TRAI introduces new card porting guidelines from July 1 to curb fraudulent SIM swapping

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on March 14 announced several new guidelines for replacing lost, damaged or stolen SIM cards. The rules come into force from today (July 1). As per the guidelines, mobile phone users must now wait a certain period of time before they can switch network providers. According to the regulator, the move is aimed at curbing fraudulent SIM swaps and switching of telecom service providers.

New TRAI guidelines

As per a circular issued by TRAI, users will now have to wait for seven days after replacing a stolen, damaged or lost SIM card to switch network provider. The new rules come into effect today after the ninth amendment to the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) rules, which were introduced in 2009. The MNP rules have been amended eight times in the past.

Interestingly, the MNP regulations offer users the option to switch telecom service providers in India while retaining their unique mobile numbers. According to TRAI, the new rules aim to combat fraudulent swapping or swapping of SIM cards by nefarious actors.

TRAI defines SIM replacement as the process of “purchasing a new SIM card in place of a lost or non-functional SIM card by an existing subscriber”. The regulator allows mobile phone users to get a new SIM card if the old one is lost, stolen or damaged. As per the rules, telecom operators will now be prohibited from issuing a Unique Porting Code (UPC) to users within the first seven days of SIM replacement or swapping. For this purpose, new criteria have been introduced for rejecting the issuance of a UPC. To issue a UPC, mobile operators have to check the following conditions:

1. The mobile number was ported earlier. If so, 90 days have not passed since the last transfer date.
2. Another porting request from the same mobile number is being processed.
3. The UPC number has already been issued for a mobile number and has not expired.

If any of the above conditions are met, the network operator will not be able to generate the UPC code and will be obliged to inform the subscriber about the reason via SMS, as per TRAI.

The draft of these rules was finalized on the suggestion of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), as per TRAI. Stakeholder meetings were also held along with due consideration, following which the amendment was announced.