Telecom rules, including mobile numbers, will change from the first of next month. The government has amended the telecom rules and made them stricter to curb cases like fraud. The amended law will come into effect from July 1, 2024.
TRAI Issued It On March 14
In this regard, the Ministry of Communications said in an official statement issued on Friday that the Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability (9th Amendment) Regulations, 2024, will come into force on July 1. According to the statement, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, TRAI, issued the new law on March 14, 2024. Now, it is going to be implemented.
New Provision Of Unique Porting Code
The ministry says that the amendment to the law is intended to curb criminal elements’ porting of mobile numbers by adopting the SIM swap method or SIM replacement. A new provision has been added under this amended law related to the Unique Porting Code, i.e., UPC, to be sought for porting the mobile number.
Such Requests Will Be Rejected
The ministry has said that the new law has given the right to reject the request for a unique porting code. Especially in such circumstances, the request for a unique porting code can be rejected, in which the request for the port code has been sent within seven days after the SIM is swapped or replaced. This means porting the mobile number only after at least 7 days after the SIM swap or SIM replacement will be possible.
The government has made several changes to curb fraud, which have been implemented since July 1. Some of the significant changes coming from July 1 are as follows…
- Now, only nine SIM cards can be taken with one ID. In the case of Jammu and Kashmir and North-Eastern states, this limit is six SIM cards.
- Taking more SIM cards than the limit will result in a heavy penalty. A fine of Rs 50,000 will be imposed for the first violation, and a fine of Rs 2 lakh will be imposed for the second violation.
- Getting a SIM card on someone else’s ID by mistake can result in heavy punishment, like 3 years of jail and a fine of 50 lakhs.
- Companies cannot send commercial messages without the user’s consent. A fine of up to 2 lakhs will have to be paid for breaking the rules.
- In an emergency, the government can control the entire telecommunication network and intercept calls and messages.
