Vietnam mulls banning sales of pre-used SIM cards

If approved, its amendments to a 2011 government decree will outlaw sales of existing prepaid SIM cards.

They will also ban the activation of SIM cards before full and correct information about subscribers is obtained. 

This is the ministry's latest attempt to regulate the use of mobile services and check the widespread use of SIM cards registered in other people’s names.

In an attempt last year it had ordered mobile network operators to sign agreements to stop selling pre-registered SIM cards and sought to punish violations.

But the effort failed with sales of pre-registered SIM cards continuing to occur openly, allowing people to easily buy SIM cards without providing any identification whatsoever.

The ministry also proposes amendment would also scrap a requirement for subscribers that use more than three SIM cards.

According to current regulations, subscribers are only required to provide personal information and sign a declaration form to register for their first three prepaid mobile subscriptions. However, starting from the fourth subscription, users are required to sign a contract with the network operator for each number.

The regulation was initially established as a soft measure to prevent businesses from pre-registering and pre-activating SIM cards before selling.

It however has not been as effective as expected as businesses cannot know if the users sell their SIM cards without re-signing their contracts to reflect the change of ownership, the ministry said in its proposal.