SIM card users in Thailand will be required to register with a new digital identity platform from 15th December this year in the government’s effort to increase mobile phone safety.

Secretary-General of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission, Thakorn Tanthasit, said this week that the NBTC has asked all mobile phone operators to collect the information of phone users on the new digital identity platform for both post-paid and pre-paid users effective from 15th December nationwide. Some 55,000 locations have been prepared for the registration process.

SIM card buyers are required to show their citizen ID card at a service point. The system will verify their fingerprints and facial features so that they can buy a SIM card. If the two biometrics match, they can then use the SIM card. This is a government measure to prevent SIM card registration fraud.

The NBTC secretary-general assured SIM card users that their personal information will be stored confidentially.

There are over four million new mobile phone numbers in use through Thailand’s various operators each month. People already using SIM cards will be able to register with the new system for their own safety.