Banglalink allows users to check registered SIMs against NIDs

Banglalink has become the first mobile phone operator to start sending texts to its customers to help them find out how many connections have been registered against their national identification cards.

Last week, State Minister for Telecom Tarana Halim directed the mobile phone operators to send messages to their customers so they can exactly know the number of connections registered using their fingerprints or NID.

Tarana instructed to send such SMS on July 7, but mobile phone operators say people will be busy with Eid festival on the day this year. Even the Eid day might fall on the day.

Banglalink started sending such texts on July 2 to avoid the hectic schedule during Eid days, and the operator is getting tremendous response, said a senior executive of the company. Banglalink users can immediately check the information by dialing *1600*2#. Other operators, however, are yet to take decision on the issue.

An operator said the state minister needs to reconsider the issue of Eid. "If she compels us we can send SMS to the customers, but it will be useless," said a senior executive of a leading operator."

On Eid days, mobile phone users are normally flooded with messages from relatives, friends and others who wish them a good festival. As a result, they may ignore any SMS from mobile phone operators this time.

"Then, the main objective of the initiative may not give any desired result," said the executive.

Tarana directed the operators to run a checking after the issue of fake registered SIMs using duplicated fingerprints came to the fore.

Last week the minister told reporters: "Customers can easily find out how many SIMs are registered against their NIDs. And if they found any unwanted SIM, they can immediately deactivate those numbers."

The SIM re-registration dateline ended on May 31 with 11.7 crore SIMs being re-verified.