TRAI added that these regulations are a move to overcome the porting to a different supplier utilizing fraudulent SIM swaps,
The Telecom Regulatory of India (TRAI) has announced new guidelines for SIM card swap, replacement and checking fraudulent activities will come into effect from July 1. The rules will be under the regulations of MNP ( Amendment to Mobile Number Portability) as it was issued by TRAI earlier on March 14, 2024, according to the reports.
Press Release No. 35/2024 regarding Press Release on implementation of the Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability (Ninth Amendment) Regulations, 2024 w.e.f. 00:00:00 hours of 01.07.2024https://t.co/x2AEuwjne0
— TRAI (@TRAI) June 28, 2024
The replacement or swap of a SIM card by a user denotes the purchase of a new one since the old SIM was damaged, lost or not in use by the subscriber. TRAI added that these regulations are a move to overcome the porting to a different supplier who utilises fraudulent SIM swaps.
When the users move from one access provider to another, they can select the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) facility to retain their phone number within the country. The Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Regulations, 2009 have been amended eight times in the past to improve the MNP process sporadically.
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There is a unit port code/pin which was sent to the user number and the TRAI has decided to begin an additional regulation for rejecting the request of allowing the Unique Porting Code to ensure safety. It was said that if the request hasn’t been made before the expiry of seven days from the date of SIM swap or replacement of the mobile number the UPC wouldn’t allow generating the number. Earlier, the expiry period was 10 days to allocate the SIM.
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In this case, some telecom regulators asked for 10 day wait period for the replacement or swap to maintain the process appropriately, while others argued for a shorter validity of two to four days as most of the subscribers need urgent porting and it will be a reasonable wait time to avoid inconvenience. According to the authority, it was said that a waiting period of seven days after the SIM swap or replacement will come into force for a mobile number to acquire porting eligibility from next month onwards.
