
To re-register, mobile subscribers must fill in an application form and present a valid passport, residency visa or Emirates or GCC identity card at any du or etisalat outlet, or at authorised dealers.
Subscribers need not wait for the SMS to re-register.
