April 20, 2005

(Bangkok Post via NewsEdge) The Thailand government will make it mandatory for consumers to produce either national ID cards or passports when buying SIM cards for prepaid mobile phones as part of efforts to beef up security against domestic terrorists.

In addition, all existing 21.5 million prepaid Thai and foreign mobile phone users in Thailand will have to report their citizenship identification or passport numbers to their respective phone operators within six months.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said the Information Communication Technology Ministry had consulted with the National Telecommunications Commission on tighter regulations on SIM cards in prepaid mobile phones that were often used by insurgents to remotely detonate bombs.

The measures were agreed on at a meeting hosted by the ICT.

Joining the session were national security agencies, the Royal Thai Police Office, the NTC, TOT Corporation, CAT Telecom, Thai Mobile, the Telecommunications Association of Thailand, True Corporation and all private mobile phone operators.

The government warned that phone services would be cancelled if users failed to meet the SIM card registration deadline.

Thaksin cautioned, however, that traceability must not undermine SIM card sales and customer privacy.

Thaksin said the government needed to locate bombers swiftly. He made it clear the regulation would serve only security purposes.

© 2005 Bangkok Post

© 2005 Dialog, a Thomson business. All rights reserved