Mobile SIM sale rules tightened

Governing Board members of the Communications Authority of Maldives. | Photo: MoECCT

Malé, Maldives – The Communications Authority of Maldives (CAM) has tightened the rules for selling mobile SIMs.

Communications Authority of Maldives (CAM) announced the change in sale of Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) for mobile phone services. The SIM will be in non-activated status or unused when sold.

The SIM will be activated after the service provider receives the customer’s complete information, according to the new rules. The rule will come into effect on December 1, 2022. Further information will be available from service providers, the Communications Authority said.

While the Communications Authority has changed the SIM sales rules and more changes will be made in the coming days.

With the change, customers will have the opportunity to activate their SIM directly from a service provider. If the SIM is purchased through a third party under this policy, it will be activated only after the service provider has received the customer’s full information.

The rule on selling SIMs in Maldives has been tightened as scam calls made through mobile phones have become a national issue.

At a recent press conference on the work of the Home Ministry, Commissioner of Police Mohammed Hameed highlighted the efforts being made by the police to stop this. The service of 2196 mobile numbers has been cut off and the IMEI of 817 phones has been blacklisted to prevent scam calls.