Non-registered mobile SIM users can receive calls

UAE mobile phone users who missed a January 17 deadline to re-register their GSM SIM cards will have their services only partially disconnected as they will still be able to receive calls and texts, according to telecom operators.

Etisalat and Du, the only telecom operators in the second largest Arab economy, will disable outgoing calls and texts from non-registered SIM cards and allow them to receive calls and messages for three months, they said.

But the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), which is oversees the sector in the UAE, said there are no plans to extend the January 17 deadline.

“Suspension of services will be only partial as defaulters will not be able to make a call or send texts…but they can still receive calls and texts,” TRA director general Mohammed Al Ghanim said, quoted by Emarat Alyoum Arabic language daily.

“The service will be fully stopped three months after the partial suspension…those who register their SIM cards during this period will have their service fully restored.”

A Du official confirmed such measures, saying defaulters can still have their SIM services back within the 90-day grace period.

“According to the rules announced by TRA, we have agreed to give a 90-day grace period to subscribers to fail to re-register their SIM cards…if they fail again, they will face a complete termination of services from their SIM cards,” said Farid Faraidooni, Du’s Chief Commercial Officer.

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