Govt tells telcos to enforce 9-SIM limit; new mobile connections barred beyond cap

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has directed the telecom companies to strictly enforce the rule of not issuing a new mobile phone connection to any subscriber already having nine SIMs, an official statement said on Thursday. "From August 24, 2026, onward, TSPs (telecom service providers) shall take appropriate technical and organisational measures to identify each subscriber who seeks to obtain mobile connections beyond the prescribed limit and communicate to him that he already has a maximum number of mobile connections permitted to an individual and accordingly, a new mobile connection cannot be provided to him," the circular states.

The directions also require customers to provide a declaration in the Customer Application Form (CAF) regarding the mobile connections already held in their name across telecom operators and licensed service areas. DoT said the respective Licensed Service Areas (LSAs) will be the competent authorities to decide issues arising from the implementation of the instructions. The DoT circular points out that the details of subscribers who have already obtained mobile connections beyond the prescribed limit are available on its Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP). DoT has also put in place a mechanism to help telecom operators identify such subscribers.

From August 23, a representative image of the photo of each subscriber who has already reached the prescribed limit for mobile connections in their name will be made available on the DIP. The DIP uses subscriber information submitted by various telecom companies. This information is available for the telcos to identify subscribers who have already reached the upper limit of 9 SIM cards. "Till the time such measures are implemented by a telecom service provider on a post-facto basis, as per terms and conditions of the Customer Application Form (CAF), any mobile connection activated beyond the prescribed limit for a day shall be immediately suspended till resolution of the issue in respect of crossing the permitted limit for mobile connections," the circular stated.

Under existing instructions issued on August 9, 2012, an individual customer can have a maximum of nine mobile connections across all telecom service providers and all licensed service areas in the country. However, the limit is lower in certain regions. Subscribers in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, and the North-East can have a maximum of six mobile connections. The government wants to strictly enforce this upper limit.

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