Real names on cards for new SIM users

Hong Kong mobile phone users will have to register any new SIM cards using their real names starting from the start of next month, authorities have announced.

The move came after the Telecommunications (Registration of SIM Cards) Regulation took effect on September 1 to implement the Real-name Registration Program for SIM Cards.

New SIM cards - including SIM service plans and prepaid SIM cards - issued from March 1 onward will require users to complete real-name registration before activation.

Existing users with prepaid SIM cards are also required to complete real-name registration with respective telecommunications operators on or before February 23 next year or the cards will be deactivated.

"Existing SIM service plan users are not required to re-register unless they change to another telecommunications operator or subscribe to a new phone number," the administration said in a statement.

Under the Real-name Registration Program, each user may register no more than 10 prepaid SIM cards with each telecommunications operator, while each corporate user may register up to 25 prepaid SIM cards with each telecommunications operator.

No upper limit has been set for SIM service plan cards.

To complete the registration, SIM card users need to follow the instructions sent out by telecommunications operators via SMS or other means.

Users are then required to provide their names, dates of birth, identity card numbers and copies of their HK identity cards through channels such as retail shops, mobile applications or websites of telecommunications operators for registration.

An adult endorsement will be required for users aged below 16, and the personal information of the adult responsible for the minor will need to be registered as well.

Meanwhile, corporate users are required to submit business registration information and designate a responsible person for registration, with that individual's personal information to be provided too.

"Real-name registration is easy, convenient and fast," according to the statement.

It added that authorities will collaborate with various government departments, social welfare organizations and telecommunications operators to assist groups that need to complete real-name registration, with details to be released in due course.

The Real-name Registration Program is applicable to all SIM cards issued by telecommunications operators of Hong Kong to be used for local person-to-person communication, including voice, data or SMS services.

Authorities previously said that the new registration program can help safeguard the integrity of telecommunications services and the security of the communications network, as well as law and order, by plugging the existing loophole arising from the anonymous nature of SIM cards as well as assisting law enforcement agencies in the detection of SIM card-related crimes.