Buying a SIM card for migrants may become more difficult: what the new draft law changes.
The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation has prepared a draft law introducing new requirements for foreign citizens and stateless persons when purchasing SIM cards of Russian telecom operators. This is reported by the Vedomosti newspaper.
According to the draft law, foreigners will be able to purchase SIM cards only if they register on the Gosuslug portal using biometric identification and when visiting communication salons in person. These rules will not apply to diplomats, representatives of international organizations and refugees.
The document was sent for approval to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Federal Security Service, Roskomnadzor, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Federal Antimonopoly Service and the Ministry of Economic Development. Agencies must review it by April 15.
The bill also obliges operators to include in contracts with foreign subscribers the identification code of their mobile device (IMEI) and limits the number of connected numbers to 10 for one person. Operators will have to renew contracts concluded with foreign subscribers before the law comes into force by March 1, 2025.Service to unregistered numbers should be discontinued.
Representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development and RKN confirmed receipt of the document. "The initiative is under consideration. Suggestions and comments will be prepared and sent to the Ministry of Digital Resources in due time, " a representative of the RCN told the publication.
Today, employees of sales offices of mobile operators or dealers may experience difficulties in identifying foreigners using their identity documents when entering into contracts for communication services, the representative of the Ministry of Digital Development explained. For example, it can be difficult to determine whether a document is a fake, so as not to issue a SIM card for a fraudster, he continued. Tracking them down and bringing them to justice is more difficult in this case.
If the bill is adopted, foreigners will be identified using biometrics from the Unified Biometric System (UBS) when entering into contracts for communication services and activating their SIM cards, a representative of the ministry said. This will make it possible to uniquely identify the identity of foreign citizens and stateless persons in sales offices and dealers, he concluded.
The bill is aimed at solving the problem of gray SIM cards, experts say. At the moment, the number of gray SIM cards is about 6 million, said Denis Kuskov, General Director of Telecom Daily. "It is high, but it is reduced due to the efforts of Roskomnadzor and operators," he adds. According to Alexey Boyko, an analyst at the Telegram channel @abloud62, the market volume of gray SIM cards registered to a small number of individuals can be tens of millions.
According to the representative of Beeline, currently, when entering into a contract for communication services, you do not need to report the IMEI of the device. But the introduction of this requirement will require customers to confirm that the device is linked to the number every time they change their phone, he emphasizes. "This may add some inconvenience to customers and require operators to implement additional processes for processing such data," he said. According to a Vedomosti source close to one of the Big Four operators, the IMEI can be duplicated and changed programmatically. "IMEI control brings difficulties primarily for subscribers," the source said. – This measure has failed to justify itself in any of the countries of the world that tried to implement this requirement."
According to Boyko, IMEI is redundant and of little use. Usually, maintaining the IMEI database is associated with countering the theft of smartphones, but in fact this measure only leads to the fact that the IMEI is changed in stolen devices, they are dismantled or sold outside of Russia, the expert explains. Boyko also believes that " alternative ways of getting the opportunity to use communications that are not related to biometrics, which is a questionable security method for authenticating subscribers, should be preserved."
The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation has prepared a draft law introducing new requirements for foreign citizens and stateless persons when purchasing SIM cards of Russian telecom operators. This is reported by the Vedomosti newspaper.
According to the draft law, foreigners will be able to purchase SIM cards only if they register on the Gosuslug portal using biometric identification and when visiting communication salons in person. These rules will not apply to diplomats, representatives of international organizations and refugees.
The document was sent for approval to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Federal Security Service, Roskomnadzor, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Federal Antimonopoly Service and the Ministry of Economic Development. Agencies must review it by April 15.
The bill also obliges operators to include in contracts with foreign subscribers the identification code of their mobile device (IMEI) and limits the number of connected numbers to 10 for one person. Operators will have to renew contracts concluded with foreign subscribers before the law comes into force by March 1, 2025.Service to unregistered numbers should be discontinued.
Representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development and RKN confirmed receipt of the document. "The initiative is under consideration. Suggestions and comments will be prepared and sent to the Ministry of Digital Resources in due time, " a representative of the RCN told the publication.
Today, employees of sales offices of mobile operators or dealers may experience difficulties in identifying foreigners using their identity documents when entering into contracts for communication services, the representative of the Ministry of Digital Development explained. For example, it can be difficult to determine whether a document is a fake, so as not to issue a SIM card for a fraudster, he continued. Tracking them down and bringing them to justice is more difficult in this case.
If the bill is adopted, foreigners will be identified using biometrics from the Unified Biometric System (UBS) when entering into contracts for communication services and activating their SIM cards, a representative of the ministry said. This will make it possible to uniquely identify the identity of foreign citizens and stateless persons in sales offices and dealers, he concluded.
The bill is aimed at solving the problem of gray SIM cards, experts say. At the moment, the number of gray SIM cards is about 6 million, said Denis Kuskov, General Director of Telecom Daily. "It is high, but it is reduced due to the efforts of Roskomnadzor and operators," he adds. According to Alexey Boyko, an analyst at the Telegram channel @abloud62, the market volume of gray SIM cards registered to a small number of individuals can be tens of millions.
According to the representative of Beeline, currently, when entering into a contract for communication services, you do not need to report the IMEI of the device. But the introduction of this requirement will require customers to confirm that the device is linked to the number every time they change their phone, he emphasizes. "This may add some inconvenience to customers and require operators to implement additional processes for processing such data," he said. According to a Vedomosti source close to one of the Big Four operators, the IMEI can be duplicated and changed programmatically. "IMEI control brings difficulties primarily for subscribers," the source said. – This measure has failed to justify itself in any of the countries of the world that tried to implement this requirement."
According to Boyko, IMEI is redundant and of little use. Usually, maintaining the IMEI database is associated with countering the theft of smartphones, but in fact this measure only leads to the fact that the IMEI is changed in stolen devices, they are dismantled or sold outside of Russia, the expert explains. Boyko also believes that " alternative ways of getting the opportunity to use communications that are not related to biometrics, which is a questionable security method for authenticating subscribers, should be preserved."
