glazing woeful: Vietnam considers limiting SIM card access, suggests 18 per person is enough

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Vietnam considers limiting SIM card access, suggests 18 per person is enough

Vietnam considers limiting consumer access to SIM cards, suggests 18 per person is enough

How many SIM cards do you have in your stash? If your answer is less than three per operator -- of every network provider -- then you may have trouble sympathizing with the apparent plight of some Vietnamese. Proposed legislation from the Ministry of Information and Commerce would effectively regulate each citizen to a maximum of three SIMs per carrier (of which there are six), leading to a theoretical limit of 18 SIM cards per individual. The draft law is intended to curb unauthorized distribution in that nation, where SIM cards with student discounts and the like are re-sold without carrier knowledge. The proposal could affect businesses too, limiting each company to a maximum of 100 SIM cards -- but there's no word on whether this cap is per network or absolute. Meanwhile, industry officials insist that a limit of five SIMs per operator would be more reasonable, given the number of SIM-enabled devices available to consumers. What's most clear, though, is that Vietnam is awash in marketing opportunity -- just imagine how popular Nokia could be with a mobile phone that supports 18 SIM cards.

[SIM cards via ShutterStock]

Vietnam considers limiting SIM card access, suggests 18 per person is enough originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Mar 2012 08:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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