Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) introduced a number of new pointers regarding the alternative of misplaced, broken or stolen SIM playing cards on March 14. The principles come into impact beginning immediately (July 1). As per the rules, cell phone customers should now await a specified time frame earlier than they are going to be allowed to modify community suppliers. As per the regulator, this transfer is claimed to be aimed toward curbing fraudulent SIM replacements and switching telecom suppliers.

New TRAI pointers

As per the round issued by TRAI, customers will now have to attend seven days after they’ve changed stolen, broken or misplaced SIM playing cards to modify community suppliers. These new guidelines come into impact immediately following the Ninth Modification of the Cellular Quantity Portability (MNP) Rules, launched in 2009. MNP rules have been amended eight instances prior to now.

Notably, MNP rules supply a method for customers to modify between telecom service suppliers in India whereas retaining their distinctive cell numbers. In accordance with TRAI, its new guidelines are aimed toward combating fraudulent SIM swaps or replacements carried out by nefarious actors.

TRAI defines SIM swap as a strategy of “acquisition of a brand new SIM card rather than a misplaced or non-working SIM card by the prevailing subscriber”. The regulator permits cell phone customers to acquire a brand new SIM card if the previous one is misplaced, stolen or broken. As per the rules, telecom suppliers will now be prohibited from issuing a singular porting code (UPC) to customers within the preliminary seven days following the alternative or swap of the SIM. For this, a brand new standards for rejection of the UPC issuance has been launched. To problem a UNP, cell service suppliers should verify for the next circumstances:

1. The cell quantity has been ported earlier. If that’s the case, a interval of 90 days has not elapsed for the reason that final date of porting.
2. One other porting request from the identical cell quantity is in course of.
3. A UPC has already been issued to the cell quantity and hasn’t expired.

If any of the aforementioned circumstances are legitimate, the community supplier will probably be forbidden from producing a UPC and should inform the subscriber of the explanation by way of an SMS, as per TRAI.

The draft of those guidelines was finalised after a suggestion by the Division of Telecommunications (DoT), in accordance with TRAI. Conferences had been additionally held with stakeholders together with due evaluation, following which the modification was introduced.