Final deadline: Register your UAE Sim card now or lose it forever

All mobile subscribers of the UAE’s two telecom operators, etisalat and du, who have not re-registered their Sim cards with their respective service providers will have their numbers deactivated from July 16.

The UAE’s Telecommunication Regulatory Authority’s (TRA) has set next Wednesday as the deadline for all mobile owners to register Sim cards with the two service providers.

This is the final deadline of the TRA’s ‘My Mobile, My Identity’ initiative for mobile Sim registration, which mandates all mobile phone subscribers in the country, irrespective of their service provider, to re-register their numbers.

Mandated by the TRA, the primary objective of the campaign is to minimise hazards of illegal Sim card usage. Registration of Sim cards will ultimately protect subscribers from misuse or confidentiality infringement. A wide range of services that enhance the overall mobile experience are also being offered by the telecom providers to registered Sim cards.

The campaign, which began in mid-2012, is now coming to an end after running two years, giving the country’s millions of mobile subscribers ample time to re-register their Sim cards. The registration policy requires mobile subscribers to produce valid and original identification documents at any of the telecom providers’ kiosks along with a copy of the ID proof.

Documents include Emirates ID or passport for UAE nationals, GCC National ID or passport for GCC nationals, and the Emirates ID or passport along with valid residence visa for all other nationalities. Business and government customers must present a valid establishment card issued by Ministry of Interior in the UAE.

“Till date, etisalat has successfully completed registering 95 per cent of its entire database of mobile customers. The final deadline for SIM card registrations for non-registered customers is July 16, 2014,” etisalat noted in a media statement.

To avoid disconnection, non-registered mobile customers are being encouraged to visit any of the telecom providers’ kiosks or points of sales (POS) during Ramadan operational hours.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.