SIM Squeeze Set to Start: Single NID Limit Tightens to Ten
Beginning November 1, Bangladesh will enforce a new restriction on mobile connections — limiting each National Identity (NID) cardholder to a maximum of 10 SIMs for personal use. This marks the end of the previous allowance of 15 SIMs per person, with the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) providing users a final opportunity to voluntarily deactivate their unused connections.
According to the directive, customers who fail to deregister additional SIMs by Friday, December 31, will have their excess numbers automatically deactivated through a randomized selection process.
When asked whether deactivating SIMs without prior user consent constitutes a violation of consumer rights, BTRC Chairman Emdadul Haque Bari explained that artificial intelligence (AI) will be used in the random selection process.
“We have reviewed and found that, at present, a single person rarely uses more than ten SIMs,” he said. “Moreover, unused SIMs registered under one’s name carry the risk of being cloned, which can hinder the work of law enforcement agencies. Therefore, we have long been offering users the chance to deregister unnecessary SIMs. Now that obtaining a SIM is easy with biometric verification and NID, any adult can register SIMs in their own name. There is no need, as before, to take SIMs under the head of the family. To bring discipline to mobile SIM usage, we have set the 10-SIM limit. Those exceeding this limit will see their extra SIMs deactivated through random selection.”
He further clarified, “We will review which SIMs under a single NID are less frequently used or inactive for a long time and deactivate those first. However, if someone’s preferred SIM is mistakenly deactivated, they will still be able to reclaim it. The deactivated SIMs will remain unsold for a specific period as per regulations. Whenever a user attempts to register a new SIM, the system will verify how many are already under their name, and they will be able to decide which to keep and which to deactivate.”
To check how many SIMs are registered under one’s name, users can simply dial *16001#, type the last four digits of their NID, and send it. In response, they will receive a message showing the number of registered SIMs and the last three digits of each number for all operators.
However, SIM deregistration cannot be done online. Customers must visit the respective operator’s customer care center, present a photocopy of their NID, fill out a deregistration form, and verify their identity through fingerprint. Consumers have reported that currently, no more than two SIMs of the same operator can be deregistered at a time
