Mobile subs given 18 months to register SIMs

The United Arab Emirates’ Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has announced that the country’s mobile subscribers will have approximately 18 months to register their SIM cards, under its recently launched ‘My Number, My Identity’ campaign. In collaboration with the two licensed telecoms operators, Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) and Du, the campaign aims to increase awareness of the new registration procedures, which aim to organise registration processes and requirements for mobile phone services. Subscribers are expected to fully update their data and ensure that their SIM cards are registered under their names. ‘The My Number, My Identity campaign reflects on the TRA’s efforts to promote transparency and protect the privacy of mobile subscribers if misuse occurs by users who use mobile services not registered under their names,’ commented Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim, TRA director general, adding: ‘The TRA had introduced a number of procedures to facilitate the process of transferring the SIM cards from the actual owners to the actual users. Thus, the TRA will help attain an easy and flawless procedure to successfully activate the service and supervise the implementation process by the licensees.’