NEIR Glitches Behind Inflated SIM, Handset Counts: Adviser
Concerns have emerged that many citizens are seeing unusually high numbers of active SIM cards or handsets registered against their National Identity Cards (NIDs). Addressing the issue, Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser in charge of the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, said the problem would take some time to resolve.
In a Facebook post on Friday, January 2, Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb clarified that although the National Equipment Identity Register (NEIR) system has been launched, no illegal or cloned handsets will be blocked for the next 90 days. He urged the public not to panic over the issue.
Explaining why multiple active SIMs or handsets are appearing against a single NID, he said mobile operators had submitted more than three billion data sets to the system, including extensive historical records. As the migration date is currently being reflected as recent, many users are seeing inflated numbers of active SIMs or devices linked to their NIDs.
He noted that the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and mobile operators are jointly working to address the matter. Gradually, historical data will be archived in the background, and only currently active handsets will be displayed. This process, however, will require some time.
Acknowledging public feedback, Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb thanked users for flagging errors and technical issues related to NEIR. He said such complexities are common in the early stages of a large technical platform and assured that they would be resolved.
In his post, he also mentioned that although a Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing (VAPT) had previously been conducted, instructions have been given to carry out another round of testing. He added that NEIR is not a newly installed system; it was initially attempted in 2021 and has now been activated with enhanced functional features.
Historically, individuals in Bangladesh were allowed to use up to 20 SIM cards per NID, later reduced to 15, and now capped at 10. As a result, he said, it is natural for historical data mapping under NEIR to show higher numbers of handsets linked to a single NID.
Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb further stated that the system would help raise public awareness by allowing individuals to see how many SIMs and devices have been registered against their NIDs over time. He emphasized that it is a citizen’s right to know whether mobile banking, online gambling, or other financial crimes are being conducted using SIMs or devices registered in their name.
On data security, he said multiple measures have been implemented, including the use of secure digital tokens (JWT), rate limiting, and API controls. Accessing data now requires an NID number, with responses mapped to IMEI information. Additional security layers are also being introduced to further safeguard the system.
DBTech/FB/EK/OR
