The Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia (TRC) has set 1 November 2016 as the deadline for the nation’s mobile operators to deactivate any unregistered SIM cards, concluding a government campaign launched in September last year to improve national security and consumer protection. The Cambodia Daily cites a statement from the regulator as saying that service providers are required to alert customers with unregistered SIM cards at least ‘seven times within seven days,’ and if no action is taken to provide personal information, then ‘there must be a full suspension’ of the mobile line by 1 November.
TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database states that legislation passed in 2012 requires telecoms operators, resellers and distributors to collect consumers’ identities and provide necessary information upon the request of police officers for criminal investigation. As part of a renewed government crackdown on unregistered SIM cards, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications Cambodia (MPTC) ruled in September 2015 that cellular subscribers must register their details with their mobile operator or at a police station, or face the disconnection of their service.