Telcos asked to send subscribers' database to EC

The government has asked mobile phone operators to send their subscribers' database to the Election Commission to find which SIMs were purchased without using National Identity (NID) cards.

After verification, the commission will inform the operators which SIMs were bought without NID cards or with the fake ones. The operators will then notify the users with an SMS to re-register.

The Telecom Division took the decision yesterday after separate meetings with the EC and the mobile operators, retreating from its previous stance that all mobile connections will have to be re-registered.

The mobile operators have said they will send their subscribers' database to the EC by today.

“We have changed our decision to reduce hassles of the users,” Tarana Halim, state minister for telecom, said after the meeting.