Proposal to Limit Corporate SIM Cards to 100 to Combat “Gray” Numbers

The Ministry of Digital Development has drafted amendments to the “On Communications” law, which will affect the servicing of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs. The proposed law aims to regulate the circulation of identification modules and set a maximum limit on their quantity.

According to the Telegram channel “Telecom Review,” which was among the first to highlight this document, the new service rules will be as follows:

• Services can only be used if information about individuals is entered into the government portal.
• No more than 100 subscriber numbers allocated by mobile operators can be registered.
• The telecom operator is required to verify the presence of user information.
• The telecom operator must not provide services for a subscriber number if the information is missing or incorrect.

State Duma deputy Oleg Matveychev sent a request to the Ministry of Digital Development in early February of this year, asking to limit the maximum number of mobile phone numbers that can be registered to one person.

As “Telecom Review” notes, a previous law (No. 533-FZ) aimed at combating “SIM cards” was adopted earlier. Since June 1, 2021, all companies have already been required to link corporate SIM cards to their employees’ accounts on the government services portal. “And the fight continues…” the Telegram channel jokes. This law was originally presented as a means to combat false bomb threats.

The public discussion of the Ministry of Digital Development’s draft law will end on April 14, 2022. You can leave your suggestions or comments on the document’s page.