Viettel has announced that all mobile phone subscribers with accounts activated before April 24, 2017 must register their name, ID, and a photo before April 17, or incoming calls will be blocked after 15 days and all other services will cease in the following 15 days.

It has sent messages to those who have not yet submitted either the information or the photo. 

Users can lodge the paperwork at the provider’s outlets and transaction offices around the country or electronically via its mobile app.

The move is in line with a government decree issued in 2017 that aims to protect mobile phone users and properly manage the national database of mobile phone subscribers. 

Vinaphone and MobiFone are yet to provide any information to users.

In November 2016, the Ministry of Information and Communications asked mobile providers to withdraw SIM cards activated before being sold. 

This type of SIM card was available in large numbers and registered with information incompatible with actual users. 

Many people bought these SIM cards to enjoy promotions for new subscribers, but it led to difficulties in management.

As of the end of March, there were 118.7 million mobile subscriptions in Vietnam, according to the General Statistics Office. 

In a country with a population of some 95 million, including children under five years of age and a number of ethnic minority people living in remote areas who do not use mobile phones, the figure reveals a large number of random mobile phone numbers being used in the country.

VN Economic Times