The rising cases of unauthorised SIM cards in India have long been a problem for both cardholders and the government authorities.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has finally launched a portal (tafcop.dgtelecom.gov.in) that allows individuals to check the usage of a mobile number on his or her name without their permission or knowledge. The affected users can also block the numbers that are issued in their name.
As per the existing government guideline, only nine mobile connections can be issued to an individual. If anybody is found allotted more mobile numbers beyond nine that amounts to misuse and through this portal the government wants to curb the menace.
In 2018, the government increased this number from 9 SIMs to 18 SIMs per individual only for the Embedded-Subscriber Identity Module (eSIM). With an eSIM, users need not buy a new SIM while changing their service provider or buying a new connection as it will be installed in the device itself. Details of the service providers can be updated at the time of purchase.
Keeping in mind the number of SIMs required for Mobile 2 Mobile (M2M) communications will increase over time, the department increased the per user to 18 which includes 9 SIMs for normal mobile phones or use in devices with the other 9 SIMs to be purchased for M2M communications.
The revised guidelines by DoT came into effect after Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel started selling Apple Watch Series 3 which has the eSIM service provision only.
How to check your number
Users can log in to the portal, key in the number, and OTP on the portal.
The department will alert the consumer via SMS about the number of connections active in their names and any number that is not in use by the user or unauthorised can be blocked on request.
The department will issue a ticket ID to track the requests.
