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The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has set October 30 as the final date for mobile users to deactivate or transfer ownership of SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) cards that exceed the maximum limit of ten registered under a single National Identity Card (NID).
In a notice issued on Monday, the telecom regulator urged subscribers to visit customer care centres of their respective mobile operators to complete the process within the specified timeframe.
The move aims to prevent misuse of SIM cards, strengthen digital security, and ensure the accuracy of subscriber information.
BTRC has warned that any subscriber who fails to comply by the deadline will have their additional SIM cards automatically deactivated through a random selection process.
The directive continues a policy first introduced in 2016, which capped the number of SIMs that could be registered under one NID to curb illegal VoIP operations, financial fraud, and other cybercrimes.
According to recent BTRC data, Bangladesh currently has about 188 million active mobile connections, served by four operators -- Grameenphone, Robi, Banglalink, and Teletalk.
Despite the country's high mobile penetration rate, the regulator has repeatedly detected irregularities in registration data, including multiple SIMs registered under a single NID and unverified connections being used for unlawful activities.
Subscribers can check how many SIM cards are registered against their NID by dialling *16001# and entering the last four digits of their national identity number.
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